Week 4 Term 3

The Feast of the Assumption

This feast commemorates two events - the departure of Mary from this life and the assumption of her body into Heaven.  Some mistakenly believe Mary "ascended" into heaven, which is incorrect according to the Bible.  It was Jesus Christ who ascended into heaven, by his own power.  But Mary was assumed, or taken up, into heaven by God.

Observed as a Holy Day of Obligation by Catholics and as a public holiday in some countries, devotees consider the Feast of the Assumption as the Holy Mother’s "heavenly birthday" and this is not a day of mourning for her loss, but a celebration of joy for the union of the mother with her beloved son.

The Church's official doctrine of the Assumption says that at the end of her life on earth, Mary was assumed, body and soul, into Heaven.

During these COVID times, the day which is normally a Holy Day of Obligation (a requirement to attend Mass) is now not a requirement.  Nevertheless, students will today participate in a special prayer to honour and venerate our Lady.

Uniform - Jumpers

I want to reiterate the rules around College uniform for families so there is no confusion.  When students are out of uniform for any reason, it is a requirement that parents/carers write a note in the child’s diary explaining this. There are two aspects of this that are required:

• An explanation of what item is incorrect and the reason why.
• An acceptable timeframe in which it will be corrected.

So for example - “Please excuse Jude for wearing the wrong shoes, they are broken.  I will have this rectified next week". This is fine.

Example 2 - “Please excuse Mary for wearing a hoodie because she is cold”. This is not acceptable.

If your child is cold, and the jacket is not enough for their warmth and comfort, then you are required to buy a jumper to wear underneath or as an alternative.  Please do not send them in hoodies and expect that simply writing a note is good enough.  We have a uniform for a reason and we request parents to respect its value as a defining part of College life in our community.

Simply wearing the wrong thing and writing a note to excuse it, without any attempt or desire to rectify it, is not permitted.  Parents cannot simply write notes giving students permission to break the rules.  This is no different to writing a note allowing your child to do no work in class, be rude to a visitor or to break College property.

A Day in the Life for Year 6 Students

Many will have seen the advertisement to all Year 6 students who have not yet enrolled at the College, to come to an orientation day on August 26th.  This was an attempt to maximise our ability to provide an opportunity for visits to the College during COVID restrictions.  This fits perfectly well within the current guidelines.  Since announcing this, it has become evident that some families whose child is already enrolled, would like to take advantage of this opportunity.  Our response is - “Let’s do it”.  We will open this invitation up to all Year 6 students, enrolled or not, to enjoy this day.

Be aware - this is not the official Orientation Day - two of which are planned for later in the year.  Any inability to attend this day in AUGUST will in NO WAY impact your ability to enrol, or to attend the orientations in Term 4.  If you can’t come in August - that’s perfectly fine.

 We look forward to welcoming one and all.

God Bless

Kevin Lewis BEd (Syd) MEd (ACU) GradCertRe (Uon)

College Principal

kevin.lewis@lism.catholic.edu.au

Parent/Teacher Interview Zooms

Thank you to all the parents who zoomed in for Parent/Teacher night last Monday 10th August.  Despite some minor technical problems, both staff and parents enjoyed having the chance to discuss the progress of students and it was a worthwhile experience.  I apologise about the small turnaround time between receiving notification letters by email and the closing of the booking portal.  In the event that this needs to happen, again I will act on the feedback that I have received and endeavour to improve the experience.

Year 10 into 11 Subject Selections

Year 10 into 11 subject selections should be finalised by the time you get this newsletter.  Students have now made their digital subject selections and I am currently generating the Year 11 subject lines.  If students miss out on courses because of a lack of numbers they will be able to make alternate selections.

Bus and Canteen Lines

I will be making changes to the school canteen lines as of next week in order to relieve congestion. The students/families who utilise https://www.flexischools.com.au/ should be rewarded and these students will be prioritised so that they receive timely access to recess or lunch orders. Access to the canteen will then be organised in stages with Stage 6 (Years 11 & 12), first followed by Stages 4 and 5 (Years 7 – 10).

Some concerning behaviours are starting to manifest themselves at the bus bay during the afternoon peak traffic time.  Senior students and parents should collect passengers whilst parked in the parking area and not at the bus bay.  Students need to follow the path to the parking lot and NEVER cross the road to jump into a car that pulls up in the middle of the road.  I ask that all parents abide by this directive.  We all know how dangerous this area can be, and I would hate to see an accident occur that puts any of our students in danger.

