Dear Families,

Welcome to our Week 5 Newsletter. It has been wonderful seeing all our students settle into their classes and school routines. Our teachers have been very busy with Literacy and Numeracy assessments, which guide us throughout the year. 

Last Monday, we had a wonderful school assembly where we introduced our Year 6 Leaders and our SRC Class Reps to the school community. Our Year 6s and SRC’s have already shown excellent Leadership qualities on the playground, around the school, and by representing St Paul’s at Interschool Sport. They also have one or two (or three!) ideas on how to improve the school. I look forward to hearing all about it. 

This week, our Prep students begin school full time. No more Wednesday Rest Days! We hope they make it through.

School Photos

A reminder that school photos are scheduled for  Friday 22 March. Students are required to wear full summer uniform on that day. For classes that have sport lessons, please pack a pair of runners in their school bags.   Booking information will be sent out shortly.

Parent-Teacher Interviews

Next week, we begin Parent-Teacher Interviews from Years Prep - 6. They run over two afternoons: Tuesday 5th and Wednesday 6th of March. A reminder that school finishes at 2:30 on these days. Art and PE Specialist lessons will run as per usual. Please remember to book a time in for your child. For families that have had a PSG meeting, a further Parent-Teacher interview is not required. Please refer to the email sent out from the office last week with details. 

St Paul’s Open Day and 2025 Enrolments

Our St Paul’s Open Day will take place on Thursday 14 March from 9:30 - 11:00am. Tours of the school will be led by Year 6 students and staff Leadership Team.  Spread the word!

Enrolments for Prep in 2025 open on this day.  We are rolling out a new enrolment form which will be available then.  Current families feel free to use our existing form which is available in the office or on the website.

Seesaw

We use Seesaw as a platform to showcase all the wonderful work children do.  Access to Seesaw should be immediate family only (grandparents welcome of course!)

We ask that parents do not share Seesaw accounts with people outside their immediate family. 

Welcome Picnic - Thursday

The upcoming St Paul’s Welcome Picnic looks to be a fantastic event. It’s a wonderful opportunity for families to come together and enjoy some time at the park. Thank you to the P&F team for organising the event. Bring along a picnic basket with lots of goodies, or enjoy the sausage sizzle put on by Danny Maher and the dads. I hope to see many of you there.

NAPLAN

The National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) testing is just around the corner, beginning on March 13. Our Year 3 and Year 5 students will be undergoing assessment of their skills in Writing, Reading, Conventions of Language (spelling, grammar, and punctuation), and Numeracy from March 13 to March 25. To ensure our students feel confident and at ease, our dedicated teachers are diligently familiarising them with the testing style. The results of these assessments provide information which helps in shaping educational strategies, benefiting students, parents, teachers, and principals alike. If your child happens to be absent on the test day, worry not! We'll provide catch-up sessions during the NAPLAN testing period. Let's support our students as they embark on this valuable learning experience.

Extreme Weather

It seems Melbourne’s weather is keeping us all on our toes as we go from scorching temperatures to torrential downpours, and everything in between! Luckily, the school has come off reasonably unscathed, but we knock on various bits of wood as I write this. 

On days where temperatures are mid 30s or higher, we keep a close check on the Bureau of Meteorology. On days of extreme temperatures, children will have recess outside (unless the temperature reaches mid 30s at recess time) and lunch play indoors. All rooms have air-conditioning units. 

Throughout Term 1 and 4, students are reminded to reapply sunscreen before recess and lunch time play. It is essential that all students wear a hat outside. We have a “not hat, no play” rule at St Paul’s. Students without a hat need to spend their playtime in the amphitheatre under the shade sail. 

School Expectations

Here at St Paul’s, we pride ourselves on fostering a positive and supportive learning environment, and last year, after considerable Professional development and workshops, we introduced some exciting new school expectations. Through consistent and explicit teaching, we've seamlessly integrated these expectations across the entire school. As we embark on a new school year, it's heartening to witness our students not only becoming familiar with these expectations but also embracing them with enthusiasm. Whether it's in the classroom, on the playground, or during extracurricular activities, our students are demonstrating a commendable commitment to embodying these values. It's a testament to their understanding and our collective effort to create a respectful and inclusive atmosphere where everyone can thrive academically and socially. Here's to another year of shared growth and success!

Upcoming Events

Thursday 29 February - Whole School Welcome Picnic

Monday 4 March - School Assembly

Tuesday and Wednesday 5 and 6 March - Parent Teacher interviews 2.30 finish both days

Monday 11 March - Labour Day Public Holiday

Monday 18 to Wednesday 20 March - Grade 6 camp

Monday 18 March - School Assembly

Thursday 21 March - Harmony Day

Friday 22 March - School photos

Tuesday 26 March - end of term Mass 10am

Wednesday 27 March - Colour Blast 2.30 - 3.30

Thursday 28 March - End of Term 1, 2.30pm

I hope you all have a great week ahead.

Kind regards,

Freda

Project Compassion

Each year the team at Caritas focus on particular stories of people from around the globe who are benefiting from the assistance given them through Project Compassion. Here is one of those stories: 

Wellbeing at St Paul’s

This term, students will explore St. Paul's Expectations and Behaviour Purpose Statement to foster consistency and a shared language throughout the entire school. Additionally, we will continue to focus on the implementation of URSTRONG’s  ‘Friendology’ program across the whole school to ensure that our children are explicitly taught how to establish and maintain healthy relationships, manage conflict with kindness and increase their overall resilience. Friendology provides a common language across the school community and empowers children with practical and effective skills to use in their friendships.Research shows that relationships are the heart of wellbeing and learning. When we get friendships right in schools, children flourish! 

We know how heart-breaking it is to watch your child struggle with friendship issues, and we are hoping that teaching these skills explicitly allows children the support they need to ensure they feel happy and safe in their school environment. 

We highly recommend you sign up as a URSTRONG family member. There are many fantastic resources for you to support your child in their friendships and allows you the opportunity to learn the language and strategies that are taught at St Paul’s. We have also attached a handy glossary that you may find useful which define the terminology that your children will be using.

Kassy Wira

Student Wellbeing Leader

We are holding an Easter raffle on the 28th of  March which is the last day of Term 1. The selling of raffle tickets will commence from Monday the 8th of March and finish on Friday 22nd of March (Week 8). 

The money raised from the selling of tickets will be put towards Caritas, Australia (Project Compassion). Caritas aims to end world poverty and promote justice and uphold dignity. To find out more about this organisation https://www.caritas.org.au/about/what-is-caritas/. 

We ask that students and families bring chocolates and Easter goods starting from Week 6 Monday the 4th of March untill Week 7 Friday the 15th of March. In the mornings there will be Year 6 Leaders at the school gates collecting the delicious treats in baskets. 

The chocolates and Easter goodies collected will be put together into hampers and given out to the raffle winners on the last day of Term, Thursday the 28th of March. 

The tickets cost $1 each and the maximum is 5 tickets per student. Students will buy tickets from their classroom teacher.

This year St Paul’s will also be creating a few hampers to be donated to families within the Bentleigh community, who would benefit greatly from an Easter hamper during this holiday period.

Thanks for your support.

Year 6 Community Group and Stephanie Allen (Sustainability Leader)