St Paul's Newsletter: Thursday, 13 October 2022
2022 St Paul's Newsletter - Term 4, Week 2
From the Principal
Dear Families,
Last week at our Prayer Gathering Assembly the students in Year 2/3 reflected on the things that make St Paul’s a special place. Our school motto is ‘Love One Another’ and this is something we try to do each day through the words we say and through our actions.
We would like to share those reflections with you and tell you why St Paul’s is a special place to come each day:
Anthony
I love St Paul’s because there are heaps of kind people. One of my favourite things about St Paul’s is that it has a really fun playground where we can all play together.
Lexi
I love St Paul’s because it’s got such kind kids. It has good teachers and that means we learn lots of new things.
Jetta
I love St Paul’s because I’ve made lots of real friends. I love it because it is special to me.
Archer
I love St Paul’s because the whole community is loving and kind, especially when I first came to this school. I love being part of St Paul’s.
Annalise
St Paul’s is a good school because I have some special friends here. The best thing about St Paul’s is the teachers because they try to make the work harder.
Katherine
I love St Paul’s because of my friends. When I’m sad, they make me happy. Every day my friends greet me with a smile.
Hadley
I like being at St Paul’s because the people here are kind and caring. It makes everyone feel happy when they come to school.
Sophia
My favourite thing about school is that people help each other. St Paul’s is a very nice school and we help each other. It is the best school ever.
Chloe
St Paul’s is special because my friends are always there to help me when I am hurt. St Paul’s is special because my friends support me. I also like the way my teachers help me learn.
Sarah
St Paul’s is special because the teachers are very caring and give me a good education. I love St Paul’s because when you are sad or lonely, someone will always be there.
Heidi
I like St Paul’s because everyone is kind. All the teachers are caring and all the students learn from them. I have learnt so much in the years I have been at St Paul’s.
Toby
St Paul’s is a good school because people are kind. It also has a fun playground and oval. I like all the things we have in our classrooms too.
Alex
St Paul’s is special because it has tons of good people. The teachers are kind and helpful too.
Ivy
St Paul’s is special because I have friends and I have teachers that can help me. I like St Paul’s because they have a nice playground and classrooms.
Jasmine
I think St Paul’s is special because they have nice students that look after me. The teachers are helpful and show me how to learn.
Ryden
I like St Paul’s because some of my friends are here. I like the classes too.
Gus
I think St Paul’s is a special place because of all the friendly students, the helpful teachers and the thriving environment. The best things about St Paul’s are the students, because they make everyone that is new to the school feel like they belong.
Eva
The best thing about St Paul’s is that everyone is kind. I have awesome friends and I love seeing them each day. St Paul’s people are caring people.
Patrick
I love St Paul’s because of my friends. The teachers are nice.
Indie
I love St. Paul’s because my friends help me when I am stuck. When I started school I felt scared but my teachers made me feel welcome.
Jesse
I like St Paul’s because I have made so many friends. Whenever I am hurt, my friends will ask if I’m OK. I love St Paul’s because every school day I get to see my teachers.
Scarlett
I love St Paul’s because everyone is so friendly and everyone is kind to me.
Nevaeh
I love St Paul’s because I have really good friends. The teachers are really good and the kids are nice.
Austin
I think St Paul’s is special because I have made lots of friends. I like St Paul’s because they have great teachers.
Thanks to our Year 2/3 class for such a wonderful reflection.
Emerald BBQ - Thank You!
For many years Emerald Meats, managed by Alan and Joy Mills, have kindly donated the sausages and barbecue facilities for each Emerald BBQ. We are in a very enviable position at St Paul’s to have a location on offer where we can promote our school’s name and conduct a sausage sizzle to raise funds in a position immediately outside our supplier – Emerald Meats. How many schools have the good fortune to tap into such a convenient P&F fundraiser, with its associated marketing benefits?
Last Saturday we were fortunate enough to run the Emerald BBQ, and we thank the following families for volunteering their time so generously: Larkin, de Wit, Tesoriero and Coffey.
