Term 2 Week 10

Dear Parent/Carer

‘Why do you observe the splinter in your brother’s eye and never notice the plank in your own?  How dare you say to your brother, “Let me take the splinter out of your eye,” when all the time there is a plank in your own?       Matthew 7:1-5

Welcome to our last Newsletter for the term!  It is hoped that the holidays provide the opportunity to spend time with family and friends to recharge and prepare for what will be a busy Semester 2. 

Street Retreat

Over the last week, I had the opportunity to attend a Street Retreat arranged by the Catholic Schools Office.  It involved bringing together Year 11 students and teachers from across the Diocese to witness and engage in the mission for the most vulnerable.  We travelled up to Brisbane and spent four days working alongside volunteers supporting a variety of outreach activities.  Max Winn and Sienna Moore represented St Paul’s.  These two students were outstanding in their work and open and sincere engagement.  It created the opportunity to consider what we are doing as a school to respond to those in our community in need and who are most vulnerable.  What do we say and do to those in our school community that sets people at ease and ultimately makes people feel safe?  Sienna and Max will be bringing their experiences to the College community and student leader representatives to discuss what action we can take to make ‘our collective mission’ more visible.

Celebrations

Today, we celebrated our St Paul’s Feast Day with a liturgy.  I thank our senior students and especially Fr James for their involvement in such an excellent experience.  We also took part in various Feast Day activities, which recognised the upcoming NAIDOC week celebrations that will fall across our school holidays. In the afternoon, we provided commendations to many of our students and release our end of Semester 1 reports.  It was a wonderful day of celebration.

I hope the reports received are informative and provide a clear understanding of what has been achieved by the student and directions for future personal and academic growth.  Please read the comments alongside the grades received to get a complete academic picture, and communicate with specific teachers if further information is required. 

I am looking forward to working with you all in Term 3!

Kind Regards

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

College Principal

david.johns@lism.catholic.edu.au

St Paul's Celebrates NAIDOC Week

The acronym NAIDOC stands for National Aboriginal and Islander Day Observance Committee.  NAIDOC Week is celebrated by all Australians this year from Sunday, 4 July to Sunday, 11 July.  It is a great opportunity for the St Paul's community to learn more about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) communities.

As NAIDOC Week celebrates the history, culture and achievements of ATSI peoples, it is important that we recognise and acknowledge the traditional owners of the land we inhabit.  The land on which the College stands is Dunghutti country. Dunghutti country consists of eight tribal groups that reside in the Macleay Valley region.  Theirs is a proud Mob, re-establishing culture, language and custom through Saltwater Freshwater, Kinchela Boys Home Corporation, Dunghutti Elders Council and SWR Figtree Descendants Aboriginal Corporation (to name only a few).  The most significant achievements towards cultural consolidation have been observed through locally run organisations as they 'Heal Country!' 

The Dunghutti history includes disruption by white settlers and saw the traditional owners lose rights to their land.  However, on 9 October 1997, the Dunghutti people became the first Aboriginal nation to win land under native title legislation on mainland Australia - a truly commendable achievement due to an unfortunate history.

St Paul's will continue to promote and increase awareness of the traditional owners' history, culture, and achievements of the proud Dunghutti.  On Friday, 25 June, we celebrated NAIDOC Week as a community with music, food, language, cultural activities and games and as we promoted this year's theme 'Heal Country!' 

We encourage our students and community to get involved in celebrating NAIDOC Week during the school holidays. https://www.naidoc.org.au/ has terrific resources to assist you in your celebrations.

'Five Nations' by Uncle Richard Campbell

This painting, commissioned by Lismore Catholic Schools Office, represents the five traditional Nations of the Diocese of Lismore, shown by the five smaller circles around the outside of the painting.  The five traditional Nations are: Bundjalung, Yaegl, Gumbaynggirr, Dhungatti/Thungatti and Birpai.

The large ring of circles in the centre of the painting represents never-ending learning passed on from generation to generation.  Learning and living traditional ways whilst embracing Western education, that is never-ending.

In this last week of Term, I was fortunate to attend the Xavier School of Mission in Brisbane with other Secondary Assistant Principals Mission in the Lismore Diocese. We discussed many rich and engaging topics with over ninety other participants from parishes all over Australia, including young seminarians from the Brisbane Seminary. We reflected and discussed challenges for the Catholic Church today, including education.  Our very own Bishop Greg Homeming was amongst the esteemed keynote speakers across the five days. 

