11 August 2023

From the Principals Desk

Reporting Feedback

If you haven’t given feedback on the latest report and student lead conferences, please follow the link

Kindergarten Extravaganza

Kindergarten have provided a wealth of entertainment for our school over the last couple of weeks. 100 days of kindergarten and last week's assembly were outstanding milestones for the youngest of our students. We love joining them in the fun of St Paul’s!!

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Harmony Day Success

Back in Term 1 many of our students entered the Harmony Day poster and song writing competitions. We were highly successful in both areas with students receiving commendations for their entries.

Congratulations to Shia Coates for her entry being awarded Highly Commended. It is displayed on the website for the Moving Forward Together Association who celebrate the diversity of Australia.

The following students received acknowledgements for their entries:

Public Speaking Results

Early Stage1

Stage 1

Stage 2

Stage 3

Green Energy

We're proud to announce that from July 2023 all of our Catholic Schools Office sites, including St Paul’s, are powered by GreenPower – 100% clean renewable energy.

Run by the NSW Office of Energy and Climate Change, GreenPower is the only government accreditation program that guarantees electricity use is matched with power from renewable electricity sources.

The purchase of GreenPower guarantees the electricity is coming from renewable energy sources that meet strict environmental criteria. This ensures that the grid electricity we use has net-zero emissions.

The transition to GreenPower is just one of the actions Catholic Schools Maitland-Newcastle is undertaking as part of the Diocesan Sustainability Plan 2022-2025, to positively influence sustainability across our region. Another is to reduce electricity consumption across schools. New LED lighting is progressively being installed in all schools and at one primary school alone, there has been a 26% reduction in electricity.

With 58 schools, the impact of the lighting project is quite significant and combined with the installation of PV solar across all Catholic Diocese schools, further efficiencies will be gained. Reducing our demand on the grid is good for the environment but helps students too, with potential reduced operating cost savings being channelled to additional programs.

EVERY DAY IN SCHOOL MEANS SO MUCH MORE

Regular attendance at school is essential for students to achieve quality life outcomes.  Everyday counts, as regular attendance helps students:

• Develop a sense of belonging
• Develop and maintain friendships
• Be more engaged at school
• Progress with their learning
• Be more aware of career and life options.

Supporting positive school attendance is a shared responsibility - everyone has a role to play in promoting the regular attendance of students.

Assistant Principal

NED’s Mindset Mission 

On Monday, St Paul’s hosted a special interactive presentation called Ned’s Mindset Mission for all students from Kindergarten to Year 6. The focus and key message from the presentation was the importance of having a Growth Mindset which was taught through storytelling, illusions, yo-yo tricks and humour. The students all journeyed on a Mindset Mission where they learnt about the importance of never giving up. Our students met the character NED (Never give up, Encourage Others and Do your best). NED taught the students about the importance of a positive attitude and mindset about learning and helped to teach them about how their brain can grow! NED’s message is aimed at inspiring students, promoting academic achievement, and supporting our school goals of PBL (Positive Behaviors for Learning). 

As part of the NED’s performance, all families have the opportunity to purchase a yo-yo via the QKR app. Over the next week, we will have a special NED’s Zone Lunchtime Club for the students to use their yo-yo's and apply what they have learned from NED. The yo-yos are both a learning tool and a tangible reminder of NED’s message. While learning to yo-yo, children will make mistakes, try again and improve. 

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Newcastle Jets 

It has been a busy week! On Thursday, our school was fortunate to be selected to receive a visit from the Newcastle Jets Football Club. We hosted a whole school assembly where the students were able to listen to a presentation from some of the players. There was also an opportunity for Q&A with the players. As an additional treat, our two Year Six classes were invited to participate in a skills session with the players! 

Diocesan Athletics Carnival 

Last week a number of our students represented the All-Saint’s region at the Diocesan Athletics Carnival at Glendale. Miss McNamee accompanied the students as Team Manager, and we are greatly appreciative of her time in supporting the running of this event. Once again, we were extremely proud of the effort and sportsmanship displayed by all the students in attendance.  Congratulations to Curtis Rollason, Logan Gruber who represented our school  in both diocese and Polding. Polding being held on  the 13^th October at Sydney Olympic Park Athletics Centre.

Thank you!

As some families may be aware, Aspen Van der Veen has set up a lolly stall at our school discos over the last two years. The proceeds from his lolly stall are donated to charity. Aspen has as decided to donate the proceeds from his last disco stall to the school by way of purchasing much needed sports balls. We are so proud of Aspen for his selfless living our school values of learn, love and serve. Thank you Aspen!

Student Awards Weeks

Religious Education Update

ST PAUL’S FAMILY MASS

Next weekend on Sunday the 20^th at 8am, St Paul’s Primary is taking over the Sunday mass. We will be doing the music, ministry and all things in between. We would love to see as many families as possible from St Paul’s there on the day and will have some nibbles afterwards to celebrate. We are hoping this can become a regular occurrence once a Term.

