Term 1 Week 6 - 10 March 2023

Dear Parent/Carer

‘And they said to the woman, “We no longer believe because of your word; for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the saviour of the world.”

John 4: 5-42

We are now entering our third week of LENT and it is hoped that our community is considering this time as an opportunity to reflect on relationships we have with others and how we can do more to show care and concern of everyone that we come into contact with. Our theme this LENT is to expect more…of yourself.

This was very much the theme in our Year 7 BELONGING DAY that took place last week. The students were tremendous and I thank Mrs Mascord, Mr Robins, Mrs Rafton and Mr Mitchell together with their team who ran a very successful day. Students took this opportunity to get to know one another and share their thoughts and feelings about the year ahead.

We also had enormous success at the Diocesan Swimming Carnival where St Paul’s College triumphed in a very competitive field. These students should be very happy with their efforts across the day.

Our thoughts are also with Mrs McMillan, Mr Wilson, Ms Tildsey and Ms Keith who travelled across to Papua New Guinea as part of a PNG/AUS educational partnership programme. We have a buddy school - St Gabriel’s who we have been working with over the last few years. It was an excellent experience and we look forward to hearing of their adventures in this beautiful country.

We had another successful Day in the Life this week that welcomed over 100 Year 6 students to the College. This was an opportunity for them to obtain a sense of our College as they consider where they plan to study in 2024. This was followed by our Open Day where students and teachers took prospective parents/carers around the College. The significant interest the community has for the College reflect the outstanding work of our staff and I thank them for all they do.

Finally, I draw to your attention that the College will be hosting a SCHOOL REVIEW PANEL in WEEK 1 of TERM 3. This will involve a THREE DAY review using accredited reviewers to ascertain what the College is doing to support the improvement of student learning outcomes. Lots of data will be gathered across this time and it will very much involve community voice. If there are parents/carers who would like to be a part of this process I would ask that you please email Mrs Alys Farley, the Executive Assistant to the Principal, alys.farley@lism.catholic.edu.au, so you can be a part of this. It will involve a 30-minute meeting at the College across the school day with a reviewer. This review and improvement process is a great opportunity for the College to see how we are progressing and what we may need to consider further as we collectively develop our strategic plan for the next 3 years.

Kind regards

Mr David JOHNS   B.Ed., Cert. Gifted Ed., Grad. Cert. Adol. Health and Welfare, M.Ed. (Ed Lead), M.Ed. (Theol) 

Principal

kmps@lism.catholic.edu.au

It is with pleasure that the St Paul’s College community announces the appointment of Ms Kate Fullbrook as our new Assistant Principal - Learning and Teaching, commencing from the beginning of Term 2, 2023.

Kate joins us from St Mary’s Cathedral College, Sydney where she held the position of Leader of Diverse Learning. Kate has also worked for Sydney Catholic Schools as an Education Officer and prior to this had a very successful career leading teaching teams in a variety of schools in the United Kingdom. With over twenty years of teaching experience including English, Drama, Religious Education and History, Kate brings a breadth of skills with significant strength in the areas of Inclusion and Vocational Education.

Kate was a Higher School Certificate graduate from St Paul’s in 1998 and has close links to the Kempsey community, with family still living in the region. Kate is excited to return to the Macleay and will be joined by her husband and two daughters.

The College is very fortunate to have such a skilled educator join our teaching community. She will be an enormous asset to the school and our regional community. I acknowledge her appointment to the College and have confidence that she will further strengthen our academic staff.

On behalf of the College, we warmly welcome Kate to St Paul’s!

