St Paul's Newsletter: Thursday, 17 November 2022
2022 St Paul's Newsletter - Term 4, Week 7
From the Principal
Dear Families,
On behalf of our entire community, we can't thank our army of volunteers for last Saturday's Bunnings BBQ enough! We were incredibly lucky to have favourable weather and we were busy as a result!
It was a massive undertaking, with a mountain of supplies being collected at 7am, right through to 4:00pm in the afternoon. Our P&F Association initiated the fundraiser, and were supported by many volunteers, including 3 staff members, Julie Dietrich, Maree Ranahan and Irene Haritos. We also thank the following families for offering and donating their assistance: Brudenell, Bohun, Watson, Flynn, Colahan, Zylinski, Selby, Catling, Groen, Coffey, Dunstan. I particularly acknowledge one volunteer, our "Bunnings BBQ Captain", Erica (Rik) Johnston. In order to run a Bunnings BBQ the organisation must provide a "BBQ Captain". That person must be on-site from 7:30am until the BBQ is finished and packed up. It is a big job, and Rik volunteered her entire Saturday to take on the role. Thank you Rik, and everyone involved.
The final figure raised was over $2,000 which is amazing for our school. Thank you again!
Year 6 Excursion - Sovereign Hill
Carolynne Boyd and myself were fortunate enough to take our Year 6 students on an excursion to Sovereign Hill last Tuesday. We know how disappointed the students were when we had to cancel our much anticipated 2021 Senior School camp to Sovereign Hill, especially since the students had worked so hard and enjoyed their 2021 Term 2 Integrated Unit focusing on the Gold Rush.
We spent the day exploring life in the 1850’s through a living township containing shops, trades, schools and dwellings. We enjoyed experiences and activities such as gold panning, bowling, gold pouring, candle dipping, underground mining and confectionery making.
St Paul’s 2023 Staffing
I am proud to detail the staffing at St Paul’s for the 2023 school year.
Leadership Structure
- Principal: Michael Watt
- Deputy Principal/Learning & Teaching Leader: Stephenie Peels
- Learning Diversity & Student Wellbeing Leader: Sarah Kleverkamp
- Religious Education Leader: Carolynne Boyd
- Maths Leading Teacher: Kelly Geoghegan
- Literacy Leading Teacher: Stephenie Peels
Office Administration:
- Office Manager: Helen Hermann
- Office Assistant: Bosa Sofranic-Carter
Classroom
- 5/6S: Daniel Salan
- 4/5MV: Jo McIntosh (Mon-Wed) & Cathie Vermeer (Thu-Fri)
- 3BD: Carolynne Boyd (4 days) & Julie Dietrich (Wed)
- 1/2D: Emma Dinkgreve
- 1/2KG: Jacqui Kerr (Mon-Wed) & Kelly Geoghegan (Thu-Fri)
- Prep CL: Maria Cook (Mon-Thu) & Isabella Lepore (Fri)
Specialist Teachers
- Physical Education: Emma-lee Curwood
- Music/Performing Arts & Choir: Irene Haritos
- Visual Arts: Emma-lee Curwood
- Languages (Italian): Isabella Lepore
Support Roles
- Literacy Intervention Teacher: Stephenie Peels
- Counsellor: Paula Hogan
- Library Technician: Alayne Kowald
- Learning Support Officers: Elizabeth Van Graas, Alayne Kowald, Bosa Sofranic-Carter, Greg McCourt & Paula Hogan
Michael out - Long Service Leave
I am currently on Long Service Leave. I will be on leave from Thursday 17 November until Friday 25 November. I am attending a wedding for a very good friend in Perth this Saturday. During that time Mrs Stephenie Peels will be Acting Principal and I know Stephenie will be very well supported.
Warm regards,
Michael Watt
Reminder: School Closure Day - Monday 5 December
Christmas Raffle
Our Year 4/5/6 students are running a Christmas raffle with 6 amazing hampers to be won!
Tickets will be 50c each or 3 for $1.00 and all proceeds go towards our library project in Tramri, Pakistan - we are getting so close to our goal of $10,000!
Tickets will be available daily (from Tuesday 22nd Nov), before and after school until Friday 9th December.
St Paul's student wins top academic scholarship at Xavier College Kew
Former St Paul's alumni, Patrick Price, has achieved a top academic scholarship to the prestigious Xavier College in Kew. Founded in 1872, the Jesuit run Xavier College is widely regarded as one of the finest Catholic schools in Australia. Patrick attributes much of his academic achievement to the formative education and nurturing teachers at St Paul's. "When I left St Paul's, I was always amazed how advanced and mature the St Paul's students were compared with other students. We never lost the St Paul's values we gained and made the school motto to 'love one another' part of our life".
We say a huge congratulations to Patrick, as well as Andrew and Kathy Price, on this tremendous achievement.
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 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 4, however schools are no longer required to routinely send them home with students, so we have instead been providing them to St Paul's families on request.
Given that we now have an over-supply of RATs in storage at school we will be sending home 2 boxes of RAT kits per student today. If you don't need them for your own family, please feel free to pass them on to extended family or friends that can use them, as we would rather they be used than expire and end up in the bin. We have also put a small supply of boxes on the bench in the school foyer for parishioners or families who would like extra boxes.
Alternatively, if you would like any additional RAT kits 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
