Newsletter #10 April 22
Principal's News
Dear St Paul's families,
Welcome Back for Term Two. I hope you all had a lovely Easter celebrating with your families and enjoyed the beautiful weather during the holidays. It was certainly nice to recharge the batteries after an interesting start to the school year.
STAFF PROFESSIONAL LEARNING: On Monday the staff of St Paul's and St Joseph's attended a profesional development day with a focus on Structured Literacy. A big thank you to Emma Rutherford (CEB), Breeana Wade (Deputy-St Joseph's) and Rebecca Thurman (Literacy Leader-St Paul's) who planned and ran the day. We are extremely fortunate to have such knowledgable people at our doorstep to support us in how we can continue to improve the learning of all our children. Like any professional learning opportunities, this is an ongoing focus for all our staff and will be revisited regularly throughout the year.
STAFF UPDATE: At the end of last term we farewelled Miss Burt at our assembly. Unfortunately, I also had to notify the families and children in S14 that Mr Alexander has taken leave, due to personal reasons, for the remainder of the 2021 school year. As a result, Mr Shaun Emmett, has been employed to take over Mr Alexander's class.
STUDENT ATTENDANCE / EARLY PICK UP: We have again experienced quite a number of phone calls to school in the afternoons for early pickup. This is very disruptive to all concerned. We understand that it is occasionally necessary to collect your chid early from school for an appointment, but please keep in mind that it should be avoided if possible. From next week, if you have to collect your child early, please walk into admin, sign your child out and then go to the classroom to collect them. Students will no longer be called to the office to wait for early collection.
PRESERVICE TEACHERS: I would like to welcome Kayne Cesarello who is completing a placement with us in Mrs Courtney's class in 5/6. Kayne is currently completing his teaching degree at La Trobe University. We also have 5 preservice teachers who have been employed as a part of the tutor funding program that was made available for all schools as a result of the 2020 COVID pandemic. These preservice teachers will be working with students across the school supporting them in literacy.
CROSS COUNTRY: The Middle and Senior unit children will be participating in our annual Cross Country event held at the Aerodrome ovals tomorrow, Friday 23rd April. They will travel by bus in shuttles beginning at 12pm and return by 2pm. Students will need to wear their sport uniform (house colour t-shirt if possible), hat, and bring extra snacks & drink bottle. Parents are able to come along to watch but will need to sign in with the QR Code. The Middle Unit begin the day at 12.25pm followed by the Senior Unit at 1pm. Please ensure you have given consent on SIMON Everywhere for your child to attend.
At 2.30pm the Foundation & Junior Unit will run a fun run style event here on the John Hill Oval here at St Paul's. They will begin their run at 2.50pm after the warm up. Students will need to wear their sport uniform (house colour t-shirt if possible). Parents are welcome to watch, please sign in with the QR Code located around the school.
If you are unsure of your child’s house colour please look on the SIMON Everywhere App. Click on your child’s profile, scroll down to current Enrolment Details & their house is listed there.
ANZAC DAY: This weekend we celebrate ANZAC Day on Sunday 25th April. In past years our school captains have participated in this service by laying a wreath on behalf of our school community. Unfortyunately , due to current restrictions , they will not be able to do this, however there is still an opportunity for the general public to attend, but under strict covid guidelines. Each unit will be participating in a special Anzac Day Liturgy prepared by Mrs Freeman.
ENROLMENTS 2022: You may have noticed our enrolments are now open for 2022. Please contact the office to make an appointment to attend one of our Guided Learning Walks on the 4th, 5th and 6th of May.
Congratulations to this week's Gotcha Winners. It's a great way to start the term acknowldging the positive behaviour of our children.
Bee Milestone Achievers: Harry Williams, Reyon Shermin, Mila Pascale, Lottie Moyle, Minh ky Le, Ava Gemits, Ava Fidura, Jessica Cavallo, Oliver Capp
Hive Milestone Achievers: Zalee Le Poidevin, Angela Iang
As always,
Keep the Faith!
Vince Muscatello
Senior News
Welcome to Term 2. We hope that you and your family had a blessed Easter and relaxing holiday break.
