Newsletter #07 March 9
Principal News
Dear St Paul's families, Welcome to our weekly update.
THANK YOU: Thank you to everyone who was able to come and celebrate Ash Wednesday Mass with us as a school community. For the Foundation and Junior Unit it was the first time for many of them to actually visit the Sacred Heart Church and also travel as a group on a bus. A new experience for all involved. Thank you to Mrs Blagus for her role in planning and organising the Mass with Sacred Heart staff and especially to Fr Matthew for making the Mass engaging for the children as usual. The children were very well behaved and respectful throughout the Mass. Well done.
BABY NEWS: Congratulations to the Cheema family, Tanveer (S14) who is the proud big brother to his baby sister born on the weekend. On behalf of the St Paul's family, I wish them well and all the best with the wonderful new addition to the family.
GOOD LUCK: Ruby Barila is representing St Paul's in the Division Swimming Championships at the Mildura Wave Pool today. I am sure she will try her best and represent St Paul's with great pride and enthusiasm.
PUPIL FREE DAY: This Friday 11th March is a Pupil Free Day as the staff will be undertaking their First Aid training. Every three years the staff must undertake the full First Aid training course as a part of our ongoing commitment to provide a safe environment for all. Please note there will be no school for the students this Friday 11th March.
PUBLIC HOLIDAY: This Monday 14th March is a Public Holiday, Labour Day Long Weekend. It is a School Closure day. This means the children will have a four day long weekend and we will see them back at school on Tuesday 15th March.
MAPPEN WEEK: Next week the children will be participating in MAPPEN Week as well concluding with a shortened expo on Friday from 1.00-1.30pm in which parents can visit and see their children's work.
SCHOOL PHOTOS: Yesterday our school photos arrived. Leading Image will be visiting next term on Friday 6th May as a catch up day. If any parents have any queries regarding the photos that have been sent home, please contact Leading image on 1800 750 586 or info@leadingimage.com.au
SPORTS UNIFORM: At last week's assembly the senior student leaders modelled examples of the correct and incorrect sports uniform. They did a wonderful job in ensuring the students knew what was acceptable. Since then there has been an improvement in the children wearing the correct uniform. Well done student leaders.
COVID: Thank you for your continued support in following our Covid protocols at school. Many of you have been affected by the isolation procedures in place. This has meant from time to time we have also had to split classes as we have not had enough teaching staff available to replace them. Whilst this has been inconvenient we are still providing the necessary teaching and learning as planned.
Please continue to check the school calendar for updates as there are a number of important events coming up.
I hope you all enjoy the long weekend and please be safe on the roads if you are travelling.
As always
Keep the Faith!
Vince Muscatello
Senior Unit News
Our literacy work this week focused on writing informative paragraphs on bushfires. Students gathered information from visual and written texts before using a text organiser to draft their paragraph. Here are some examples of the final paragraphs.
Bushfires by Vanessa Trajceski
Bushfires are most likely to happen in Australia. They are slow moving, high heat fires that can cause changes to the natural environment. Bushfires can smoulder for hours. They have a low to medium intensity and primarily damage crops, livestock, farms and infrastructure, such as fences. Bushfires can be caused by fuel load which describes the amount of fallen bark, leaf litter and small branches accumulating in the landscape. The greater the fuel load, the hotter and more intense the fire. Bushfires can cause a big impact to our natural environment and our land.
Bushfires by Amber Echanes
A bushfire is a slow moving or fast fire that mostly happens in bushland. Bushfires are the most common occurrence in the country Australia. If there is infrastructure near a dry bushland area, there is a chance for a bushfire and the infrastructure will burn. Sometimes bushfires can be a natural thing but it can also be made by us humans. Bushfires are most likely to happen in the bush, in dry places or in places with fuel for the fire like forests. Bushfires are common in Australia, made by natural things or mankind.
We are coming to the end of our Maths work exploring place value of whole numbers 5 digits and larger. Some of our Year 6 students have worked on a task to find out what country this sign can be found. They used an atlas, calculators, rulers and compass and successfully solved the mystery (see photos). Can you work out what country the sign comes from?
Next week we are excited to be working on our MAPPEN projects. All students will need a shoebox to create a diorama. Please send in any spare boxes you may have.
Middle Unit News
To celebrate LENT the Middle Unit has been working on something we can do each day to support others or make others in our unit feel good. We include these each day as part of our morning message. You can discuss these with your student to reinforce all the different ways we can be kind to and help others.
In Mappen we are learning about how we can stay healthy. We have been talking about the importance of staying active. To assist us in doing this and setting some goals we have been completing a Health Hussle each day. For ten minutes we go outside and try to run or walk around an assigned track. The students have been working towards beating their distance from the day before. Next week we will continue to do this each day. Students are invited to wear sports uniform each day or they can simply wear their sneakers with their normal school uniform. This will only be happening for Week 8. Students will return to wearing full school uniform in Week 9.
This week in RRRR we have been talking about how our strengths and weaknesses impact how we operate in a group setting. We played a game that encouraged us to cooperate together and then we discussed the skills that were enabled to be successful or the things that impacted us. It was lots of fun.
