St Paul's Primary School Rutherford - 22nd March 2024

From the Principals Desk

Disco

A fantastic evening hosted by the P and F and supervision by various members of staff. The students had a wonderful evening, and the number of parents dancing increased this year. Thank you to the parents who have organised the night along with the special purchases of glow merchandise and refreshments.

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HARMONY DAY

This week we celebrated Harmony Day with activities to raise money for Caritas while raising awareness of our cultural backgrounds that are so diverse at St Paul’s. Traditional dress along with orange clothes to mark the day, was embraced by our students and their pride in their cultures.

Welcome Daniel Hardidge

We welcome Daniel Hardidge to the team at St Paul’s.  Daniel is our grounds person 3 days a week.

Enrolments for 2025

Enrolment applications have moved online. These have been open since the beginning of March. If you require a paper document, you can still contact the school office.

EVERY DAY IN SCHOOL MEANS SO MUCH MORE

Regular attendance at school is essential for students to achieve quality life outcomes.  Everyday counts, as regular attendance helps students:

• Develop a sense of belonging
• Develop and maintain friendships
• Be more engaged at school
• Progress with their learning
• Be more aware of career and life options.

Supporting positive school attendance is a shared responsibility - everyone has a role to play in promoting the regular attendance of students.

MORNING KISS AND DROP

Parents are not to park or get out of the car in the bus zones in the morning.

Kiss and drop zone is outside the church where students can safely get out of the car and walk in the OOSH/Library gate.

Fines are stated below.

Assistant Principal

PBL

This fortnight our PBL focus is Speak and Act with Kindness. This important focus links with our school value of Serve. Being disciples of Jesus, we challenge all our students to walk in the footsteps of Jesus in service. Particularly during this Lenten Season we encourage our students to think about simple, daily actions where they can take the opportunity to serve others by choosing kindness in both their words and actions. It is our shared responsibility to make St Paul’s a safe and inclusive space for all in our community. 

NAPLAN

Congratulations to all our students in Year 3 and Year 5 who completed their NAPLAN tests over the past week. We are extremely proud of the way in which all the students gave their best and had a go! Whilst these assessments are helpful in monitoring student progress and informing teachers of the next steps in our student’s learning, it is important to remember that this is only one test on one day. Teachers use various assessment tools to inform them of the best path forward in supporting their students' learning. NAPLAN is simply one of these assessment tools. A huge thank you must go out to the Year 3 and Year 5 teachers as well as Mrs Collett and Mrs King for their support and organisation of this year’s assessment window.

Cyber Safety

Free webinar for parents and carers- understanding parental controls to safeguard your child

Online information session for parents and carers

Free webinar for parents and carers- understanding parental controls to safeguard your child. 

It’s important to put in place measures to protect your child’s safety when they go online, but it can be difficult to know where to start.

To assist you, the eSafety Commissioner in conjunction with the Council of Catholic School Parents is hosting a free, 30-minute online webinar.

The webinar will provide an overview of different types of parental controls and, how to set them on smart devices and computers, in apps and on gaming platforms.

Date:                Tuesday 26 March
Time:               7.30pm-8.00pm
Register:          Registration (gotowebinar.com)

Student Awards Weeks 

Religious Education Update 

HOLY WEEK

Holy Week begins this Sunday (Palm Sunday) and is the most sacred time in our churches calendar. It is the week we remember and commemorate the final week of Jesus life on this earth. Especially important for Catholics is the Easter Triduum. This is the three days just before Easter. Catholics celebrate this special occasion in the following way; On Holy Thursday, we re-enact the Lord's Last Supper, which He shared with His apostles on the night He was betrayed and arrested. On Good Friday, the day of the crucifixion and death of our Lord, we have the veneration of the Cross. A service is held at three o'clock in the afternoon (the hour He is believed to have died) and another later in the evening. We go forward and kiss the Cross in order to show honour and respect for Christ's sacrifice for our sake. Saturday there is a vigil service keeping watch for the expectant rising of our Saviour, and Sunday is a day of great celebration that Jesus has risen. For us, this means there is a light in darkness, a light at the end of a tunnel if you will, which we can then apply to all aspect of our lives.

