Newsletter #18 June 24
Principal's News
Dear St Paul's families,
Welcome to our final newsletter for Term 2. I would like to take this opportunity to once again thank everyone for their continued support as we come to terms with the ever evolving Covid-19 landscape. It is fair to say that our patience and resilience has been tested on many an occasion throughout the term, but the number one focus has never changed - the wellbeing of our children. Thank you to the staff who have continued to support your children in their learning during this time.
I am not sure what lies ahead as there will be more updates during the school holidays. Rest assured I will pass on any relevant and important information as it becomes available.
In relation to Term 3, school will commence on Monday 13th July. We will be starting the term with normal school hours 8.55am-3.25pm. Classrooms will be accessible for children from 8.45am. School will finish at 3.25pm for all students. However, until further notice, parents will still not have access to the school grounds unless pre arranged with admin. Our Walking Club, Breakfast Club and Canteen will be operating as normal. However, whole school events, such as liturgiues, will continue within units and assemblies in their current virtual format.
We will be conducting student led conferences next term and these will be via "Google Meet". For those families that don't have adequate internet service or a suitable device, a phone interview will be conducted. Bookings will be made through the SimonEverywhere App and will be open towards the end of the holidays.
Well done and congratulations to the following children who have been acknowledged for following our school norms. I really enjoy seeing the smiles on their faces when I present them with their certificates. It is certainly a highlight of my day. Congratulations to the senior unit students who had afternoon tea with me last Friday. It was an enjoyable experience for all involved.
25 GOTCHA AWARD WINNERS: Tajylen Tayor, Lorenzo Pettinau, Scarlett Moir, Lucien Graham-O'Connor, Lily Stewart, Siena Fraser-Donoghue, Seth Ram, Joseph Fotheringham-Gottardo, Emma Circosta, Taylor Burns, Sebastian Bergaman, Renay Akdemir, Mia Aranas, Alexis Baker, Isabella Burdett, Kooper Carmichael, Laura Cifra, Estee Clifford, Amaya Fangatua, Christiaan Giang, Annalise Goncalves-Wood, Marco Guevarra, Zander Hately, Nicholas Horne, Sienna Humphrey, Taiana Moala, Lucas Nguyen, Dustin Scott, Poppy Thannhauser, Akesa Toto, Albert Tufuga, Owen Vo, Samisoni Vea, Candice Treweek, Gurman Singh, Olivia Prescott,
50 GOTCHA AWATD WINNERS: Lila Senior, Ruby Oliver, India Droffelaar, Gabrielle Smith, Jacob Metcalf, John Holani, Ben Harry, Andrew Giang, Siena Fraser-Donoghue, Rorie Edwards, Joshua Davis, Leylan Clifford, Remy O'Donnell, Tolini Vave, yasmin Gill, Nicola De Maria, Isabella Bergman, Asena Akkus, Ruby Slimmon
75 GOTCHA AWARD WINNERS: Ithika Parvez, Nathasha Allieu,
This week, Mrs Jodie Richmond, will be finishing up at St Paul's as Learning Support Officer. Jodie has been employed at St Paul's for the last three and a half years and is leaving to continue further studies. On behalf of the St Paul's community I would like to thank Jodie for her commitment and dedication to our children and school. Mrs Louise Frasca, who is currently employed at St Paul's, will be picking up Jodie's role.
I would also like to wish the O'Donnell family (Jules J5 and Remy M2) all the best , as they begin a new chapter in their educational journey next term. Thank you to Belinda and Jim for their contribution to St Paul's over the last 4 and a half years, especially with Belinda being a part of the School Advisory Council for the last 18 months. We also farewell Taiylah-Renae Hill and wish her family all the best for the future.
This Friday we will be celebrating our St Paul's Feast day at school. Thank you to Mrs Blagus and the staff who have put together the program for the day. I am sure the children will enjoy the activities that have been arranged for them and also the lunch.
As this Friday is the last day of term, school will finish early. There will still be a staggered pick up at the end of the day. The times are as follows: Foundation to Yr 2 -2.10pm, Years 3 to 6- 2.20pm and Foundation to Year 6 Families- 2.25pm
I hope everyone has a well earned break over the holidays and I look forward to seeing you all next term. Stay Safe.