Student Voice
At our Whole School Assembly on Wednesday, the College gained insights into the power of student voice at St Paul’s. Student voice is central to the Mission of St Paul’s and is at the heart of everything we do. Students are asked to contribute towards the direction of the school consistently and their feedback is invaluable. The Whole School Assemblies occur twice a Term and are completely organised and run by our student leaders. They seek out items, Prayer and Acknowledgement of Country readers, and set an agenda that supports the diversity of the College. At this weeks assembly a number of students were recognised as members of the 2023 Student Representative Council (SRC):

Year 11

Year 10

Year 9

Year 8

Year 7

Our school leaders requested a delay in the commissioning of the 2023 SRC at the end of 2022 following the data presented from their SPC Leaders Improvement Survey. In Term 4 last year, each student was asked to complete a 20 question survey constructed by the School Leaders seeking student voice on a range of issues. The findings included:

• Student’s Wellbeing and Inclusivity being supported scored well above average
• the most pressing issues from students was the tidiness of the toilets and vaping
• student feedback on their experiences with bullying and their overwhelming support of how the school can resolve bullying issues
• important feedback and strategies on fundraising, cultural and reconciliation initiatives
• and a range of suggestions for further activities during lunch.

Our School Leaders have driven important changes to the functioning of the SRC, where members will meet weekly, a representative of each group will work under the four specific school leadership portfolios and the group will report to the College executive team fortnightly. These changes haved stemmed from student voice and leadership, a wonderful demonstration of support and action towards the mission of the College.

Mr Geoffrey Melville - Assistant Principal - Mission and Wellbeing

geoffrey.melville@lism.catholic.edu.au

Ministry Leaders
This week during the College Assembly we had an opportunity to acknowledge the 2023 Ministry Leaders. These students will support Evangelisation and take an active role in being leaders and role models for all students in terms of engagement with faith and living a life for others. Our Ministry Leaders are as follows:

Blessing of Ministry Leaders
We bless you, O God, and we praise your name. In your merciful providence you sent your Son into the world to free us from the bondage of sin by his own blood and to enrich us with the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Before he returned, triumphant over death, to you, Father, he sent his apostles, the bearers of his love and power, to proclaim the Gospel of life to all peoples and in the waters of baptism to cleanse those who believe.

Lord, look kindly on your servants: we send them forth as messengers of salvation and peace, marked with the sign of the cross. Guide their steps with your mighty arm and with the power of your grace strengthen them in spirit, so that they will not falter through weariness. Make their words the echo of Christ's voice, so that those who hear them may be drawn to obey the Gospel.

Fill the hearts of our Ministry Leaders with the Holy Spirit, so that, becoming all things to all people, they may lead many to you, the Father of all, to sing your praises in your holy Church.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Project Compassion “For All Future Generations” - this week’s story
In PC this week students were shared the story of Tereesa. She is a Gamilaroi woman from Western Sydney who struggled with homelessness while raising her four children. Through the Baabayn Young Mums and Bubs Group, Tereesa was able to reconnect with her culture and create a better future for her children.

We pray for all people who are a source of hope in the world, who help to transfigure darkness into light. May our support of Project Compassion help to keep alive our vision of Christ as the one we should most listen to, the light of the world.

Mr Matthew Mitchell - Leader of Evangelisation

matthew.mitchell@lism.catholic.edu.au

Let Your Light Shine Award
The Let Your Light Shine award kicked off to a great start at our assembly this week. Congratulations to the following students who received an award based on their achievement, motivation and willingness to learn across a range of subjects:

Parent Teacher Interviews
Parent Teacher Evening for parents/carers of students in Years 7 to 12 will be held on 27 March 2023. The evening allows you the opportunity to discuss your child’s progress and to inform us of any relevant information that would assist in their care and education. An email will go out on Monday 13 March with further details on how to book a time with your child’s teachers.

Mrs Amy Tovey - Leader of Curriculum

amy.tovey@lism.catholic.edu.au

Where can students go to for help at St Paul's?

Vaping
Vaping is on the rise in Australia and has become popular amongst teenagers and young adults. Alarmingly, a recent study has also shown that there is an increase in the number of primary school-aged children who are experimenting with vapes. There are many misconceptions about vapes being fairly harmless and that vapes in Australia do not contain nicotine.

