22nd March 2025

From the Principals Desk - Mrs Stacey Mullin

Congratulations to our students in yr 3 and 5 for the completion of NAPLAN.

Thank you to the teachers for preparing them and maintaining a sense of calm throughout the week. We all know how stressful “tests” can be, but we also need to remind ourselves that this is one test on one day. The data we receive is useful in identifying gaps in learning and improvement areas, but we are striving for all our students to grow everyday in everything they are learning about themselves, each other and the world.

Thank you especially to Mrs Collett and Ms Taranto for the organisation of the testing.

Enrolments for 2026

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. We have begun interviewing all applicants and families. The closing date for enrolment applications is Friday 23^rd May.

Kiss and Ride – Church Pick up

Please DO NOT stop before the crossing in the no stopping or bus zones to wait for the kiss and ride queue. If you drive around the block, you will find that the traffic will improve as buses can get out and your own car is out of the traffic flow.

HARMONY DAY

This week we celebrated Harmony Day with activities to raise 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. Everyone enjoyed an orange icy pole to celebrate together. Thank you to Mrs Warby and our year 6 students and teachers who provided great activities for the day.

Harmony Day 2025

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EASTER EGG DONATIONS PLEASE

The Easter Raffle is fast approaching on Wednesday Week 11. Please send in your donations ASAP for the P&F to wrap and bundle. This year we will be having 2 draws – 1 for infants and the other for primary. More details to come.

Calendar Dates - Week 9 & 10

Term Dates 2025

Term 1 Friday 31st January - Friday 11th April

Term 2 Monday 28th April - Friday 4th July

Term 3 Monday 21st July - Friday 26th September

Term 4 Monday 13th October - Friday 19th December

Student Awards Term 1 - Week 6 & 7

Assistant Principal - Ms Sharna Taranto

PB4L

This term we have worked with our community; staff, students, families as well as CSO Education officers to renew our PB4L Behaviour Matrix.

Thank you to all families who shared their responses in our School Values Survey. Your responses were valuable in us ensuring we have a shared language when talking about behaviour expectations at St Paul’s.

Our PB4L Behaviour expectations matrix is now aligned with our Catholic values of Learn, Love and Serve.

We ask for your continued support in helping to reinforce these values at home, so that we can work together to guide our students in their journey of faith, learning, love and service. These core values are central to the way we guide and nurture our students’ St Paul’s and helps us live out these values each day in a practical way.

NAPLAN

Last week our students in Year 3 and Year 5 took part in NAPLAN (National Assessment Program for Literacy and Numeracy). Assessments were in Writing, Reading, Grammar Conventions and Numeracy. Thank you to our teachers and families for supporting our students during this time.  A big thank you must also go out to Mrs Clare Collette for her work on supporting this and enabling a smooth delivery for our teachers and students.

Dental Van

A reminder that we will have the free Dental Van visiting St Paul’s in Week 10. Permission forms are due to the school office by 21st March 2025, 9.30am.
This is a wonderful initiative and I encourage families to take advantage of this opportunity.

Religious Coordinator - Mr Robert Temesvary

Family/Commissioning Mass

Sunday the 9^th of March was our annual commissioning/family mass. The staff and Mini Vinnies team both read their pledges in front of the parish community and were blessed with holy water. Mini Vinnies also received badges which were pinned by family members. It was such a wonderful turnout – a huge thank you to all the families and staff that made the effort to come along.

Lent – Lets check in

At St Paul’s Rutherford, Lent is a very special time in our Catholic calendar. It is a season of 40 days leading up to Easter, when we take time to reflect, pray, and grow closer to God. During Lent, we remember the time Jesus spent in the desert, preparing for his important mission. It’s a chance for us to prepare our hearts too.

Family Commissioning Mass

Many people choose to give something up or do something extra during Lent—whether it’s helping others, spending more time in prayer, or making small sacrifices. The three key focuses of Lent are prayer, fasting, and almsgiving (giving to those in need).

As we journey through Lent together at St Paul’s, it’s a good time to stop and check in with ourselves. You might like to ask:

• Have I taken time to pray and talk to God each day?
• Have I been kind and helpful to others in my family, class, and playground?
• Is there something extra I can do to make a difference for someone this week?
• Am I doing my best to follow Jesus’ example of love, kindness, and forgiveness?

Remember—Lent isn’t about being perfect. It’s about doing our best each day and growing closer to God.

Sacraments of Initiation 2025

Below are the events to mark on the calendar for those completing their Sacraments of Initiation this year. For any information, please contact me through the school office.

Next up: 2nd rite of reconciliation – see the image below for dates and centres.

GOSPEL REFLECTION

FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT YEAR C

Luke 13:1-9

The parable of the fig tree.

Library News - Katrina Howard

Borrowing Days 2025 

Tuesday Odd Weeks - Kinder, Year 1 

Tuesday Even Weeks – Kinder, Year 2  

Wednesday Odd Weeks - Year 3M, Year 5 

Wednesday Even Weeks – Year 3W, Year 6 

Thursday Even Weeks – Year 4 

Library Borrowing Cup

Congratulations to 3M and KM on winning the Library Cup the past couple of weeks. The cup is presented to the class who has the highest percentage of borrowers for the week.

