Week 10 Term 1, 8 April 2022

Dear Parent/Carer

They proclaimed: “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest.”
Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” He said in reply, “I tell you, if they keep silent, the stones will cry out!”

Luke 19: 28-4

Well done to our school community for all the hard work in what has been a very busy term. As we returned to a school year where the ‘shadow’ of COVID was slowly disappearing, we were met with ‘mother nature’ who continues to remind us all that we were not in control.

The weather disruptions along with the need to modify how we use our College facilities, due to our building project, has been difficult, however our students have demonstrated enormous resilience and agility.

I am very proud of how the school community continues to value academic learning by engaging in all class activities. Our Year 7 students have commenced their time at the College with drive and purpose and Year 12 continue to work with teachers to perform at the highest standard possible.

Across the last few weeks we have sent out surveys to gauge ‘student voice’ around how learning is progressing along with evaluating the variety of activities that have taken place across the term. This information is critical for the College as we endeavour to provide the best possible environment for learning. This data was summarised and will be presented to staff early next term to be discussed at length. It is planned for students to receive this information in term 2.

The College will be honouring ANZAC day in a variety of locations this year. We will have a presence at the Dawn Service, Macksville as well as the Main Services at South West Rocks, Kempsey and Macksville. Please encourage your child/ren to assemble (in full academic uniform) at these venues if they wish to walk under our College banner. Please email the College if you require any further information.

Finally, I take the opportunity to send our collective thoughts and prayers to those communities affected by the weather and subsequent flooding. I cannot imagine what a challenge this must be ongoing and continue to think about these communities often in our prayers. We also reflect on the unfolding events in the Ukraine and the repercussions felt across Australia and the world and hope that communication will soon lead to a resolution allowing people to once again feel safe.

Wishing you all a great holiday break and a wonderful Easter spent with those you love.

Kind regards

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

Principal

david.johns@lism.catholic.edu.au

The Open Day has been rescheduled to Thursday 5 May. All are most welcome to attend, prospective and current families.

This is also the date of our Day in the Life event for registered Year 6 students. We will be contacting families of registered students regarding supervision of their child after the school day ends (3.25pm) if their parent/carer wishes to join them at the Open Day from 4pm.

Registrations for the Day in the Life can be made via the following link: 

For more information please contact the College.

Student Drivers

As a result of the increase in the number of College staff, the current building works and the requirement of car parking for families across our enrolment period - students who make the decision to drive to school are not permitted to park within the College grounds, including the car parks inside our Sea St and North St gates.

Ample parking is available on the street, in close proximity to the school and students are directed to park there please. Our staff come and go across the College day, at times with resources, and need close proximity to school buildings. It is hoped that more parking will be available when our building programme concludes, later in the year. 

College Administration

The Characteristics of Learners in the 21st Century

The recent difficult weather conditions in the Macleay Valley have tested our whole community however it is very encouraging to view the response of the College first hand where learning opportunities are clearly available while the school is closed. Mrs Tovey has brilliantly managed the amendments to the Term 1 assessment program where the primary concern of the school is to ensure students have the opportunity to complete assessment in an orderly manner where extra pressure is not added to students.

St Paul’s is well aware of the learning needs of our students in the 21st Century and continues to review a variety of methods in making leaning more accessible for our students. Current educational research suggests that the current cohort of students in schools come from Generation Z and Generation Alpha. These two generations have grown up with advanced technology as a given in their homes and classrooms. They are digital natives, as comfortable using apps and code as their grandparents were flipping pages. Generation Z are born between 1995 and 2009- most don’t remember life without the internet and have technology like smartphones, iPads, smartboards and other devices throughout most of their schooling. Generation Alpha are born after 2010, and they are younger than smartphones, the iPad, 3D television, Instagram and music streaming apps like Spotify. This generation are coming through schools now and it is up to schools to recognise their different learning needs and adapt.

