Principal's Message
Dear Parent/Carer
“I have told you this so that you might have peace in me. In the world, you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.”
John 16: 29-33
The last few weeks have been very busy weeks for our College. Our Agriculture/Cattle Team represented us well at the Wingham Beek Week – with some exceptional results. I continue to be incredibly proud of the students’ efforts in this area. The work of our staff, well led by Mr Graham Bramley and his team, together with a dedicated parent/carer group ensures success. I thank everyone involved.
The ‘Tell Them from Me’ survey was held across last week and the completion rate from our students was well over 90%. This is a tremendous effort and I thank the staff involved in facilitating this and the students in completing this important activity. Over the coming days we will receive the results which will assist us in determining our strategic plan over the next few years.
We will also be welcoming a School review and Improvement team to the College on the first week of next Term. This accredited review team will join us for three days to gather information about St Paul’s to assist us in identifying areas of commendation as well as areas of improvement. The team will be speaking to a large cross section of the community and I would warmly encourage any parent/carer who would like to be involved to email the Executive Assistant to the Principal, Mrs Alys Farley, alys.farley@lism.catholic.edu.au to be a part of this. We embrace any opportunity to be better at what we do in order to provide our families with the best educational opportunities we can.
The enrolment application period for Year 7, 2024 concludes shortly and we will commence interviews across the next few weeks. We have over 150 applications which is a reflection of the tremendous work of our staff at the College. We have added into our interviews questions specific to the Catholic dimension of St Paul’s. Students and families considering St Paul’s need to think about what our College stands for and regards as important. We deliver a high quality educational experience, but this is always in the context of an understanding of our Catholic values and wish to not only better ourselves, but also be aware of what we can do to better the lives of those around us.
I thank Mr Matthew Mitchell (Leader of Evangelisation) and Maxwell Winn (Youth Ministry Officer) for their work in motivating our community to donate items for Mother’s Day which were provided to the Women’s Refuge in Kempsey. There was a great deal donated and the P & F assisted by members of staff and parents took time to wrap these items and prepare them for delivery. They were well received and meant a lot to this vulnerable group within our community.
The next few weeks will involve significant assessment and reporting work from our whole community. Year 12 reports have just been released and reflect strong, consistent efforts from students and staff. I would encourage all families to talk with their children about managing their time, reading through work carefully and reaching out to teachers if something is confusing or not clearly understood. The reports families receive need to be a snapshot of what students have learnt about and can do.
The Vinnies Winter Appeal kicks off this week and I ask you all to be aware of this as we seek donations to support those less fortunate in our community. Please respond where you can to requests for assistance. Finally, I thank the Student Leadership team for their management of the ‘Do it For Dolly’ day that was held last week. Students had an out of uniform day, to raise awareness of the influence poor communication, poor decision making and power imbalance can have on others. Our whole College community was involved in this awareness day and it set a clear message to our community.
Kind regards
Mr David JOHNS B.Ed., Cert. Gifted Ed., Grad. Cert. Adol. Health and Welfare, M.Ed. (Ed Lead), M.Ed. (Theol)
Principal