In English, students are learning to write in the genre of persuasive. Students have been looking at advertisements and discussing ways that images encourage us to purchase items. In Mathematics, students are finishing their place value learning.
In Week 4 the grade 5's will participate in NAPLAN. To ensure that all students are ready for this we are teaching students about 'Positive Coping' strategies as part of the Rights, Resilience and Respectful Relationships Program. Positive Coping Strategies are important as they improve behaviour, help us to manage our emotions, builds confidence and helps us to navigate stressful situations.
The highlight of this term will be the Senior Unit Camp. This will take place in the final week of term. Over the next couple of days, parents will be asked to confirm their child's attendance. The camp program is an important part of year 5 and 6 and ALL students are expected to attend. If you have any concerns regarding the camp, please see your child's teacher ASAP.
Middle Unit News
Welcome back to all our families. We hope you all had a lovely break.
This Term we welcome Miss Rhia to M2. She will be in M2 on a Thursday and Friday.
In Writing we will be focusing on persuasive writing. Students are writing a persuasive piece on whether or not we should have a class pet. Ask your child about this piece of writing and it would be great if you could discuss with them the postives of having pets to assist them with generating ideas. You can also talk to the students about other times in their lives that we have to use persuasive techniques.
In Numearcy we will be focusing on Mapping this week. Students will be learning how to read, interpret and draw maps. If you have some old maps at home it would be great to share these with your child.
Just a reminder that cross country is on Friday and that students need to wear their sports uniform with a shirt in house colours. Please ensure you have given consent on the SIMON Everywhere APP.
We look forward to sharing all our learning with you this term!
Junior Unit News
Hi Junior Families. Welcome back to Term 2! We hope you all enjoyed a lovely and relaxing school break.
This term we warmly welcome Mrs. Di Champion and Mrs. Rachel Slimmon in J7. The students have settled in well to begin our new term of learning with their new teachers.
In Maths, we have kicked off Term 2 by continuing our learning on 3D Objects. The students have been learning the names of different 3D objects and about their different attributes such as each object's vertices, faces and edges.
This week we have begun focussing on problems and our responses to them. The students are learning how to name how big their problems are. For instance we can call problems an ant (small problem) or an elephant (a big problem). An ant problem is one that can be resolved on your own and can be overcome easily while an elephant problem is a problem that requires the help of an adult. This learning supports the development of students' independence and resilience.
Here are some examples of ant and elephant problems from our Junior Students:
- An ant problem is if you don’t want to play the same game as someone. An elephant problem could be when someone is hurt. Jed J8
- An ant problem is if you lose your pencil. If you forgot to bring food to school, that is an elephant problem. Paityn J5
- An ant problem is when you trip on your shoelace. An elephant problem is when someone breaks their arm. Abbie, J4
- Ant ant problem is when someone falls over but is ok. An elephant problem is when people are fighting. Luke J7
- An elephant problem is when someone hurts themself really badly. An ant problem is when you trip over on the grass and are ok. Estee, J6
- An elephant problem is when someone is climbing really high and falls and breaks their leg. An ant problem is when you can’t reach your breakfast but you grab a chair to climb to reach it so you don’t need your mum or dad. Faye, J7
On Wednesdays the students participate in their Specialist Lessons. The timetable has changed for this term so where students are at the end of the day has changed. Below is where student’s classes will be at the end of the day. This may help you find your child at pick up.
J4 - Italian
J5 -Technology
J6 - The Arts
J7 - In room 7
J8 - Sport
We appreciate the feedback we have received from some families in response to our School Camp Survey. Below is the link if you have not already responded.
Finally, thank you to all the families who joined us last term for our Easter Bonnet Parade!
Foundation Unit News
Welcome back to term 2. The children have settled into the classroom with ease and are excited to be back at school again. We have been collecting data during maths and sorting it into groups. Below are some photos of the children sorting the data.
Don't forget the Cross Country is this Friday. The children are to come dressed in their sports shorts and a colured T-shirt that matches their house colour. If you are unsure of the house colour it can be accessed on SIMON Everywhere.
Wellbeing News
Program Support Group (PSG) Meetings
Program Support Group Meetings (PSG’S) for Term Two have been scheduled over the coming weeks for students who require supplementary, substantial or extensive support and or adjustments in order to have equal access to the curriculum.