As always
Keep the Faith
Vince Muscatello
Religious Education News
St Paul's Feast Day - Friday 26th June 2020
This Friday 26th June 2020 (Last Day of Term 2), we will be celebrating our St Paul's Feast Day. St Paul is one of the most influential saints of all time. He travelled far and wide, preaching and teaching about Jesus. St Paul wrote many letters, which encompass a large proportion of the New Testament in the Bible. As a school named after St Paul, we commemorate and celebrate in his memory each year. Our day will begin with a liturgical celebration in each unit, followed by a range of activities and shared lunch, provided by the school. Students can wear casual clothes, suitable for physical activity. They must wear runners as they will particpate in sports.
Please see the timeline below:
9.15am: St Paul's Feast Day Liturgical Celebration
Each unit will celebrate our St Paul's Feast Day Liturgy within their own units.
10am: Activity 1
- Foundation and Junior Units - 'Working Together in Love' Art Activity, in classrooms. Students will create their own mini-canvas, with a visual representation of St Paul's teaching about love. All canvas will be collated to create a 'Working Together in Love' mural for our School Hall.
- Middle and Senior Units - Tabloid Sports, led by our Senior Unit PLAY leaders. Students will rotate through different activities, within their class groups.
11am: Lunch Play
Our Student Representative Council (SRC), have organised a school disco, which will be happening in our School Hall. Students will be invited to participate in the disco, with each unit having their own time slot.
11.45am: Lunch Eating
Lunch will be provided for all students. Each classroom teacher has asked students to indicate what they would like for lunch, choosing from one of the following: pie, pastie, sausage roll or three party pies and the orders will be placed tomorrow (Thursday). If students do not like / eat any of those options or they feel as though they'll still be hungry, they will need to bring their own lunch or additional food from home.
12pm: Activity 2
- Foundation and Junior Units - Tabloid Sports, led by our Senior Unit PLAY leaders. Students will rotate through different activities, within their class groups.
- Middle and Senior Units - 'Working Together in Love' Art Activity, in classrooms. Students will create their own mini-canvas, with a visual representation of St Paul's teaching about love. All canvas will be collated to create a 'Working Together in Love' mural for our School Hall.
1pm: Classroom Activities & Virtual Assembly
Students will engage in activities planned by their classroom teacher, followed by the Virtual Assembly.
2pm: Virtual Assembly
End of Term Early Dismissal, staggered from 2.10pm.
Due to the current restrictions in place, parents and friends will be unable to join in our activities this year, however we will be sure to capture many photos and videos, which will be posted on our school Facebook page.
If you have any further questions regarding our feast day celebrations, please feel free to contact Mrs Blagus via email - mblagus@spmildura.catholic.edu.au or by contacting the office. Thank-you!
Updated Sacramental Program
Welcome to the updated Sacred Heart Parish Sacramental Program for 2020. Due to COVID-19, our Grade 4 students were unable to celebrate their Sacrament of Reconciliation earlier this year, followed by their Sacrament of First Eucharist earlier this month. We have some updated plans, so please take note of the dates below, as well as further detail in the attached Sacramental Program Booklet.
Parent Information Evening about the Sacrament of First Eucharist - Tuesday 21st July 2020 at 7pm at the Sacred Heart Church
Sacrament of First Reconciliation - Wednesday 29th July 2020 at 7pm at the Sacred Heart Church. Students have already completed all of their preparation for the reception of this sacrament.
If you have any further questions regarding the updated sacramental program, please contact either Mrs Maria-Stella Blagus via email mblagus@spmildura.catholic.edu.au or contact the Parish Office from Tuesday-Friday, 9.15am-4pm.
Technology News
We have had tonnes of fun in the Technology Room over the last week as we continued our learning in the areas of Food Technology, Data Representation and Online Safety.
Last week the Foundation students finished planning and creating a healthy lunch bag, while the Middle Unit explored data in a new way, using a Cipher Wheel to encode and decode messages. This week the Senior Unit used their new knowledge of binary codes to encode their initials and fashion themselves a new piece of jewellery.
