6th June 2025

From The Principals Desk - Mrs Stacey Mullin

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK

The NSW catholic Schools Principals conference last week focused on HOPE and reflected on the legacy of Pope Francis. We were reminded that hope is a gift already given to us as we welcome the love of God and are open to the possibilities of the future. Our students are Future makers and our hope for the future as we engage together to make meaning of the world around us. In our classrooms my hope is that you have seen the innovation and creativity of our students as well as the hard work they have put into learning at St Paul’s.

Reconciliation Week

Mrs Wilson again created a wonderful awareness for our students with cultural experiences at recess and lunch. Students participated in weaving, rock painting and digeridoo playing for the boys. We love the passion Mrs Wilson brings to her role at St Paul’s. Thank you for all you do.

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Casual Shortage

Once again, we have a shortage of casuals with the cold and flu season upon us – every school is experiencing the same. We have worked hard to ensure that learning continues if your child’s teacher is absent and we cannot get a replacement. All staff have prepared work in the event that classes need to be split. This is a great practice of independent learning for our students. We try not to split our infants' students, but sometimes this is impossible to avoid.

Infants Playground

We have more news around the infant's playground. An awning cover will be put over the tiled areas off the kindergarten classrooms. This will hopefully be constructed and completed over the winter holiday break.

ENJOY A RESTFUL LONG WEEKEND

Calendar Dates Week 7 & 8

Student Awards Week 4 & 5

Assistant Principal - Mrs Sharna Taranto

PB4L (Positive Behaviours for Learning)

This fortnight our PB4L we have continued our focus: Choose Kindness. This focus aligns with our school value of Love and links with the SEL (Social & Emotional Learning) skill of Self-Awareness.

How can families support this learning?

A fun family activity to promote kindness is creating a "Kindness Jar."

Each family member can write down a kind act they've done or witnessed, and the jar is filled with these notes! Alternatively, how about starting a family "Kindness Challenge". With this, the family sets a goal for a specific number of kind acts per week.

Supporting Literacy Development at home

There are lots of simple ways that parents and carers can support their child/ren’s reading and literacy development at home. Below is a snapshot of 10 ways you can support this skill development for your children!

https://www.improvingliteracy.org/resource/supporting-your-child-s-literacy-at-home

Catholic Schools Week

Catholic Schools Week 2025 (2^nd-6th June) celebrates what makes our Catholic Schools great and raises awareness of the many opportunities Catholic schools provide through faith-based education.

Thank you to all who were able to join us in our special Mass celebration and Open Classrooms on Friday! This is an annual event that our staff and students alike always look forward to! Your engagement and our continued positive partnership is an integral part of paving the way to student success spiritually, academically, socially and emotionally.

Religious Coordinator - Mr Robert Temesvary

CONFIRMATION

This week, we celebrate and congratulate the students who received the Sacrament of Confirmation. It was a special milestone in their faith journey, and we are so proud of the reverence and commitment they showed. May the gifts of the Holy Spirit continue to guide and strengthen them always.

St Vincent De Paul Winter Appeal / Mini Vinnies Homelessness Awareness Evening

A heartfelt thank you to all our families for your generous contributions to the St Vincent de Paul Winter Appeal. Your donations will make a real difference to local families doing it tough this winter. Your kindness and support truly embody the spirit of our school community.

A big thank you to our Year 6 students for their thoughtful participation in the Homelessness Awareness Evening. It was a meaningful night filled with engaging activities that deepened students’ understanding of the challenges faced by people experiencing homelessness.

Through the evening, students explored important topics and helped break down common misconceptions—like the idea that homelessness only affects people who don’t work, or that it always means sleeping on the streets. In reality, homelessness can affect people of all ages and backgrounds and often includes those staying in temporary or unsafe housing.

Well done, Year 6, for showing such empathy, maturity, and a strong sense of justice.

Mini Vinnies Homelessness Awareness Evening

ORDINARY TIME

Next week we move into the season of our Liturgical calendar called: Ordinary time - A name that is very deceiving in our church’s calendar as there is no such thing! Because the term ordinary in English most often means something that's not special or distinctive, many people think that Ordinary Time refers to parts of the calendar of the Catholic Church that are unimportant. Yet Ordinary time is far from unimportant or interesting!  

Ordinary Time is called "ordinary" not because it is common but simply because the weeks of Ordinary Time are numbered. The Latin word ordinalis, which refers to numbers in a series, stems from the Latin word ordo, from which we get the English word order. Thus, the numbered weeks of Ordinary Time, in fact, represent the ordered life of the Church — the period in which we live our lives neither in feasting (as in the Christmas and Easter seasons) or in more severe penance (as in Advent and Lent), but in watchfulness and expectation of the Second Coming of Christ.

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: First Holy Communion Preparation – See the schedule below for dates

GOSPEL REFLECTION

PENTECOST SUNDAY YEAR C

John 20:19-23

Jesus promises the disciples the Paraclete.

Library News - Katrina Howard

Borrowing Days in Term 2 for each class will stay the same.

Library Borrowing Cup

Congratulations to 4W and KM/KW 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. Remember to check the term planner as a reminder of classes borrowing days.

Premiers Reading Challenge (PRC)

3M continue to be in the lead to win the class party!

Congratulations to Daniella (4W) who completed the challenge this fortnight.

Overdue Notices

The third and final overdue notices were sent home for books unreturned in February and March. If received, please log onto the Qkr! app and pay the $15 fee. Thank you to the families that have already paid!