Appointments have been sent via SIMON Everywhere to parents and carers of students who have an Individual Learning Plan (ILP), Adjustment Plan or a Behaviour Support Plan. PSG meetings are conducted over set days and additional staff are employed to enable the Classroom Teacher, Learning Support Officer (if applicable) and Learning Diversity Leader to be released from their regular duties.
The education of each student at St Paul’s is a partnership between parents and the school and active engagement of parents is critical to each student’s wellbeing and learning. It is an expectation that parents attend these meetings. Should you be unable to make the allocated time please contact us and we will try to exercise flexibility and reschedule a time over the set days.
If any parents or carers would like any further information about PSG Meetings please feel free to contact me at the school.
Lauren Gibson
lgibson@spmildura.catholic.edu.au
Deputy Principal- Wellbeing
Religious Education News
Technology News
It was fabulous to welcome students back into the Technology Room this week.
Most students were stunned to find out Technology lessons do not always mean learning about and using digital devices. Discovering learning in the Technology Room can be done with limited and even no use of a digital device astounded some students.
This term our focus will be on Food and Fibre Technology at all year levels and we will be working on some fantastic hands on projects to support our learning. For these projects we will need some basic supplies that most of us would not think twice about throwing away in our bins, recycling or even green waste bins each week.
We are on the hunt for the following items:
- 1.25 - 2L softdrink/water bottles
- milk bottles or cartons
- med - large tin cans
If you have any of these items, instead of popping them in a bin, please send them to the Technology Room. Just make sure all items are washed and dried and that tin cans have a clean edge that will not cut little fingers. Thank you.
We can't wait to share what we do with them.
Until next week, remember - technology is just a tool, what matters is how we use it.
Mrs Simms
Arts News
Last term, our marvellous middles created their very own plasticine monsters. After completing the build, they took a photo of their monster and then learnt how to remove the background of the photo. The last step was to think about where their monster lives and digitally place it into its ‘habitat’.
Check out these fantastic art pieces!
Plasticine Monsters
Physical Education Update
Regional Tennis Competition:
Nicola De Maria (S14) travelled to Swan Hill on Monday 29th March to play in the Regional tennis competition. She played very well and won two out of five of her games on the day. She finished equal fourth overall. It was a great experience for her to play against older girls, well done Nicola!
Middle Unit Rugby:
Our Middle Unit Rugby Teams had a fantastic day on Wednesday 31st March, where they played four games each against other schools in Sunraysia. A big thanks to Ms Courtney, Elise, Mr White, Claire and John Pantazopoulos who provided amazing support to all students from the Senior and Middle Unit teams.
Cross Country:
The Middle & Senior units will be participating in our annual Cross Country event held at the Aerodrome ovals on Friday 23rd April. They will travel by bus in shuttles beginning at 12pm and returning by 2pm. Students will need to wear their sport uniform (house colour t-shirt if possible), and have a hat, extra snacks and a drink bottle. Parents are able to come along to watch but will need to sign in with the QR Code. The Middle Unit begin the day at 12.25pm followed by the Senior Unit at 1pm. Please provide consent for your child on the Simon Everywhere Ap if you have not done so already.
The Foundation & Junior Units will run a fun run style event here on the John Hill Oval here at St Paul's. They will begin their run at 2.50pm after the warm up. Parents welcome to watch, please sign in with the QR Code located around the school.
To find your child's house colour go on Simon Everywhere App - click on the individual student's profile, scroll down to Current Enrolment Details and the house is listed.
Middle Rugby Teams
Middle Rugby
Tennis
Hands Up Mallee
We are in the process of exploring the idea of creating a school community fruit/vegetable garden in our Chapel grounds.
The vision is to create a garden (predominantly in raised beds) that will produce fruit and vegetables to be used at school and which the students can be involved in the growing and maintenance of. We would also like to provide our families with access to this garden during the day where you could come and do some gardening and also take some of the offerings.
In order for this to work, we firstly need to know if you would be interested in something like this or if you were willing to assist us with creating this space.
Included below is a quick link to a questionnaire that we would like as many families as possible to complete to give us an idea of your thoughts.