St Paul's College is committed to the health and wellbeing of our students and will be including a series of informative resources for our parent/carer community over the next 3 editions of our newsletter. We hope parents and carers use these helpful resources to:

• learn the facts about e-cigarettes and vaping,
• recognise what a vape looks like,
• understand why vaping is attractive to young people and
• engage in positive conversations at home.

By working in partnership we hope to support our young people to make healthy choices.

Please watch this informative 2 minute video which provides some key information about vaping and e-cigarettes.

Key Information:

• Vaping is the act of smoking e-cigarettes or ‘vapes’ that can look like metallic pens, USBs and other hand-held systems.
• Vapes use cartridges filled with liquids, which typically contain nicotine, artificial flavouring, and various chemicals. These can be harmful to the developing body.
• Research shows that 1 in 5 young people have vaped and nearly 80% of young people say it is easy to get a vape illegally at a shop or online.
• Nicotine is especially addictive for young brains. It can cause long-lasting negative effects on brain development and can include impaired attention, learning, memory and changes in mood.
• You can find out more about vaping from NSW Health.
  
  

Conversation Starters at Home
Start conversations about vaping with your child early. You could consider the following questions or conversation starters:

Are a lot of kids vaping at your school? Are your friends vaping?
Be sure you don’t react, just listen.
What do you think about vaping?
You may hear your child say that vaping is harmless. It’s important to share some good information with your child about the impacts of vaping.
Do you know what is in vapes?
Share with them that they’ve tested vapes and they do not contain only water vapor and flavouring. Vapes can contain very high levels of nicotine and other toxic chemicals that damage lungs.

Ms Fiona Stuart - Leader of Pastoral Care

fiona.stuart@lism.catholic.edu.au

There have been some outstanding individual achievements from St Paul’s students over the past few weeks in a variety of sports.

Touch Football
Congratulations to Emily Stuart and Pippa Nugent, who have been selected for the U15’s and Open’s Lismore girls Touch Football teams. The girls will travel to Wagga Wagga to compete in the NSWCCC touch championships. A fantastic achievement and we wish them all the best for their games on 3 April.

Swimming
Last Thursday, 28 St Paul’s students travelled to the Kempsey Pools to compete in the Diocesan Swimming Competition. Our students were sensational in the pool on the day and I thank them for their efforts. St Paul’s finished in first place overall out of all the schools in the Diocese, 81 points ahead of second place. A massive achievement - well done team!

• Max Farrell - broke two Diocesan records, in the 400m Free and 50 Fly events for Open Boys. He was also awarded Age Champion of Open Boys.
• Chelsea Stringer – U14’s Girls Age Champion.
• Keely Smith – U15’s Girls Age Champion.
• Mitchell Hornick – U14’s Boys Runners Up.
• Cleo Schubert – U15’s Girls Runners Up.
• Brielle Woodger – Open Girls Runners Up.

Out of 28 swimmers, 10 of our students are now eligible for the NSWCCC Swimming Championships which will take place on 31 March at Homebush, Sydney.

Congratulations and good luck to the following students:
Keely Smith
Cleo Schubert
Brielle Woodger
Harry Askew
Max Farrell
Chelsea Stringer
Tessa Elsley
Mitchell Hornick
Jayden Swaine
Darcy Swaine

Upcoming Sports
We have a number of sports now training for some upcoming events. These include:
Schools Cup Netball – 4 April
Rugby Union 10’s event - 28 and 30 March
BTT and BTC Football (soccer) – date TBC
Opens Football (soccer) – 4 April
School Cross country - Friday, Week 1 Term 2

Mr Heath Needs - Teacher and Sports Coordinator

heath.needs@lism.catholic.edu.au

Pedagogy and the Psychology of Teaching and Learning
Teaching Pedagogy is the art and science of teaching. It is concerned with what a teacher does to influence learning in others and involves both the instructional techniques and the strategies implemented that allow learning to take place.

