Newsletter #02 February 2
Principal News
Dear St Paul's families,
Welcome to Term 1, 2022.
NEW STUDENTS: I would like to offer a very special St Paul's welcome to our new Foundation children who are starting school for the first time: Elsa, Archer, Chaz, William, Aubree, Carlos, Chase, Sofia, Nicholas, Michael, Noah, Penelope, Isabella, Jaren, Malia, Daisy, Fleur, Baine, Chase, Chimdindu, Manmeet, Olivia, Mackenzie, Dante, Baylee, Brayan, Isikeli, Angela, Farai, Riley, Nico, Arianna, Jesse, Mason, Tirath, Patrick, Nhyla, Mele, Jason, Tuong, Ana, Orlo, Aaron, Selena, and to the following new students in other year levels: Christella, Tevita, Taiylah-Rose, Issalyn, Erin, Tyler, Asiate and Victoria. To our new parents joining us for the first time as well, I extend a warm welcome and hope you will create many new wonderful memories with your children as their education begins or continues.
NEW STAFF: Welcome to Mrs Emma Rutherford in J4 and Miss Giddings in M1 to St Paul's this year. They both bring a wealth of experience and enthusiasm to our children. Also we welcome Maeve Lopez who is working in the foundation unit as an LSO and Bethany Dichiera who is working in the office on Thursday and Friday.
A little over a week ago I was notified that Mr White had resigned from his position at St Paul's and had taken up a position elsewhere in the district. We are in the process of filling the vacancy and will hopefully have the new classroom teacher appointed to start this coming Monday 7th February. In the meantime Mrs McGlashan has been teaching the children in M1.
HOLIDAY BREAK: I hope you all had an enjoyable Christmas and new year with family and friends and were able to recharge the batteries a little bit in preparation for 2022. Unfortunately, families have been impacted with covid and this has meant a change in plans for many. At this stage in time there are still many restrictions in place when entering the school building for parents and visitors to St Paul's. Hopefully in the coming weeks the restrictions will be eased and we can continue to return to some level of normality. Thank you to the parents who have been supportive in following the government directives put in place.
COVID UPDATE: I am well aware that the covid information can be confusing for some and will endeavour to provide accurate, simplified instructions where possible. Below is a table with some scenarios and the required actions.
| Scenario | Required action by the family |
| A student tests positive to COVID-19, either through Rapid Antigen test or PCR test | Isolate at home or in private accommodation for 7 days (inclusive of weekends) and do not attend school during this period. Inform the school, that they have tested positive to COVID19. A negative test is not required to return to school following completion of 7 days of isolation. |
A student is a household contact or houselike contact*. You have spent more than four hours with someone who has COVID-19 inside a house, accommodation, or care facility. | Notify the school that they are a household or household-like contact Students must quarantine for 7 days (inclusive of weekends) and must not attend school during this period. |
A student has been in contact with a case of | If asymptomatic, students and staff should continue to attend school and monitor for symptoms. If symptomatic, all students/staff must stay/return On receipt of a negative test result, and if well enough, the student/staff member can return to school. |
Student has contracted COVID-19, completed their 7- | Student can safely return to school. They do not |
Student has completed their quarantine period as a household contact and has returned a negative test result. However, during the quarantine period an additional member of the household has returned a positive result. | Student/staff household contacts should quarantine for 7 days from the date of the first positive test of the household index case. |
SCHOOL MASS AND ASSEMBLY: This Friday at 12.15pm we will be celebrating our beginning of the year mass in the hall. It will be a lovely way to start the year sharing our hopes and dreams. We will also host our first assembly for the year at 2.45pm.
BABIES, BABIES, BABIES: Over the holidays we had some wonderful news with Elise and Leo Monteleone (LSO) announcing the birth of their first child, Vincenzo Joseph, Loretta in reception becoming a Nonna again for the fifth time with the safe arrival of Charlie Patrick, Mr White welcoming little Lucy into the family and finally Mrs Stevenson announcing the birth of Angus Paul. A great way to start the year!
UPGRADES: There has been a little work happening on the school grounds over the holidays. A new labyrinth has been laid at the front of the school. We are now waiting on new shade sails and seating to be installed and will have a special ceremony to bless this new space. It has been designed as a place for children, parents and staff to use for a variety of purposes and as a way of remembering those students , staff and parents who have passed away over the years. Watch this space for more updates.
Please continue to check the school app SIMON Everywhere for any new announcements and calendar updates.
As always,
Keep the Faith!
Vince Muscatello
Principal.
Foundation
Welcome to all of the exisitng and new families. The children settled into school life well yesterday and I'm sure they slept very well last night. We are excited to begin the learning journey and I'm sure 2022 is going to be a busy and fun year. We hope that if you have any concerns or questions that you will feel comfortable to discuss this with your child's teacher.
