Dear Parents,

The students have had a huge term of learning. It’s been wonderful to see the enormous growth made, not just in educational terms, but also in maturity, friendship, and wellbeing. With all this hard work, I’m sure they're all looking forward to the break. A big thank you to the teachers and staff at St Paul’s, who are dedicated to providing wonderful learning opportunities and work incredibly hard each day. Finally, a big thank you to all our families at St Paul’s. Your support is vitally important and always appreciated. 

Due to the Public Holiday last week, there was no Assembly or Student Awards last week.

School breaks up this Friday at 2.30pm.

Term 2 Sacraments

We have celebrated two important Sacraments this term: Confirmation with the Year 6 students, and Reconciliation with Year 3 students. A special thank you goes out to our RE Leader, Rebecca Nolan, for working closely with the St Paul’s Parish and families throughout the Sacramental journey. An enormous amount of planning and organisation is involved when liaising with parish, school and home. 

Disco

Last Thursday night saw many of our students attend a fabulous evening of dancing and fun. The organisation and preparation for the event was extraordinary! Many thanks go to the fabulous team of parents who attended, ensuring the students were safe, well fed and had a wonderful night.

National Reconciliation Week

The Year Six Community team took on the responsibility of educating every class in our school about the significance of National Reconciliation Week. This week is a time when Australians come together and embrace our shared histories, cultures, and accomplishments. Our aim was to explore ways in which each individual can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia. As a  symbol of our support and understanding, we created a school wreath. Each student received a sheet with three gum leaves, and they decorated these leaves using Aboriginal symbols. Once decorated, the leaves were carefully cut out and placed on the wreath. This beautiful wreath now proudly stands in the corridor outside the Library, reminding everyone of the importance of Reconciliation Week and our commitment to unity and understanding.

From Scones to Smiles

Our Year Six students have been diving into their science unit, focusing on reversible and irreversible changes. They had a tasty experience while learning by preparing and baking scones. To make it even more special, they shared these delicious treats with their Year One buddies, creating a joyful afternoon filled with bonding and laughter. 

End of Term Mass

Our end of Term mass has a special focus this week with the Feast Day of Ss Peter and Paul, which falls during the school holidays (Thursday 29 June). Mass will commence onThursday 22 June at 10am.

St Paul was an influential figure in the early development of Christianity. He was both Jewish and a Roman citizen; in his early life, he took part in the persecution of Christians. However, on the road to Damascus, he underwent a conversion and became a committed Christian himself. St Paul taught that Jesus Christ was a divine being, and salvation could be achieved by faith alone. St Paul had many teachings and a significant portion of the Bible is dedicated to his letters. One of my favourites is a message that can be carried throughout all our lives: Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

Semester 1 Reports

Reports will be sent home to families on Tuesday 20 June. Reports for 2Z will be sent at the end of Week 2 Term 3.

Term 3 Calendar

The Term 3 calendar will be sent out to families on Thursday.

School Closure Day - Friday 9th June was a staff professional development day.   

Working closely with Patrice Wiseman, we focused on enhancing our school's approach to fostering a positive learning environment. One key aspect we worked on was developing a behaviour purpose statement that underpins and guides all we do towards building and maintaining responsible and respectful relationships. By crafting a concise and impactful statement, we aimed to align our collective efforts in shaping students' character and promoting a safe and inclusive atmosphere. Additionally, we took the opportunity to review and revise our student expectations, ensuring they are clear, consistent, and reflective of our school values. Through these efforts, we strive to create an environment that encourages personal growth, cultivates empathy, and fosters a strong sense of community among students and staff alike. With a great deal of dialogue between staff, it was an extremely valuable and rewarding day.   

In our newsletters next term, we would like to share with the parents these newly defined school expectations as a link between school and home. 

Lost Property

FINAL CALL for all clothing, containers, drink bottles and other miscellaneous items that have been piling up in our Lost Property tubs this term (including items left at the Disco).  All clothing will be donated to the second-hand shop and all containers disposed of - after the bell on Friday. If you are missing anything please head to the two tubs outside the Uniform shop to claim what is yours.

Sienna Woloshenko

Uniform Shop

The P&F second-hand uniform shop will next be open on Monday 10 July and Monday 17 July from 8:40 till 9:15am. Dresses & woollen jumpers $10, everything else is $5. Eftpos or cash available All proceeds go towards the school.