Holy Week liturgy schedule:

Tuesday the 26^th March – Whole School Parish Mass at 9:30 in the church.
Thursday the 28^th – Whole School Holy Week Liturgy/Stations of the Cross at 2:00pm under the Cola.

PROJECT COMPASSION

The season of Lent is not only underway, but also almost finished! We are currently in the middle of our annual Project Compassion drive! Our Mini Vinnies team will be helping classes to collect donations for various causes around the world. This year, the class with the most money raised in their class donation box will receive a ‘Movie Package’ to enjoy in week 11. Donations will be counted at the end of Week 10. If you would like to see more information, please head to: Project Compassion (caritas.org.au)

Easter Mass times

Holy Thursday - Mass of the Lord's Supper - 7:00pm:

• Our Lady of Lourdes Church Beresfield
• St Paul's Church Rutherford
• St Joseph's Church East Maitland

Good Friday - Commemoration of the Passion of the Lord - 3:00pm:

• Our Lady of Lourdes Church Beresfield
• St Paul's Church Rutherford
• St Joseph's Church East Maitland

Saturday:

7:45pm - St Joseph's Church East Maitland - Vigil
7:45pm - Our Lady of Lourdes Church Beresfield - Vigil
7:45pm - St Paul's Church Rutherford - Vigil (For Campbell's Hill)

Sunday:

7:15am - Immaculate Conception Church Morpeth
8:00am - St Paul's Church Rutherford
8:00am - Holy Family Church Largs
8:30am - St Joseph's Church East Maitland
9:30am - St Patrick's Church Lochinvar
9:30am - St Columba's Church Paterson
6:00pm - St Joseph's Church East Maitland

Sacraments of Initiation 2024

Below are the events to mark on the calendar for those completing their Sacraments of Initiation this year. We pray for those students currently going through their first Reconciliation journey. For any information, please contact me through the school office.

GOSPEL REFLECTION

PALM SUNDAY OF THE PASSION OF THE LORD YEAR B

Mark 15:1-39
The Passion - Shorter Form

Library News

Hello Families,

Apologies to those classes who missed out on borrowing this fortnight due to my absence for a couple of days. A few more home reading bookmarks have made their way back to the library to be added to the total with our Years 3-6 Home Reading total now being 80 hours! Parents please continue encouraging your children to read minimum 15 mins a day (aiming for a minimum of 4 times a week) and return those bookmarks when completed. If this has been misplaced students are welcome to a collect another one from the library.

2024 Borrowing Days

Monday - Year 2
Tuesday - Kinder, Year 4, Year 5
Wednesday - Year 1, Year 3, Year 6 

Congratulations to 6M who had the highest borrowing percentage again! 6M will continue to hold the library cup for another fortnight.

Harmony Day Exciting News!

Celebrating inclusivity is the core of Harmony Day and this year we were excited to share with the students the fabulous opportunity of Growing Minds – Author in residence that will be taking place this year. St Paul’s has been fortunate to be selected for this program that will take place in Term 3 Week 7.

Book Week 2024

The Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) this week announced the shortlisted books for 2024. These highly regarded Australian books are up for awards announced during book week in Term 3 17^th-23^rd August. Classes will closely be looking at the shortlisted books during library lessons. This year the book week theme is Reading is Magic! A whole school assembly and favourite book character dress-up parade will take place on Thursday 22^nd August. More information can be found via the link below.

Book Club

Book Club catalogues where sent home recently for issue 2. Please have all orders placed by the Wednesday 27^th of March. Orders can be placed via the Scholastic LOOP parent portal (link below) or order form and correct money can be sent to the school office. Thanks again for supporting our Book Club.

Lunchtimes in the Library

St Paul’s Chess Tournament continues leading into the third and fourth rounds. The competition is tough! Who will still be standing this fortnight?

If you have any questions or concerns about the library please don’t hesitate to contact myself or Penny in the Library.

katrina.howard@mn.catholic.edu.au

Primary Coordinator/Gifted Education Mentor

Neurodiversity Week: 18th-24^th March

What is Neurodiversity?

When it comes to inclusion, neurodiversity refers to a world where neurological differences are recognised and respected as all other human variations.

Depending on how our brains are wired we think, move, process information and communicate in different ways. Many people in our community use neurodiversity as an umbrella term used to describe alternative thinking styles such as Dyslexia, DCD (Dyspraxia), Dyscalculia, Autism and ADHD. But regardless of labels, neurodiversity is about recognising those who think differently. And no matter whether you are a school, university or organisation you can benefit from different thinkers!

