St Paul's Newsletter: Thursday 22 April 2021

2021 St Paul's Newsletter - Term 2, Week 1

From the Principal

Dear Families,

Happy Easter and welcome back to Term 2. We hope you all enjoyed the school
holidays and the Easter break. I always think of the Easter story as one of hope. It
has a strong message about Jesus always being with us, that we are never alone. My
view is that the story of Holy Week suggests that if we look to Jesus’ example of sacrifice, then we can overcome anything. The story itself is very sad in parts and shows that Jesus was treated very badly, but He kept going with great courage and strength, carrying his cross, because He knew it was God’s will.  The "Good News" is that Jesus rose again, even after all He went through, and to me this demonstrates that we can overcome hard times as long as we have faith in ourselves and those around us.

ANZAC Day - Sunday 25 April

On ANZAC Day we remember the lives of those who participated or died in military action, particularly on the Gallipoli Peninsula in World War I.

Many ceremonies, parades and other activities will be held this Sunday 25 April to mark ANZAC Day.  Dawn prayer or church services are a particularly important aspect of ANZAC Day. These represent the comradeship that the soldiers experienced as they rose each morning to prepare for another day of military action. 

In capital cities, regional centres and many smaller towns, parades, marches and reunions will be held. Due to Covid-19 regulations, the numbers involved in these events are restricted.  The Monbulk RSL will be holding a service but unfortunately this year our students are not permitted to march or sing due to restrictions on numbers.

Prayer Gathering: ANZAC Service

As part of our fortnightly Prayer Gatherings, we will hold an ANZAC Service on Monday, 26 April at 2:10pm in the Church. Our Year 5/6 class will be leading our service.  We can invite a maximum of 30 parents in order to remain under our one person per two square metre regulation.

We have created a Google Form, with a response limit of 30 persons.  The Google Form will automatically switch off when the 30 person response limit is reached.

If any parent/carer/guest wishes to book a seat for our ANZAC Prayer Gathering Assembly please CLICK HERE and complete the Google Form.  A separate response will be required for each guest, thanks.

Can Parents Enter Classrooms?

Parents are permitted to enter the school buildings for meetings or other specific reasons.  At this time, until the advice changes from Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools, parents entering classrooms at drop off and pick up is only permitted with permission from a staff member.  At times some parents may need to speak with a  teacher about a specific issue and we can allow that, but we ask parents to refrain from entering the buildings at drop off and pick up unless there is a reason.  We really do appreciate your understanding on this, and we hope that this will soon change.

Mother's Day Breakfast and Mother's Day Stall

Mother's Day Stall - Friday 7 May

The 2021 Mother’s Day stall will be held on Friday 7  May with a great range of gifts priced from $1 - $10.  The process for the Mother’s Day stall is that the children bring some money (cash) to spend on the day of the stall, and each class will be called up one by one to come to the stall for the children to select up to two gifts for their Mums (we limit it to two gifts each to begin with to ensure there are enough gifts for each child). 

Siblings will be called up together so that they don't double up on the same gifts for their Mum. Once all the students have been to the stall, and if there are gifts left over, any children who have money left and want to make further purchases are welcome to come back to the stall and do so.

MOTHER'S DAY STALL PARENT HELPERS:  If you can assist with the Mother's Day Stall please contact Sally Zylinski or the school office.  Parent helpers will need a valid Working With Children Check card as well as have completed the appropriate forms on Operoo.

Mother's Day Breakfast - Friday 7 May, 8:15am

The 2021 Mother's Day Breakfast will be held from 8:15am on Friday 7 May.  All Mothers or significant women are welcome as we will hold the breakfast outside (therefore no restrictions on numbers). Bacon and Egg Rolls will be served by our Parents and Friends Committee.

A Bacon and Egg Roll for each mum is complimentary (but still MUST be ordered!!).  Extra rolls for students/siblings can be ordered at  $4.00 per roll. All orders must be placed, and paid for via CDFpay, by 11:00pm Sunday 2 May.

