St Paul's Newsletter: Friday, 28 April 2023
2023 St Paul's Newsletter - Term 2, Week 1
From the Principal
Dear Families,
Welcome to our first newsletter for Term 2. We hope you had a very safe and restful
break with family and friends over the Easter weekend and term break. Term 2 is a
very important term for learning. Routines and school procedures are now well
established and children are continuing to build on relationships with new and old
friends.
Over the holidays we had plenty of maintenance work carried out. We had our gutters cleaned and we had the leaves and litter cleaned up. The Staff/Visitors car park was tidied up with a cutback of overgrown bushes. We fixed the handrail on the stage and taped down the carpet in the senior classrooms. The plastic tiles at the bottom of the stairs to the gym were secured and work was carried out on the music room ceiling.
Last Tuesday 25 April our nation recognised ANZAC Day
ANZAC Day, originally a commemoration of the landing of Australian and New Zealand forces at Gallipoli on the 25th April 1915, has grown to become one of the most significant national days in Australia. In addition to acknowledging the service and sacrifice of all Australians who have served in war or on peacekeeping operations, ANZAC Day has a strong link to the identity of Australia itself. This is a time when Australians reflect on the ANZAC spirit and the qualities we as a nation value and believe in.
As a school we will recognise and acknowledge ANZAC Day at this Monday's Prayer gathering Assembly. Year 5/6S will lead a prayer service at 2:10pm in the Church, all welcome.
Friday 12 May: Art Show Free Dress Day!
We are preparing for our Art Show. Students are invited to wear free dress and bring in/donate an art item which will be used to create hampers. We are conscious of cost of living pressures, and we know how well-supported our Country Fair was, so if a child does not have an item or gold coin but wears free dress, that is totally fine we will not be asking the children. Please see below from Mrs Curwood.
Choir: Canto Cuore
Teresa Fraraccio, our wonderful Music/Performing Arts teacher, has spoken with students about starting a choir at lunchtime on Tuesdays. Our 'choir' will be known as - 'Canto Cuore' (which translates as 'singing heart' in Italian). Canto Cuore will be held during the first half of lunch for Grades 3-6 this term, and will open to Juniors in Term 3.
2023 School Review
Since the beginning of this year, the staff have been preparing for the Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) External Review of St Paul’s School, which will be carried out over July and August this year. Every Catholic school undergoes review once every four years. Therefore, the last time St Paul’s was subject to review was in 2019. In preparation for this year’s review, the school’s Leadership Team and staff have been collating data from the past four years and we will spend time reflecting on our School Improvement Plan and subsequent Annual Action Plans. The review is based on the School Improvement Framework (SIF) and as a staff we will spend time working with a SIF Rubric. The SIF Rubric has been specifically developed to assist schools in their preparation for the SIF model of school review. Please view the following video for more information:
Car Park Procedures
Please exercise extreme patience when navigating the car park as it can become congested due to the large number of families arriving/leaving at the same time. A gentle reminder and a respectful request that cars do not park in the ‘drop off’ zone when dropping children at school in the morning. Parked cars should be in the centre of the basketball courts, and cars that are doing the
‘kiss and drop’ will utilise the perimeter of the courts so as to keep traffic flow moving. When exiting, please use the large exit gate onto Moores Road and turn left or right as needed. Thank you for your patience with one another and cooperation in maintaining a safe and orderly environment.
Supervision Before & After School
The children are supervised in the mornings by teaching staff outside on the yard from 8:25 – 8:45am. Classrooms open at 8:30am and during this time the children may enter their classroom and commence setting up for the day and play outside.
Children dropped off at school any earlier than 8:25am can not be supervised as staff are regularly involved in meetings, preparation and administration. Please do not drop off children prior to 8:25am.
The children’s school day concludes at 3.00pm, and staff are very appreciative when children are collected at this time. Parents that can not get to school by 3:15pm are reminded that OSHClub is available before school and after school every weekday.
Annual Whole School Sports Day
Yesterday we held our Whole School Sports Day. It started off as a beautiful morning, with a warm breeze and the sun was shining - until!!! ... The rain came just after 10:00am ... We managed to complete 4 out of 6 sport activity rotations which was a great achievement. Emma-lee Curwood then took the middle and senior students through the shot put events in small groups.
Our staff arrived bright and early on the day to set up the events and we thank each staff member for their dedication to ensuring a successful event.
Without the help of parents days such as this can not run. On behalf of the staff, we say a huge thanks to the parents that volunteered to help out. It is very difficult, if not impossible, to have a smooth transition from event to event without our parents’ support. Our volunteers were terrific with the encouragement and support of each student.
A sincere thank you to our Parents and Friends who went above and beyond to cook the sausages in the rain and ensure every child had an icypole! It wasn't easy, and every child was extremely grateful.
Congratulations to every child that competed. Each child gave 100% effort and we are very proud of each student.
In particular we thank and acknowledge Emma-lee Curwood for the preparation and organisation that went into the day. Emma-lee worked very hard behind the scenes to lead the event, and we are most grateful.
Term 2: Winter Uniform
Over recent years our summer/winter uniform requirements have adjusted. For example, students can wear shorts all year around. The biggest difference between the summer/winter requirements is around the school dress. There is a summer dress and winter tunic.
We have summer/winter uniform changeover times as a guide to assist families. However, please be assured that students are welcome to dress for the weather. It can be warm well into April, and not cool down for winter until May! Similarly, it can be cool right through October and well into November.
As has been the practice in the past, students can choose to wear summer uniform if they wish for the first two weeks of Term 2. If it is still warm beyond May 8, then please dress for the weather on those days, but winter uniform is requested. We do not require hats to be worn on the yard during Term 2 and Term 3.
School Photos
School Photos will be taken on Monday 8 May. 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!). We will check the weather closer to the day but at this time we will ask students to wear winter uniform, thank you.
Slippers
St Paul’s has a long standing practice whereby students wear slippers during the day. The rationale for this is to avoid having wet, red mud stuck on nice school shoes, as well as walking it throughout the school after playtimes, keeping the carpets and facilities clean.
On occasion, slippers are walked into wet areas and therefore we respectfully request that students wear hard-soled slippers. This will also protect their own feet. Slippers with soft soles actually collect more mess than hard-soled slippers or shoes, therefore we ask that students do not wear slippers with soft soles.
Yours sincerely,
Michael Watt
From the School Office
School Photos - Order Forms
All students have been given a personalised School Photo Order Form to take home. Please contact the school office if you have not yet received yours.
Project Compassion
We thank all families for their support of Caritas Australia via donations in the Project Compassion boxes throughout the recent Lent/Easter period. The Parish are now gathering all donations so they can forward them onto Caritas Australia.
If you have a box at home could you please send it to school next Monday.
Operoo - Student Medical and Contact Details
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.
- 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?
Important Dates
TERM 2
- 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 (AGM)
- Wednesday 6 December - Gratitude Day Mass
- Thursday 7 December - Christmas Carols Night
- 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 Kelly Garrett with items being purchased by gold coin donation. If you are looking for items of secondhand uniform please feel free to text Kelly on 0435 810 954 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
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