Term 1 Week 2

‘Happy are they who hope in the Lord’

Psalm 1: 1-4 R. Psalm 39:5

Welcome to the 2022 Academic year! I trust that the year has commenced well for you all and the first few days back at school has been positive experiences for all of our students and their families.

We have commenced the year, mitigating for the potential impact of COVID on our lives and the learning of our students. To this end, the Catholic Schools Office has worked with us to ensure access to RAT units and facemasks which together with a high vaccination rate will limit spread, illness and hopefully keep students and teachers in school.

At the beginning of term, we provided opportunity for families to collect RAT units from school and also be collected from staff in regional areas. We found this very successful with over 80% of our families obtaining these. We have stock remaining from this initial distribution for families that were unable to collect and these can be obtained through communication with the front office. The next series of RAT’s will be distributed shortly and I will communicate this process to you all shortly. A reminder that students can access facemasks at the College as required. It is great that many are arriving at school with their own disposable mask, but be reminded that cloth masks cannot be used under current Catholic Schools Office Health orders.

The College welcomed the academic year with a very talented Year 7 cohort of 147 students from across the region. We also enrolled several students across other year groups and all our new students have settled in well.

We also welcome new members of our academic staff who will bring enormous skill, experience and expertise to an already strong teaching group.

Please join me in welcoming:

Alex Rix, Roger Shipton, Lisa Frewen, Adam Preocanin, Mitchell Robbins, Conrad Tamblyn, Rayleigh Keith, Andrew Fouracre, Amanda Jones, Jade Tildsley, Leanne Grant and our Youth Ministry Officer Louise Baird.

I hope their time at the College is professionally and personally rewarding!

I draw to your attention the building works that are currently taking place across the College. We are re-furbishing our ‘old’ College hall to construct additional learning spaces and have commenced our ‘new’ College hall both of which will be completed toward the end of the year. We are also constructing safety barriers across our bus bay and have added an additional learning/meeting space within our library.

As we commence what will be a more ‘normal’ College year, we have taken the opportunity to remind students of expectations around uniform, classroom engagement and behaviour along with respectful communication. This has been spoken about at length to all students and appreciate your continued support in this regard.

We are required to have our College student gatherings in the hangar area, due to our building renovations and this resulted in our first ‘alfreso’ Opening School Mass. This was celebrated with Fr James on Wednesday and it was a wonderful experience. I thank Fr James, Mr Pollock and his team for organising what was a great experience for our school community.

I wish you all a great start to the year.

Kind regards

Mr David JOHNS - Principal

david.johns@lism.catholic.edu.au

We request your support in relation to partial day attendance of students. Arriving late and departing early places increased pressure on students, in relation to them needing to catch up on missed work. It also disrupts class learning when students enter or leave a lesson during class time.

We ask that appointments are made outside of class times and/or school hours. We realise that this is not always possible, therefore we require that the following occurs if your child has an appointment during the school day.

Early Departures

If you need to collect your child early a signed note MUST be provided to the Office, stating the reason and time the student is to be picked up. This must be provided to the Office prior to morning PC (between 8:30am and 8:55am) so that a pass out can be arranged for the student to leave class early. If a note is not able to be provided, an email with the information in regards to the appointment may be emailed to kmps@lism.catholic.edu.au

If a note or email is not provided to the Office, we cannot guarantee that a student will be ready for collection upon your arrival at the College, as rooming and class activities may change their location. This may result in a parent/caregiver having to wait until the end of a lesson before they can collect their child.

Emergencies

If an emergency situation occurs and your child must be collected immediately, we will endeavour to get them to you as quickly as possible.

Late Arrivals

Students arriving late MUST report to the College Office, so that they can be marked as present, prior to them going to class.

Thank you for your cooperation with these procedures.

Welcome Back: A very warm welcome back to existing families and new families to St Paul’s College in 2022. It is a great privilege to work in partnerships with our students and their families as we chart academic progress at St Paul’s. I am always very keen to be able to speak to students and their parents regarding opportunities for learning at St Paul’s as secondary school is such a precious time in the growth of young men and women.