The students coming to St Paul’s in 2022 are intelligent, independent and extremely capable. They are skilled with technology and comfortable with global and intercultural communication. We can expect that future generations are going to have even more experience in these areas. Growing up with this level of technology means having access to completely unprecedented amount of information at your fingertips. There are students who have never been more than a few seconds away from the answers to their questions, with everything just a quick search away.

Despite the disruptions with the recent flooding, St Paul’s has continued to work with our students in the digital space to allow learning and assessment to take place with minimal fuss using technology such as Stile and email to allow the term to progress.

Mr Geoffrey Melville - Assistant Principal - Learning and Teaching

geoffrey.melville@lism.catholic.edu.au

Easter Gift for the Students of St Carthage's Primary- Lismore

Last week when most of our students could not get to the College due to flooding and road closures, some of our students did find their way to us and used their time not only to complete their own work but to send some Easter joy. The students made cards to show their support along with some chocolates to share with their fellow classmates. St Carthage's is only one of our Diocese schools decimated by floods. In light of Lismore being inundated again by flood waters last week, we must keep these communities in our prayers. If we have the capacity to donate, then please donate to the Flood Appeal.

Diocese of Lismore 2022 Flood Appeal:                                                                    

Name: DOL Flood Appeal          BSB: 037-889    Account number: 1061 5829                    

Easter Liturgies and Parish Times

Our parish’s Lenten and Easter program as we journey in this final week of Lent to Holy Week and the special celebrations of the Easter Triduum, is at:

Celebrating Success

Shelby Mitchell is a fine example of how we can all make a difference and be heard in a powerful way. Not only is Shelby part of the College Representative Council she has been shortlisted to join the NSW Youth Advisory Council whose mission is to make NSW a better place for children and young people. The NSW Youth Advisory Council (YAC) plays an important role in advising the NSW Government on issues that are relevant to young people across the state.

Membership of the YAC is open to all children and young people between 12 and 24 years of age residing in NSW. Applications are sought from diverse locations, backgrounds and life experiences. The 12 member YAC provides a direct avenue of communication between young people and the NSW Government.
The YAC meets regularly throughout the year to provide advice to the Minister responsible for Youth, the Hon. Alister Henskens, to discuss policies and laws that affect children and young people in NSW.

We all wish Shelby the best of luck in the next stage of her application process, we will keep you posted on the outcome.

Help Needed

On behalf of the P& F we are seeking more volunteers to work on the St Paul’s BBQ stall at the Kempsey Show. The time slots we are trying to fill are 8am- 10am on Tuesday 26th April and Wednesday 27th April. If you are able to help out at these times could you please email Bronwyn.shipton@lism.catholic.edu.au or call the College office.
All profits from the BBQ will go to the P&F to support resources for the College. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Our Parishes

We are blessed to be supported by two wonderful parish communities here at St. Paul’s College. I would invite and encourage you to have a look at their respective websites (by clicking on the links below) to find out about ways to connect with parish life, including to find out Mass times:

Mrs Bronwyn Shipton - Assistant Principal - Mission and Wellbeing

bronwyn.shipton@lism.catholic.edu.au

2022 has certainly been an interesting and busy year so far at St Paul’s! As is our custom, St Paul’s has wrapped the term up with an Easter Liturgy on Thursday. Our Liturgy highlighted the events of Holy Week. We thank Fr. James for again coming to celebrate Mass with us. We are also thankful to our student musicians for leading our celebration once more.

Our two CSO student formation days, LEAD for our senior ministry leaders and TRANSITUS for our selected Year 7 students have been rescheduled for week four of next term. Students will receive updated notes early next term for these wonderful formation events.

We wrap our Lenten program up this week. After another year of interruptions, our community has given generously to the Caritas appeal, as well as the flood relief appeals. We keep those impacted by the floods both locally and to our north in our prayers over Easter. Any last minute donations can be made to the Bishop’s Flood Relief appeal using the details below:

BSB: 037-889
Account number: 1061 5829
Name: DOL Flood Appeal

I would like to formally congratulate and welcome our Senior Ministry team for 2022. Throughout the course of the year these students will take important roles in leading Liturgies, student formation and other Evangelisation initiatives. The students are:
Rebecca Cotter, Maxwell Winn, Sienna Moore, Jorja Donnelly, Chloe Riley, Hunta Crilley, Ebony Vella, Jade McLean, Shelby Mitchell, Mikayla Cameron.
I look forward to working alongside these students throughout the rest of the year.

