St Paul's Newsletter: Thursday, 9 February 2023
2023 St Paul's Newsletter - Term 1, Week 2
Credit: Daniel Flucke
From the Principal
Dear Families,
Tuesday 7 February was Safer Internet Day with the eSafety Commissioner calling on Australians this year to ‘Connect. Reflect. Protect’. The world is more connected than ever before, making online safety awareness even more important.
- Connect safely and with purpose – by keeping apps and devices secure and using social
media in positive ways. - Reflect before we act – by taking a moment to consider how what we do and say online
may affect others. - Protect ourselves by taking action – by telling family, friends or colleagues about eSafety
and how we can help.
By using eSafety resources, our school is helping our students have safer, more positive experiences online.
Ash Wednesday: Beginning of School Year Mass
There will be a 10:15am Ash Wednesday Mass at St Paul’s Church on Wednesday, 22 February. During the Mass we will acknowledge the Beginning of the School Year and staff will be publicly commissioned in their role as educators.
Mass will be followed by a welcome morning tea for parents and we hope we see as many of you as possible there!
2024 Enrolments: Open and urgent!
We are off to a great start at St Paul’s in 2023 with so many new families and several new students who have settled in so well to St Paul's life.
We are already preparing our enrolment timelines for our 2024 Prep students - enrolments for 2024 are now open!
Families that may have a child or children eligible to begin Prep here at St Paul’s, in 2024, need to send in their enrolment forms ASAP.
If every child on our list of siblings enrols in Prep at St Paul’s next year, we will have 17 Prep enrolments. This is without new families enrolling. For the first time in many years, St Paul’s may potentially be looking at a waiting list.
If you know of a family that is considering St Paul's for their child/ren, please encourage them to get in touch with us and book a tour, or direct them to our website.
We respectfully request that enrolment forms for existing families with a child/ren in Prep at St Paul's in 2024 could be completed and handed into the school office by the end of Term 1 (Thursday 6 April). Enrolment forms can be downloaded from the school website. Alternatively, paper copies or emailed forms can be requested from the school office. Thank you!
Learning and Teaching: Literacy
When teaching English in junior school, St Paul's School applies explicit instruction in phonics. This involves systematic and sequential teaching of the letter-sound relationships in written text and teaches readers to decode words. This begins in our Prep classes.
In recent years, the St Paul’s Staff have been engaged in a collaborative inquiry on evidence-based literacy approaches in order to find the best way forward for addressing our English curriculum.
After exploring a range of options, InitiaLit meets our agreed requirements for a strong literacy program in the junior school. InitiaLit is an evidence-based Prep-2 literacy program providing all children with the essential core knowledge and strong foundations to become successful readers and writers. InitiaLit addresses the key components of high-quality, evidence-based practice for our juniors.
In the middle to senior school we have settled on Spelling Mastery as a component of our 3-6 literacy programs. Like InitiaLit, Spelling Mastery is an evidence-based spelling program that will support and complement our reading and writing throughout the middle to senior school.
Both of these programs involve instructional grouping, where students are grouped according to their point of need. Our teachers and learning support staff are setting up a strong team-based approach and this means your child might not have their 'classroom teacher' for all literacy sessions. At St Paul's we pride ourselves on providing personalised learning for students, where teachers deliver a tailored curriculum - we deliver the curriculum but we teach the child!
We are proud and excited to be implementing these strong literacy programs for the benefit of every child. If you wish to know more, we are hosting a Literacy Parent Information Session for parents on Wednesday 22 February, at 9:00am. Maria Cook and myself will present the session, along with our Learning Diversity Leading Teacher, Sarah Kleverkamp.
Literacy Parent Information Session
Wednesday 22 February
9:00am
Confirmation: Saturday 20 May
Eligible Year 5 and Year 6 students will be invited to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation here at St Paul's Church on Saturday 20 May. The ceremony will be held at 12:00pm. More information will soon be sent to Year 5 and 6 parents via Operoo.
The Country Fair: Saturday 18 March
Our Country Fair will be held on Saturday 18 March.
We have 3 Free Dress Days coming up to assist with preparation for The Country Fair. The following days are Free Dress Days and we ask that donations be brought into school:
- Friday 17 February: Free Dress and Fun Hat Day - Wear a fun hat and bring a block of chocolate (ideally 180g) for the lob-a-choc!