GRANDPARENT'S DAY

2 weeks ago, on Thursday the 27^th July, we celebrated Grandparent’s Day in honour of the Feast Day of Saints Joachim and Anne – The grandparents of Jesus. Thank you to everyone who helped the liturgy run smoothly – in particular to year 5 who did a fabulous job of preparing and running the liturgy. It was a wonderful day and head over to our school facebook to see all the pictures.

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We celebrate the gift of grandparents. These ancestors have given us the gift of life. They continue to give us the gift of love. Grandparents are a valuable and vital resource in our communities. They provide children with stability and a sense of generational connection. Many grandparents are also significant carers in the lives of their grandchildren and a number of them are the primary carers. The students of St. Paul’s wish to express their gratitude and love for their Grandparents. 

Each Grandparent is unique and irreplaceable. As society changes, the role of grandparents changes. But some things about grandparents are constant.  

Grandparents provide memories 

Memories help us to understand who we are. For most families, grandparents are the ‘Central Bank of Memories’. Grandchildren never tire of hearing stories about their own parents when they were children.  

Grandparents see the inner beauty of the grandchild 

To a grandparent, each grandchild is a wonderful mystery. Other people may look and just see a child but the grandparent sees someone unique, special and loveable. 

Grandparents benefit too.  

It’s a two-way street! To young children, their grandparents are simply beautiful and they tell them so; they don’t seem to notice the wrinkles. As one grandfather said, “They even laugh at my jokes!” So both generations are helped to see themselves as God  
sees us – loveable, good and made in his image. 

"The educational task of grandparents is always very important, and it becomes even more so when, for different reasons, the parents are not able to ensure an adequate presence to their children. May the Virgin Mary, who, ..., learned to read sacred Scriptures at the knee of her mother, Anne, help grandparents to always nourish their faith and hope at the font of the Word of God.” 

(Pope Benedict XVI on the Feast Day of Joachim and Anne, grandparents of Jesus) 

We thank our Grandparents for the gifts they share with us. They have given us the gift of life, and they continue to give us the gift of love. Grandparents help us in many different ways – they give us wisdom, guidance, support and love. So, whilst it is sad we cannot be together to celebrate, Grandparents will always be special in our hearts for everything they do. Thank you to all Grandparents, those that are still with us, and those that are not. We love you with all our hearts.

FEAST OF ST. MARY MACKILLOP - 8^th August

Mary MacKillop was born on 15 January 1842 in Melbourne, Victoria. Her parents were born in Scotland and came to live in Australia. She had three sisters and four brothers. Mary cared about the people who had no one to look after them such as boys and girls who just roamed the streets, children in the country who had no school to go to, people who were old and sick and people who had nowhere to live, Mary wanted more than anything to help these people. 

Mary went to work as a teacher in a little country town in South Australia called Penola. There she met Father Julian Tenison Woods who also wanted to do something for the poor children who could not afford to pay the money needed to go to school. Together, in 1866, they began the first St Joseph’s School in an old stable. Two of Mary’s younger sisters also taught in the school and other young women came to help them.  

On 19th March 1866 (St Joseph’s Day) Mary started to wear a simple black dress and began the Congregation of the Sisters of St Joseph. Now as a Sister, she dedicated her life to doing God’s work. As more and more young women joined Mary as Sisters, they were able to start more schools. All children were welcome at the Josephite schools, which provided free Catholic education.  

In Adelaide, they opened a place for women who had nowhere to live, an orphanage for children who had no parents to look after them and a house where poor people could come and stay. The Sisters visited people who were in gaol and those who were poor and sick.  

Mary MacKillop was kind to all people, even if they did not agree with her. She died on 8 August 1909 in Alma Cottage, North Sydney. Mary helped many people during her lifetime and after she died, the Sisters of St Joseph kept on doing the good work she had started.   

Mary MacKillop kept her faith in God and bravely challenged those who did not support her vision for a more caring world. Mary is an important Australian who spent her life helping people, especially children. She is Australia’s first Saint.  

© Trustees of the Sisters of St Joseph 2005  

SACRAMENTAL CALENDAR 2023

If you have any questions regarding the Sacraments of Initiation, please contact the parish office on (02) 4933 8918. Below are the significant dates for 2023:

SUNDAY'S GOSPEL
Matthew 14:22-33
Jesus walks on the water.

ATSI Education

Anikanya Everyone,

Mrs Howard has asked for an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander display that will be created by the students. Some Year 5 students and I are currently weaving bracelets in Minimpa at either Recess or Lunch and will be joining them together to make a woven Installation. 

Enjoy the images of the Year 5 students weaving bracelets. They have had a lot of practise and their weaving is very precise. 