2023 Prep Information Night
St Paul's will welcome 16 Prep students into the school community next year. We will hold
our 2023 Prep Information Night this evening, starting at 7:00pm. We are presenting online due to the extreme weather, ensuring everyone's comfort and safety.
Following two years of Covid, we are grateful to have the opportunity to offer 5 Transition Sessions as an opportunity for the children to familiarise themselves with the school environment and to meet the Prep teaching team. Next year, Maria Cook will continue in Prep, and with Maree Ranahan retiring, Isabella Lepore will teach our Prep class one day per week.
Transition Sessions for families are a great way for our incoming Prep students to become more familiar with their school. Incoming Prep students participate in activities with school staff for an hour, while parents are invited to attend the Parent Session. At the Parent Sessions, St Paul’s staff will present an interactive lesson on the various aspects of learning in the Prep classroom. The final session is where the entire school is introduced to their teachers for next year.
The Transition Sessions for next year’s Prep students are:
Date | Time |
Wednesday 26 October 2022 | 9:30am – 10:30am |
Friday 4 November 2022 | 9:30am – 10:30am |
Wednesday 16 November 2022 | 9:30am – 10:30am |
Thursday 1 December 2022 | 9:30am – 10:30am |
Wednesday 14 December 2022 | 10:00am - 11:00am |
Planning for 2023
As we continue through Term 4, staff will be engaged in considerable planning for next year. A substantial amount of time goes into staffing decisions, allocation of children to classes and preparing procedures for the following year.
The 2023 class lists will be formulated this term. This involves the staff considering many factors - please see the ‘Formulation of Classes’ Policy for more information. In relation to the placement of students in classes, parents will receive notification in the last week of school indicating your child’s classroom teacher/s for 2023, together with end of year reports.
If parents have a valid educational reason for making a class placement request or have other relevant information which needs to be communicated to me, please make these requests in writing via email, no later than 3.00pm on Monday, 24 October. I respectfully request that parents do not request specific teachers as all of our wonderful staff members are worthy of a request! I thank you for your understanding on this.
If there is important information regarding your child and class placements that you have written to the school about in previous years, please do not assume that this information carries over from year to year. You are still required to write to me again as your child’s needs and situations change each year. Please note however, that whilst class placement requests will be considered, we cannot guarantee that parent request(s) will always be met. It has been my experience, after more than 20 years as an educator, that there will always be some requests that are impossible to accommodate.
ITALIAN DAY - FRIDAY 14 OCTOBER
We are very much looking forward to celebrating Italian Day tomorrow. We will be commencing the day with a parade, where children can come dressed in Italian-themed costume or Italian colours (see below). Parents are welcome to stay for the parade. We will gather in the undercover space for the parade to begin at approximately 8:45am.
Warm regards,
Michael Watt
Semester 2 Report Changes - Seesaw
At St Paul's we are always looking to add value to the practices we have in place. Over the past couple of years, we have strengthened our use of Seesaw to engage our families in learning. We use Seesaw to provide feedback to our students and inform/engage parents. Seesaw was a brilliant tool during remote learning and we know that our families are familiar with it, so we have made the decision to use Seesaw as a basis for our Semester 2 reports.
Semester 2 reports will look slightly different to what parents have seen in the past. In fact, you are already receiving the reports via Seesaw right now! We have shifted to a ‘continuous reporting model’. Let me explain …
What is continuous reporting?
Continuous (or ongoing) reporting is the process of reporting regularly throughout the term/semester, rather than just at specified points. As teachers, we assess our students throughout the semester. In the past parents did not get a report on how their child was going until the end of a semester, which was often a long time after the assessment had taken place. The system of continuous reporting will allow parents to get an up-to-date, timely snapshot of what their child is learning and how they are progressing. It will support parents to participate in discussions with their children about their learning and enable parents to follow up with teachers in a timely manner if they have any concerns. Continuous reporting is a report or learning journal that builds throughout the year and provides students and parents with regular assessments of student learning. Ongoing reporting will utilise Seesaw.
