Dear Parents,

Last week we had the Protective Behaviours incursion for all students from Prep to Year 6 with Cath McCallig. Students learnt about consent: what does it mean and how do we empower ourselves and others to use it? They also learnt about creating a safety network of trusted grown-ups.

Cath also ran two online parent sessions on Sex Ed on Thursday night. The first session was around Families, Bodies and Babies and the second session centred around Puberty: Growing and Changing.

The feedback from parents who attend has been overwhelmingly positive! 

Cath made the sessions very engaging and age-appropriate. One parent said “she made a tricky topic less awkward - plus even I learnt a thing or two!” Another parent spoke about how wonderful Cath’s presentation was because she gave so many opportunities for children to ask questions. Further feedback was on how parents appreciated the online platform because it fostered a more comfortable environment for children to talk about these topics to their parents in their own home. 

It’s always great to receive feedback on some school parent nights we run so thank you to those families. We’d like to thank Cath McCallig for all the time she spent at St Paul’s and we look forward to possibly seeing her again next year.

MOTHER'S DAY STALL - THURSDAY 11 MAY

MOTHER'S DAY BREAKFAST - FRIDAY 12 MAY

$15 per family!

Purchase tickets through here - www.trybooking.com/CHXTY

Includes the Dad's Famous bacon and Egg rolls, Fruit platters, Coffee Cart and more.

WELCOME (BACK) to St Paul’s

We welcome Helen McFarlane back to St Paul’s. Helen is teaching Year 3 on Mondays and Tuesdays for the remainder of the year. Helen taught at St Paul’s a number of years ago before living and working in the US. We’re very happy to welcome Helen back!

CLASSROOM AWARDS

SCHOOL UNIFORM FROM SUMMER TO WINTER

If the last few days are anything to go by, we can definitely say that winter is upon us. We ask that, as of this week, all students wear the winter uniform.

This term, St Paul's will be working with the St Kilda Football Club to support Indigenous communities. As part of the St. Kilda Football Club’s Reboot Campaign, we are inviting families to donate any unwanted football boots. The boots will be distributed to indigenous children living in Darwin, the Tiwi Islands, Alice Springs, Victoria and rural and remote areas of South Australia who are unable to buy their own football boots due to financial restraints and the distance required to travel to the shops.

There is a box in the office where football boots can be donated. Please ensure the laces are tied together or put your boots in a plastic bag.

In order to go into the running for a signed Indigenous jumper, scan the QR code above the donation box and enter your details or write your name and contact number inside your boots.

Please contact Thalia Kurzel at tkurzel@spbentleigh.catholic.edu.au if you have any questions or queries.

This year St Paul’s will be seriously talking about walking!

Walk Safely to School Day asks that we all consider our transport habits and try to incorporate more walking as part of a healthy, active way to get around. And although walking all the way to school isn’t realistic for many of us, it’s quite easy to figure out how you can build a walk into your family’s daily routine.

Remember, Active Kids are Healthy Kids so get planning your own Walk Safely to School Day journey for Friday 19 MAY 2023!

You can teach your child the healthy habit of walking more by:

• Walking with them the whole way to school
• If they get the bus or train, walk past your usual stop and get on at the next stop
• If you have to drive, park the car a few blocks away from the school and walk the rest of the way.

Regular exercise like walking with your child not only helps them (and you!) beat chronic problems like obesity, heart disease, behavioural and mental health issues and diabetes. It also gives you a great opportunity to teach your child safe ways to behave around roads and traffic.

At St Paul’s teachers will be recording how many students walk to school on the 19th of May in their classroom. Students and teachers will discuss the benefits of walking to school and what different routes students and families may have taken. We’re just encouraging our school community to walk, ride, or scoot to school on Friday 19 May!

Thanks for your participation!

Stephanie and Gabrielle 

Junior and Senior School Leaders

Please refer to the attachments regarding road works in the area. 

We ask parents to be careful on Riddle St, as there are some lane closures near the Hobart St roundabout & the congestion at drop off and pick for local residents is causing some angst.

Sunday 21st May is the Melbourne Japan Festival, which will be held at Box Hill Town Hall (1022 Whitehorse Road Box Hill), from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.  

Entry fees:  $5 for children/adults aged 12 and older; $3 for Senior card holders and children aged 6-11; free entry for children 5 and under and for anyone dressed in kimono, yukata (summer kimono) or full Cosplay costume.  There is also a Cosplay competition starting at around 2.30p.m., which anyone in a Japanese themed Cosplay costume can enter (and which is always fun to watch!)

The winners of the E-tegami postcard design competition will be announced around 3 p.m. and we hope that maybe one of the SPB entries might be good enough to win the Primary School prize.  All entries will be on display at the Festival on May 21, before being sent to Matsudo City in Chiba, Japan to be put on display in the Whitehorse sister city.  

Other Japan Festival attractions include:

Performances:

Japanese Taiko Drumming, Traditional Dance, Kendo, Karate, Iaido, Koto, Shakuhachi, Shamisen, Choir, Karaoke Show

Exhibits

Ikebana, Bonsai, Bullet Train (Shinkansen) Model Railway

Demonstrations

Tea Ceremony, Shogi Japanese Chess, Origami, Japanese Traditional Play

Stalls

About 100 Stalls expected
Sushi, Okonomiyaki, Takoyaki, Yakitori, Japanese Sweets, Tea, Japanese Toys, Ceramics, Books, Craft, Kimono, Yoyo game, and lots more

Raffle

Gorgeous prizes including round-trip airline tickets to Japan

On Friday the 5th May the children in Grades 3 – 6 competed in the St Pauls House Cross Country. The runners did a terrific job completing the 1 and 2 kilometre courses and they should all be very proud of their efforts and achievements. The results were as follows:

1st - Jacaranda (Blue) - 891 pts 

2nd -  Wattle (Gold) - 589 pts

3rd - Eucalyptus (Green) - 574 pts 

4th – Waratah (Red) - 395 pts

Congratulations Jacaranda House on a great result!

A special thank-you to the Grade 6 Leaders for all their assistance with setting up the course and helping the event to run smoothly.

A team of 54 children will be selected as a result of the House Cross Country and other time trials to represent St. Paul’s in the Bentleigh District Cross Country. This will be held on the 16th May at Bald Hill Park, South Clayton.

Danny Maher

P.E. / Sport Coordinator

The SPOT Centre has just opened - a NDIS accredited clinic offering multi-disciplinary therapeutic services for children and young people.

We offer Speech Pathology, Psychology and Occupational Therapy and aim to work with young people, their families and support networks using holistic, neurodiversity-affirming and strength-based approaches.

At this time, we have immediate availability for OT, we conduct in-clinic sessions (53 Waverley Road, Malvern East).

There is a booking form on our website www.thespotcentre.com.au and other information regarding our services.