Dear Parents,

As I reflect on my first year as Principal, I am filled with gratitude for the support from our wonderful school community. It has been an incredible journey of growth and collaboration.

Together, we've celebrated successes, faced challenges, and embraced opportunities for positive change. Your dedication to your children's education and our shared commitment to creating a nurturing learning environment have been inspiring.

I am proud of the achievements we've accomplished and look forward to building upon them in the coming years. Your feedback and involvement have been invaluable, and I appreciate the trust you've placed in the school.

As we continue this journey, I am excited about the possibilities and the continued partnership between home and school.  Here's to many more years of learning, growth and success

Finally I wish you all a safe and happy Christmas and New Year.  Take care and see you in 2024.

Freda Tahtouh 

Advent

In this special season of Advent, we watch and wait for Christ’s coming! We light candles of hope, peace, joy, and love, remembering the promises of God with prayer. Today at the Advent Liturgy, we lit the candle of joy and peace, and invited each student to embrace the opportunities to see joy in each other and to be a person of joyfulness in all our words and actions to each other this week. Let us look for ordinary ways that we can be the change we want to see in the world. 

School Advisory Council

Our School Advisory Council has met throughout the year where they have discussed policy and been a voice for other parents. This year we farewell and thank those members of the Advisory Council who have served their time including Lisa Galante, Stuart Hall and Alex Poles. Thank you for your service and positive contribution to the school. To our current Council members Jamie Hickey, Bec Belej, and Margy D’Rozario, thank you for your contribution this year and I look forward to continuing the good work into 2024. 

Expressions of Interest

Next year we will be looking to fill three positions for the 2024 School Advisory Council. At the request of the Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) board – our governing body, St Paul’s Bentleigh is establishing a School Advisory Council to support the principal, parish priest and leadership team of the school. While no particular expertise is required, the school seeks people with a range of diverse skill sets to best advise the principal, united by a desire to provide the best possible education for our students.

A balanced membership with parent voice on the School Advisory Council is well-placed to advise the principal about important matters, particularly those related to the school’s mission and students’ success. The needs of the council will be given priority in terms of ensuring a balance of gender, cultural diversity and skill sets.

Therefore, we are calling on you to express your interest in being part of the School Advisory Council. If you wish to be part of St Paul’s School Advisory Council, we would welcome your application in writing to Freda Tahtouh.

Parents and Friends 

The P&F has had another very successful year of fundraising and building a strong community spirit. Thank you to the many families who have worked so hard across a variety of functions and events to allow us to achieve great outcomes for our school. I would like to especially thank Toni Anderson, President of the Parents and Friends for her wonderful leadership throughout the year. I would also like to acknowledge the Dad’s group who are always on hand to support school functions and provide a warm welcome to new and existing families. A special thanks to Donna Campbell who, after over 20 years at the school, and many years on the P&F, is saying goodbye to St Paul’s. Donna, thank you for your passion, your enthusiasm, and your generosity of spirit. You have been an invaluable part of the Parents and Friends for many years. St Paul’s won’t be the same without you!

Gratitude & Appreciation

My thanks to all the teachers, leaders, learning support officers, and support staff here at St Paul’s. This is a close community for families, as well as staff.  Each staff member has contributed to the culture of the school. Each one of us plays an important part in, not only the running of the school, but the heartbeat of the place. As I’m fond of telling any new parent, think about the quote from the Castle…it’s about the vibe. Our vibe is that we are passionate about our profession, we work extremely hard, and we do all we can for the students in our care.

End of Year Mass

All families are warmly welcomed to join Fr Jacob and the staff and students in a Mass of thanksgiving this Tuesday at 10am where we will also farewell students and families who are leaving. 

Farewells 

In just a few days we will be saying farewell to the Year 6 students and their families at the end of Year Mass and Graduation liturgy.  Thank you for your leadership and the inspiration you have been to other students. We wish you continued success and blessings for high school.

We wish a fond farewell to the families leaving St Paul’s at the end of 2023. Thank you for your support throughout the years. We hope you take with you the memories and friendships made here. Best wishes from all of us and good luck for the future. 

Sincere thanks to Cathy Epstein, our devoted numeracy leader, for the incredibly hard work she has done coming in to lead the school in Numeracy.  Cathy is a passionate and dedicated Numeracy Leader and has left a lasting mark on our staff and students. We wish Cathy all the best as she continues her work at St Peter’s and Mathematics Association of Victoria. 

Meet the Teacher

The students will meet their 2024 teacher on Wednesday morning. It is a time of great anticipation for many, and for some a few nerves about the unknown.

Teachers have put in an enormous amount of thought and care into the classes for 2024. It is important to remember that there are many factors that go into planning class groupings so that students are supported and given the best opportunities to learn and grow. 

Great care is taken to ensure, as much as possible, a balance between the classes, including: academic needs, gender, friendships, wellbeing and social-emotional needs, classroom support, even class sizes, working relationships, considerations for neuro-diversity, as well as written requests from parents. Teachers have spent many hours collaborating with each other to construct classes for the following year.  Whilst you may see your child come home nervous about the following year, it would be a good chance to reflect on the positives, the friends that they have, the people they know and work well with, and the opportunities to make new friends in 2024. 

Hampers

A big thank you for your incredible generosity and support in making our recent donations to St. Vincent de Paul and Westernport Community a tremendous success. Your contributions have made a positive impact on the lives of those in need, and we are grateful for your kindness and compassion.

Together, we are making a difference in our community, and your willingness to give speaks volumes about the strength of our school family. Thank you for embodying the spirit of kindness and generosity.

Final Day of School

The final day for our Year 6 students is Thursday 14 December 3.30pm  Our traditional "Walking Out the Door" song and guard of honour will take place on the tennis courts from 3.00pm. We invite families to join us.

Our Prep to Year 5 students finish Friday 15 December at 3.30pm.

The first day back for 2024 is Tuesday 30 January.   The Term 1 2024 calendar will be emailed to you all later in the week.

Lost Property

Throughout the week we will have trestle tables outside the hall with all the lost property.  Please take the time to look through for any missing items.