- Friday 24 February: Favourite t-shirt Free Dress Day - Wear your favourite t-shirt and bring a raffle item (as outlined below).
- Friday 3 March: Free Dress Day with a Mystery Jar - Wear Free Dress and bring in a jar filled with small items (small toys, marbles, lollies, loom bands, etc etc).
Each class will also be responsible for putting together a hamper as a raffle prize. We ask that items are brought in on 24 February. Please check below for the theme of your child's class hamper. All donations are gratefully accepted!
- Prep CL: Baby Hamper
- 1/2KG: Garden Hamper
- 1/2D: Art and Craft Hamper
- Year 3BD: Baking Hamper
- Year 4/5MV: Rainy Day Games and Activities Hamper
- Year 5/6S: "Pamper Pack" Hamper
IMPORTANT - We are very conscious of cost of living pressures. If a child comes to school wearing free dress on those days listed above, but does not have a donation item, we don't ask why and we don't follow up. Although we hope that all families donate on each Free Dress Day, a family might donate to only 1 or maybe 2 or all 3 of these days, depending on their situation. We are particularly conscious if a family has 2 or 3 children here at the school, we know this can be a lot. Across the board we are confident that we'll have a good number of donations.
Vic Govt ban on single-use plastic items from 1st Feb
Please note that from last week the government has banned the use of single use plastic (SUP) items at school. We are no longer permitted to provide plastic cutlery to students, so please ensure they bring their own from home. The directive from the government is as follows:
From 1 February 2023, Victorian businesses and organisations (including schools) will not be able to sell or supply a number of single-use plastic (SUP) items.
The ban includes SUP drinking straws, drink stirrers, cutlery, plates and cotton buds. It also applies to food service items and cups made from expanded polystyrene, as well as compostable plastic alternatives.
Schools with canteens and outside school hours care programs operated by third parties should ensure their operators are aware of the ban.
Schools should plan to replace SUP items with reusable resources. Where it is not possible to use reusable items, schools can choose single-use items made from alternative materials, such as uncoated paper, wood or bamboo.
Schools can continue to use up existing stock before the ban starts on 1 February 2023. Banned items cannot be provided after this date, even if they were purchased before the ban.
People who need SUP drinking straws due to disability or for a medical need will still be able to purchase and use these items.
Schools can continue to purchase SUP straws from their suppliers so that these are available when needed and there is no requirement for individuals to provide verification of disability or medical need when requesting straws.
BUS: OSHClub Transport
St Paul's and OSHClub is lucky to have a bus service picking students up from the front of our school. The Bus Route for St Paul's students travelling to OSHClub or home is - left into Mount Pleasant Rd, left into Main Road, left into David Hill Rd for the OSHClub drop off. The bus then continues to Monbulk College, collects students and heads off to drop students at their home bus stops. The bus travels in the reverse route each morning, picks up from OSHClub (Monbulk PS) and drops students at school.
Please ensure that you let the school know (email the office/classroom teacher) if your child is to use this service. This is especially important if circumstances change. If your child is using the service for the first time we will inform the driver, and at times, Michael will travel on the bus to help build confidence and independence, particularly when it is the first time for a Prep student.
- The Bus Company is Ventura.
- A staff member puts the students on the bus each day at 3:00pm or when it arrives at the front gate. The staff member does not travel with or supervise the students on the bus.
- The bus arrives at St Paul's at approximately 8:35-8:40am
- It is not a public bus so unknown adults cannot get on the bus.
- Each driver has a ‘Working with Children Check.’
- Usually there are several students travelling on the bus, but be aware that it could be possible that your child is the only one on the bus.
- Some parents meet their child at the drop off point. This is a good idea.
- Parents need to inform their child where they are to get off the bus and what roads and where they are to cross, after disembarking from the bus.
Parent Teacher Transition Interviews
Transition to a new school year for staff and students involves setting up strong communication processes and building on the relationship between teachers and families to support student learning. As part of our transition process, on Wednesday 8 March, parents/guardians are invited for an initial interview with the classroom teacher to help support your child’s learning this year.