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Library News

PRC

Only 2 weeks left to complete the challenge. All books must be recorded online by Friday 18 August 2023.  The Challenge aims to encourage a love of reading for leisure and pleasure in students, and to enable them to experience quality literature. It is not a competition but a challenge to each student to read, to read more and to read more widely. If you have any trouble with log on details please email katrina.howard@mn.catholic.edu.au or penny.sneddon@mn.catholic.edu.au

Congratulations to Eli KM, Seth 2W, Kaiden 3M, Alexandra 4W, Alex 5W, Lara 5W for completing the PRC this fortnight. 5W continue to stay in the lead for most completed challenges in the class.

Book Fair 14^th -17^th August (Week 5)

This year we will be using Larrikin House for our Book Fair offering a variety of books for all ages. Book Fairs are a great way to earn new resources for our library and classrooms. Our school receives a generous commission on all sales from the fair. Our fundraising target this year is to reach $10,000 in sales.

Opening Times

Monday Afternoon only 3:00pm – 3:30pm
Tuesday and Wednesday Morning 8:20am - 8:50am & Afternoon 3:00pm – 3:30pm
Thursday Morning only 8:20am - 8:50am

Parents and carers are welcome to attend during these times with their children.

Both cash and EFTPOS are accepted when purchasing in the library. Alternatively this year you may like to purchase some titles online using the bookfair link or the QRcode from the student’s Wishlist. These will come home on Monday after the students (Yr 1-Yr 6) view the books. This link provides a collection of 200 books. If still in stock in our library, the  selected books will be put aside and delivered to your child on their class’s allocated day. If we are out of stock, then the book will be ordered and delivered at a later date. An additional variety of books will also be available at the fair.   

All students will have an opportunity to purchase during their class time. Please send in money with your child on the allocated class days.

Monday 14^th Kindergarten
Tuesday 15^th Stage 2 (Years 3 and 4)
Wednesday 16^th Stage 1 (Years 1 and 2)
Thursday 17^th Stage 3 (Years 5 and 6)

Please note due to the fair, no library borrowing will take place in Week 5. All classes will have the opportunity to borrow in Week 6.  

Book Week 19^th- 25^th August (Week 6)

This year the CBCA 2023 Book Week theme is 'READ GROW INSPIRE'. 

Our Book Week dress-up parade will be held on Wednesday 23^rd August at 10:00 am. All parents and carers are invited to come to the assembly and watch the parade. Students can dress up according to the Book Week theme, dressing as a book character they have read about, grown up with, or been inspired by. Many of this year's shortlisted CBCA award books offer great ideas including dogs, penguins, a giraffe, a frog, and various sea creatures.

To celebrate Book Week, we will again be running our annual colouring-in and story-writing competitions. Each stage has a different colouring-in page. These can be collected from the library classroom teachers or printed off at home using the attached PDFs in the compass notification last month. All entries for the colouring-in need to be handed into the library by the end of Week 4. Book Fair voucher prizes will be awarded to use at the Book Fair.

The writing competition is open to all students and is due by the end of Week 5. Stockland Voucher prizes donated by First National Maitland will be awarded at the Book Week Assembly. Entries will be judged against other entries in the same stage, Competition details are attached.

Happy reading, writing, colouring-in, and costume creating!

BOOK CLUB

Book Club orders are arriving this week and your child should have received their order by now to take home. Thank you as always for ordering books through Book Club. The kids are always so excited to receive their order and we appreciate the support the orders you place bring to our school. Through your orders we receive reward points that we can use to purchase new books and resources for the school. So a BIG thank you!

Kind Regards,
Katrina Howard and Penny Sneddon

LUNCH ACTIVITIES

Guitar, Bass & Ukelele Lessons available at school

Term Dates 2023

Term 1 Friday, 27^th January – Thursday, 6^th April
Term 2 Monday, 24^th April – Friday, 30^th June
Term 3 Monday, 17^th July – Friday, 22 September
Term 4 Monday, 9^th October – Tuesday, 19^th December

Term 3 2023

Week 5 14^th Aug – 18^th Aug

BOOK Fair – Mon 14^th – Thu 17^th August
Tue 15^th Aug – Stage 2 Rotations
Tue 15^th Aug – Breakfast Club 8.20am – 8.45am
Tue 15^th Aug – P&F Meeting
Wed 16^th Aug – Stage 1 Rotations
Thu 17^th Aug – ICAS English Exam
Thu 17^th Aug – Breakfast Club 8.20am – 8.45am
Fri 18^th Aug – 2W Assembly 2pm