A few reminders:
- All children need a hat that is clearly labelled with their name
- Brainfood needs to be a small fruit or vegetable snack that is in a separate container (if it is an apple or banana etc it doesn't need to be in a container)
- Lunches need to be in a small container or zip lock bag that is clearly labelled. (we have limited space in the fridge and large lunch boxes will not fit
In Religion next week we are talking about "Belonging". Could all children please bring in a family photo to share asap. (photos can be emailed to your child's teacher, see email below)
F16: Kirstie Emmett - kemmett@spmildura.catholic.edu.au
F17: Maryanne Heeps - mheeps@spmildura.catholic.edu.au
An information booklet will be given to the children this week. It contains all of the information you will need to know eg. specialist day, uniform, brainfood etc
Junior Unit News
Welcome everyone to a brand new school year! The children have already begun to settle into the routines of the Junior Unit and we're getting to know each other better each day.
The children will need to wear their sports uniforms on Mondays and Thursdays. Our specialist lessons will all take place on Thursdays.
Just a reminder that all children need to have a named drink bottle and a hat at school each day, especially while the weather is so warm. At 10am each day, we have our 'brainfood'. This needs to be a small, easy to manage, healthy snack such as a small container of grapes, a small banana, or a cheese stick. We only have a couple of minutes to spare at this time, so it's important that this is a small snack only, to tide the children over until lunchtime.
We try very hard to keep all the children's lunches nice and cool by putting them in the shared fridge every morning. Where possible, you can help us manage the challenge of fitting in 80+ lunches by using your smallest lunchbox container or even just a named ziplock bag. Thank you for your help with this.
We look forward to meeting you all in person, if we haven't already. In the meantime, please feel free to contact your child's teacher at any time:
J7 - Karen Brouwers kbrouwers@spmildura.catholic.edu.au
J8 - Beck McVean rmcvean@spmildura.catholic.edu.au
J4 - Emma Rutherford erutherford@spmildura.catholic.edu.au
J5 - Aimee Oxlade aoxlade@spmildura.catholic.edu.au
Administration News
If you have received a form earlier in the week (payment option form) to complete could this please be returned back to the office ASAP. Thank you to families who have already done so.
Technology News
In 2022, Technologies classes are again included as a part of our specialist subject program. I am extremely passionate about teaching this subject and look forward to regularly sharing student learning experiences with the school community.
DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES: ACCEPTABLE USE AND CYBER SAFETY AGREEMENT
Today, all students in F-6 will bring home a 'Digital Technologies: Acceptable Use and Cyber Safety Agreement.' This agreement outlines our expectations of safe and responsible behaviour for all members of the school community when using digital tools and online communities.
Parents/Guardians are to read the school's Digital Technologies Policy, Digital Technologies Procedure (both available on website) and this agreement with their children who are attending school at St Paul's this year. Parents/Guardians and students are required to agree to the terms of the policy, procedure and agreement by signing and returning the form.
Students will NOT be able to use any digital technologies at school until the agreements are signed and returned to school.
YR 5/6 1:1 CHROMEBOOK PROGRAM
Today, students in Year 5, and any new students in Year 6, will bring home a copy of the St Paul's Chromebook Program Booklet. For students to receive their individual Chromebook as part of our 1:1 program, parents/guardians and students are required to read the information in this booklet. Parents/guardians can then sign for and collect student Chromebooks from the Technology Room this Friday, at the times listed below.
COLLECTION TIMES
8:15 - 8:45am
2:00 - 2:30pm
3:25 - 4pm
If parents/guardians unable to attend at one of these times, please contact Mrs Narelle Simms via email (nsimms@spmildura.catholic.edu.au) or call the office to arrange an alternative.
Until next week, remember; "technology should improve your life...not become your life." - Billy Cox
Mrs Narelle Simms
Sacred Heart Parish News
Parent Noticeboard
Continuous Raffle
As part of our fundraising at St Paul's we have a continuous raffle draw. These occur at most assemblies. We are asking for a parent volunteer to assist with the organising of this. If you can help out with a few hours per term it would be very much appreciated. Special thank you to Mrs Pauline Cavallo for assisting with the raffle for the last two years. Please contact the office, we will be more than happy to explain further.
CANTEEN
The school canteen is open every Monday, Wednesday & Friday. Parents are very welcome to volunteer in the canteen on any of these days for apporx 1hr. Please contact the office if you are able to assist.
UNIFORM SHOP
Shop opening hours
- Tuesday 8.30am to 9.15am
- Thursday 3.00pm to 3.45pm
Order forms can be completed and returned to the office. Order will be completed and sent home with your child on Uniform Shop opening day.