Lastly, as we head into the holidays and the potential for the use of digital devices and connecting to the internet again increases, the Junior Unit classes have an important message for everyone. They've taken a trip to the polar ice caps to meet Smartie the Pengiun and together they want you to know what to do, if you see anything online that worries, scares or concerns you.
Well, there you have it! Another term is coming to an end and what a BIG one it has been. There has been many new digital skills learned by teachers, students and parents alike and none of us will every forget this time in our lives. For now, it is time to rest, relax and enjoy the break. Stay safe everyone and I'll see you all back in Term 3.
Until next term remember...
Technology is cool, but you've GOT to use it as OPPOSED to letting it use YOU!
Mrs Narelle Simms
Arts News
Over the last couple of weeks, the middle and senior unit children have been beginning to talk about the different aspects of Media Arts. A lot of this type of art is generated using a device, such as a computer, camera and recording equipment.
The students have been creating a cartoon image of themselves on their Chromebook. It's really interesting to see how different people perceive themselves!
Cartoon Faces
We have had a lot of fun with this task! Some of the children even had an opportunity to attempt to recreate a celebrity as a cartoon. Check out some of them in the gallery below!
Celebrity Cartoons
Have a safe and enjoyable holiday and I look forward to creating more Arts next term with the wonderful children at St Pauls.
Jess Freeman
Languages - Italian News
Welcome back - The second part of the Middle and Senior ITALIAN Kahoots Challenge is now complete. CONGRATULAZIONI to our Podium winners for this week - What a Fantastic effort !
I wish to also acknowledge and congratulate all our student participants in the ITALIAN Kahoots Challenge over the last 2 weeks. It has been pleasing to see many impressive scores across all classes. - BRAVISSIMI STUDENTI - As Term 2 draws to an end, l would like to wish you all a relaxing and restful holiday break .
Grazie - Signora Ghidinelli
Middle Unit Gallery
Senior Unit Gallery
Physical Education Update
This week our Foundation students are continuing to practice how to kick a soccer ball along the ground, as well as learning the new skill of throwing a frisbee. The Juniors are building on their knowledge of the overarm throw technique from last week. This week they will learn to become 'bad' neighbours by overarm throwing their rubbish (beanbags) over the fence into their neighbours yard. Our Senior and Middle students are filming the warmup routines they created last week. Their routines focus on ensuring the whole body is warmed up, the exercises are inclusive of all abilities and are executed safely. It is very clear that these grade levels have been paying attention during our weekly warm ups here at school!
Here are some photos of our Foundation students from last week while they were practicing their sprinting and kicking skills.
Hope everyone has a wonderful school holidays and have the chance to get outside and enjoy some nature.
Kyra Mitchell (PE teacher/Sports Coordinator)
My New Gallery
Senior Unit News
HAIKU POETRY SUCCESS
Last week all of the Grade 5 and 6 students learnt about Haiku poetry - the history and origins of this type of poetry as well as its unique structure that relies on the author understanding and using a specific amount of syllables over 3 lines. It was great to see so many of our students enter their poems into the ABC poetry competition. Fingers crossed that some of the poems catch the attention of the judges. These poems will be displayed in the Senior Unit along with the artwork the students created to accompany their poems. Congratulations on a wonderful effort!
Below in the gallery are just a few samples of the poems and artwork. This week we are continuing to learn about poetry with a focus on metaphorical poems.
We wish you all a safe and healthy holiday break and we look forward to seeing you all for the beginning of Term 3.
My New Gallery
RELATIONSHIPS AND SEXUALITY EDUCATION
In Term 3, all students will be participating in Relationships and Sexuality Education using the scope and sequence developed by the Catholic Education Office. The scope and sequence covers a range of topics such as - my body, life cycles, relationships, identity, taking care and getting help when I need it. If you have any questions regarding this please e-mail your child's classroom teacher.
Middle Unit News
Well done students and families on making through this very unusual term. At school, students have continued to show their responsibility and respect for others and being safe by washing their hands frequently. They have shown that a small break from school cannot stop them from learning as they have committed to learning new subtraction skills. We are finishing up our Religious Education Unit about The Golden Rule and it is so lovely to see that students are living it out every day at school by treating others as they wish to be treated.