Finally, we have attached Mass times for Holy Week and Easter for All Saints Catholic Church in Kempsey and Star of the Sea, South West Rocks. All are welcome!

Wishing everyone a safe holiday, and a Holy Easter break.

Mr Will Pollock - Leader of Evangelisation

will.pollock@lism.catholic.edu.au

Wow, What a wild term that was! I personally want to thank all students and families for their patience, understanding and clear communication in regards to assessments, misadventures and extensions and the requirements from NESA requiring medical certificates as evidence. I would like for you to continue this open communication as we progress throughout the year.

We have some important dates coming up next term to make note of.

Important Diary Dates

Mrs Amy Tovey - Leader of Curriculum

amy.tovey@lism.catholic.edu.au

What’s Happening in our Library?

Our Weekly Book Chat is now running every Tuesday at lunch. There has been a great mix of ages, including students and avid staff readers, attending, as well as a great variety of reading interests being discussed. At this stage the chats are very informal and fluid, driven by a love of all things books. Here’s what a few of our regular enthusiastic attendees have to say:

"Come join us to read and talk about books. We talk about how books are made and how there are a lot of types of books to read, and we also recommend books to the people in the group."  William

“I love coming to Book Chat and look forward to it every week. As an avid reader and learner I thoroughly enjoy discussing books of all kinds. Whatever the preference or genre I get to hear many different perspectives on books I have read, am reading or never read. I definitely recommend Book Chat for not just avid readers but all interested in having a fun time and a good laugh!”  Sofia

"I think Book Chat is a great opportunity for all students and teachers to come and chat about your favourite books; what books you are looking forward to reading, but Book Chat is also about making new friends. At the Club we supply snacks/food to come and eat while also chatting, I think people should give Book Chat a chance and come."  Patrick

Students are still welcome to participate in the 2022 Premier’s Reading Challenge (PRC). If your child is interested, please email me and I will register them, so they can start logging their reads and also so they are eligible to win a $50 gift card.

Holiday Reads – it is a bit late to borrow for the Easter break but students can still read over the holidays from SORA. Our ebook library has a great selection of latest releases, magazines, graphic novels, and so much more.  To find out how to join visit our library website for instructions. 

We wish you all a very happy, safe and holy Easter.

Kind Regards

Mrs Patrice Martin & Mrs Cathy Whalen - Library Assistants

Diocesan Open’s Soccer Gala Day

“The Open Girls soccer team had a great day at the CCC Gala Day, presenting a very competitive team this year. They started the day with a convincing 8-0 win against Newman College followed by a 1-1 draw against Mackillop. The third round of the day saw a 3-0 loss against Regional. At this point in the day heat and fatigue started to impact play. Despite only being able to field nine players for the final game of the day against John Paul College, the girls still played with heart and enthusiasm, losing 6-0. 
Carly Pollard-Smith and Chelsea Hackenberg presented a consistent effort in the middle field. Top goal scorers of the day were Aamber Row and Zoe Delimahalis. Nakirra Brien was a standout, running tirelessly on the left wing. India Stephens and Jorja Barnett were stars in the backs and special mention goes to Pippa Nugent who scored her first ever goal in soccer. Special thanks go to Taylah Moffit, Mia Reilly, Ruby Trappel and Jorja Potts for stepping up on the day and Lily Farrell, the team keeper.”

Coach Elizabeth Smith

A quick summary from coach Tamblyn -

“The boys all played well and were very competitive. They were a little unlucky, however that’s football.

Results on the day:
⦁ SPCK Vs Regional – 1-1 Draw
⦁ SPCK vs Mackillop 0-2 Loss
⦁ SPCK vs Newman – 1-1 Draw
⦁ SPCK vs John Paul College 1-2 Loss.

