Dear Parents,

On Sunday we celebrated Palm Sunday the first day of Holy Week, a seven-day span that culminates the day before Easter Sunday. The feast commemorates Jesus’ triumphant arrival in the city of Jerusalem for Passover, where he was greeted by a crowd of people laying palm branches at his feet. Jesus’ welcomers hoped that Jesus would overthrow the Roman government in Jerusalem. They shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord,” “Blessed is the king of Israel," and other words of praise.

Today, there are still palms involved in the Palm Sunday mass. Each year, palms are blessed and distributed, and many believers tie them into the shape of a cross. "Because the palms are blessed, they may not be discarded as trash. Instead, they are appropriately gathered at the church and incinerated to create the ashes that will be used in the following year's Ash Wednesday observance." 

This week all students will be involved in Holy Week activities as we remember the special events that lead to Easter Sunday. Parents and friends are warmly welcomed to join us in the Amphitheatre on Thursday morning at 9am for a Liturgy depicting this most holy season. The Liturgy has been prepared by Yr 3 and Yr 6.

Our end of Term Mass will be celebrated on Tuesday, this week, in the church at 10am. Parents are most welcome to join us. Preps will not be attending Mass.

Preps Prayers in Pyjamas

This Wednesday night our Prep students and their parents are invited to join us for a night of song, meditation and prayer in the Open Learning area outside the Prep classrooms at 6pm. 

School Photos

School photos will be held on Tuesday of this week. Students are asked to be in full summer school uniform (including school jumper, navy socks, correct shoes and no colourful jewellery or hair accessories). Year 6 wear their Year 6 jackets.

NAPLAN

On 12 May, Term 2, our Year 3 and Year 5 students will begin sitting their NAPLAN tests in reading, writing, spelling, grammar and numeracy. NAPLAN was not conducted during 2020 due to Covid19.

NAPLAN is National data required to assess the skills of every child in the core learning areas. It is important to remember that NAPLAN is not about passing or failing, but about assessing learning progress. At the classroom level it is just one of a number of important tools used by teachers to measure student progress.

On its own, NAPLAN is not a test that can be studied for and students are not expected to do so. You can support your child by reassuring them that NAPLAN is just one part of their school program, and by reminding them on the day to simply do their best. Teachers will ensure students are familiar with the types of questions in the tests and will provide appropriate support and guidance.

NAPLAN tests include:

Writing - tests are designed to assess a student’s ability to convey thoughts, ideas and information through an independent construction of a narrative or persuasive text. Students are given a writing prompt and 40 minutes to construct a piece of writing.

Reading - tests are designed to assess the ability of student’s to make meaning of written texts including those with visual elements. It tests whether students can do more than decode the words on the page. It tests the extent of their vocabulary and whether they can infer information from texts.

Language conventions - tests are designed to assess a child’s ability to independently recognise and use correct grammar, punctuation and spelling in written contexts.

Numeracy - tests are designed to assess a child’s knowledge of mathematics, their ability to independently apply that knowledge in context, and their ability to independently reason mathematically.

School holidays are a great time to continue with reading and being read to every day. 

 Benefits of Reading

• Children who read often and widely get better at it. ...
• Reading exercises our brain. ...
• Reading improves concentration. ...
• Reading teaches children about the world around them. ...
• Reading improves vocabulary and language skills. ...
• Reading develops a child's imagination. ...
• Reading helps children to develop empathy. ...
• Reading is fun.

Board Meeting

The next Board Meeting will be held on May 17th.

World's Greatest Shave

April Arundel and Nicholas Antonello's combined fundraising during the World’s Greatest Shave for the Leukaemia Foundation will receive around $10k donations!

We are all really proud of the values being demonstrated by the kids - not only April and Nico but all the kids who have got behind them. A Huge THANKYOU to the St Paul's community for their generosity and words of encouragement for April's "Worlds Greatest Shave" campaign. April raised a staggering $5420 for the Leukaemia Foundation, which would not have been possible without our school's support. April is rocking her new shaved locks and is thinking about the next cause she will get behind.....!" 

Nico has raised around approximately $5600 and is looking super cool with his new hairstyle! Thank you to everyone for supporting him and a big thank you to Mr Maher for shaving Nicholas's hair in front of his Grade 6 classmates.

Basketball

One of our Year 2 basketball teams having a lot of fun together and keeping fit!

End of Term

Term 1 will end with a splash of colour! Please see information in the Newsletter for all the details. Parents are most welcome to come and join in the fun from 2-3pm in the Park.  The Term will end with the drawing of our Easter raffle prepared and run by the Yr 6 Leadership Teams. All proceeds will go to the Leukemia Foundation. Thank you to all families for your generous donations which have made the raffle possible.

Wishing everyone a safe and happy holiday and a joyous Easter from all the staff at St Paul’s.

Take care,

Catherine

Colour Blast  2021

This year St. Paul’s will be running its first ever Colour Blast fun run. This is a fun way to help celebrate an amazing first term and start of 2021.

