Term 3 Week 4 - 12 August 2022

Dear Parent/Carer

‘My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord; I know them, and they follow me.’

John 10:27

As we move into the halfway point for Term 3, I would like to commend our school community for their hard work across the first half of the term. Many students have started the semester strong, with increased effort in class and the submission of high quality assessment tasks - which is very pleasing.

Our Year 12 students commence their Trial Higher School Certificate Examinations next week and I hope that their efforts are reflected in a pleasing performance across this important assessment period. Year 10 students were welcomed with their parents/carers for a Subject Selection Information Evening for Year 11, 2023. This was well attended and speaking with families onsite continues to be a welcomed post-COVID lockdown experience. The College continues to offer a diverse range of subjects into Senior College that caters for many interests and this has been noticed in an increasing number of students electing to stay at school for a Senior College experience. Our Year 8 students are currently working through Stage 4 electives and their enthusiasm around course selection is pleasing.

Last week we commenced our Student Leadership Program. Year 11 students were invited into the College Library to hear from the Executive team about the leadership opportunities in 2023. All Year 11 students are required to complete an online leadership program where they will receive a Certificate of Completion. They may then nominate to be a part of the leadership nomination process, which will be finalised at the end of the term at a commissioning ceremony.

All families would now be aware that the College will be offering a ‘hybrid’ educational program across the last week of term. In response to our BUILD PROGRAM and the delays associated with bad weather, delay in materials and COVID, we have elected to invite students in Year 7-9 to work from home across Week 10, while Year 10-12 will remain at school. This will free up learning spaces in areas of the College that will be free from noise, dust, electrical and water issues caused by the ongoing construction work. This will hopefully make up for lost time providing us with the completed facilities prior to the 2023 academic year.

Finally, the Catholic Schools Office designed Tell It from Me (TIFM) survey has now been released and it is critical that we obtain responses from ALL in our College community. Students and staff have been provided with allocated time to complete this and I invite all families to ensure that they have received the link and it has been completed. The voice from our community is essential as we consider what we are doing well and where we can do better - the opinion of everyone in our community is most important.

I hope the move to COMPASS has been a positive one. Moving into a new data management/communication tool can be challenging and I thank you all for your patience as we work with you in sorting out incorrect processes and related glitches. The move to COMPASS will make our communication with families clearer and more efficient, making the pastoral and academic care of all students aligned and efficient.

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

Students learn best in a face-to-face learning environment. To continue to provide this learning environment while prioritising student and staff wellbeing, the College will have a number of COVID-smart settings in place for this Term (in alignment with the current Public Health Orders and CSO guidelines for Dioscesan schools).

The COVID-smart settings that students, staff and communities have become used to will continue in Term 3 including:

• Staying home if unwell or showing any symptoms, and not returning to school or work until fully recovered.
• Following the protocols for COVID positive and close contact cases (see below)
• Rapid antigen testing for any students or staff showing symptoms and for close contacts who are able to return to school.
• Maximising natural ventilation.
• Good hygiene practices for students and staff including regular hand washing with soap and water.
• Encouraging all students, staff and families to keep up to date with vaccinations, including COVID-19 booster shots when eligible and the flu vaccine.
• Identifying when schools need to implement additional COVID-smart measures if experiencing rapidly increasing numbers of COVID-19 cases.

In addition to these baseline settings, some additional layers of extra protection this term for staff, students and school communities, include:

• Strongly encouraging all staff, students and school visitors to wear a mask while indoors, particularly during the first four weeks from the beginning of term.
• Any student who requires a mask is asked to speak with Student Reception.
• Boosted cleaning in schools, with a particular focus on high-touch areas.

COVID-19 reinfection period reduced to four weeks:

NSW Health has revised the COVID-19 reinfection period from 12 weeks down to four weeks effective from 19 July 2022.

People who have previously tested positive for COVID, should test for COVID-19 after 28 days since their isolation period ended if experiencing symptoms, and follow the relevant health advice if they test positive. People who test positive again will be reported and managed as new cases.

NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said the reduced reinfection period, which follows the advice from the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee, is due to the latest sub-variants of Omicron circulating in the community.

