Newsletter #09 March 31
- Principal's News
- Senior Unit News
- Middle Unit News
- Junior Unit News
- Foundation Unit News
- Religious Education News
- Arts News
- Library News
- Hands Up Mallee
- Kangourou sans Frontières - Middles and Senior Maths Competition
- LEARNING PORTFOLIOS - MIDDLES & SENIOR GRADES
- END OF TERM 1 2021
- Languages - Italian News
- Technology News
- Physical Education News
- Sunraysia Catholic Communities Bulletin
- Parent Noticeboard
- MARRIAGE ENCOUNTER WEEKEND
Principal's News
Dear St Paul's Families,
Welcome to our last newsletter for the term. It's amazing how quickly the year has progressed. It's fair to say that everyone is in need of a well earned break. The children are feeling tired and there's a few sniffles emerging with the change in weather. A good rest is what is needed to recharge the batteries.
I would like to say thank you to everyone for your support and patience with the start to our year. There have been a few hiccups along the way but we have seen an incredible amount of growth in our children.
Tomorrow, Thursday 1st April is the last day of Term. We will begin the day with a Whole school Liturgy in the Hall at 9.15am to celebrate Holy Week. You are all most welcome to attend and please remember to use the QR code to sign in.
Following our Liturgy the Junior Unit will host their Easter Bonnet Parade. I know the children have been very busy making their bonnets this week and are very excited to show them to everyone tomorrow.
We will have assembly at 1.45pm tomorrow afternoon and school will finish at 2.25pm. Once again I look forward to seeing you there.
Congratulations to this week's Milestone winners. It really is the highlight of my week when I get to present the certificates to the children.
BEE MILESTONE: Leon Zaire, Candice Treweek, Elizabeth Toutai, Macki Tickle, Harry Stanger, Hayley Rowe, Hayden Rowe, Jackson Puleio, Riana Peiris, Lyla Ovenden, Jack O'Callaghan, Dean Morvell, Ryan Moir, Charlotte Miller, Grace Luo, Fetongi Latukefu, Jeron Kuruvilla Robin, Kennedy Krychaluk, Havish Kinthada, Lacey Hunt, Jack Humphrey, Charlotte Hogan, Oscar Hissey, Marco Guevarra, Lenin Guevarra, Shivreet Gill, Khloe Garland, Manny Fakaia-Reale, Eternity Conquest, Taylor Burns, Miranda Bui and Ben Boby
HIVE MILESTONE: Maggie Slimmon and Emma Circosta
Congratulations to the senior and middle students who represented the school with Division Rugby this week. It was great to hear that the students displayed outstanding behaviour and were great sports.
As the term draws to a close I would like to wish Mrs Chisari all the best as she prepares for motherhood. It is an exciting time for her and her husband as they begin their journey as parents. We will be waiting to hear the good news next term.
I would also like to wish Miss Gabrielle Burt all the best as she prepares for another new chapter in her life. I would like to thank her for her contribution to St Paul's and I am sure you will see her around town, so don't forget to say hello.
ENROLMENTS 2022: Our enrolment process has begun for new Foundation students in 2022 at St Paul's. Applications are now open. Some important dates for you to take note of are:
-Tuesday 4th, Wednesday 5th & Thursday 6th May at 9:30am, 12:30pm & 6pm: Guided Learning Walk to see facilities and learning at the school.
-Monday 10th-Friday 28th May: Enrolment interviews will be held taking approximately 40 minutes for prospective students and a parent/parents.
Please contact the office to arrange an appointment time.
ST JOSEPH'S COLLEGE ENROLMENTS: Any Year Six parents who plan to send their child to St Joseph’s College in 2022 need to be aware that enrolment applications close on Friday 23rd April. This is at the end of the first week of next term.
HOLY WEEK: Holy Week began with Palm Sunday. Thank you to the children from St Paul's and Sacred Heart who participated in the choir at Mass on Sunday morning. We continue Holy week with Holy Thursday Mass tomorrow evening at 7.00pm, followed by Good Friday Mass at 3.00pm and then the Easter Vigil Saturday evening at 7.00pm and Easter Sunday at 9.00am. Easter is the most important event on the church calendar. It is a time when we gather as a faith filled community and remember and celebrate the sacrifice that Jesus made for us. I hope you all have a safe and happy Easter with your families.