Some very close games and the boys should be proud of their efforts.

Schools Cup Netball

It was an exciting day for more than 70 St Paul’s Catholic College students on Wednesday 23rd March when seven of the College’s teams qualified for the next round of the Netball NSW’s North Coast Schools Cup.

Highlights of the day, which saw both girls and boys teams from Years 7 to 10 compete, included the Girls Year 8 team winning all their games. Also undefeated were the Year 10 Girls and Boys teams. It was a very hot but great day for all involved. Also congratulate Brielle Woodger and Zahlee MacDonald who umpired all day for us.

Year 10 boys (Darcy Swaine, Blake Gill, Clancy Prior, Harry Gill, Blake Bullen, Jack Bool, Seth Davis-Kennedy) won all games without using any substitutes. General attitude was fantastic, despite the oppressive heat. 

MVP of the day was Jack who worked well with Seth to oppose all other attackers. Jack's reading of passes and timing of efforts was fantastic, and he used these to turn over possession and provide attacking go forward. There was also lots of energy in the centre, from Harry who was always at the heart of the action, providing great speed during transition. Working alongside Darcy, Harry was able to get Blake Gill into scoring positions, who by the end of the day, was rarely missing. 

The seven teams will now compete in the North Coast Regional Finals to be held in Port Macquarie on 25 August. Congratulations to all the teams on a terrific day.

Upcoming events

School Cross Country – Friday, Week 2 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.

Recently, I participated in a fascinating Webinar on the Psychology of Learning presented by Author and International Speaker, Karen Tui Boyes. She made some interesting points about learning that I would like to share with you and that may help your child learn better at home.

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 only 5 (+ or - 2) 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

Looking back over the 10 weeks of Term 1 I can see the vast majority of students flourishing at St Paul’s Catholic Secondary College. Teachers and students alike have embraced the Positive Behaviour Reward Scheme (PBRS) and it will be a pleasure to award the prizes to our original six winners of this scheme for Term 1 - 2022.

With one week to go in Term 1 the leaders are; Year 7 - Tahlia Wall followed closely by Baillie Mannix, Year 8 - Anica Andrews, who has edged ahead of Abby Breitkruez, Year 9 - Destiny Collingwood who is 60 points in front of Marli Van Hugten, Year 10 - Ryley Smith who leads Darcy Swaine by the slender margin of 40 points, Year 11 - Hannah Moody who is narrowly ahead of Patrick Preston and Nick Kenny and finally and Year 12 - Zoe Ahearn who is a modest 50 points ahead of Eric Northey.

These points will continue to be awarded until the end of Period 5 on Thursday 7th April and our Term 1 winners will receive their prizes at the Week 2 - Term 2 College Assembly. We are still looking for sponsors for this new award scheme so if any local business houses associated with St Paul’s College are interested in sponsoring this initiative please contact Leon Robinson via Email at leon.robinson@lism.catholic.edu.au or phone on 0401166415.

The Year 11/12 House Basketball Challenge has been played vigorously during weeks 7 & 8 and was washed out in Week 9. The final week of this competition will be played in either Week 10 of Term 1 or Week 1 of Term 2. The results so far are listed below;

Round 1 - Farrelly 24 defeated Edmund 13
McAuley 9 lost to MacKillop 13

Round 2 - Farrelly 18 defeated McAuley 1
MacKillop 18 defeated Edmund 13

Round 3 - Farrelly Versus MacKillop (Final)
McAuley Versus Edmund (3rd place play off)

The final of this prestigious competition is an eagerly anticipated event with Farrelly slight favourites after dominant displays in the early rounds. MacKillop are the dark horse of the competition, not renowned for winning many sporting events but using their keen intellect to prosper in their previous matches. May the best team/house win.

Mr Leon Robinson - Leader of Pastoral Care

leon.robinson@lism.catholic.edu.au  

0401 166 415

Tuesday 29 March saw the launch of an innovative course for HSC students being offered for the first time by St Paul’s Catholic Secondary College, Kempsey. Held at Vincent Court, the aged care facility in Leith Street, Kempsey, the launch involved students from St Paul’s Catholic Secondary College and staff and residents of Vincent Court.