Premiers Reading Challenge (PRC) 

Hopefully everyone has managed to log onto the PRC online and begin logging in books read. These books can be books read from home, school, the library or online. Some of our library books are marked with a PRC sticker matching the colour of the personal reading log booklets sent home last fortnight. Keep a look out for these. The rules of the challenge allow for wider reading with half of the books read not needing to be PRC identified books, therefore many of the books owned at home will still qualify for the challenge.  Remember books can also be recorded that have been read since the last challenged finished.

Congratulations to the following students who have already completed the challenge! Well Done … Jairon (3M), Blair (3W), Catherine (3M), Angel (4M), Hayley (4W), Jasmine (4W).

SORA

Sora is an online library platform that all students have access to. It offers a variety of eBooks and audiobooks. Families can log in via the website or by downloading the app. Please see attached PDF for more details.

Overdue Notices 

Overdue notices will be sent out at the end of every term (4 times a year) as a reminder to return overdue borrowed books. A second overdue notice will be sent out at the beginning of the following term if books were not found and returned after the holiday break. A third notice will then be given as notice for payment. Unfortunately, the past few years we have had an excessive number of books not being returned to the library. This year a $15 fee will be charged payable via Qkr! for unreturned books. Our aim is to teach respect and responsibility when borrowing while encouraging regularly reading for enjoyment.  

 Book Club  

Issue 2 of Book Club was sent home last week. All orders need to be placed by the 26^th of March and online ordering is available and an easy option via the Book Club LOOP platform. Before placing your order, you will need to register an account and add your child’s information, including school name. All orders will be sent to the school then delivered to your child to take home. 

   https://mybookclubs.scholastic.com.au/Parent/Login.aspx 

Thank you for ordering as all orders mean reward points for our school to use on new books or resources for the library!

Library Bags 

A reminder to not to forget library bags on borrowing days. Thank you for the library bags that were returned, though we are still waiting for many to come back. Please return the school library bags if borrowed the following fortnight. Thank you! 

Please don’t hesitate to contact the library staff via email at 

Katrina.howard@mn.catholic.edu.au 

Penny.sneddon@mn.catholic.edu.au   

Primary Coordinator & Gifted Educator Mentor Mrs Amanda King

Reading

Reading at home with your child is a wonderful way to build their confidence and develop a love of books. It should be an enjoyable and positive experience for both of you. Children of all ages love being read to, so try to set aside special time for reading together without distractions. If your child becomes frustrated or loses interest, it’s okay to take a break and try again later. The most important thing is to make reading a fun and relaxed part of everyday life.Here are some simple ways to support your child’s reading journey:

• Be a reading role model- Let your child see you reading whenever you can.
• Offer a variety of reading materials- Encourage your child to explore different types of texts, such as stories, comics, poems, plays, cartoons, magazines, and recipe books.
• Make reading part of everyday life- Point out and read words on street signs, food packages, and labels.
• Encourage predictions- Ask your child to guess what a book might be about by looking at the cover and illustrations.
• Revisit favourites- Rereading books helps build confidence and fluency.
• Play with sounds and words- Point out the first sound of a word and think of other words that start the same way.
• Celebrate effort and progress- Praise your child’s reading efforts
• Foster a love of books- Encourage your child to read for enjoyment as well as information.
• Engage in discussions- Talk about characters, events, and what might happen next in a story. Ask your child literal and inferential questions.
• Encourage problem-solving- If they get stuck on a word, help them sound it out, give a hint, or suggest they read on to gather clues from the sentence.
• Use resources- Show your child how to use a physical or online dictionary to find the meaning of unfamiliar words.
• Visit the library together- Borrowing books is a fantastic way to discover new favourites!

Most importantly, enjoy the journey of reading together. Reading is a wonderful way to bond and build a lifelong love of books!

Sport News - Jessica Stefanish-Smith & Melinda Walls

Attention All Parents and Guardians!

We are excited to announce our upcoming Cross Country Event, which will take place on Thursday, 3rd April, at Coronation Oval for Years 2 - 6. Kindergarten and Year 1 will remain at school for their run and novelty events. This is a fantastic opportunity for students to showcase their endurance and team spirit in a fun and supportive environment. If your child would like to participate, please nominate them using the following link.  We look forward to seeing our young athletes in action. Let's make it an unforgettable day!
LINK: https://forms.office.com/r/xtJ9szUuSQ

Newcastle Knights NRLW Gala Day

What a fantastic day at the Newcastle Knights NRLW Gala Day!  Our senior girls came away with 3 victories and 1 draw.  Most importantly, they showed great sportsmanship and had a blast.  A special thank you to Tilly and Ellie from St John the Baptist, Maitland and Grace from St Patrick’s, Wallsend who all joined our team for the day. 

Thank you to Mr Braun for helping out with coaching.

2025 Athletics Carnival

In the coming weeks we will be sharing information regarding the 2025 Athletics Carnival to be held on MONDAY 28 April at Maitland Athletics Centre. Students will be able to showcase their speed, endurance and abilities in a range of events throughout the day.
Nominations for events will occur via a link and QR code we will share.
STAY TUNED!
Mrs Walls and Mrs Stefanish-Smith

Uniform Shop 2025

Opening Times

Tuesday Afternoons                                  2:30pm – 3:00pm

Wednesday Afternoons                             8:30am – 9:00am

Thursday Afternoons                                 2:30am – 3:00pm

When ordering Uniforms via QKR, don’t change the order date.
Orders will be sent to 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 Molan
Uniform Shop Coordinator

Canteen

Have you updated your child's class on QKR????

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:           10:30am – 11:10am

LUNCH:            12:40pm – 1:20pm