We finish off this week in maths with a chance to collect, use, and interpret data. Students researched, designed, and built the perfect paper plane, then they tested them out on our classroom runway. We will wrap it all up by graphing the results they got and discussing some measures of central tendency such as mean, median, mode.
Do not forget it is casual clothes for St. Paul's Day this Friday, lunch is being provided for students who requested it and it is a 2:30 pick up. Thank you all for such an amazing term! Can't wait for the next one!
Junior Unit news
Hello everyone!
This week we have been learning all about St Paul, ready to celebrate St Paul’s feast day this Friday. Students have been singing songs, listening to stories, watching clips and creating artwork all based around what we know about St Paul.
We are all very excited to celebrate this day. Please remember, if your child has ordered a pie, sausage roll or pastie they will enjoy eating it for lunch this Friday. If not, they will need to bring their own lunch as well as everyone still having to bring a drink bottle full of fresh water, brainfood and snacks.
We hope you all have a safe and restful break and we look forward to seeing the students refreshed and ready for term 3. Happy holidays!
Foundation Unit News
What a term it has been! Definitely one to remember. The children need to be congratulated on the way they have adapted to all of the changes this term. They have settled back into school life with ease and have shown how independent they can be when they need to. Below some of the children have been captured completing their morning routine.
We would like to say thank you to the parents who are reading with their children every night and being active in their learning. It certainly backs up what we are doing at school and it is evident in their reading progress. So keep up the great work, we appreciate it.
We are all looking forward to coming back to Term 3 and beginning to head towards some form of normality. Have a fantastic holiday, enjoy the break from routine and we look forward to see you in Term 3.
SEMESTER 1 REPORTS
Available on SIMON Everywhere - Friday 26th June
Reports for Term 1, will consist of a one page report for English, Mathematics, Personal and Social Capabilities and Religious Education that indicates if your child is:
- At standard
- Below standard
- Working towards standard or
- Above standard
You will not see a progression point (dots) like a normal report due to the complexities of off site learning as we just don’t have the data that is required to report against the achievement standards for each learning area. We would rather be conservative mid-year and be able to show an accurate picture of the growth over 12 months at the end of the year. Term 2 will be marked as not assessed.
There are so many things we have valued during semester one 2020:
- Our whole staff has responded creatively and flexibly to the many challenges that faced them in providing learning experiences of excellence for all students.
- Each family supported their children in the best way they could with the time and resources available to them.
- Every student engaged in a new way of learning. Learning that was planned for them by their teachers - and learning that the unusual circumstances offered them that none of us could have planned.
- We know that the learning that has happened this semester will positively impact on future growth for your children.
We ask you to continue to work in partnership with us as we ensure that the second semester of learning meets the academic and learning outcomes that the Victorian Curriculum and Awakenings Curriculum describe. We commit to providing you with a full and accurate report, and celebration, of your child’s learning achievements at the end of the school year.
Please see below a letter from Audrey Brown, Director of Catholic Education regarding Semester 1 Reporting.
Hands Up Mallee
After a very unusual eleven weeks, we have finally made it to the end of term this Friday. So this week I thought I would share some holiday ideas with you that don’t involve screen time for your children.
TOP TIPS FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY
- Take the kids to a new park or playground they haven’t been to before.
- Explore your local neighbourhood on foot, scooter or bicycle. Allow time for lots of stops along the way to investigate interesting sights, plants and animals. This is a particularly great activity for when you are away on holidays and exploring a new area.
- Try a new sport or activity.
- Participate in a physical activity as a family – maybe a game of backyard cricket or footy.
- Walk the dog morning and afternoon (if you don’t already).
- Limit the amount of time you all spend using electronic media.
- Try a no TV or no screen day each week.
FUN ACTIVITIES FOR YOUNGER CHILDREN
- Keep a range of activities around the house that children are able to choose for themselves when they need, such as books, blocks train sets or craft activities.
- Use a torch to explore a toy box from the inside, or dig for treasure in the backyard with old kitchen cutlery – you’d be surprised what they would consider to be treasure!
- Play C.D’s and encourage kids to dance along.
- Create a special bag of toys and activities that your child loves and bring this bag out only at certain times to keep it novel.
- Keep your old clothes for dress ups.