Academic Care: I consider my primary role at St Paul’s is to support the Academic Care of each student at the College. I work within an outstanding team of motivated staff at St Paul’s, it is clearly evident that the staff share a passion for supporting student academic improvement. I continue to review the external results achieved by current students as a way of understanding their particular learning and teaching needs, the learning needs and opportunities for every student at St Paul’s is at the forefront. The best results are achieved when staff, students and their parents can work together in a partnership as co-learners and I welcome the opportunity for parents to contact me at the College for a discussion regarding enhanced learning opportunities for their son or daughter.

HSC matters: the 2021 HSC results have demonstrated many aspects of learning at St Paul’s. The range of courses offered to students at St Paul’s is very impressive, providing pathways for students to craft a pattern of study that allows for greater opportunities for the next phase of their life. The College would like to offer sincere congratulations to the class of 2021, and highlight many outstanding HSC results including:

• Strong course averages exceeding the state course averages in Food Technology, History Extension, Music 1, Personal Development, Health and Physical Education, Physics, Visual Arts, VET Construction.
• A number of subjects (22) producing Band 5 or 6 results: Ancient History, Biology, Community and Family Studies, English Standard, English Advanced, English Extension 1, English Extension 2, Food Technology, Industrial Technology, Legal Studies, Mathematics, Mathematics Standard 2, Mathematics Extension 1, Modern History, History Extension, Music, Personal Development, Health and Physical Education, Studies of Religion 1 unit, Textiles and Design, Visual Arts, VET Construction, VET Hospitaility.
• A number of subjects scored above the state percentages in Band 5 and 6: Above the state in Band 5 %- Community and Family Studies, English Extension 1, English Extension 2, Food Technology, Industrial Technology, Modern History, History Extension, Music 1, Textiles and Design, Visual Arts, VET Construction; Band 6- Mathematics Standard 2, Personal Development, Health and Physical Education.
• Congratulations to the brothers Tom and Nat Fletcher on their Band 6 successes in Mathematics with scores of 97- Tom in Mathematics Standard 2 and Nat in Mathematics. Tom also scored wonderful Band 6 results in Personal Development, Health and Physical Education while Nat completed the Mathematics result in Year 10 as part of the College acceleration program.
• Congratulations to Chloe Wilson on her Band 6 result in Textiles and Design and to Ruby Falzon on her Band 6 result in Visual Arts.

Mr Geoff Melville  Assistant Principal Learning & Teaching

geoffrey.melville@lism.catholic.edu.au

Welcome to 2022

St Paul’s College welcomed over 140 students into the College community last week. The first day of Year 7 is one of my favourite days of the year and last week did not fail. Seeing such bright-eyed and enthusiastic students who were ready to absorb every word, the energy was palpable. I you have any concerns in regards to Year 7 please email Miss Emma Tamblyn on emma.tamblyn@lism.catholic.edu.au or the Leader of Pastoral Care Mr Leon Robinson on leon.robinson@lism.catholic.edu.au

We are looking forward to a wonderful school year for all our students at St Paul’s and hope that we can go out and serve our community and live out the gospel values. We are excited to continue our initiatives of the Green and Clean teams and are looking to expanding our programs as the year progresses.

Your Child’s Pastoral Care Teacher

Your child’s Pastoral Care teacher will be in contact via email this week to introduce themselves and let you know how to contact them if you have any questions or concerns.  Please don’t hesitate to be in contact, as this is a partnership with families and if there are issues we would like to work together to resolve issues quickly.

Changes to Policies

Your children may have come home and spoken about how some polices have changed at the College. These changes have been made in the best interest of your child’s education and wellbeing.

The mobile phone policy has been tightened to reduce the distraction and to have students focused in class and to reduce any issues around social media during school hours. All contact with your child during school hours must be made through the College office on 6562 7200.

Online Safety

Parents have an important role to play in children’s online lives and evidence shows that their awareness and digital involvement has increased since 2016. But there are still some significant gaps – especially in relation to children’s exposure to potentially harmful online content. 

Summary of current research indicates the following:

• Young people engage in a wide range of online activities and experience many benefits from using the internet.
• Many children have gone online for health information, searching for material about mental, physical and sexual health.  
• A third of children looked for emotional support online from friends and/or mental health support services.
• Significant numbers of children have had negative online experiences. 
• Close to half of the children surveyed were treated in a hurtful or nasty way online in the past year. 
• Almost all children did something in response to a negative online experience – most commonly telling their parents. 