When: Thursday 1st April (Last day of Term1)

Time: 2:00pm - 3:00pm

Where: Venue to be confirmed - Either Higgins Reserve or at St. Paul’s

Who: The whole school

Cost: $5 per child (Covers cost of powder and an icy treat)

https://www.trybooking.com/BPWBV

What to wear: Children are asked to wear casual clothes with a white T-shirt (approx $3 at K-Mart) and Sunglasses. Please ensure clothes are old, (unless you have purchased a white T-shirt), especially shoes!

What is the colour: The powder that is used to colour the children (and staff) is made of high quality corn starch and permitted food colours. It is non toxic, biodegradable, skin safe and environmentally friendly. Hopefully the T-Shirt won't be white at the end of the day!

Why: To have fun and finish the term with a laugh!

If you are yet to collect an enrolment form and advise us that you have a sibling starting Prep next year could you please see Anna as soon as possible, thank you.

What a fabulous buzz there was around the school on ‘Bullying. No Way! Day’. Here are some photos of some great work, and important learnings, from that day.

Last week students from Prep - Year 6 celebrated Harmony Week -  ‘Everyone Belongs’. Students participated in a whole school activity creating paper cut out people of themselves showing their interests, hobbies or cultural backgrounds. The SRC will be helping put together a whole school display titled, ‘Our Diversity is our Strength’, in the school hall using all the students’ cardboard cut-out people and national flags of the cultural backgrounds that make up our school community. On Friday we saw a sea of orange as students came to school wearing the colour of harmony. It was wonderful to see the students becoming more understanding of the importance of showing respect, tolerance, inclusion and kindness to others in helping create a more harmonious world.

Katrina Gardiner

Wellbeing Leader

2021 - ST. PAUL’S HOUSE CROSS COUNTRY

WHO

Grades 3, 4, 5 and 6 (Children can wear their house coloured T-shirts to school)

WHEN

Friday 30th April 2021 (2nd Week of Term 2)

WHERE

HIGGINS RESERVE AND BENTLEIGH RECREATION RESERVE - OPPOSITE ST. PAUL’S SCHOOL

TIME

9:10 am – CHILDREN ASSEMBLE IN THEIR HOUSE TEAMS AT THE RESERVE

9:20 am – BEGIN FIRST RACE (12/13yr Boys)

COURSE

ALL AGE GROUPS WILL FOLLOW THE PATH OF CONES MARKING THE CROSS COUNTRY COURSE. TEACHERS WILL ALSO ASSIST KEEPING COMPETITORS ON THE RIGHT TRACK.

ALL STUDENTS WAITING TO RACE MUST SIT IN THEIR HOUSE AREA.

HOUSE POINTS 

RIBBONS

EVERY PERSON WHO COMPETES IN A RACE WILL RECEIVE A RIBBON.

SELECTION FOR ST. PAUL’S BDS TEAM

THE RESULTS FROM THE DAY WILL ASSIST WITH THE SELECTION OF THE SCHOOL CROSS COUNTRY TEAM THAT WILL REPRESENT ST. PAUL’S IN THE BENTLEIGH DISTRICT ON TUESDAY 18th MAY 2020 (Wk 5 - Term 2) at Bald Hill Park.

On Tuesday and Wednesday all lost property - clothing and containers will be on a table outside the hall. Please come and have a look if you have missing items. 

During my recent Digital Network Day (held quarterly) I came away with many great resources and tips.

What stood out for me though is 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

Digi-Tech Leader

STAR OF THE SEA

We are pleased to let you know that our Application Portal for Year 7, 2023 at Star of the Sea College (Grade 5 students this year) is open (until Friday 20 August 2021 at 4pm). 

To apply online, visit www.starmelb.catholic.edu.au/new/enrolment/application-to-enrol-year-7-2023.

To find out more about our College families can also visit our website www.starmelb.catholic.edu.au/new/home or Facebook page www.facebook.com/staroftheseabrighton.

OLSH_COLLEGE_17_May_Open_Morning.pdf

MARRIAGE ENCOUNTER WEEKEND

An opportunity to spend a weekend improving your communication.

Attend in the comfort of your own home or experience a residential weekend.

Our on-line weekend gives couples the chance to sleep in their own beds and check-in on kids or animals during meal times.

Come and learn how to keep/rekindle the passion in your relationship and how to keep your love growing!

The weekend we offer is based around Catholic values but couples of all faiths are welcome.

Couples from regional areas may find the On-line Weekend option ideal.

Next on-line weekend is on  30 April – 2 May 2021.

Next Residential weekend is on  21 -23 May 2021.

Information/Bookings: Phone Mercy & James 0409 183 676 or

Email: vicbookings@wwme.org.au    Website: wwme.org.au

Sandringham_2021_Netstars_Netball_Clinic.pdf

JOB OPPORTUNITY

Nepean Physio Clinic Hampton East have a position vacant for a part time physio. Choose your hours and days.

9553 2078

BABYSITTING