I trust that all students have an enjoyable St Paul’s Feast Day and engage with the activities planned to commemorate and celebrate our Patron Saint.  Thank you to all staff and the Year 12 students who worked hard to make this day memorable. 

Wishing all our students a restful holiday after another busy Term.  Stay safe, and God bless.

Mrs Bronwyn Shipton - Assistant Principal - Mission and Wellbeing

Street Retreat – Year 11

Last week, from Thursday to Sunday, two Year 11 students went to Brisbane to be immersed in Street Retreat.  Maxwell Winn and Sienna Moore were accompanied by our Principal, Mr David Johns, as they experienced firsthand some of the harsh realities that face many people living on the fringes of society daily.  Here are some of the reflections of Max and Sienna about their time at Street Retreat: 

"It's hard to sum things up in a couple of words.  It put life in perspective and gave me a whole new appreciation for the little things in life" – Sienna 

"Street Retreat was a challenging yet beneficial experience.  Although it was confronting, it was an amazing opportunity to experience what happens in the daily lives of those living on the margins of society.  Even though some parts were certainly hard to deal with, it was a great opportunity to help out some people and appreciate what we have and not to take it for granted." - Maxwell 

Ministry Leaders and Young Adults Breakfast

This week, both our Senior Ministry Team and some Young Adults from both St Paul's and St Joseph's gathered to share breakfast, fellowship, and formation.  Fr James and the Parish very generously supplied the breakfasts as a means to reach out and connect with the young in our parish.  A wonderful time was had by all who attended. 

Ignite Conference

Thanks to those who put in their paperwork and will be attending Ignite!  We will have some preparation sessions closer to the Conference next term.  In the meantime, check out the Ignite website: igniteconference.com.au

Shine Conference – Years 9 and 10

Shine will be held at St John Paul College in Coffs Harbour on 12 – 13 August, with over five hundred and fifty participants expected.  Please join us in praying for its ongoing success.

Year 9 and 10 Youth Ministry students and members of the Senior Ministry team will attend.  Our Youth Ministry students selected their workshops in class this week.  Many thanks to those who have returned their permission notes on time.

Year 10 Retreat

Notes were distributed in Week 8 to Year 10 students about their retreat, which is happening next term.  The main details for the retreat are: 

Date:               5 – 6 August, 2021

Venue:             Yarrahapinni Adventist Youth Centre, 366 Grassy Head Road, Grassy Head (02 6569 0730)

Cost:                $130 per student  (Please pay by cash or card to the front office)

We are looking forward to welcoming the Passionist Youth Retreat Team from Brisbane once again to facilitate this vital retreat for our Year 10s.  Permission notes and deposits were due back by the end of this term, and I thank all those families who adhered to this due date. 

In Term 3, we will be doing some preparation sessions with our Year 10s before they go on their retreat to help them get the most out of their time away as a year group. 

Vinnies Winter Sleepout

Once again, in 2021, we will be hosting the Vinnies Winter Sleepout.  Exact details will be made available at the beginning of next term.  Still, in the meantime, you can pencil in the evening of Friday, 22 July, sleeping over into the morning of Saturday, 23 July. 

Many people in our nation, state and town do not have a regular roof to call "home" every night and the sleepout will give students a bit more of an idea about what contributes to homelessness in our society and what they can do about it. 

Please contact me at the College if you have any ideas or suggestions about Ministry and Evangelisation at St Paul's. 

I hope that you and your family have an enjoyable and illness free school holidays. 

Peace and blessings,

Mr Dominic MacAndrews - Leader of School Evangelisation

dominic.macandrews@lism.catholic.edu.au

Semester 1 Reports - Our Partnership with St Paul’s Families

It is difficult to believe we have completed the first Semester today; time flies when you are having fun!  The upcoming school holiday allows staff, students and parents/carers to reflect on the achievements of this Semester and plan for the next half of the year.  The partnership between staff, students and parents, is best reflected in sharing our thoughts on the Semester 1 reports. 