Learning Pedagogy addresses the different ways students understand information and is equally as important as teaching pedagogy in understanding and supporting every student. While pedagogy refers to the interactive process between a teacher and their student/s, it also includes aspects of the learning environment (classroom, study area at home etc) as well as the actions of the family and community.

Learning happens in a cycle of input (the information provided by the teacher), output (what both the student and teacher do with the information - remember, recall, use, apply) and relearn (going over what a student doesn’t know). Students need to be working on what they DON’T know. It is a waste of time to go over things they already know. It makes them feel good because it is easy, however, learning isn’t always easy OR fun. In fact, learning new information is HARD.

Environment matters and can have a significant effect on learning. The colour of a room is important; “nature” colours like blues, greens and browns are best. The temperature should be colder rather than warmer and, in fact, 19°C is ideal. Anyone under 25 is best to work in low (60 or 40 watt bulbs) or natural light; no fluorescent lights. 60s music is best for learning as it has a beat that matches our heart rate, as is music with 50-70 beats per minute (jazz, cultural, nature, classical) which can create a calm environment.

Repetition is critical to learning and going over information within 24 hours results in up to 90% recall. Going over it within 3 days results in a 30% recall. If a student is able to go home and tell someone about what they learnt that day they will remember it much better. Another strategy is to go home and summarise (NOT copy) what they learnt that day into subject-specific notebooks.

Using visuals such as pictures, diagrams, and mind-maps make content easier for the brain to remember. Finally, breaking information up into smaller, more manageable pieces is critical as teenagers can remember approximately only 5 pieces of information at a time. So they are best to learn three facts, test for learning, then learn another 3 facts, then test for learning of all 6 facts, and so on and so forth.

If there are any ways that we could help your child learn more effectively, please let us know via email. I am more than happy to help where I can and I am sure the class teachers would be too.

Ms Maria Littlejohn - Leader of Pedagogy

maria.littlejohn@lism.catholic.edu.au

Thank you to all parents/carers who have registered with Flexischools. This is the required method of ordering recess and lunch via the Flexischools phone app or online. 

Please register with Flexischools HERE

If your children are responsible for ordering their own lunches via Flexischools, please remind them to order the night before or before 9am each day. We are receiving too many "over the counter bag orders" throughout the day, which interrupts our preparation and making of orders in a timely manner. The canteen is closed except for before school, recess and lunch times, hence the importance of ordering via Flexischools.

• Order on the Flexischools app - anywhere, any time.
• Please create an account with Flexischools where you can find the latest daily menu available, prices and any specials for the day.
• When searching for your school we are listed under St Paul's West Kempsey.
• Recess and lunch order cut off is 9am daily.
• You can cancel your order at any time before 9am the day of the order by contacting the Flexischools helpline 1300 361 769 or call the College to cancel if your child is sick or absent on 6562 7200.
  
• Consider ordering extra drinks, icecreams, chips etc on the Flexischools app or online, so you can beat the queue and collect items at 1:45pm.

Should anyone have problems with the Flexischools system, the helpline number is 1300 361 769, open from 8am-4pm daily. They are very helpful and friendly.

Please note: We are currently having milk supply issues with BEGA Dairy, therefore the flavoured milk is not available from the canteen at this time. They are working hard to repair the machine breakdown, however it will take some time before stocks are replenished.



Ricki Saunders - Canteen Manager

St Paul's Year 7 Belonging Day for 2023 was a spectacular event. Students participated in a range of activities and games throughout the day and listened to both Fr James Foster and Mr David Johns speak about how they belong to our wonderful community and how they have an impact on our College. Students then had the opportunity to actively participate in small group sessions with our senior Ministry Leaders where they were asked to speak about their influence within the College.

With thanks to all staff and students involved in the planning and running of the day. We look forward to the participation of our Year 7 students in ministry throughout their time at St Paul’s College.