In the past at the Mother's Day Breakfast we have invited mums into classrooms and the children have an opportunity to show you around, and show you their work.  When classrooms open on the morning of 7 May, as a special Mother's Day treat, one adult may enter the classroom with your child.  We respectfully request that younger siblings and other relatives do not enter as we are still under Covid restrictions, and our numbers are limited.  We encourage mums with younger siblings to 'take it in turns' and help each other by watching any siblings for one another outside.  Adults that do enter the classrooms please ensure the following practices take place:

• Check in using the QR codes that will be displayed around the school
• We ask adult visitors in classrooms to wear a face mask 
• Please do not remain in classrooms any longer than 10 minutes

Mother's Day Mass - 2:00pm Wednesday 5 May

On Wednesday 5 May, at 2:00pm, we will have a Whole School Mass to celebrate our Mothers and significant women in our lives.  In the past we have invited our Mother, Grandmother or another significant woman in our lives to join us for Mass as 'special visitors'.  During the Mass students normally sit with their special visitor.  In terms of inviting guests to Mother's Day Mass, we can invite up to 30 adults in order to remain under our one person per two square metre regulation. We are wondering how many Mothers will want to join us and we hope that we can provide the opportunity to do so.

We have created a "Mother's Day Mass Expression of Interest" Google Form.  The form has a response limit of 30 persons. This form will be used to ascertain the number of adult guests that can join us for Mass.  We respectfully ask that only one special visitor be booked in, and  alternative arrangements be made for younger siblings.  IMPORTANT: If you try to 'book' a seat and the form has switched off, please contact the office.

If any parent/carer/guest wishes to "express interest" for a seat for our Mother's Day Mass please CLICK HERE and complete the Google Form.  

School Car Park - Directions 

Child Safe Standards: Car Park Safety

The strict parking and traffic regulations we have in place in our school’s car parks exist to
ensure the safety of our children and adults.

Please note the following rules whenever using the asphalt car park:

• Observe correct procedures for using the car park (see Car Park Map above)
  
• Driving speed is to be that of walking pace
• Always exercise extreme caution when reverse parking
• Children must always be accompanied by an adult when walking through the car
  park to the school or vice versa
• Children and adults should always use the designated pathways
• Never leave a car unattended in the drop off zone please
• At the conclusion of the school day, when children have been collected from their
  classroom, they should never be allowed to go to their vehicle unaccompanied by
  an adult, regardless of their age
• If you have young children or toddlers, never let them walk around or behind parked vehicles. They should remain next to you at all times.

While the asphalt car park is the preferred car park of use, some parents require the
staff/parish car park when visiting during school hours. Should this be the case, I ask you
to understand that the same rules apply with the addition of the following:

• Reverse park only while using the staff/parish car park
• Vehicle traffic flow is one direction only
• Cars should enter the car park from Moores Rd and exit via Prices Rd carefully
• Children, regardless of age, must be accompanied by an adult. Children are
  never to walk through the car park by themselves
• If the car park is full, please do not park in the driveway. Cars will have to be parked
  safely in Prices Rd.

I thank you all for supporting the school and parish in creating and maintaining a safe car
park environment at St Paul’s.

Tutor Learning Program

The Tutor Learning Program is a $250 million state initiative that will support Victorian Government schools and non-government schools to support student learning following the period of remote and flexible learning. Funding has been provided to all Victorian Catholic primary and secondary schools, including specialist schools. This funding is to be allocated exclusively to tutor staffing.

Schools are being provided with this funding in recognition that, notwithstanding their exceptional efforts to provide continuity of teaching and learning during 2020, some students need support to address learning gaps that may have emerged during this year.  This funding will enable St Paul's to deliver additional targeted teaching support to some students in a way that best suits their specific needs. 

The St Paul's staff are working together in order to maximise the use of this funding and we have begun the process of identifying the best model for the implementation of the tutoring program, as well as identifying eligible students.  We are grateful for this government support and for the recognition that teachers and parents did their absolute best last year to ensure the continuity of student learning.

Chess Program

For several years we have run a chess program with middle school students.  Our school chess program, run by Kids Unlimited, has involved a one-hour weekly chess lesson. The school staff do value chess because we recognise the benefits, however for 2021 chess will not be running as it has in the past. 

There are a number of reasons for this, including the fact that last year many of the company's chess coaches found other work and when I spoke with Kids Unlimited late last year/early this year they indicated that staffing the program has been challenging.  Further to this, our curriculum is packed with programs, and with tutoring being added, there is no time left in the classroom programs to run the chess program, on top of other mandated curriculum priorities.  Managing the many competing priorities has proven very difficult and we needed to let go of chess for 2021.