As Always
Keep the Faith
Vince Muscatello
Senior Unit News
Welcome to this week’s senior news.
In English we have been working on Persuasive texts and students have spent time creating a brochure persuading people to come to Mildura.
Students have also been presenting their research on their Religion Concept “Belonging”. Students were invited to look at different religions and compare them with Catholic Christianity.
In Mathematics, we have been using compasses to create circles that intercept.
Yesterday the Senior Rubgy Teams played at the Aerodrome Ovals. A BIG thank you to John Pantazopoulous and Tim Welsh for helping with the coaching on the day.
We wish all of our students a safe and happy Easter break and look forward to seeing you again next term.
Middle Unit News
Can you believe its the end of the school term because we certainly can't. Last week, M1 and M2 had a visit from Charlotte Hogan's pet rat 'Bubbles'! While some of us were a little frightened at first, once Charlotte shared how gentle and friendly she is, everyone warmed up to her (some of us even had a pat!) Mr Freeman would like to say sorry to all the parents who had requests for a pet rat from their children on Thursday night!
At St Paul's we are currently reviewing our camp programs. We ask parents to assist us in making an informed decision by completing this survey. Thank you in advance.
We hope everyone has a very safe and Happy Easter. We look forward to seeing everyone in Term Two.
Mrs Byrnes, Miss Burt, Mr Freeman, Mr White and Mrs Baker.
Junior Unit News
We can’t believe we are nearly finished Term 1. What an amazing term of learning we have had together! Here are some reflections of the term from our students:
- I’ve enjoyed learning about numbers like 165 in Maths. Lucas, J4
- I’ve liked playing with my friends Cienna, Abbie and Annalise. I’ve also made new friends like Lucas and Emma. Hayley, J4
- This term I’ve enjoyed being back in the same class with friends I had from Foundation like Bridie and Cooper C. Harriet, J5
- I really liked making a shape monster in Maths. Ari, J5
- I liked learning about numbers in Maths. Sophia, J8
- I have enjoyed writing and creating silly sentences. I like playing on the playground with my friends. Max, J8
- I like playing ‘My Word’ with my reading group. Joe, J6
- We get to work with different people. It’s fun! Estee, J6
- I've enjoyed reading 'A Bad Case of Stripes' and drawing a picture of Camilla. Issac, J7
- I loved having all my friends at school with me everyday. Harper, J7
As a school, we are in the process of reviewing our camp programs. Please complete this survey as soon as possible as we would appreciate your feedback.
The students have been busy this week creating their Easter Bonnets. There are some great designs with many students really thinking outside the box! Just a reminder, our Easter Bonnet Parade will be this Thursday at approximately 10:15 (after the whole-school Liturgy) in the Hall. You are more than welcome to join your child/ren beforehand during brainfood.
A part of the Junior Students routine each morning is to borrow 1-2 take home readers to read at home each night. The students were given a Reading Log Book at the beginning of Term 1. The Reading Log is a great way for you, your child and your child’s teacher to track their daily reading. The students find it very rewarding when they reach a reading milestone (25, 50, 75, 100!). Each Friday, the Reading Log Book can be taken to school to be shared with the classroom teacher. All Junior Students will be given a new Reading Log Book at the beginning of Term 2. If your child loses their Reading Log Book, please speak with your classroom teacher as we can organise a new book.
Finally, on behalf of the Junior Unit, we wish Jenna Chisari all the best as she finishes with us this week and begins her maternity leave. She will be incredibly missed but we are all very excited to see her become a Mum and cannot wait to meet baby Chisari.
We hope you all enjoy a safe and happy school holidays and have a wonderful Easter!
Foundation Unit News
What a busy term it has been! We have managed to achieve so much throughout the term and with only one more day left we still have two more important events.
The whole school Holy Thursday Liturgy followed by the Foundation and Junior Unit Easter Bonnet Parade. We hope to see many families there to share in our celebrations and fun.
Below are some photos of the Foundation children taking part in PMP. Every Friday the children are involved in various activities that help improve their hand/eye coordination, eye/foot coordination, fitness, balance and locomotion skills. They children have a lot of fun during these sessions.