We encourage you to talk with your child/ren and encourage safe online practices. Over the coming weeks students will learn more about safe practices during Pastoral Care time as well and guest speakers.  For more information please visit: https://www.esafety.gov.au/research/mind-gap-parental-awareness-childrens-exposure-risks-online

Mrs Bronwyn Shipton Assistant Principal Mission & Wellbeing

bronwyn.shipton@lism.catholic.edu.au

Welcome back for the new school year.

The first couple of weeks have been action packed in the Ministry domain here at St Paul's! During week 2 we celebrated our opening school Mass, led by Fr James. Due to our current building plans and Covid-19 restrictions, we trialed conducting Mass in the hangar. Many thanks to all of the students and staff who helped make it a success.

In week 3 our Year 12 students will be heading to the Francis Retreat Centre at Bonny Hills for their Year 12 Retreat. We are blessed to be able to go ahead with this important part of senior school life for our Year 12 cohort. Students will have received notes earlier this week, and need to return those ASAP to the office. The Year 12 students will need to bring a face mask and follow the normal Covid regulations that would apply at school while on Retreat. We hope all of the students come along with an open mind and open heart and fully engage in this wonderful opportunity.

Finally, we welcome our new Youth Ministry Officer, YMO, Lou Baird. Lou is fresh from her YMO onboard training in Lismore and keen to get involved in all aspects of ministry and evangelisation at St Paul’s this year. Lou joins us from Xavier Catholic College in Ballina, and brings with her a raft of experience in many different mission and faith programs. Lou will be working with the Catholic Studies classes throughout the year.

Thank you, and God Bless

Mr Will Pollock Leader of Evangelisation

will.pollock@lism.catholic.edu.au

Over 700 St Paul’s Catholic College staff and students gathered outside this morning for the College’s Annual Opening Mass. Macleay Valley Parish Priest, Fr James Foster celebrated the Mass which saw the College Captains taking a role in reading the Prayers of the Faithful. Students gave a warm acknowledgment to Graeme Griffen, Year 8, who welcomed the students and staff to Country in Dhungutti. Mr Dre Barker, one of St Paul's Aboriginal Education Workers, introduced the students and staff to Uncle John who performed a Smoking Ceremony. This beautiful ceremony demonstrates the ongoing reconciliation between the Catholic community of St Paul's and the traditional owners, the Dhungutti people.

Mrs Amy Tovey  Leader of Curriculum

amy.tovey@lism.catholic.edu.au

Catholic schools provide a rich evangelising environment enabling students to experience what Jesus Christ can provide, namely, a full, meaningful and abundant life (John 10:10).
Pastoral Care is central to the mission of Catholic education and seeks to promote physical, social, emotional, psychological, intellectual, cultural and spiritual wellness. It acknowledges that each student experiences life uniquely and so requires a different expression of care.
The Pastoral Care Leadership team at St Paul’s has changed significantly since 2021 and includes the following positions of responsibility:

Mrs Bronwyn Shipton - Assistant Principal Mission & Wellbeing
Mr Leon Robinson - Leader of Pastoral Care
Miss Emma Tamblyn - Year 7 Coordinator
Ms Kate Anderson - McAuley House Coordinator
Mr Matthew Wilson- Edmund House Coordinator
Mr Adam Mascord - Farrelly House Coordinator
Mr Aidhan Fahey - MacKillop House Coordinator
Mr David Johns - Year 12 Coordinator

These staff will be working together with all the Pastoral Care teachers to provide holistic and continuous care for all students who attend St Paul’s Catholic Secondary College.

One of the main initiatives of our new Pastoral Care structure is the implementation of the Positive Behaviour Reward System (PBRS). At St Paul's, we want to support all forms of positive behaviour exhibited by the students. Students will be rewarded with house points on a regular basis when making a positive contribution in all aspects of school life. At the conclusion of each term one student in each year level will be rewarded with a prize to the value of $100.00 if they are leading the Positive Behaviour (PBRS) point score.

Here at St Paul’s we take pride in the College uniform and expect students to be well groomed and wearing the full College uniform with correct accessories.I have noted that many students are currently wearing incorrect accessories in the form of jewellery, make up and hair styles and have included a full list of College uniform and permitted accessories below.