We intend to provide opportunities for students to play chess as often as possible, and as a staff we have already discussed some options.  Students will still be given opportunities to compete in Inter School Chess when competitions are running, and a chess club may be set up.  For parents in Years 3-4, $100 of your levy which was allocated for chess will be rebated on your account for 2021. 

Welcome Sam Fahey

Tomorrow we welcome Sam Fahey (back) to St Paul's. Sam (Year 6 class of 2016) is the older brother to Meg (Year 6) and he will be attending St Paul's each Friday, for 20 Fridays, starting this week, for "Structured Work Placement".  One of the main tasks for Sam will be to develop inside play options for lunchtimes.  We are looking to use the school hall/gymnasium at lunchtimes for supervised activities such as table tennis, chess, board games, indoor tabloid sports, etc etc.  We are looking forward to working with Sam!

Athletics Day - Thank You!

The weather was certainly kind to us for our Whole School Sports Carnival Day.  Well done and thank you to all the students who participated and tried their best on this day. We had been practising and preparing for this day all of Term 1 so it was fantastic to see the best efforts on the day. There were lots of smiles, encouragement and enthusiasm from all involved.  An extra BIG, BIG thanks to all the staff and parents for their assistance and cheering on this day, including those on the sausage sizzle and icy poles. A well deserved treat for all.  Well done and thanks everyone!

Kelly Geoghegan

2021 Athletics Day

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With Sympathy

Our condolences go to Graham and Angela Silver and family on the passing of Graham's mother, Roma, recently.  Roma was 93 years old and was Grandmother to Pearl (P/1A). Our
thoughts and prayers are with the Silver family at this sad time.

Winter Uniform

The beginning of Term 2 is a time of transition into Winter uniform. As from Monday 26 April (Term 2, Week 2), it is an expectation that all students be dressed in Winter Uniform. We do not require hats to be worn on the yard during Terms 2 and 3.
We thank our community for ensuring the students are wearing the appropriate uniform, including school shoes and socks. We remind our families that only suitable jewellery be worn, including sleepers and studs for the children with pierced ears, and that headbands are only to be in the school colours.
As we move into Winter uniform, the children are asked to bring their slippers to school so that they can change into these as they enter the classrooms during the wetter and muddier months.

School Musical - Thursday 2 September

ADVANCE NOTICE:  St Paul's 2021 School Musical Production - Shrek Junior - will be held at Burrinja Cultural Centre on Thursday 2 September.  

There will be two performances on the day - a matinee at 12:00pm and an evening performance.

All students will be required so please plan accordingly!

School Photos

School Photos will be taken on Tuesday 27 April. It is vital that students are at school no later than 8:45am, as we will begin organising grades for photos to begin at 8:55am (or as soon as the bus arrives and students have unpacked!). SCHOOL PHOTOS = WINTER UNIFORM. No runners to be worn on Tuesday, please.  Thank you.

Kind regards,

Michael Watt

From the School Office

Transition Information

To assist your decision making in relation to your child's education for 2022 and beyond, please find below a link to the 136 page March 2021 edition of the Catholic Education Guide.

CLICK HERE: https://victoriaschoolguides.starcommunity.com.au/catholic-education/

School Photos - 27 April

For sibling orders, the cut off date and time is 8:00am Tuesday 27 April.  Orders must be placed online.

2021 School Closure Days

OSHClub

Out of School Hours Care: OSH Club

Enrolments, Bookings and Enquiries

Parents will need to enrol with OSHClub.  Please visit https://www.oshclub.com.au/ and click on "REGISTER".  You will need to enrol with the Monbulk Primary School service.

Community Notices

Transition Information

To assist your decision making in relation to your child's education for 2022 and beyond, please find below a link to the 136 page March 2021 edition of the Catholic Education Guide.

CLICK HERE: https://victoriaschoolguides.starcommunity.com.au/catholic-education/

Mater Christi College – Belgrave

Mater Christi College is a vibrant, inclusive and warm community where girls feel safe and build supportive lifelong friendships. After another year of leading academic and vocational outcomes, we are experiencing a surge in demand for places.

Parents of Grade 5 students are strongly encouraged to secure a place for Year 7 2023. Visit the College website to apply or arrange a tour.

Families seeking enrolment for 2022 should contact the College Registrar 9754 6611 asap.