From all at St Paul’s, we hope everyone has a wonderful holiday and we look forward to Term 3, commencing Monday 10 July!

Kind regards,

Freda

Reconciliation

Congratulations to all the children from our school and parish that received their First Reconciliation. The children prayed reverently while they waited to receive the Sacrament. We would like to thank all the Priests in the Holy Trinity parish: Fr Jacob, Fr Terry and Fr Paul.  A big thank you to the families and teachers for their help in preparing the children for this Sacrament.

Congratulations: Ari Johnson, Joshua Williams, William Cranefield, Mason Wiley, Orlando Fucile, Jack Harris, Eve Keeble, Abigail Zhou, Chloe Go, Cayla Robb, Ashton Malkiewicz, Sophie Chesson, Oscar Pope, Mary-Grace Mulholland, Lillian Leondaris, Joel Martin, Ella Baker, Abby Grace Easton, Gyspy Chiodi, James Brand, Owen Murphy, Aaron Sun, Georgina Jones, Emily Robertson, Sofia Yorke, Rose Van Dyk, Thomas Davoren, Josh Benvenuto, Neha Bellamkonda, Jack Lee O’Brien, Max Ponce, Harrison O’Reilly, Ava Friend, Xavier Ziola, Rosie O’Shannessy, James Pye and Tilda Bale

Fr. Michael O’Connor delivers a very inspiring homily about the reasons we go to confession, no matter who we are. He explains there's no greater place than to be with someone when they're repenting. There's no greater experience than to hear somebody confess their sins with a sorrowful heart and receive the mercy of almighty God. To experience them coming back; to experience them humbling themselves.

Fr. Michael explains the confessional is a place like the Jordan River with John the Baptist. The confessional is a place of repentance, it's a place of washing. It's a place of healing, it's a place of renewal. It is an inspiring place, it's not always a sentimental experience. It's not always fun. But the confessional is a place of grace. It’s a place of the outpouring of God's love.

In the confessional, a priest experiences and sees the power of God's grace at work. Priests get to see someone who's still trying. They get to see saints in the making. They get to see people going back to the Jordan River to be bathed again. Let the children who have received the Sacrament of Confession over the past few weeks, act as a model for us to overcome the obstacles we face with going to confession. 

There is one remaining Mass for the Sacrament of Reconciliation on Sunday 2 July 2023.

Newly Confirmed

Last Wednesday forty-one St Paul’s students and one Parish member received the Sacrament of Confirmation. It was a sacred time and a beautiful occasion for all present. We would like to thank the students and their families. Also, to all the staff for their commitment in journeying alongside the children preparing and instructing them in their faith formation. A special thank you is extended to Auxiliary Bishop Tony Ireland for presiding over this important sacramental celebration and to Fr Jacob, our Parish Priest. 

To the newly confirmed we pray to the Lord that in receiving the gift of the Spirit, that you give witness to Christ and that your lives are built and strengthened in faith and love.

Congratulations; Antonio Anastasio, Nishant Bellamkonda, Mia Benvenuto, Cristian Bianchi, Bailey Bui, Xavier Campbell, Jackson Coniglio,  Zac Coniglio,  Sienna Coniglio, Francis Coppola, Ellie Cox, Emily D'Souza, Rose Davoren, Hayley Draper, Andi Foots, Samuel Falcao, Grace Friend, Madeleine Kerridge, Ebony Grima, Katrina Lindsay, Ella Harrison, Carter Hoffmann, Ella Logan, Lillian Maguire, Oliver Jackman, Sean Masaquel, Samuel McAuliffe, Ange Mercieca, Max O'Brien Caitlin Moore, Zachary Morris, Bianca Pawlak-Bloch, Ella Porcino, Ruby Robertson, Nicholas Sabbadin, Daphne Sanabria-Silva, Sophie Stanley, Matthew Strupl, Sienna Woloshenko, Ashank Yeddanapalli, Eva Yorke and Pia Zampierollo. 

Rebecca Nolan

Religious Education Leader

Tips and Tricks for Parents around online safety

It’s really important that as parents we monitor what our children are doing online. Please check the links below for some valuable information.

eSafety for Parents - eSafety Commissioner Website

Family Engagement Toolkit - Common Sense Education Website

Year 3 Lego

STEM = Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths

This term the Yr 3 students participated in an extra activity involving STEM based learning and programmable Lego.

The students worked collaboratively to create and build Lego models and then used their knowledge of programming to make their model ‘come to life’.