At the end of Semester 2, the written report will include:
- A personal comment about your child’s achievements
- Overviews that describe the learning content
- Work habits and effort
- The Victorian Curriculum Achievement page (dots).
- There will be no checklists included, these are now on Seesaw in the form of rubrics.
What is the Victorian Curriculum Achievement Page?
This page will still be included... See below for an example...
What is a rubric?
Rubrics displayed on Seesaw have replaced the checklists you have seen in the past.
A rubric for assessment is a table or a grid that lists success criteria for a task or subject, and then a scale for the teachers to indicate your child's achievement. If you open your child’s Seesaw you will see that teachers have set tasks and the teacher has included a rubric with the task, which lists success criteria in a table with an indication of the level of achievement for your child.
These checklists are no longer in the school report:
The checklists are now in the form of rubrics, uploaded to Seesaw, throughout the term/semester:
It is vital now that all parents have access to their child’s Seesaw learning journal.
It is imperative that every parent is on Seesaw and is logging in to view their child's learning progress. The staff also ask that on occasion parents leave a positive comment for their child on their work. We see the children ‘light up’ when they open Seesaw and mum or dad have left them a message of encouragement around their learning.
School Closure Days 2022
We ask that parents take note of these dates and put them in their calendars:
SCHOOL CLOSED - Monday 31 October (Cup Eve)
SCHOOL CLOSED - Monday 5 December
*Please Note: Friday 16 December is the conclusion of the school year for St Paul's students.
From the School Office
Rapid Antigen Test Kits (RATs)
As per government guidelines, schools are still being provided with RAT kits for staff and students during Term 3, however schools are no longer required to routinely send them home with students. We are instead providing them to St Paul's families on request.
If you would like to collect RAT kits from school or would like them to be sent home with your child/children, please either phone or email the school office.
Call for Support from our Year 4, 5 & 6 Students
If you have a business and would like to support our Year 4, 5 & 6 students in reaching their goal of $10,000 to build a library for a school in Tramri, Pakistan, please consider the advertising opportunity below and contact the school office.
Lunch Clubs
Our lunchtime clubs are up and running. They are held in the library/open learning space 1:30-2pm, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.
Uniform Shop
Ross Haywood Sports - Update:
St Paul's Online Uniform Shop
https://www.rhsports.com.au/product/school_wear/st_pauls_monbulk_ps
For in-store purchases RH Sports are located at 12/100 New St, Ringwood (subject to any COVID restrictions in force at the time).
The store is now a CASHLESS STORE, EFTPOS transactions will be the only acceptable method of purchase. Recent changes to improve the health and safety of staff and customers include perspex screens at the registers and the supply of hand sanitiser. We ask that customers please apply this on entry to the store.
Online ordering continues as normal with all delivery options available including contactless pick up. Please phone the store on 9870 1377 if you have any further queries.
Secondhand Uniform Shop
Our secondhand uniform shop is managed by Carla Rademaker with items being purchased by gold coin donation. Payments can be made via CDF Pay. If you are looking for items of secondhand uniform please feel free to text Carla on 0409 866 901 with your wish list. Items will usually be sent home via class tubs or collected from the school office by arrangement.
The secondhand uniform shop welcomes donations of St Paul's current school uniform items which are still in good condition. We do not accept the old St Paul's round neck jumpers, yellow shirts or non-St Paul's items. If you have any current uniform items you no longer need please feel free to leave your donations at the school office.
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
Catholic Secondary - Key enrolment dates for Year 5 students in 2023 starting Year 7 in 2025
The key enrolment dates for students in Year 5 in 2023, who will be starting Year 7 in 2025, have been agreed after consultation with the Executive of the Principals Association of Victorian Catholic Secondary Schools (PAVCSS).
Critical Dates:
27 January 2023 – Applications will open for Year 5 students commencing Year 7 in 2024.
18 August 2023 – Applications will close.
20 October 2023 – Offers to be posted to prospective Year 7 applicants.
10 November 2023 – Final date for parents/carers to accept an offer made by a school.
COMMUNITY DIRECTORY
