Dear Families,

Staff News - thank you and farewell Angela Lagas

Last week we said farewell to Angela Lagas, one of our Learning Support Officers at St Paul’s. Angela has taken on a new job opportunity at a private school. We thank her for building wonderful relationships with the children and for the friendships she’s made with staff at St Paul’s. We wish her all the best at her new school!

School Disco

Last Thursday 6 June, the school disco was on in the hall. There were some great prizes, a slice of pizza and some blockrocking beats being played for the children! There were lots of great dance moves and karaoke played throughout the night! A very big thank you to Laura Broadhurst, the parent volunteers and everyone from the P&F for organising a spectacular disco vibe. We certainly took advantage of the long weekend to recover!  Please see the P&F section of the newsletter for some fantastic photos.

School Closure Day last week

Whilst the children were recovering from the disco, teachers were busy with professional learning on Friday 7 June. The focus of our School Closure Day was to look at current instructional practice and how students best learn. We explored Cognitive Load Theory and some of the strategies on how students learn successfully in the classroom. We also looked at some research on working memory and how students best retain knowledge by combining information from our environment and from explicit teaching. This is all hinges on evidence based practices which are derived from research on how students learn, and some of the practices we have here at St Paul’s.

Casual Clothes Day - Friday 28 June 

The last day of Term 2 - Friday 28 June - is a Casual Clothes Day for the school. The theme for this upcoming casual day is Wacky Hair Day, with a touch of purple. The touch of purple is to raise funds and awareness for the Epilepsy Foundation. We ask for a gold coin donation to help raise funds to turn things around for those living with and impacted by epilepsy.  Please refer to the section further down the newsletter for more information.

AFLW Gala day

Well done to all the girls who participated in our gala football day at Centenary Park last Tuesday. It was a great day and we hope everyone enjoyed it!

Congratulations

Jack O’Brien, Jack Skinner, Josh Williams, Louis Hall & Jack Burgess from Year 3 and Year 4 at St Paul's, formed over half of a team that finished champions of their U12 division in the Nunawading basketball tournament over the King’s birthday long weekend. The tournament draws over 1000 teams including many from interstate.

Class Awards for Term 2

Cold and flu Season 

As winter is now well and truly upon us, we are noticing that there are a number of students who are coming to school quite unwell, with cold and flu symptoms. These symptoms may include a runny nose, sneezing, coughing, sore throat, watery eyes and/or a fever. In order to protect our community, it is vitally important that we monitor these symptoms and keep students home if they are unwell. 

Drop off and Pick up

The drop off zone on Riddle Street is quite a busy area in the mornings. In the interests of keeping everyone safe, especially the students, and to keep traffic flowing, parents are asked to NOT make U-turns here. We ask that you please continue driving along Riddle Street, rather than trying to turn around. We thank you for your understanding with this, as we try to create a safe drop off and pick up zone for the students.  

Please also remember that the driveway next to the Church is not to be used by cars for either pickup or dropoff as this is a pedestrian thoroughfare.

Upcoming Events

Monday 17 June - Whole School Assembly 3.00pm

Tuesday 25 June - End of Term Mass 10am

Friday 28 June - casual clothes day. Wear a touch of purple and bring a gold coin donation to support Epilepsy awareness. Finish 2.30pm

Monday 15 July - first day of Term 3

Thursday 18 July - Beginning of Term Mass 10am

Wednesday 31 July and Thursday 1 August - Parent Teacher interviews finish?

Lost Property

We have an incredible amount of clothing and containers in Lost Property.  We do our very best to return items to their owners but this can be a hard task when property is not named clearly or at all, or has a past family name on it.  Please come and check for any items that you feel you may be missing. Any unclaimed clothing will be donated to the second hand uniform shop; any unclaimed containers will be thrown out.

2024 School Closure Days

Monday 9 September - School Closure Day 

Monday 4 November - School Closure Day

Tuesday 5 November - Melbourne Cup Public Holiday

Friday 29 November - School Closure Day

Stay warm and enjoy the rest of your week!

Kind regards,

Freda

Join Us in Raising Epilepsy Awareness: Your Donation Can Make a Difference!

Epilepsy affects millions of people worldwide, impacting their daily lives and the lives of their loved ones.