All students have been warned that they have until Monday 14th February to fix any issues regarding uniform and accessories and I will be asking for the support of all parents in this regard.

Uniform

Shoes
Footwear is an important safety item. Good soles provide a sound grip on the floor preventing accidents such as slips, trips and falls from occurring. Footwear can also protect feet from damage caused by accidents such as falling objects or chemical spillages. The College strongly recommends a shoe with a small heal, for added safety and support.

• Up to two small plain studs or sleepers in each ear (only)
• No visible facial or body piercings
• No visible tattoos
• One small plain ring may be worn
• No bangles, bands or bracelets. (Medical alert bracelets are the exception to this)
• One plain metal chain necklace with or without small cross only. (Medical alert necklaces are the exception to this)
• Inappropriate jewellery will be confiscated and kept until the end of term. All care will be taken, but no responsibility accepted.
• Make-up of any description is not permitted for any students in years 7-10 (this includes tinted moisturizer, and coloured lip gloss). Year 11 and 12 students may use minimal amounts of make-up such as foundation and mascara in natural shades only. Minimal and Natural are the key words here.
• No eyelash extensions are permitted.
• Nail polish must be clear.

Hair

Hairstyle is a matter that invites good taste and judgement as to appropriateness.

The College has particular expectations in regards to hairstyles, which are to be adhered to. Allowing a student to adopt the latest fad or trend is not always consistent with both these points.

Parents are asked to ensure that their child’s hairstyle conforms to the following:

• Hair should be neatly groomed and maintained at all times
• Extremes in hairstyles are unacceptable (cause reputational damage in the community)
• Hair should not be overly styled by the use of hair products
• Hair is not to be tinted or coloured in any colour other than that of a natural hair colour
• Long hair must be kept neat and off the face. Long strands such as ‘rat’s tails’ are unacceptable as are dreadlocks.
• Hair accessories should be a plain design in black, blue or white.

The Principal has the final say as to the appropriateness of a hairstyle.

Boys must be clean-shaven at all times. Facial hair is permitted only with Principals permission in respect to religious and cultural aspects only.

Hats/Caps
The College cap or bucket hat are compulsory College uniform items for all students at the College. Students must be wearing a College cap or bucket hat during passive and active outdoor activity.

In conclusion, Pastoral Care teachers, House Coordinators, Year Coordinators and Leaders of Learning and the Leader of Pastoral Care will be contacting parents on a consistent basis to report on wellbeing and discipline issues.

It is our wish to work closely and constructively with all parents/carers to ensure that your child/ren have the best possible educational experience at St Paul’s Catholic Secondary College.

Mr Leon Robinson   Leader of Pastoral Care

leon.robinson@lism.catholic.edu.au 

If your contact details, or those of your child's nominated emergency contacts, have changed please ensure that you inform the College as a priority.

Please email kmps@lism.catholic.edu.au with your new address/mobile number/work number.

This will assist us greatly in providing the best pastoral and academic care for your child.

Are you missing out on emails from the College?

Please note that many organisation email accounts (work email accounts) will block emails sent from the College.  We highly recommend that you use a personal email account to receive communications from the College.

We are also aware that many email accounts will automatically place emails from institutions such as the College into the Spam/Junk/Promotions folder.  Please check these regularly so you do not miss important information about your child.

If you are still not receiving emails from the College please let us know. We often find that families have accidentally 'unsubscribed' from our emails, this can be addressed quickly once we are aware.

All Indigenous students in Years 7-12 at St Paul's are eligible for the Marist Fathers Grant.

Please contact Mrs Kristy Carney, Leader of Inclusion and Diversity, if you require assistance applying for the grant, kristy.carney@lism.catholic.edu.au or phone the College on 6562 7200.

Applications for the 2022 Marist Fathers Grant funding strictly close on Friday 18 February 2022.

Please use this link for applications:

Without doubt the world is constantly changing and the future, as we have recently been reminded, is difficult to predict. For our students here at the College the ‘World of Work’ will look drastically different to that of the past. Students will require not just deep knowledge and understanding of the world around them, but also key employability skills including; collaboration, communication, critical thinking and problem solving.

With this in mind, I am honoured to guide and support all students on their journey to employment and post-school learning as the College’s Leader of Innovation and Engagement in Work. From talking with students about university options, surveying opportunities within our community for employment and industry training and developing systems and processes that aim to instill and further develop the previously mentioned skills it is my pleasure to take on this opportunity.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me at the College if you have any questions about this role or how I might be able to assist your young person. 

