Term 4 Week 6- 17 November 2023

Dear Parent/Carer

‘My mercy and my fortress, my stronghold, my deliverer, my shield, in whom I trust, who subdues my people under me. Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!

Psalms 144:1, 2, 9-10

The last fortnight certainly highlighted the many things that we should be proud of as a College community. We completed and released our Year 11 Preliminary Higher School Certificate Final Reports which were an enormous credit to our students and their staff. We commenced our Year 7-10 assessment and reporting period which students have been building towards. Our Year 12, 2024 students engaged in their Senior Retreat at Bonny Hills which was a tremendous celebration. As well as our current Year 12 students completing their final Higher School Certificate examinations.

The theme of the Retreat for our Year 12,2024 students was LEGACY. It explored what the students wish to achieve as individuals and as a year group and the role God plays in our lives and the relationships we have with others. I thank the students for their efforts across the time away and thank our staff who attended this important experience. It is a big ask to have staff attend overnight events, away from home and family - it is very much appreciated. I commend the work of the Mission Team (Mr Geoff Melville, Mr Matthew Mitchell, Mr Maxwell Winn and the Pastoral Care staff) who developed this amazing experience for our students.

The engagement with our Parish continues to be important to us and the presence of Fr James across the Retreat and especially the Mass that was celebrated down at the beach, was a great experience. At the conclusion of our Mass the Captains for 2024 were announced. The appointments of Evie Barton and Jorja Barnett as our College Captains is very exciting and we know they will do an awesome job and lead our College Student Leadership Team with purpose.

This was certainly demonstrated on Saturday when our College Students Leaders attended and laid wreaths in Kempsey and Macksville to honour Remembrance Day. I especially note Ryley Smith who was our lone representative at Macksville, joining students from St Patrick's Catholic Primary for this important acknowledgement.

On Saturday evening we celebrated Year 12’s at their Graduation Dinner. This was an event with students, parents/carers and staff and was a very special evening. The night was filled with enormous pride of what the year group had achieved and appreciation of the work from the many staff across their time at St Paul’s. I thank the parents/carers for trusting us with their children’s education - it has been a pleasure working with them all.

Finally, we continue to be working on our three-year strategic plan and annual school improvement plan for 2024. This has involved re-visiting our School Review and Improvement documentation from last Term, together with input from our Mission/Pastoral Care and Learning and Teaching teams. We hope to have direction, clearly understood by all in our College community, by the end of the year. The ongoing collaboration of College staff and students in the development of these plans has been extremely pleasing.


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

Year 11/12 Assessment Period
On Friday Week 7 the first HSC assessment period for this year group will commence and continue across Week 8. They have been working very hard towards these upcoming assessments and I would encourage them to maintain that for the next week. Atomi is a crucial tool for students to use to revise for their upcoming exams.

This group also received the end of Preliminary Course Reports at the end of last week. Those can be accessed on Compass by students and parents. I congratulate the students on their success.

Year 7-10 Assessment Period
The Junior Assessment period has been taking place this week. This is an appropriate time to tell families and students why we do assessments.

Why do we do exams and formal assessment tasks?

• To help us gather data to inform our teaching in programs to teach from year to year.
• To celebrate the academic success of our students.
• To inform future choices for students in subject selection and career pathways.
• To practise for senior years where examinable assessment forms 50% of their entire grade.

It is critical that students are at school for these periods. Running exams and catch up exams is an organisational difficulty for the curriculum team and if all students are in attendance on the publicised day of their exams it helps for many reasons.

Attendance
The above leads me very nicely into the subject of attendance. Access to the teacher is the single most important thing for your child’s education. If they are at school they can access the specialists in their areas and will achieve better outcomes. We understand that there is a lot of sickness around at the moment and children cannot be at school if they are very unwell. However, many students are taking casual days off for a variety of reasons. I would encourage you to instil in your children that they must be at school to achieve their best.

Please reach out if you have any questions about the learning for your students.

Ms Kate Fullbrook - Assistant Principal - Learning and Teaching

kate.fullbrook@lism.catholic.edu.au

Lovebites: Year 10 Thursday 23 November
One of the distinguishing features of St Paul’s College is the continuing opportunities presented to students and staff regarding improved wellbeing and relationships.

NAPCAN’s highly regarded Love Bites and Love Bites Junior programs have been running in schools since 2005. The interactive and engaging sessions focus on the development of respectful relationships for young people aged 11 to 17. The programs aim to provide a safe environment in which young people can discuss and learn about their rights and responsibilities in relationships and look at ways to access support when needed. During the sessions, young people are introduced to a number of services in the community and encouraged to support their friends by utilising safe, healthy and proactive strategies.