COVID – 19 Reminder

Can parents please avoid interacting with any students other than their own children if you are on the premises.  We are still working under COVID restrictions and would like to maintain the safety of all members of the community.  Appropriate social distancing, and use of the available hand sanitisers, are encouraged when collecting your children from school and signing them out in the usual fashion.

Mr Leon Robinson - Acting Assistant Principal - Learning and Teaching

PASTORAL CARE TIME REVIEW 2020

   

 

In Term 3, the staff and students at St Paul’s have had the opportunity to review our practices and structures that occur in Pastoral Care each morning.  As always, we value our parent community and we wish to extend the opportunity for feedback around Pastoral Care time.  I have bolded the terms from our College Mission and Vision statements below to give clarity of purpose for this review.  I invite any parent/guardian to email feedback to bronwyn.shipton@lism.catholic.edu.au if you wish to contribute.

I look forward to strengthening the wonderful connections that students forge in Pastoral Care groups.

Mrs Bronwyn Shipton - Assistant Principal - Mission and Wellbeing

Feast of the Assumption

Tomorrow, 15th August, marks one of the greatest feast days for the Catholic Church – the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.   Mary is the Mother of Jesus and, for this special calling and role, she holds a very special place in the hearts and lives of all Catholics.

The Assumption is the Catholic belief and teaching that, at the end of her life on Earth, Mary was assumed Body and Soul into Heaven.  Mary is the greatest Saint, and we honour her especially on this Feast.

Often, Mary is misunderstood by Catholics and non-Catholics, and it is important to mention here that we do not worship Mary, but rather we pray to her and ask her to pray to God for us.  She is the first and model disciple, who literally carried Jesus with her, so we can be confident in her prayers in our times of need.

On Wednesday’s whole school Zoom Assembly, I showed a video about Mary and her struggles, by American priest Father Mike Schmitz.  It’s only seven minutes so check it out.

Year 8 ‘Catch the Wave’ Retreat

Our YMOs, Calissa and Darcy, have been busy planning for the Year 8 Catch the Wave Retreat Day, which is coming up in Week 6 on Wednesday 26 August.  We look forward to welcoming Youth Ministry Officers from other diocesan schools to help in facilitating this day, along with members of our Senior Ministry Team.

Catch the Wave will be an excellent opportunity for the Year 8s to be able to explore their faith with their peers in a non-threatening, relaxed atmosphere, as well as to learn about what being in a Youth Ministry class may be like.

All Year 8 students are invited to apply to be in a Youth Ministry class for Years 9 and 10.  Application forms will be made available on the retreat.  More information has gone home with the Year 8s in a letter.

 Year 12 Reflection Day

In Week 8, after our Senior class concludes their Trial Examinations, they will experience their final school retreat at their Reflection Day.  The aim of the day is to give our soon-to-be graduates an opportunity to spend some meaningful time as a cohort reflecting upon their schooling years, upon both the joys and the struggles, as well as looking ahead to what the next steps may bring for them.

Notes have gone home with the Year 12s with further details about the day.  Please keep them very much in your prayers as they embrace their end-of-schooling journey.

 Year 12 Graduation Mass – Photos

Due to the ever-changing situation surrounding the coronavirus, we are yet to finalise what the Year 12 Graduation Mass will look like this year.  We are still planning for it, and to make this culminating ritual special, we are asking ALL Year 12s to send in a baby photo, a Kinder photo and their Year 6/7 photo.  These can be brought into the office where the ladies can scan them for you.  Please write your names on the back so that you get yours returned to you.

 Year 12 Prayer Sponsors

An initiative that we are offering to the Year 12s this year is to have a parishioner ‘adopt’ them as a Prayer Sponsor during their HSC Exams.  The prayer sponsors will receive a card of one Year 12 student and the dates of the HSC exams, so that they can pray for them specifically during this crucial time.  This is an opt-in opportunity, so if there are any Year 12s who would like to take part, they need to contact me to arrange this.

Parish Sunday Masses

As we continue to navigate our way through the Coronavirus pandemic, our Parish Priest, Father James, is generously celebrating some additional weekend Masses, to enable as many people to be able to attend weekend Mass as possible!  To attend one of these Masses, please contact the Parish Office.

 For the time being, weekend Mass times will be as follows:

• SATURDAY 9:30 AM – South West Rocks
• SATURDAY VIGIL 6:00 PM – Kempsey
• SUNDAY 7:30 AM – South West Rocks
• SUNDAY 9:30 AM – Kempsey
• SUNDAY 11:00 AM – Kempsey

 Sunday Mass will continue to be live-streamed via the following platforms for those who are unable to make it:

• 8:00 am in Lismore with Bishop Gregory Homeming
• 10:00 am with Father Rob Galea
• 10:30 am from St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney

YMO Happenings

Our Youth Ministry Officers (YMOs), Calissa and Darcy, have come back with plenty of enthusiasm for Ministry here at St Paul’s this term, despite the current restrictions.

