St Paul's Newsletter: Thursday, 24 November 2022
2022 St Paul's Newsletter - Term 4, Week 8
From the Deputy Principal
Dear Families,
It is hard to believe we only have a few weeks left of the 2022 school year! We are fast approaching Christmas and many of our classrooms are beginning to explore Advent as they focus on the theme of 'Waiting'.
As we think about the year that is nearly over it is wonderful to reflect on all of our student successes and experiences - many of which have been highlighted in our School Newsletter each week. These are made possible through student hard word and perseverance, but also that of our staff, parents, and school community, and we thank you for your continued engagement and involvement.
Behind the scenes at St Paul's our teachers and support staff work throughout each year to engage with professional learning and dialogue to improve their practice for the benefit of all students. We have had a number of School Closure Days in 2022 where staff have worked hard to design our new Pedagogical Framework and plan for the future. This framework sets our direction in Learning and Teaching and includes our vision created by staff - that all students leave St Paul's as confident, resilient, empathetic problem solvers and global citizens. This framework can be seen below.
InitiaLit
As part of this vision, and our continued work around best practice in using data as evidence to inform our teaching, we are excited to be able to offer InitiaLit as our approach to teaching reading, writing and spelling in Grades P-2 next year. All staff have been trained in delivering InitiaLit and both our School Advisory Council and new Foundation parents have been guided through the program.
InitiaLit is a reading program that incorporates synthetic phonics, rich literature and vocabulary development. It will provide a consistent approach to our literacy teaching in junior grades and is an evidence based approach that is aligned to the curriculum.
NOTICE OF SCHOOL ADVISORY COUNCIL ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
On Tuesday evening, 30 November, the School Advisory Council will hold the Annual General Meeting at 6.45pm.
While the provision of a school environment that supports the Catholic ethos is largely the responsibility of the Parish Priest, principal and school staff, the School Advisory Council plays a significant role in supporting the spiritual and educational welfare of students. They do this through their contribution to the development of school plans and policies and their participation in activities that uphold the mission of Catholic education as expressed in the school's vision.
The specific functions of the Board include:
• promoting and supporting the Catholic ethos of the school
• supporting the Religious Education and Sacramental programs
• involvement in policy review and development
• contributing to setting objectives for the school year
• engaging in local promotion of the school
• communicating with parents and the school’s parent groups
At the AGM, annual reports are delivered. The AGM provides typically the opportunity for some current members to stand down while enabling new members to join. The AGM is an open meeting and any person that might be interested in joining the SAC is most welcome to attend.
Nominations for the SAC are to be submitted by 9:00am, Tuesday 29 November, 2022. CLICK HERE top open the nomination form.
Warm regards,
Stephenie Peels
Gratitude Mass Wednesday, 7 December 2022
We would like to welcome everyone to our Gratitude Mass which will be held in the St Paul's Church on Wednesday, 7 December at 10.15am. At the conclusion of Mass a morning tea will be served for families in attendance as a way to say thank you for your support throughout 2022.
In the past, we have held a Christmas Carols Evening towards the end of Term 4. There have been challenges with getting this off the ground this year so Irene Haritos and St Paul's students will be singing Christmas carols at the end of our Gratitude Mass as a replacement for this evening for this year only.
We look forward to running our Christmas Carols Evening again in 2023, and to seeing many of you at our Gratitude Mass.
If you are attending please indicate this on the Operoo form that has been sent to all families.
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 22 November), before and after school until Friday 9 December.
Angel Tree
The Angel Tree is back!!!
Just like last year, we ask if you can donate a present and then put it under the Angel Tree for someone that is less fortunate than us in our community. We ask that you grab an angel and write on the angel what gender it is for and what age it is for, then stick it on the present to help Monbulk Care sort the presents. Just before Christmas, Monbulk Care comes and picks up the presents that have been donated by the school, which they send to other people in the community so they wake up to a present or two on Christmas morning.
We are very grateful for all of your thoughtful donations and we wish everyone a very merry Christmas.
Mini Monbulkers
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 have recently sent home 2 boxes of RAT kits per student. 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.
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