Year 11 Food Technology students are learning about the historical changes to the availability of food. This includes the global migration of cultural groups and Native Australian food sources. Students prepared finger lime meringue tarts to demonstrate the use of native foods in a contemporary setting. Thank you to Warren from Gondwana Native Limes in Bellbrook for the donation of finger limes.

Congratulations to St Paul's Year 9 student, Kaiden Sheppard, who was nominated for the 2023 Australia Day Local Hero Award. Kaiden has shown incredible resilience despite being diagnosed with Type l diabetes at a young age. He has never allowed his medical condition to stop him from pursuing what he loves - as he's proven through his extraordinary success in martial arts. In 2022 he competed in both the NSW Junior States Titles and at national level in the Australian Titles Championship.

Congratulations to St Paul's Year 8 student, Joey Silk, for his fantastic result in the Under 14's National Surf Titles over the weekend!

Four delegates from the College (Mrs Beth McMillan, Mr Matthew Wilson, Ms Jade Tildsley and Ms Rayleigh Keith) had the privilege to spend International Women’s Day with 12 PNG schools and Australian Partner schools in Port Moresby. This was the culmination of a week of professional learning with Australian teachers working alongside PNG educators, to develop stronger partnerships and supporting PNG provinces in the successful implementation of both a new standard based curriculum and STEM curriculum in the 12 National Schools of Excellence. This educational initiative builds intercultural understanding within both Australian and PNG communities.

NAPLAN testing for Year 7 and Year 9 students will commence next week. Tests will be held as follows:

Tuesday 14 March - Practice test to check all devices and headphones are working
Wednesday 15 March - Writing
Thursday 16 March - Reading
Friday 17 March - Language
Monday 20 March - Numeracy
Tuesday 21 March - Catch up for any students that may have been absent on the testing days.

Please make sure that all devices are fully charged on the morning of each test and bring headphones that plug in to the device.

St Paul's College invites all parents/carers and community members to attend the Parents and Friends (P & F) Association AGM on Monday 13 March at 5.30pm. This evening will be an opportunity to discuss the future concept of the P & F Association and its involvement and contribution to the College, including parent voice in the college and future Debutante Balls.

All P & F positions will be vacated to be filled for 2023. We look forward to new Association members and fresh ideas to support our students.

Senior students, Isaac Gorline-Singleman, Caitlin Williams, Nick Kenny and Bryce Peters will be participating in The Leukaemia Foundation's World's Greatest Shave on 22 March at St Paul's College. This will raise crucial funds to support people with blood cancer and fund research projects to discover better ways to diagnose and treat leukaemia.


Big or small - every donation counts!

Please follow the link to the St Paul's World's Greatest Shave fundraising page and to Nick Kenny's fundraising page to make a donation to this good cause.

Enrolments for Year 7 for 2024 are now open and we have begun interviewing. If you have applied you will be contacted in the coming weeks to arrange your interview time, we interview all applicants. Applications for Year 7, 2024 must be lodged before 31 May 2023. This is applicable to students from all schools including Catholic feeder primary schools.

Please follow the link HERE for further information regarding enrolments at St Paul's College.

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

Each year, St Paul's College provides the venue for NSW Health to conduct the NSW Schools Vaccination Program. PLEASE NOTE: NSW Health has a new process for collecting consent for your child to receive their vaccination at school. Please read the information below provided by NSW Health.

Vaccination Program Date remaining in 2023:

Term 4 – 17 October 2023

· Year 7 catch up (HPV & Boostrix)

· Year 10 & 11 Nimenrix (meningococcal ACWY) catch up

Online consent for school vaccinations
If your child is in Year 7 or Year 10 this year, or is in Year 11 and missed their Year 10 vaccinations in 2022, you can now provide online consent for their routine school vaccinations.

• Year 7 students are offered free vaccines for diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (dTpa) and human papillomavirus (HPV).
• Year 10 students are offered the meningococcal ACWY vaccine.