Year 12 have already experienced the opportunity to reflect on their half-yearly report completed just under a month ago.  We have been pleased to receive such positive feedback from parents on the depth of information presented on those reports, as we all work together towards completing the HSC assessment.  However, there is so much time left for our Year 12 cohort to improve their current depth of knowledge (and therefore course ranks) with a consistent work ethic but, most importantly, a continuing close relationship with their teachers. 

Our students in Years 7 to 11 received their Semester 1 reports today to culminate our Feast of St Paul.  The College staff have worked this term tremendously, providing feedback to their students and their parents/carers on their progress in 2021.  I would ask for family time to consider the information presented on reports before returning for Term 3.  The discussion in the review of reports should consider the following: are there consistent trends, are there areas of celebration and improvement, and most importantly, the areas of a new focus for the beginning of Term 3.  I encourage parents/carers to contact your child’s PC teachers initially if you have any questions regarding these matters.  However, please ring me at the College if you still have questions having discussed the report with your child. We welcome your feedback on the information presented, as it strengthens the partnership between teacher, student, parent/carer, as we all work together striving for further improvement.

Mr Geoffrey Melville - Assistant Principal - Learning and Teaching

Year 10 into 11 Course Selection Market Information and Interviews

A Course Selection Market will be held at St Paul’s on Monday, 19 July from 4 pm to 6 pm for students in Year 10.  The Market includes representatives from all the courses which are on offer in 2022.  There will also be opportunities for you to speak with Subject Co-ordinators and course teachers from all curriculum areas, including the VET Co-ordinator and Careers Advisor.  I strongly stress the importance of your attendance and that of your son or daughter at this meeting.  Please ensure that you bring the Course Selection Booklet with which your child will have been issued.

Please Note:  It is not necessary to attend the Course Selection Market for the entire time scheduled.  Parents and students ask questions and visit booths at their discretion. 

Following the Course Selection Market, there will be an information session from 6 - 6.30 pm presented by the Assistant Principal - Teaching and Learning, Mr Geoffrey Melville and Mr Leon Robinson - Leader of Curriculum. Here, NESA requirements for both the Preliminary and HSC courses will be discussed, and any questions or queries you may have will be answered.

On Monday, 2 August, Year 10 students and their parents are asked to attend school for interviews with members of the College Executive regarding the suitability of Course choices for 2022.  Please note that this is not a regular school day for Year 10 students as they are not required to attend school for lessons.

Bookings for these interviews will be taken at the Course Selection Market and Information Evening; however, if necessary, they can be made at the school office up until 3.30 pm Friday, 30 July. 

We will aim to have the Year 11 Subject Selections completed in full by Friday, 7 August.

Mrs Leon Robinson - Leader of Curriculum

St Paul's Students Honoured with Life Saving Awards

St Paul’s students have been honoured for their outstanding contributions to surf life saving.  Congratulations to:

Erin Cook, Year 12  -  Kevin Ruscoe Memorial Award for Club Person of the Year (SWR SLSC)

Georgia Gaddes, Year 11  -  W. Tom Saul Memorial Award for Outstanding Female (SWR SLSC)

Alex Farley, Year 9 -  Garry Gilles Memorial Award for Cadet of the Year (SWR SLSC)

Darcy Swaine, Year 9 - Junior Club Person of the Year (HH SLSC)

Madison Ryan, Year 11 - a member of the Club Patrol of the Year (HH SLSC)

Taylah Moffitt, Year 9 - Junior Club Person of the Year and Club Carnival Champion (KCH SLSC)

Taylah has also been awarded NSW Female Junior Life Saver of the Year.  Congratulations to Tayla on achieving this incredibly prestigious title!

St Paul's would like to acknowledge the tireless efforts of all our students and staff who volunteer their time to keep our beaches and waterways safe. We are very proud of your dedicated service to the community and commitment to helping others in their time of need.

Workers Urgently Needed

We need volunteers to help in our canteen once a week, fortnight or month.  No special skills required.  If you can make a salad wrap, toastie or put some drinks in the fridge, your help will be greatly appreciated.  All welcome - mums, dads, nannas, pops, aunts and uncles.  Should you be able to spare just a few hours, please contact me.

Ricki Saunders

Canteen Manager

St Paul's Secondary Catholic College

E: ricki.saunders@lism.catholic.edu.au

P: (02) 6562 7200