• Our lunchtime youth group, REACH, continues with a good core group coming along to explore and nourish their faith.  The REACH Instagram page is still up and running – there is some great content posted there!  Follow it using reach_kmc
• Look out in the Macleay Argus (both online and in print) for an article that highlights the great work that Calissa and Darcy have been doing at both St Paul’s and St Joseph’s Primary
• Something that our YMOs have been working hard on is to host a local Street Retreat here in Kempsey.  The ladies have put an enormous amount of work into this event, which will hopefully go ahead (restrictions permitting) on Friday 20 – Saturday 21 November, in Term 4. This will be an opportunity for ALL STUDENTS to learn about some of the social justice issues affecting people right here in the Macleay Valley and to put their Catholic faith into action.  Watch this space for more details over the coming months.

 Spiritual Resources

Without You - Wildfire

At the end of last term, the Diocesan worship band, Wildfire, called for staff and students to submit artworks to create the music video for their new song “Without You”.  Students from St Paul’s participated in this and Year 9 student Blair Hughes had his artwork chosen to be included in this video.  Blair's artwork, along with all of those submitted and chosen, seeks to capture the essence of the lyrics of this song.

Macleay Valley Catholic Parish Website

The Macleay Valley Catholic Parish website has a number of valuable resources, which are being added to weekly.  I commend these to you.  You can also find the parish newsletter here.

 School Retreats Update

It is our intention, to hold the following Retreat and Reflection days during the second half of the year.  Some have been postponed/changed due to the coronavirus pandemic, however as a Catholic school, the spiritual formation of our young people remains of utmost importance.  More details will be forthcoming as we get a better idea of the ‘lie of the land’.  Here is a tentative list of what we hope to hold this semester:

• Year 8 ‘Catch the Wave” Retreat (Week 6, Term 3)
• Year 12 Reflection Day (Week 8, Term 3)
• Year 9 Retreat Day (Week 2, Term 4)
• Year 10 Retreat (29 – 30 October, Week 3, Term 4)
• Senior Retreat (4 – 6 November, Week 4, Term 4)
• Kempsey Street Retreat (20 – 21 November, Week 6, Term 4)
• Year 7 Reflection Day (Week 8, Term 4)

Unfortunately, both the 2020 SHINE and IGNITE gatherings have been cancelled due to the Coronavirus situation.  We look forward to being able to attend these amazing, faith-filled gatherings again next year (hopefully)!!!

 Acting Leader of School Evangelisation

Over the next two weeks I will be taking some more paternity leave to enjoy the time with my new daughter, as we settle in as a family of four!  Miss Megan Henry will again serve in the role of Leader of School Evangelisation, and I know that she will do an amazing job once more in journeying with our school community in its spiritual growth.

If you have any ideas about how to improve Ministry and Evangelisation at St Paul’s, then please let me know.

God bless!

Mr Dominic MacAndrews - Leader of School Evangelisation

dominic.macandrews@lism.catholic.edu.au

HSC Trial Exams and Major Works

Trial Exams start next Monday 17 August and finish on Friday 28 August.  Students have been emailed a copy of the timetable.  If any students miss an exam for any reason parents should contact myself or Leon Robinson as soon as possible and students will need to follow the usual misadventure procedure by completing a misadventure form (this can be found in the HSC Assessment Guide or collected from the front office).

 A number of students also have major works due around this time (see below) and should have factored this into their study schedule.

NESA Advice for HSC Exams

The following information is taken from the NESA website in relation to the upcoming HSC exams:

 Year 7-11 Grades

Students should be aware that grading is an ongoing process of both teacher observation and both informal and formal assessment of students’ knowledge and understanding.  Therefore, when teachers are allocating grades at the end of a semester they will be basing their judgement on more than just the formal assessment tasks.

Mrs Catriona Martin - Leader of Curriculum

The Construction department has been busy building our new chicken caravan and rebuilding the pig maternity wing.

	Year 12 Good luck in next week’s Trials. Don’t forget we’ll be open for extended hours while they’re running.
	Premier’s Reading Challenge This concludes two weeks from today, August 28.  Keep reading and keep entering your titles online.
On Display At the moment we’re marking National Science Week (August 15-23).   Come up and have a browse.

 Happy Reading 

and remember…Wash Your Hands and Keep Your Distance

Mr Peter Garty - Teacher/Librarian

Mrs Kristy Carney - Additional Needs Teacher