Vaccinations will only be provided at school if consent has been received.

How to provide consent:

1. To complete online consent for your child’s school vaccinations, visit: https://nswhealth.service-now.com/school
2. Click the login with ‘Service NSW Account’ button and log in using your Service NSW details. This is the same account you may already use to renew your driver’s licence. If you don’t have a Service NSW account, refer to Service NSW to create one.
3. Update or confirm your personal details in Service NSW as required.
4. Complete the School Vaccination Consent Form for your child/ren. You will need to:
   ⦁ Enter your child’s personal details
   ⦁ Provide the Medicare card details for you and your child
   ⦁ Read the linked Parent Information Sheet and privacy statement
   ⦁ Provide consent

If you or your child do not have a Medicare card, consent can still be provided by requesting a paper-based consent form (please contact the College office on 6562 7200 to ask for a hard copy form).

Read a step-by-step guide on how to provide consent online. Translated guides are available in Arabic, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Vietnamese.

For more information on routine school vaccinations, please visit www.health.nsw.gov.au/schoolvaccination or contact the Port Macquarie Public Health Unit on 02 6589 2120.

Go4Fun is a FREE 10 week program to help families become fitter, healthier and happier. We make being active FUN and teach healthy eating habits.

Enroll now for Term 2 programs at Coffs Harbour, Kempsey and Port Macquarie!

Call 1800 780 900 or register online at

www.go4fun.com.au/register

Catholic Schools New South Wales (CSNSW), in line with current health advice, has advised that all Catholic schools are to continue with ‘baseline’ COVID-smart measures during Term 1 2023.

Masks
Mask-wearing is strongly encouraged when indoors for all staff and for all students, when physical distancing is not possible, and for people who believe they have been exposed to COVID-19.

Illness
Staff and students should stay at home when unwell, even with mild symptoms.

St Paul's is blessed with exceptionally talented and high achieving students and we would love to hear about their achievements outside of the College in the following areas:

• Voluntary/Community work
• Ministry
• Creative Arts
• Cadets (Naval/Air force)
• Academic achievements outside the College
• Sporting

If you have any information regarding a student's success, we would be grateful if you could email bernette.vankal@lism.catholic.edu.au with as much detail as possible and please include photos if available.

Please note: although St Paul's would like to celebrate all our student's achievements, we cannot promise that every story will be used on our social media/newsletter.

The My School website has been updated for 2023 with new profile information on schools and the latest school-level NAPLAN data. 

From the Australian Curriculum and Assessment Reporting Authority (ACARA) CEO, David de Carvalho, “My School provides data on schooling right across Australia, helping parents, schools and governments to understand the performance of schools.”

“It’s an important resource for parents to make informed decisions about their children’s schooling. As well as providing an overview of approach and focus of the school, parents and carers can also find information on student and teacher numbers, attendance rates, financial information and NAPLAN results.

“It also provides teachers with important insights into school performance, supporting and driving improvements across the nation.”

The 2023 My School update includes the following:

2022 school profile and population data

2022 school attendance data

2022 NAPLAN results for schools

2021 school financial information, including capital expenditure and funding sources

2021 post-school destinations data.

 Student progress data for 2020 – 2022 is not available following the cancellation of NAPLAN in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however, parents can still view NAPLAN performance data relative to Socio-Educational Advantage by school on the NAPLAN results page.

My School’s Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage (ICSEA) indicates the average educational advantage of the school’s students and is calculated using information about a parent’s occupation and education, school geographical location and the proportion of Indigenous students. A school’s ICSEA value is provided to encourage taking socio-educational advantage into account when comparing school achievement.

My School shows a decline in students’ attendance during Semester 1 and Term 3 2022, but this can be attributed to the impacts of the COVID-19 Omicron outbreak, high influenza outbreaks and floods experienced in some regions of Australia during that time.

To have a look at the College's profile and results, go on the My School website and enter St Paul's College in the search field.