Close Contact guidelines remain:

Staff and students who are close contacts and have NO symptoms may continue to attend school if they follow the guidelines below:

Notify the College that they are a close contact and will be attending school following these guidelines -

• Conduct a daily rapid antigen test (RAT) and return a negative result each morning before attending school for 5 school days.
• Secondary school students must wear a mask indoors (except when eating or exercising).
• Masks and RAT kits for student use in these circumstances can be provided by the College, if required.

Please note:

• No student or staff member identified as a close contact will be permitted to participate in overnight excursions, including school camps.
• No apprentices, trainees or students on placement or staff member identified as a close contact will be permitted to attend settings identified as high risk by NSW Health (healthcare, aged care, disability care or correctional facilities)
• Any visitor to the College who is a close contact is required to advise the College that they are a close contact before they come on site. These visitors should conduct a daily RAT and return a negative result before attending. They must also wear a mask indoors at all times.
• Remember: staff and students cannot attend school if they are showing any symptoms of COVID-19. If symptoms occur at any time, students should not attend school and should undertake a rapid antigen test (RAT).
  Outside of these necessary isolations students are expected to attend school every day unless they are otherwise unwell or have a different justifiable reason.

Positive COVID Cases

If a student or staff member receives a positive RAT or PCR test, they need to:

• Record the positive result through the Service NSW website or Service NSW app – please add details of St Paul’s when prompted
• Notify the school of the positive RAT or PCR test result as soon as possible and
  follow NSW Health advice to isolate for 7 days.

Masks

Masks are not mandatory for staff and students in high schools but highly recommended (see above). Staff and students will be supported to wear a mask if they choose to do so. Mask wearing is mandatory for staff and high school students returning to school as close contacts for 5 school days. Where students or staff are unable to wear a mask, they will be supported to learn or work remotely.

Remember: masks continue to be mandatory on public transport. This applies to students aged 12 years and older, and staff when travelling to and from school and during school excursions by public transport or by chartered transport services.

How do I choose subjects in Year 9?

St Paul’s has completed a very successful process this Term allowing our Year 10 students to choose an informed pattern of study for 2023-2024. It’s now time for our current Year 8 students to consider elective subjects for 2023-2024. Outlined below are some insights to consider and our diverse subject offerings for 2022 in Year 9.

What subjects should I choose - the rule of thumb has been to select subjects you have an interest in for the next two years. By choosing these subjects you will significantly deepen your knowledge, giving you a stronger understanding, particularly if you choose the same subject in Year 11-12. You can choose those subjects in Year 11-12 without the Year 9-10 experience, as this is not a pre-requisite. For example, if Agriculture is not chosen in Year 9-10, you can still choose Agriculture in Year 11-12. There are no elective subjects that are pre-requisites to studying the same subject in Year 11-12.

Maths and English- St Paul’s staff have a thorough understanding of the development of skills in Year 7-8 Maths and English during 2021-2022. The staff will provide your son/daughter with a recommendation to study either an advanced or standard pathway in Year 9-10 in Maths and English, allowing the development of further skills to undertake the advanced or standard pathways in Year 11-12.

Please contact me if you have any questions/concerns with this placement.

Elective subjects offered in Year 9, 2023

Year 9 students will be enrolled in Maths, English, Catholic Studies, Science, PDHPE and Mandatory History as well as completing school sport. The rest is up to you, choose TWO elective subjects from the list below:

• Agricultural Technology
• Commerce
• Drama
• Food Technology
• Graphics
• History elective
• Industrial Technology- Metal
• Industrial Technology- Multimedia
• Industrial Technology- Timber
• IST- Information & Software Technology
• Music
• PASS- Physical Activity & Sports Science
• Textiles
• STEM- (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths)
• Visual Arts

The Year 9 Course Selection Handbook has been distributed to every family regarding these choices. Our Year 9 2023 taster day was a great success this week supporting the final decisions.

Please contact me at geoffrey.melville@lism.catholic.edu.au or 0438314199 if you require more advice.

Mr Geoffrey Melville - Assistant Principal - Learning and Teaching

geoffrey.melville@lism.catholic.edu.au

Parish News

ADULT FAITH FORMATION - Registrations with the Virtual Learning Community for Faith Formation (VLCFF) for Cycle 6 courses are now open. Registrations close on 31 August (courses begin 5 September). See course offerings for Cycle 6 at the link below:

Courses are five weeks in duration and cost $US50. The Diocese has had nearly 50 people access various courses over the last two years.