We use schoolinterviews.com.au to organise our interview bookings and you will receive the details for this over the next couple of weeks.
Please Note
School will conclude at 1:00pm on Wednesday 8 March
Students travelling on the bus on this day will be supervised at school until 3pm by staff not involved in the PTI Interviews.
Interrelate School and Family Services
Once again we have engaged the services of Interrelate. Interrelate lead family information sessions on human development. The sessions are age appropriate and help facilitate discussions between parents and their children.
Interrelate Family Night: Thursday 2 March
CAN YOU ASSIST?
We are seeking a parent to coordinate our Second Hand Uniform Shop, located in the Meeting Room here at school. This involves sorting donations and meeting other parents that wish to visit the shop.
Can you help??
If so, please contact the school office on 9756 7201
THANK YOU!
Car Park Witches Hats - Staff/Visitors Car Park
You may have noticed that we place 3 witches hats out the front of the administration office, in the staff/visitor car park. These witches hats serve more than one purpose:
- To alert cars that there is an office door where people move in and out of regularly
- To slow cars down
- To keep cars a safe distance from pedestrians
The witches hats are moved forward at 3:00pm to stop cars driving through the car park. The bus students are escorted behind those witches hats, where there are no cars moving, for their safety.
Parents that use the staff/visitor car park will need to be aware of the use of the witches hats and at pick up time, be aware that they will need to wait for the bus students to depart safely before they can drive out.
Icy Pole Fridays
Our Year 6 Social Justice Group are happy to announce our much-anticipated Term 1 event, Icy Pole Fridays, is on again for 2023!
If you would like to participate we require full payment for the term prior to our first icy pole day which is Friday, 10 February 2023. Payment should be made via CDF Pay, our online school shop, which is easily accessible via the ‘CDF Pay’ tile on the home screen of our school app, SZapp.
There will be 9 Fridays in Term 1 and the cost, if you decide to participate, will be $4.50 for each child.
If you have any questions please contact either Paula or Helen via phone (9756 7201) or email:
Paula Hogan (phogan@spmonbulk.catholic.edu.au)
Helen Hermann (office@spmonbulk.catholic.edu.au)
Important Dates: Updated
Our Important Dates page has been updated with the date for our Art Show (31 May), Italian Day (20 October) and Confirmation (20 May). Please also ensure that you have recorded our Closure Days for this year:
Term 1 - no school for students on:
- Thursday 6 April - Learning and Teaching Professional Learning
Term 2 - no school for students on:
- Monday 24 April - Review Preparation
Term 3 - no school for students on:
- Friday 1 September - Education in Faith Professional Learning
Term 4 - no school for students on:
- Monday 6 November - Reporting and Assessment
- Monday 11 December - 2024 Planning (OSHClub will be available)
Students conclude for the 2023 school year on Monday 18 December.
We ask that parents note these closure days, and all important dates, in their calendar.
Yours sincerely,
Michael Watt
Student Wellbeing
During the first week of school, St Paul's had a special 'Wellbeing Week'. Students and teachers created their 2023 classroom community, through exploring class routines, school expectations and our St Paul's Values. They participated in activities to build teamwork and collaboration. Each class read the story 'Maybe' by Kobi Yamada and focused on reaching our potential through having a growth mindset. Classes created their own personal superheroes, learnt the difference between a growth mindset and a fixed mindset, used 'brainbreaks' and lot lots more.
Ask your child what activities their class did during the week!
From the School Office
Operoo - Student Medical and Contact Details
As we begin another school year it is important to update our records for students and Parents/Guardians.
- Have any of your family or contact details changed?
- Have there been any changes to your child's medical profile?
- Have you uploaded your child's updated Allergy, Asthma or Anaphylaxis plan?
Please ensure that you have reviewed and updated your child's Operoo profile, carefully checking that all information held about your child and emergency contact details are accurate and up to date.
Fee Statements
Fee Statements for this year's school fees have now been emailed to families. If you have not yet received yours, please contact the school office. Please note the levies portion of school fee accounts is due for payment by 18 February. To set up a periodic payment plan please complete this Direct Debit Request Form or contact the school office if you require assistance setting up a payment plan, or wish to discuss your school fee account.