Junior Unit News
Following last week's reverent observance of Ash Wednesday, we now find ourselves in the midst of Lent. During this special time of waiting we remember to say sorry for our mistakes and to show forgiveness to one another. When the Junior Unit celebrates their Liturgy on Friday 18th March, this theme of repentance, forgiveness and 'right relationship' will underpin our prayers. Please feel warmly welcomed to join in this special event at 12.15pm in the chapel.
This week we are learning all about the topic of location in Maths. This is a terrific opportunity to talk about your address, pay attention to the car's map display, time how long the journey to or from school takes, practise following left and right directions, and undertake other similar 'real life' Maths experiences.
We have noticed that many decodable 'readers' and library books are being left at home. Please have a good look around at home and ensure borrowed books are returned to school. All Junior students are expected to bring home a decodable book each afternoon and return it the next morning. These texts are carefully selected to allow children to practice decoding the graphemes (letters) they have been explicitly taught at school.
This weekend is an extra-long one for the students, and we hope they all have a well-deserved rest!
Enjoy these photos of the Juniors learning 'left', 'right', 'clockwise' and 'anti-clockwise'.
Foundation Unit News
This term the Foundation Unit have been learning about History. We have begun by learning about our own families and who is in our family. We have been talking about significant personal events or milestones. We have a lovely display of many of the children's families in our unit. We will also be talking about where our families are from.
Next week we will be looking at items from the past and comparing them with things from the present. We are setting up a disply table to show things from the past. If you have any "old" items that could be brought in to go on the display table we would greatly appreciate the opportunity to have it as part of our display. These things will not be for the children to play with, it will be a display table only.
Just a reminder to send in your child's Library bag every day with their "Rainbow words" in it.
Technology News
Foundation students have been working hard to learn the names of different iPad parts and explain their function. This week, after discussing activities students enjoy when taking a break from using devices, students labelled an iPad, drew pictures of themselves enjoying the activities discussed or building an iPad from lego.
Digital Technologies Acceptable Use and Cyber Safety Agreement
It is important students know to always be respectful in how they talk and work with others online and never participate in online bullying.
It is easy to be disrespectful or even nasty when you are behind a screen, that is posting online, sending texts or messages and sharing videos. Easy however, does not make it right.
At school, students learn how to communicate respectfully online and to create and adhere to shared norms when participating in a range of online environments. At home, you can support this learning by supervising children's use of devices and being involved and showing an interest in what they are doing online.
CLICK HERE for more information about cyberbullying, including what it is and what it looks like, signs to watch out for and recognise if someone might be subjected to cyberbully and how to get support and report cyberbullying.
Also remember, our school community is here to support you and your child if they are receiving unwanted attention online or being subjected to cyberbullying. You can contact your child's classroom teacher or myself as our schools Learning Technologies Specialist and Leader (nsimms@spmildura.catholic.edu.au).
Until next week, remember; "technology should improve your life...not become your life." - Billy Cox
Mrs Narelle Simms
Continuous Raffle
**We are asking for a parent volunteer to assist with the organise & running of the Continuous Raffle. **
If you can help out with a few hours per term it would be very much appreciated. Please contact the office, we will be happy to explain further.
Congratulations to the following families who won a prize in the Continuous raffle drawn on Friday 1st April.
- Mini Marquee donated by Smythe Family won by Peters family.
- Mini Marquee donated by Smythe Family won by Nadalo family.
- Mini Soccer Goal Set won by Midgley family.
- Mini Soccer Goal Set won by Zaire family.
MAPPEN EXPO - Friday 18th March 1pm to 1.30pm
We are so excited to have parents attend our first MAPPEN expo for 2022.
Classrooms will be open from 1pm-1.30pm on Friday 18th March for you to look through and see the amazing learning students have been doing.
Parent Noticeboard
Football Sunraysia Information & Registration Day – Sunday 20 March 2022
Three Colours will be holding its Club information and Registration day on Sunday 20 March 2022 between 11am – 1pm Free sausage sizzle
Girls, Boys and Ladies needed
With the increase in playing divisions this Season, the Club is seeking additional boys, girls and ladies to play.
Jerseys are supplied for the Season and it is a great way for the whole family to keep fit.
For more information contact Lucy on 0439 302 090
Training Nights
- Under 6-10’s: Start Thursday 17/3/22 and will be held 5pm-6pm every Thursday
- Under 12’s : Start Tuesday 14/3/22 and will be held 5pm-6pm every Tuesday & Thursday
- Under 14’s & 16’s: Start Tuesday 14/3/22 and will be held 7pm-8pm every Tuesday & Thursday
- Womens: Start Thursday 17/3/22 and will be held 7pm-8pm every Tuesday & Thursday
- Reserve’s & Seniors : Have commenced and is held 7pm – 8.30pm every Tuesday & Thursday
For more details contact Michael on 0439 302 090.
Coaches and Volunteers needed
The Club is recruiting coaches for all J-League age groups and people to assist with our weekly meal nights
Heaps of fun and helps the Club provide the enjoyment that comes with having teams and equipment
For more information contact Lucy on 0439 302 090
HUMM now available
As part of its ongoing commitment to make Football accessible to everyone, Three Colours SC has joined HUMM
The Club will allow payments for registration fees, merchandise and club functions to be paid by instalments to approved persons.