Twelve Year 11 students from St Paul’s have commenced the course as part of their HSC studies which will see them graduate with a Certificate III in Individual Support – Ageing.

David Johns, Principal of St Paul’s Catholic College, said one of the unique features about the course is that the majority of both academic and practical classes will take place at Vincent Court.

David said that holding most of the classes onsite at Vincent Court will provide the students with the most realistic experience and best prepare them for the workplace.

“This unique partnership between Vincent Court and St Paul’s Catholic College will mean that students will be fully qualified to start their careers as Support Workers in the aged care sector when they leave the College”, said David.

Kylie Bonney, Vincent Court’s Residential Services Manager, said the residents will benefit from the creation of this new intergenerational community and the course will promote aged care as a career in the Macleay.

Kylie, who is a registered nurse with 20 years’ experience said that the aged care sector needs to be involved in training the future workforce.

“The course could also be an introduction to a career in nursing for the students”, said Kylie.

This new course will complement the current VET courses offered at the St Paul’s Catholic College in Hospitality, Construction and Primary Industries. Teacher of the course, Ms Amanda Jones, felt that interest in the Certificate was strong and it is well placed to respond to an area of skill shortage.

“Headed by Graham Bramley, the College’s VET program continues to be well regarded due to the quality of its teaching staff and the exceptional standard of its innovative and high-quality programs and we believe the Certificate III in Individual Support will maintain these high standards”, said David.

“Schools have a responsibility to respond to community needs. The aged care sector is about skilling up students as well as learning from those for whom they are caring.”

David said there is a great deal to learn from older members of our community who are a fountain of wisdom from life experience.

Information about the Course
The Certificate III in Individual Support-Ageing is an HSC and ATAR approved course under Human Services with NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA).

The College Principal, David Johns was invited to spend the afternoon at St Mary's Primary School in beautiful Bowraville. St Mary's, together with St Pat's Macksville and St Joseph's Kempsey are direct feeder schools for St Paul's and they bring a tremendous quality of students into our community.

The St Mary's students were wonderful to talk with and I thank Nadine - their Acting Principal, for welcoming me to the school! I hope we can get to know our St Mary's community further and collectively 'Let our light shine!'

As the cricket season comes to an end, Year 10 student Ava Ryan is set for a well earned break. Ava has had a busy few months after she was offered an invitation this season to play with the Northern District Cricket Club based in Waitara, a spot in 1st Grade in the Sydney Women’s Premier Cricket.

Ava has been travelling to Sydney each weekend to play, often returning early Monday morning for school. Other than the commitment made to Northern District, her place in the NSW Cricket Academy Female Pathways saw her Captain the Under 16s North Coastal team at Country Championships in December at Raymond Terrace and return again in early January to Vice Captain the under 19s team. December also saw NSW Cricket run a Country Vs Metro quad series, where Ava played for Country Thunder, designed as a trial to select the two NSW State teams, being Metro and ACT/NSW Country. Ava was successful in selection for the ACT/NSW Country team traveling to Albury late January to play the Summer Quad Series against Victoria in lieu of the traditional National Championships hampered this year by the COVID situation. ACT/NSW Country came runners up to NSW Metro in the Series, defeating both Victorian teams.

Ava also joined the Coffs Coast Chargers for a second year to play the Regional Bash Plan B. After positive results in the initial rounds at Tuggerah, the Chargers went on to win the semi against Newcastle but lost the grand final against Riverina, both games played at the historic North Sydney Oval.

On the school front, Ava returned to Penshurst, successfully gaining selection as Keeper/RHB for the NSWCCC team to play at the NSW All Schools Cricket Championships Open Female held at Campbelltown. The Combined Catholic Colleges side proved very successful, defeating CHS 1st 11, CHS 2nd 11s and the Combined Independent Schools (GIS) to take out the NSW All Schools Championship.

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 the College Office.

Ricki Saunders - Canteen Manager

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.

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.