Conveyance Allowance
If you received Conveyance Allowance for your child in 2022, you do not need to complete an application form for them again in 2023, unless there has been a change in your family circumstances.
You only need to complete a new application form if any of the following have occurred:
- You have a new student that has started at St Paul’s in 2023 - you will need to complete a new application form for that child only
- You did not apply in 2022
- Changed family circumstances, such as a change of address since 2022
Please check with the school office if you are unsure.
Important Notices for Health Care Card Holders:
Camps, Sports & Excursion Fund (CSEF)
2023 Concessional Fee Policy
From the commencement of 2022 Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) introduced a Concessional Fee Policy. Please refer to the Policy to determine whether you may be eligible for discounted school fees.
Important Dates
TERM 1
- Wednesday 8 February - Prep rest day (no school for Prep students)
- Tuesday 21 February - Shrove Tuesday
Wednesday 15 February - Prep rest day (no school for Prep students)
Wednesday 22 February - Prep rest day (no school for Prep students)
- Wednesday 22 February - School Advisory Council
- Wednesday 22 February (10:15am) Ash Wednesday/Staff Commissioning/Opening of School Year Mass & Parent Morning Tea
- Thursday 2 March - Working Bee
- Thursday 2 March - Interrelate Family Night
- Wednesday 8 March - Parent/Teacher Transition Interviews (school concludes at 1:00pm)
- Monday 13 March LABOUR DAY PUBLIC HOLIDAY
- 13 - 19 March Catholic Education Week
- Wednesday 15 - Monday 27 March NAPLAN Testing Window
- Wednesday 22 March - Year 1/2 Mass
- Thursday 29 March - School Advisory Council
- Saturday 18 March COUNTRY FAIR
- Wednesday 5 April Term 1 Concludes for Students
- Thursday 6 April SCHOOL CLOSURE DAY
- Friday 7 April GOOD FRIDAY
- Sunday 9 April EASTER SUNDAY
TERM 2
- Monday 24 April SCHOOL CLOSURE DAY
- Tuesday 25 April ANZAC Day PUBLIC HOLIDAY
- Wednesday 26 April Term 2 Commences for Students
- Monday 8 May School Photos
- Wednesday 10 May - Mother's Day Mass
- Wednesday 10 May - School Advisory Council
- Friday 12 May - Mother's Day Stall
- Saturday 13 May - Emerald BBQ
- Sunday 14 May - Mother's Day
- Saturday 20 May - Confirmation 12:00pm
- Wednesday 31 May - 2023 ART SHOW
- Thursday 1 June - Working Bee
- Thursday 22 June - School Advisory Council
- Wednesday 21 June - 3 Way Conferences (aka Parent/Teacher/Student Interviews)
- Friday 23 June - Term 2 Concludes
TERM 3
- Monday 10 July - Term 3 Commences
- Wednesday 26 July - Grandparents and Special Person's Day
- Wednesday 26 July - School Advisory Council
- Tuesday 8 August - Feast of Mary MacKillop
- Wednesday 9 August - Mary MacKillop Mass
- Saturday 12 August - Emerald BBQ
- Tuesday 15 August - Feast of the Assumption of Mary
- Wednesday 16 August - Assumption of Mary Mass
- Thursday 31 August - Working Bee
- Thursday 31 August - School Advisory Council
- Friday 1 September - SCHOOL CLOSURE DAY
- Wednesday 6 September - Friday 8 September - Year 5/6 Camp to Sovereign Hill
- Friday 16 September - Term 3 concludes
TERM 4
- Monday 2 October - Term 4 commences
- Wednesday 11 October - Prep Mass
- Wednesday 18 October - School Advisory Council
- Saturday 21 October - Emerald BBQ
- Thursday 26 October - Working Bee
- Monday 6 November - SCHOOL CLOSURE DAY
- Tuesday 7 November - Melbourne Cup PUBLIC HOLIDAY
- Thursday 30 November - School Advisory Council
- Wednesday 6 December - Gratitude Day Mass
- Monday 11 December - SCHOOL CLOSURE DAY
- Wednesday 13 December - Passing On Ceremony
- Wednesday 13 December - Year 6 Graduation (6pm Mass)
- Monday 18 December - Final school day for students
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. 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
Community Directory