Approximately 15-20% of population has a neurological difference. Instead of labelling people with deficits or disorders, when we use the term neurodiversity, we take a balanced view of an individual’s unique strengths and challenges.

Neurodiversity Celebration Week provides us with the opportunity to recognise and celebrate the many strengths, talents, and advantages of being neurodivergent. By flipping the narrative, we can create a more inclusive school environment that embraces the benefits and positive aspects of thinking and learning differently and empowers every student to reach their potential.

6W Assembly

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Term 1 2024

Term Dates for 2024

Term 1 Tuesday, 30 January - Friday, 12 April
Term 2 Monday, 29 April - Friday, 05 July
Term 3 Monday, 22 July - Friday, 27 September
Term 4 Monday, 14 October - Friday, 20 December

Week 9 25^th – 29^th March

HOLY WEEK

Mon 25^th - Yr 2 Library & Music
Tues 26^th – Parish Mass 9am
Tues 26^th - Breakfast Club 8.20am
Tues 26^th – P&F Wrapping of Easter Raffle Prizes
Wed 27^th - Yr’s 3, 6, & 1 Library & Music
Wed 27^th – Open Classrooms
Wed 27^th – Easter Raffle
Thu 28^th – Holy Thursday Liturgy 2.15pm
Thu 28^th - Breakfast Club 8.20am
Fri 29^th – Good Friday – Public Holiday School Closed
Sun 31^st – Easter Sunday

Week 10 1^st – 5^th April

Mon 1^st – East Monday – Public Holiday School Closed
Tues 2^nd – Liturgy – Jesus is Risen Liturgy Year 6
Tues 2^{nd -} Breakfast Club 8.20am
Tues 2^nd – Free Dental Van
Wed 3^{rd -} Yr’s 3, 6, & 1 Library & Music
Wed 3^rd - Free Dental Van
Thu 4^th – Cross Country – St Paul’s grounds
Thu 4^th - Breakfast Club 8.20am
Wed 4^th - Free Dental Van
Thur 28^th - Free Dental Van
Fri 5^{th -} Free Dental Van

Week 11 8^th – 12^th April

Mon 8^{th -} Yr 2 Library & Music
Mon 8^th – Free Dental Van (last day)
Tues 9^{th -} Breakfast Club 8.20am
Tues 9^th – Combined School ANZAC commemoration Civic Theatre (Leaders only)
Wed 10^th – Boys Newcastle Knights U10’s & U12’s Thornton
Thu 11^th - Breakfast Club 8.20am
Thu 11^th – Last Day for students
Fri 12^th – Pupil Free Day
Fri 12^th – End of Term 1

Autum School Holidays – Sat 13^th April – Sun 28^th April.

Good for kids

School Student Travel Passes 2024

Uniform Shop Hours 2023

TUESDAY AFTERNOON                      2.30PM – 3PM
WEDNESDAY MORING                       8.30AM – 9AM
THURSDAY AFTERNOON                    2.30PM – 3PM

When ordering Uniforms via QKR, don’t change the order date.

Orders will be sent the classrooms the days the uniform shop is opened.

If for some reason you need to exchange sizes, please ensure that the tags are still on the garment and the garment is in the original packing.

Christa Moylan
Uniform Shop Coordinator

Canteen

PLEASE UPDATE YOUR CHILDS CLASS ON QKR

Canteen Opening days.

MONDAY CLOSED
TUESDAY OPENED
WEDNESDAY OPENED
THURSDAY OPENED
FRIDAY OPENED

Order via the QKR App, by 8.55am ON THE DAY.

Lunch orders will be sent to the classrooms in the class lunch tubs.

(IMPORTANT WHEN ORDERING LUNCHES – CHECK THE DATE OF ORDER)

In the past students haven’t received lunch due to the wrong order date entered.

Please discuss with your child if this happens, ask them to come to the office to see Mrs West or Mrs Mac, we will organise lunch for them through the canteen.  Only sandwiches will be on offer.

RECESS TIME:  10:30AM – 11:10AM
LUNCH TIME:  12:40PM – 1:20PM

St Nicholas OOSH

Guitar Lessons