To help this wonderful cause, the last day of school (Friday 28 June) is a casual day and we ask that everyone wears a touch of purple and bring a gold coin donation.

OR you can use this link to donate: https://www.trybooking.com/au/donate/stpaulscollectionpot

By donating to epilepsy awareness, you can help us shine a light on this often misunderstood condition and support vital research, education, and advocacy efforts.

Your generous contribution will go directly towards funding programs that:

• Provide critical resources and support for individuals and families affected by epilepsy.
• Advance research to find better treatments and ultimately a cure.
• Educate the public and healthcare professionals about epilepsy to reduce stigma and improve understanding.
• Advocate for policies that protect and empower those living with epilepsy.

Every donation, no matter the size, brings us one step closer to a world where everyone with epilepsy can live their lives to the fullest. Together, we can create a brighter future and make a lasting impact.

Thank you for your support and dedication to this important cause.

The Grade 4 students have begun preparation for  the Sacrament of the Eucharist. A Sacrament is a special sign of God’s presence. Sacraments are God’s gift to the church and it is through these Sacraments that we fully become members of God’s family. Holy Eucharist is one of the  sacraments of  initiation into the Church. This Sacrament has the greatest importance among the Seven Church Sacraments.

The following events take place as part of students making their First Eucharist

Family Workshop: Wednesday 12th June  - 6 pm

Presentation to the Parish Community:

- Grade 4LH Saturday 22nd June 6pm

- Grade 4W Sunday 23rd 9:30am

Student Reflection Day: Friday 19th July - St Paul’s 

The Sacrament will take place at weekend Masses at St Paul’s

Saturday 27th July

Sunday 28th July

Saturday 10th August

Sunday 11th August

Please keep these children in your prayers and I am sure they would appreciate your support by attending the weekend Masses at St Paul’s.

Kind Regards

Marg Mitchell

Sacramental Leader

Learning Diversity 

Nationally Consistent Collection of Data

Every year, all schools in Australia participate in the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD). The NCCD process requires schools to identify information already available in the school about supports provided to students with disability. These relate to legislative requirements under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and the Disability Standards for Education 2005, in line with the NCCD guidelines (2019). 

Information provided about students to the Australian Government for the NCCD includes:

• year of schooling
• category of disability: physical, cognitive, sensory or social/emotional
• level of adjustment provided: support provided within quality differentiated teaching practice, supplementary, substantial or extensive.

This information assists schools to:

• formally recognise the supports and adjustments provided to students with disability in schools 
• consider how they can strengthen the support of students with disability in schools
• develop shared practices so that they can review their learning programs in order to improve educational outcomes for students with disability.

The NCCD provides state and federal governments with the information they need to plan more broadly for the support of students with disability.

The NCCD will have no direct impact on your child and your child will not be involved in any testing process. The school will provide data to the Australian Government in such a way that no individual student will be able to be identified – the privacy and confidentiality of all students is ensured. All information is protected by privacy laws that regulate the collection, storage and disclosure of personal information. To find out more about these matters, please refer to the Australian Government’s Privacy Policy (https://www.education.gov.au/privacy-policy).

See below the link to the fact sheet for parents, guardians and carers - Nationally Consistent Collection of Data
https://www.nccd.edu.au/tools/fact-sheet-parents-guardians-and-carers

If you have any questions about the NCCD, please contact   Marg Mitchell - mmitchell@spbentleigh.catholic.edu.au

At St Paul’s it is important that we celebrate the strengths and ‘super powers’ of all the children. We have wonderful students at St Paul’s that all have their unique gifts and personalities. As a community it is important that we embrace the concept of NEURODIVERSITY.

Neurodiversity

- is a term first introduced by Australian sociologist Judy Singer in the 1990s.

- is a concept that recognises and embraces the natural variation in human neurology and  cognitive processing.

- was first embraced by the autistic community and is now recognised and embraced by the wider disability communities as a positive and empowering concept.

Marg Mitchell

Learning Diversity Leader

Building Stronger Friendships at St Pauls!