We would like to take the opportunity to wish everyone a very safe and happy Easter break. Time to relax and recharge the batteries ready for Term 2.
Religious Education News
Families are invited to come and celebrate our Holy Week liturgy this Thursday morning at 9:15.
Thank you to those children and families who came to celebrate Palm Sunday Mass at the Sacred Heart Church last weekend, and a special thanks to those who made the effort to come along to sing with the choir.
SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION
A friendly reminder to those who would like their child to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation to ensure they have returned the form to the Parish Office as soon as possible. If your child has previously taken part in First Eucharist, you should have received a green form. If you haven't received this form, please pick one up from the office or contact me and I will send one home before the end of term.
Kind regards, Jess Freeman.
Arts News
This week has seen all the hard work of our brilliant senior unit children pay off with the completion of their Pete Cromer inspired art pieces. The students have had a wonderful time exploring the world of Australian animals through the magical lens of Pete Cromer, using his distinctive style of painting and collage, which involves a combination of simplistic shapes and bright colours.
The Magnicifent Middle unit choir will be singing in our Holy Week Liturgy this Thursday morning at 9:15 and our Spectacular Senior Unit Choir will be having an Eistedfodd practice performance at our end of term assembly at 1:45pm on Thursday!
Library News
The foundation students were excited to be the first to borrow the beautiful Picture story books that they had donated to the library. Thanks once again to the families that have donated these books. For any families that would like to donate a book to our library , it is never too late.
Happy Easter everyone, Marg Pongrac
Hands Up Mallee
A huge thank-you goes out this week to all our wonderful Senior students who have assisted with the smooth running of Breakfast Club this term. Even if they are not rostered on, I always have plenty of willing helpers offering to assist with the serving of breakfast, cleaning up the tables after breakfast has finished and stacking the chairs up on a Friday. You all do a wonderful job and it is greatly appreciated by myself and Pauline – you all save us so much time!
This term we served approximately 950 breakfasts!
See you all next term. Narelle Simpson.
Kangourou sans Frontières - Middles and Senior Maths Competition
Congratulations to the students that participated in the Kangourou sans Frontieres Maths Competition.
Certificates will be presented at assembly this week.
The following student recieved a Distinction Certificate
Nicola DeMaria
The following students received a Credit Certificate
Tanveer Cheema
Angela Luo
The following students recieved a Participation Certificate
Mia Aranas, Amber Enhanes, Khloe Garland, Antonio Holani, Nic Horne, Ethan Jones, Havish Kinthanda, William Langford, Minkey Le, Sophia Moala, Felix Moyle, Anakin Nilnak, Grace Panagopoulos, Mila Pascale, Keelan Roper, Poppy Thannhauser, Addison Welsh, Harry Williams, Leon Zaire, Finn Droffelaar, Rorie Edwards, Ava Gemits, Maddilyn Gibson, Jack Humphrey, Jett Johnson, Alexis Pantazopoulos, Aaysha Ram, Darcy Silcox, Gurman Singh & Harry Stanger.
LEARNING PORTFOLIOS - MIDDLES & SENIOR GRADES
This year, students in grades 3-6 are using SIMON everywhere to upload digital samples of their work. This enables parents to get a ‘snap shot’ of their child/s learning every fortnight or so.
There have been a few technical issues along the way, which we are working hard to fix. If you see an overdue task, please ignore this.
By the beginning of next term, you should be able to view at least 3 work samples with teacher comments.
Thanks for your patience.
END OF TERM 1 2021
Tomorrow, Thursday 1st April 2021 is the last day of school for Term 1.
**School will finish at the earlier time of 2.25pm.**
The school buses will be running to an earlier time table. Parents of children who make a connection to normal Main Road City Buses, please note that these buses run to the normal timetable.
Monday 19th April is a Pupil Free day, Professional Development day for staff. Term 2 Classes for students will resume again on TUESDAY 20th April 2021.
Languages - Italian News
Mamma Mia there has been an excited buzz amongst the Junior Unit students over the past week. Our Foundation students were super excited to meet Pinocchio for the first time, whilst the Year 1 & 2 students were eager to re-kindle their friendships with Pinocchio after such a long absence.
Here is a selection of delightful photos of Pinocchio with our Foundation students, along with some work samples that the Foundation children recently completed in class. Che bravissimi studenti !