Love Bites will run for a full day, with two interactive sessions followed by creative workshops. Young people are given an opportunity to create their own campaigns to promote respectful relationships in our community through these workshops. The facilitators for the Love Bites program come from different community organisations and services including Family Connect in Schools, Pathfinders and Health NSW. Our Staff will also be present during the sessions which will be held at the College with a BBQ lunch. If required, young people can be supported by any workers available on the day or follow up support with a specialist service.

Mr Geoffrey Melville - Assistant Principal - Mission and Wellbeing

geoffrey.melville@lism.catholic.edu.au

Mr Matthew Mitchell - Leader of Evangelisation

matthew.mitchell@lism.catholic.edu.au

Year 11 Assessment Schedule
Year 11 Assessments will be held from Friday 24 November (Week 7) across all of Week 8. The Year 11 assessment schedule and assessment notifications can be found here.

Please remember that it is essential for all students to be in attendance during these assessment periods. If you know your child will be away due to illness or other accepted leave, please communicate this to the College office on 02 6562 7200.

Mrs Amy Tovey - Leader of Curriculum

amy.tovey@lism.catholic.edu.au

Berg Shield Cricket
Students from Year 7-9 competed in the Berg Shield Cricket knockout tournament held at the Kempsey Verge Street cricket field. The boys were successful against St Joseph's Regional College in their first game thanks to some terrific batting and bowling from the entire squad.

The team then travelled to Grafton a few days later for round 2 of the tournament, to take on Trinity College, Lismore. With some missed opportunities early in the field, the Trinity openers settled in and put forward a strong total. Our boys managed to bat out the 20 overs, but unfortunately couldn’t chase down the required total and were narrowly defeated by Trinity College.

Well done to all the boys and I look forward to developing the team over the next few years. 

Girls League Tag
Thank you to the girls who attended the Girls League Tag, due to unforeseen circumstances the event had to be cancelled partway through the day. The supervising staff would like to congratulate the maturity and resilience demonstrated by the students in attendance. We look forward to taking these teams away next year to the League Tag events.

Diocesan Golf
This year St Paul’s had 8 students attend the Lismore Diocesan Golf Championships held at South West Rocks Golf Course. Well done to all students who participated in the event, a great effort despite the challenging course and weather conditions.

Mr Heath Needs - Teacher and Sports Coordinator

heath.needs@lism.catholic.edu.au

Wellbeing Supports and Helplines

Online Resources

Kids Helpline - Call, email or online web chat

headspace - Call, online web chat, resources, blog posts

Head to Health - Digital mental health resources for all ages

Black Dog Institute - Digital mental health resources 

The Brave Program - Treatment for childhood anxiety 8-17 years

Beyond Blue - Call, online web chat, resources, blog posts

Useful Apps to download on your phones
This list of apps to help you practise mindfulness, set goals and try new things – try a few and see which ones work for you! They’re all available on Apple and Android devices (download from the App store or Google Play). Most require you to sign up with Facebook or an email address. All apps on this list have a Free Version.

Ms Fiona Stuart - Leader of Pastoral Care

fiona.stuart@lism.catholic.edu.au

Vinnies Christmas Appeal
The Vinnies Christmas Appeal is a heartwarming initiative aimed at making a positive impact on families in need within our community. At St Paul's College, we believe in the spirit of giving, and we invite you to join us in spreading joy and goodwill.

This year, each Pastoral Care (PC) group at St Paul's has embraced the opportunity to make a difference by adopting a family through the Vinnies Christmas Appeal. We are encouraging our students to contribute to this meaningful cause by donating essential food items that will help create a festive and abundant holiday season for these families.

The suggested food items for donation include:

• Christmas pudding
• Long-life custard
• Tea and Coffee
• Milo
• Long-life milk
• Tim Tams
• Christmas lollies
• Fruit cake
• Tinned fruit
• Cordial
• Long-life juice
• Cereal
• Fruit mince pies
• Shortbread
• Biscuits – sweet, savoury
• Jelly
• Spreads – jam, Vegemite
• Pancake mix
• Tinned vegetables
• Gravy mix
• Soup
• Dried pasta
• Pasta sauce
• Bonbons
• Christmas Decorations
• Wrapping Paper

Additionally, each PC will be working towards donating a special gift to the adopted families. We have compiled a list of recommended gifts for different age groups to ensure that every member of the family experiences the joy of the season:

Your generosity in contributing to the Vinnies Christmas Appeal will undoubtedly make a significant difference in the lives of those less fortunate in our community. We encourage you to discuss this initiative with your child and consider participating in any way you can. Please send in your donations before Friday 8 November.