By Ivy Bui and Isabella Di Domenico, Year 6 Wellbeing Leaders

The Year 6 Wellbeing Team are proud to introduce you to your new Friend-O-Leaders for 2024! Friend-o-Leaders are the Year 6 wellbeing team that help students’ with Friendship Fires (arguments) around the yard at recess and lunch. We want to teach students to be able to learn how to put out these Friendship Fires for when we are not there to help them. If a student needs help solving their friendship fires they can search the yard for a Year 6 student wearing a lanyard. 

At St Paul’s we have Friend-o-Leaders, so that students have someone to ask for help if they can’t put out a Friendship Fire on their own. We have a ‘Friend-O-cycle’  that we use to help students put out their Friendship Fires. Let’s say that a student has a Friendship Fire, the first step would be to confront the issue, the second step would be to talk it out, the last step would be to forgive the person and to forget what happened, then the friendship would become closer and stronger, and then it would be a healthy friendship! 

Friend-o-Leaders have been very successful so far at St Pauls. Some students have already become quite comfortable walking up to us if they need help. As you can see in the picture below, one of our Friend-O-Leaders has received a gratitude letter from a student for solving a Friendship Fire.   

Aunty Katrina visiting St Paul’s 

By Harper, Greta and Ingrid from the Year 6 Community Team

Aunty Katrina Amon came to visit the Year Five and Six students to talk to us about the Aboriginal culture, traditions and about her story. Aunty Katrina was given the title ‘Aunty’ as she has served the Indigenous Australian culture, and is an Elder.

Aunty Katrina Amon is an Aboriginal woman who works at the St Kilda Football Club and is the Indigenous Development Manager. She is a proud Quandamooka woman of the Noonuccal Tribe and is from Minjerribah (which is known as North Stradbroke Island.) Aunty Katrina came to St Paul’s because we are currently learning about migration and where we all came from. Aunty Katrina talked to us about what it is like being an Aboriginal woman and interesting facts about her tribe.

One of the things she taught us is that Yura means greetings in her native language. She also told us that only men can play the didgeridoo! She said that she was fine with not being able to play it because it follows tradition.

Having Katrina Amon here felt really special. We thank her for coming to St.Paul’s and sharing everything about her life.

I am always on the lookout for many great resources and tips for parents and families around this topic.

As our world is constantly changing, especially in the online environment, it is important that we have a structure in place for support, especially for our children as they are constantly bombarded with content.

The eSafety Commissioner provides: 

Online safety support for our school community

We all play an important role in helping children and young people stay safe online. eSafety is here to help, with resources and advice to equip parents, carers and educators to support young people to navigate the online world.

Together, we can ensure everyone knows online safety support is available and help keep young people safe online.

Support for families

Parents and carers, technology can impact your child's wellbeing and safety. eSafety is here to help your family thrive online. At eSafety you can find:

• Guidance on parental controls for your family. Learn how to block, filter, monitor and limit your child’s online activity
• Advice on keeping kids and young people safe online 
• Free webinars for expert tips on supporting your family’s online safety
• Assistance in investigating reports of serious online harm and removal of this content.

A stand out is also this fantastic app available free.

Beacon App

It is a must for all families. Read below for more information.

Once you download the app, Check out all the fantastic resources, advice and support available.

Telethon Kids Institute and Bankwest are proud to deliver Beacon - a cyber safety educational app designed to keep parents and carers up to date with trusted, tailored information, to help keep their kids safe online.

Beacon is designed specifically for parents as a personalised, one-stop-shop for reliable information about the online world. It arms parents and carers with the knowledge they need to confidently help navigate their children’s digital behaviour and reduce harms we know are associated with being online.

Beacon will shine a light on the online world with: 

• Articles and videos backed by the latest research
• Tailored content and alerts, unique to your family needs
• Create your own family agreement
• Help and services that are available to you and your family 

Cath Knights

IT Leader

Sacred Heart Mission

Hello! My name is Loretta Wise and I am in 5K.

I am raising some much needed funds for Sacred Heart Mission. Sacred Heart Mission are a not for profit organisation supporting those experiencing homelessness. I will be raising money by recycling plastic bottles and aluminium cans at the depots of the Victorian Container Deposit Scheme (VCDS). Each bottle, can and juice-box have a ten cent refund. 

I am asking you to collect these containers and place them in the labelled caddy which is located outside the Year 5 classrooms.

Thank you for your support.