New Overdue notices were handed out this week for books unreturned for the months of April and May. Overdue books do not need to be returned on borrowing days. Please return these asap to avoid payment notification.

Book Club 

Issue 4 of Book Club was sent home last week with orders due back in by the 18^th of June. Orders can be placed via the Loop parent portal (link below) on the Scholastic website, or the correct money and order form can be sent to the school office.  

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

CBCA Shadow Judging

This year St Paul’s Primary are signed up to be shadow judges for the CBCA shortlisted books in the Picture Book Category for 2025. Students from Year 3-6 had the option to join in on a Monday lunch club in the library. The club will run for 6 weeks focusing on a different book each week before we vote for our selected book prior to book week. It has been a pleasure already only 2 weeks in to hear the book club conversations and interest in the text read so far.

Please don’t hesitate to contact the library staff for any issues or enquiries via email at

Katrina.howard@mn.catholic.edu.au

Primary Coordinator & Gifted Educator Mentor - Mrs Amanda King

Spelling and Maths Bee

Over the past two weeks, students from year One to Year Six have participated in our Stage Finals for the Spelling and Maths Bee competitions. We were incredibly proud to see so many students challenge themselves, demonstrate perseverance, and showcase their knowledge and skills in both literacy and numeracy.

Congratulations to all participants for giving it their best, and a special mention to the following students who have progressed to the Regional Spelling and Maths Bee.

Maths Bee

Stage 1: Henry Pink 

Stage 2: Bodhi Duggan Stage

3: Nate Bridgwater 

Spelling Bee

Stage 1: Arthur Ryan 

Stage 2: Ella Heuston 

Stage 3: Dash Shine 

We wish them the very best as they represent our school with pride.

ICAS

ICAS is an optional online academic competition that gives students the opportunity to extend themselves across various subjects. 

ICAS will take place during August, with each subject held in a specific week: 

Digital Technologies (4–8 Aug) $20.95

Writing (4–8 Aug) $24.95

English (11–15 Aug) $20.95Science (18–22 Aug) $20.95

Spelling Bee (18–22 Aug) $20.95

Mathematics (25–29 Aug) $20.95

All students who participate will receive a printed certificate and online results report. If you would like your child to take part, please register by Monday 28 July at 11:59pm.  To register, visit https://shop.icasassessments.com/pages/parent-payment or go to https://shop.icasassessments.com/pages/pps and enter our school code: RXO740. 

Please note that no refunds or changes cannot be made once registration is complete.

Further details for ICAS can be found on Compass.

Sport News - Melinda Walls & Jessica Stefanish-Smith

2025 DIO Cross Country

Unfortunately, after several rescheduling attempts, the event needed to be cancelled. Schools were asked to submit their students' times and official placement. A paper trial was then completed. Although our students' times were very competitive, they were unsuccessful in receiving a place at the next level.

Thank you to the students and families for your understanding and flexibility during this time.

2025 Regional Athletics

We have a staggering 41 students that have qualified for the Regional Athletics Carnival that will be held on the 2^nd July 2025 (Wednesday Week 10). We are in the process of finalising staffing and notes that will be sent home asap!

Netball Gala Days Stage 2 and Stage 3

Students have nominated themselves with Mrs Howard and Mrs Walls for these days. Information will be shared in the coming weeks. The days are for mixed social teams to attend. The 5/6 day will include 1 competitive team. An opportunity for interested students from Yr 5 & Yr6 to trial, will be announced soon.

Infants – Athletics Carnival

We are still so upset that our Kindergarten and Year 1 children were unable to join us at Maitland Athletics Centre for the 2025 carnival. The Sports Team is in the process of booking and organising fun athletics filled afternoon in the early weeks of Term 3. We will keep you updated with details!

Australia's Biggest Morning Tea

St Paul's BIGGEST Morning Tea 2025

This year, Saint Paul’s is once again hosting a BIGGEST morning tea to raise funds for the Cancer Council. This event will be held on Thursday, June 19^th from 10:30am. Location is, Saint Paul’s Primary School COLA and basketball court. There will be coffee and/or tea and a variety of delicious cakes, slices, and savories available to the adults, for a

Small donation. There will also be a daffodil wall and a raffle.

The students will have activities including, face painting, nail painting, biscuit decorating, guessing competitions, temporary tattoos, yellow bands. The students will be encouraged to wear something yellow and bring a gold coin donation. The other extra activities will cost between 10c to $1.

Please feel free to donate to the Cancer Council using the Saint Paul’s QR code below.

With thanks

The Saint Paul’s Biggest Morning Tea Team.

School Fees Update

School Fees Update

 School fees statements have been issued this week. If you have not received yours, please contact the office to request a copy via email.

• Annual Payments: for families who have opted to pay annually, the total outstanding amount is due by 30^th June 2025.
• Payment Plans: If you are on a payment plan, please continue your regular payments to ensure all fees are cleared by 30^th November 2025.

 Health Care Cards

 If you haven’t already submitted your Health Care Card, please do so using the link below. 

https://cefmsmn.t1cloud.com/T1Default/CiAnywhere/Web/CEFMSMN/Forms/FillOut?formDef=542f8b0a36f27c118b055b26d933c4fe&suite=CES

Financial Support

If you family is experiencing financial difficulties, we encourage you to contact the school to arrange a private and confidential meeting