Let's come together as a St Paul's College community to make this holiday season brighter for those in need.

Year 8 'Catch the Wave' Retreat
The 'Catch the Wave' retreat provides an opportunity for students to deepen their own understanding and experience of the foundations of the Christian faith. This program also provides an insight into the Catholic Youth Ministry class that students may select for Year 9.

Who: All year 8 Students. Also St Paul's College Year 11 Ministry Leaders
When: Monday 4 December
Where: South West Rocks Hall & Church. Students will travel by bus departing at 9:15 am and returning at 3:20pm.

What to Bring:

• Students are to wear sports uniform.
• Students are to bring a bag, pen, hat & water bottle.
• Students are required to bring morning tea. A BBQ lunch will be provided.
• Please make sure that any food allergies are indicated when providing consent.
• Swimmers & Towel. We have organise lifesavers for supervision to allow the students to have a swim at lunchtime.

The Year 12 Graduation Dinner was a huge success and a wonderful event enjoyed by all involved. A special thanks to Ms Emma Tamblyn, Ms Megan Dunbar, the College Grounds Team, St Paul's P&F Association and all who were involved in the planning, organising and running of the Graduation Dinner.

Congratulations to Year 7 student, Shianne McKee, who has achieved fantastic results in Ranch Sorting despite a late start to the year's competition. Shianne joined Ranch Sorting Australia in mid-2023 and has accumulated a point score to achieve fourth place overall in the juniors division - well done Shianne!

Ranch sorting is a timed event where a two rider team work together to sort cows numerically and are rated on a points system that is based on statistical performance.

Staff, students and their families are cordially invited to attend the weekly Mass celebrated by Fr James Foster, Parish Priest in the College Chapel. Mass is held every Tuesday at 8.30 am. Please note that the last Mass to be held at St Paul's this Term is Tuesday 12 December.

Parking is available for parishioners and families in the staff car park on Sea Street (please do not use the North Street car park at this time due to use by school buses). 

For emergency evacuation purposes all attendees are requested to record their details using the sign in sheet provided outside the Chapel. This information will not be kept after visitors have left the College site.

Required equipment lists for students in 2024 can be found here:

2024 Year 7 Equipment List
2024 Year 8 Equipment list
2024 Year 9 Equipment list
2024 Year 10 Equipment list
2024 Years 11 & 12 Equipment

This information, and many other items, are also available in the Family and Student Compass Portals under School Documentation. If you have any queries, including issues accessing Compass, please contact the College.

'One Talk at a Time' is a national awareness-raising and behavioural change campaign on child sexual abuse which has been recently launched by the National Office for Child Safety.

One Talk at a Time aims to protect children and young people from sexual abuse by helping adults understand that child sexual abuse is preventable and encouraging them to have ongoing, proactive, preventative conversations with children, young people and other adults in their lives.

The campaign is a key measure under the National Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Child Sexual Abuse 2021-2030 and fulfils a recommendation of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

Students who need a travel pass for 2024 can apply HERE. A new application will need to be submitted if they are applying for the first time, or if they are requesting additional travel entitlement because of a new shared parental arrangement (e.g. joint custody). Students who change address, school (including starting at high school), have repeated a year or received an expiry notification from Transport for NSW for their school travel entitlement should renew or update their details before the end of Term 4. This will ensure that the College can endorse applications, and entitlements remain valid for the start of the 2024 school year.

We ask that parents plan ahead and make sure their child knows which service/s to use and has a valid travel pass from the start of the school year. For all enquiries please contact your nominated transport operator (Busways or Cavanaghs).

The start of the year is a busy period for local transport operators, and students travelling without a valid ticket make service planning and operations difficult.

Bus operators are flexible and understanding, particularly at the start of the school year, and will ensure students can travel safely to and from school. But to best support our operators we encourage all students to have a valid Travel Pass, as early as possible, from the start of the school year.

Students should receive their travel pass at the start of the new school year from their nominated transport operator. It may be given to the student by the bus driver or be sent directly to them at home. Students/parents should contact their nominated operator if they do not receive a pass.

Parents and carers are well-placed to observe suicide warning signs, encourage alternative coping strategies and help young people and adults access support. Empower yourself to have effective conversations with others by registering for this FREE 90 minute online training via this link.