Parents and students are also invited to explore the St Paul's careers website. The website's focus is on providing wide-ranging and indepth information to assist students to make informed choices about their post-school options. The careers website includes information for parents including a downloadable guide where you will find helpful information and resources to help you support your child through the crucial decision-making processes that lie ahead.

To explore the website visit: https://stpaulscollegecareers.com/

Mr Lee Hancock - Leader of Innovation and the World of Work

lee.hancock@lism.catholic.edu.au

Welcome back to 2022. We hope that this year will be one filled with sporting opportunities for our students, with the return of both internal and external sports. St Paul’s Catholic College Kempsey aims to give students across all years a chance to be involved in a wide variety of sports that will enhance their physical, mental and social development.

Term 1 Sport 

During Term 1, Year 7 students will be participating in fun games at school for the first five weeks, and then commence a swimming program for the remainder of the Term, starting Week 6 in their timetabled sports lesson.

Year 8 students will be involved in either tennis or school sport. Students in Years 9 and 10 have once again made their elective sports choice and may travel offsite depending on their choice.

Year 11 students will be participating in weekly sports on Fridays.

If any students, parents or carers have any questions or concerns regarding sport at the College, please contact me via email, heath.needs@lism.catholic.edu.au or alternatively, call the College on 6562 7200

Upcoming sporting opportunities:
- Diocesan Touch Football Selections Opens & U15s, closing date - 15 Feb
- Diocesan Tennis, – closing date 18 Feb
- St Paul’s College Swimming Carnival – Tuesday 22 Feb
- Diocesan Rugby League Trials Opens & U15s Boys 23 Feb
- Diocesan Rugby League Trials U16s Girls  23 Feb
- Diocesan 400m Freestyle, closing date 25 Feb
- Diocesan Rugby League/Football/Tennis trials, 1 March
- Diocesan Touch Trials – 3 March
- Diocesan Swimming Carnival – 10 March (back up 15 March)
- Girls 9’s Tackle Rugby League – 21 March
- Schools Cup Netball – 23 March

Mr Heath Needs Teacher and Sports Coordinator

heath.needs@lism.catholic.edu.au

Only extra drinks and snacks will be available at the second lunch bell for those of you who may still be hungry or thirsty, please don't expect to purchase anything other than these snack items. 

Ricki Saunders

Canteen Manager

Congratulations to Jorja Woods (Year 10) and Issabella Sutherland (Year 10) who have qualified to ride at the Sydney Royal Easter Show in the Area 3 team sporting side.This is the second year Issabella has qualified and Jorja's first year.  

The team of five competitors is selected from four different zones of Pony Club that cover a large part of Northern NSW. Both students were successful at their trials in Nambucca in November and in Guyra in January.

Year 12 Food Technology students are underway with their practical lessons for the 2022 academic year. HSC Food Technology have low 'food miles' with eggs straight from Francis Farm made into fresh handmade pasta. This practical lesson assists students to understand the processes that transform raw materials into manufactured food products. 

Looks fantastic Year 12!

On Thursday some of our Year 10 PASS students attended the St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Swimming Carnival.  They assisted Joey's staff with timekeeping and marshalling duties. The students showed great leadership skills, sportsmanship and were amazing examples for the younger students. Well done Year 10 PASS students!

Former student success

St Paul's is blessed with exceptionally talented and high achieving students and we love to hear about their achievements after their days at St Paul's are over.

If you have any information regarding former students' successes we would be grateful if you could email the College kmps@lism.catholic.edu.au with details and if possible, photos.

St Paul's College Alumni 

St Paul's College Alumni welcomes all past students from St Paul's (named Macleay Regional Catholic High School during the early '80's) and St Pius X High School. 

As we build our Alumni contacts we can assist you to remain in touch with one another, enjoy organised reunions and events, keep up-to-date with the latest College news and have the opportunity to support the College and its current students.

You can register as a member of the Alumni by completing this form:

Please be assured that your contact details will be kept secure.  We will not disclose your private information to any other third parties.  However, if you are happy for your name and email address and year of graduation to be made available on an Alumni database, please indicate this on your registration form.