Week 6 21^st Aug – 25^th Aug

BOOK WEEK Mon 21^st – Fri 25^th Aug
Tue 22^nd Aug – Regional Public Speaking Competition
Tue 22^nd Aug – Kinder Parish mass -9.30am
Tue 22^nd Aug – Breakfast Club 8.20am – 8.45am
Wed 23^rd Aug – Opal Residents visiting
Wed 23^rd Aug – Book Weed Assembly Dress up - 10.00am
Thu 24^th Aug – ICAS Spelling Bee Exam
Thu 24^th Aug – ICAS Science exam
Thu 24^th Aug – Breakfast Club 8.20am – 8.45am
Fri 25^th Aug – Regional Debating Day – St Peter’s Maitland
Fri 25^th Aug – Kindergarten 2024 Transition Day 9.30am – 10.30am
Fri 25^th Aug – Kindergarten 2024 Transition Day 10.45am – 11.45am
Fri 25^th Aug – Kindergarten 2024 Transition Day 12pm – 1pm

Week 7 28^th Aug – 1^st Sep

Mon 28^th Aug – Stage 2 - Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility, Speers Point
Tue 29^th Aug – Stage 3 - Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility, Speers Point
Tue 29^th Aug – Diocesan Public Speaking Competition
Tue 29^th Aug – Breakfast Club 8.20am – 8.45am
Wed 30^th Aug – Father’s Day Stall
Wed 30^th Aug – Stage 1 Rotations
Thu 31^st Aug – ICAS Mathematics Exam
Thu 31^st Aug – Breakfast Club 8.20am – 8.45am
Fri 1^st Sep – Father’s Day Breakfast 7.30am
Fri 1^st Sep – Father’s Day Liturgy 9am
Fri 1^st Sep – 5W Assembly 2pm

Week 8 4^th Sep – 8^th Sep

Tue 5^th Sep – Breakfast Club 8.20am – 8.45am
Mon 4^th Sep – Fri 8^th Sep – Year 2 Intensive Swimming Program
Tue 5^th Sep – Stage 3 Rotations
Wed 6^th Sep – Opal Visit
Thu 7^th Sep – Breakfast Club 8.20am – 8.45am
Fri 8^th Sep – Kindergarten 2024 Transition Day 9.30am – 10.30am
Fri 8^th Sep – Kindergarten 2024 Transition Day 10.45am – 11.45am
Fri 8^th Sep – Kindergarten 2024 Transition Day 12pm – 1pm

Week 9 11^th Sep – 15^th Sep

Tue 12^th Sep – Stage 2 Rotations
Tue 12^th Sep – Breakfast Club 8.20am – 8.45am
Wed 13^th Sep – Newcastle Science & Engineering Challenge – Tomaree High School Yr 5 & Yr6
Wed 13^th Sep – Stage 1 Rotations
Thu 14^th Sep – Breakfast Club 8.20am – 8.45am
Fri 15^th Sep – Kindergarten 2024 Transition Day 9.30am – 10.30am
Fri 15^th Sep – Kindergarten 2024 Transition Day 10.45am – 11.45am
Fri 15^th Sep – Kindergarten 2024 Transition Day 12pm – 1pm
Fri 15^th Sep – 3W Assembly 2pm

Week 10 18^th Sep – 22^nd Sep

Tue 19^th Sep – Stage 3 Rotations
Tue 19^th Sep – Breakfast Club 8.20am – 8.45am
Wed 20^th Sep – Opal Visit
Thu 21^st Sep – Breakfast Club 8.20am – 8.45am
Thu 21^st Sep – Yr 2 Taronga Zoo Excursion – 7.30am
Fri 22^nd Sep – LAST DAY OF TERM 3

Uniform Shop News

Just a reminder that if you need to exchange or refund any items the tag needs to be attached and the original package kept with the item too, please. 

Uniform Shop Hours 2023

Monday 2.15pm – 3pm
Wednesday 8.30am - 9.30am
Friday 8.30am - 9.30am

Elissa Purdon
Uniform Shop Coordinator

Canteen

Opening days will be Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, CLOSED MONDAY.  Please order via the Qkr App.

Lunch orders will be sent to the classrooms as normal.

Please ensure your child has their current class.

Healthy Lunchbox

New recipes and blogs

• Chicken pasta bake
• Vegie and pepita muffins

Kindergarten Orientation Resources

• ‘How to pack a healthy lunch box’ video - A fun and informative 3-minute video to show parents at kindy orientation nights or included within kindy orientation packs.
• Healthy Lunch Box website information resource (with QR code) – This flyer can be either inserted into an e-newsletter (the pdf contains hyperlinks for easy access to the website) or printed out to go into kindy orientation packs.  It provides information on what you will find on the website.

Healthy Lunch Box ‘Pack your lunch box’ resource (with QR code)  - This flyer can be either inserted into an e-newsletter or printed out to go into kindy orientation packs.  It provides information on foods from the 5 food groups and what to pack in a lunch box.

Good for kids