As we approach the end of Term 1, l would like to wish all our families a Happy and Holy Easter and a lovely holiday break to all - Buona Pasqua a tutti -
Grazie - Signora Ghidinelli
F 17 - Photo Gallery
F 16 - Gallery
F 15 - Photo Gallery
Technology News
For our last Technology lesson of Term 1, Foundation students explored the importance of screen free time. After reading, 'The Curious Case of the Overly Playful Platypus' by Kim Maslin, student reflected on times when they have been on screens for too long and how it made them feel. Sore eyes, sleepy, unable to focus and grumpy were some of the common side effects students said they have experienced after too much screen time.
Students then created a 'Take 5 Handy Screen Free Reminder' with a drawing of their favourite screen free activity, such as going out for ice cream with mum, walking the dog, playing on the trampoline and chasing their younger siblings in the backyard. Students were very excited to put magnetic tape on the back of their 'Take 5 Handy Screen Free Reminder' and keen to pop them on the fridge at home so they don't forget what they learned.
Too much screen time can have serious, and long lasting, side effects for children and adults.
Make sure you, your children and your family enjoy plenty of screen free time these school holidays. If you are stuck for screen free ideas, check the out these great ideas.
See you all back in Term 2.
Until next week remember, the internet gave us access to everything; but it also gave everything access to us.
Mrs Narelle Simms
Physical Education News
Rugby League:
Congratulations to both of our Senior teams that attended yesterday's local Gala competition day. Our boys team played 3 games against some very tough competitors. They did very well, scoring some tries and preventing many others from occuring. They narrowly missed out on some wins, but had a lot of fun and were fantastic sports throughout the day.
Our girls team doubled as a girls tag and girls tackle team, which meant they had to play double the number of games, the only team there to do so. They took this challenge in their stride, and at one stage played 4 games back to back. They won all 6 of their games, and then continued on to win the final. I'm waiting to confirm that there will still be finals this year like in previous years, but assuming there are, they have progressed on to Melbourne as the Sunraysia representatives for both girls tag and tackle competitions. Well done girls!
Our Middle Unit teams are competing today in the 3/4 tag competitions, I'm sure both teams will have a lot of fun!
Beep Test:
Congratulations to Jett Johnson who last week achieved our new school record for the Beep Test, breaking the previous record from 2016. Well done Jett!
Senior Rugby League
Sunraysia Catholic Communities Bulletin
Parent Noticeboard
Uniform Shop News
The Uniform Shop will be open at the earlier time of 2pm this Thursday 1st April, last day of Term 1.
Normal Shop Opening Hours -
Tuesday 8.30 to 9.15am
Thursday 3.00 to 3.45pm
Imperial Football & Netball Club
Imps FNC NetSetGO is the official netball starter program for children born in 2013 – 2015. It’s a chance to learn the netball basics, get outside and make some friends. The fun will commence @ Brian Weightman Oval (No. 1 Oval) on Wednesday 21st April at 4:30pm finishing at 5:15pm and go for 10 weeks with the last session scheduled for Wednesday June 23rd.
Please bring a drink bottle and your NetSetGO ball (once you register this will be sent to you). For more information please email emf24@live.com.au
Register through
https://netball.resultsvault.com/common/pages/reg/welcome.aspx?type=6&id=94924&entityid=45125
If any families that have a child born in 2012 or 2013 and they are interested in playing 9 & Under netball for Imps FNC please email emf24@live.com.au by April 2nd.
MARRIAGE ENCOUNTER WEEKEND
MARRIAGE ENCOUNTER WEEKEND
An opportunity to spend a weekend improving your communication.
Attend in the comfort of your own home or experience a residential weekend.
Our on-line weekend gives couples the chance to sleep in their own beds and check-in on kids or animals during meal times.
Come and learn how to keep/rekindle the passion in your relationship and how to keep your love growing!
The weekend we offer is based around Catholic values but couples of all faiths are welcome.
Couples from regional areas may find the On-line Weekend option ideal.
Next on-line weekend is on 30April – 2 May 2021.
Next Residential weekend is on 21 -23 May 2021.
Information/Bookings: Phone Mercy & James 0409 183 676 or
Email: vicbookings@wwme.org.au Website: wwme.org.au