If anyone is interested in pursuing any of the listed courses, please contact Tony Worner at: VLCFF.LismoreDiocese@stagnesparish.org.au.

Bullying

The National Safe Schools Framework defines bullying as repeated verbal, physical, social or psychological behaviour that is harmful and involves the misuse of power by an individual or group towards one or more persons. Cyberbullying refers to bullying through information and communication technologies, e.g. the internet or mobile devices. Bullying of any form, or for any reason, can have long-term effects on those involved, including bystanders.

Not all aggressive or harmful behaviour between people is bullying. While conflicts and aggressive behaviour need to be addressed, it is important to be clear when these behaviours are not actually bullying.

The definition of bullying has three critical aspects – a repeated pattern, the misuse of power within relationships, and behaviour which causes harm. All three aspects need to be present in order for behaviour to be called bullying.

More information for students and parents can be found at:

You can also refer to the College Anti-Bullying Policy on the website at:

Please contact your child’s Pastoral Care teacher if you have any concerns. I thank all parents/guardians for their support.

Uniform

As we continue to experience cold mornings it is lovely to see our students in College uniform with many students opting to wear the new Hoodie. If for whatever reason students need to wear alternative clothes, please provide a note and the date this uniform issue will be rectified.

Mrs Bronwyn Shipton - Assistant Principal - Mission and Wellbeing

bronwyn.shipton@lism.catholic.edu.au

Trial Examinations

The Trial HSC Examinations will be held across Week 5 and 6. The timetable for the Examinations can be found using the following link:

Some tips on how to prepare a study plan, what to do in the examination itself and what to look for when you think you are finished can be found here:

Mrs Amy Tovey - Leader of Curriculum

amy.tovey@lism.catholic.edu.au

St Paul’s College hosted its annual Athletics Carnival on 22 July, and what a day it was. The sun was shining, the track was fast and students, teachers and parents came together for a day of competition and fun. I would personally like to thank all students on their behaviour and effort throughout the day.

Age Champions

Runners up

Records

Congratulations to Natalie Van Driest, who broke the U14’s girls Discus record, with a new distance of 25.10m. This record wasn’t broken for 21 years. Well done!

House Results

Well done to McAuley house!

Upcoming events

24 Aug – Diocesan Athletics Carnival – Coffs Harbour
25 Aug – Schools Cup Netball – Port Macquarie
31 Aug – Rugby 7’s Competition - Coffs Harbour

Mr Heath Needs - Teacher and Sports Coordinator

heath.needs@lism.catholic.edu.au

Vaping

What do you know about vaping? Vaping and e-cigarettes have become popular in recent years, and they may seem harmless and fun. But do you know what’s in vapes and vape juice?

Please follow the link below if you suspect that your child is vaping. It is definitely worth having a discussion about these products that have become a huge problem in schools throughout Australia.

Vaping is definitely a problem at St Paul’s College. This inappropriate behaviour is usually occurring in the student toilets and as such is very difficult to police. You may be called by teachers to report that we suspect that your child has been vaping but we are unable to prove that the incident has occurred. At this point we are advising parents to have a serious discussion regarding the negative health implications of vaping, and that the consequences of vaping at school will be a 3 day external suspension followed by an education program on the negative health consequences of their actions.

Year 12 Trial HSC Examinations

Year 12 students begin their Trial HSC examinations on Monday 15 August. We will all be praying that the students do their personal best and remind parents and carers to check in with their children and make sure that the stress created by these examinations is not having a detrimental effect.

Students should always be aiming to have 8 hours sleep per night and should break up their study into manageable blocks, e.g. one to one and a half hours, followed by a fifteen to thirty minute break. Studying until late at night and sleeping for a short time prior to an examination is poor preparation and should be discouraged.

Students are more than welcome to access study resources and teachers at school during their Trial HSC Examinations.

Positive Behaviour Reward Scheme (PBRS)

The PBRS points tallies of students have received a significant boost this term with the arrival of Compass. 12 students have already received $100 prizes throughout Semester 1 because of their positive behaviours in all aspects of College life.

Students progressive points totals are now available on the Compass Dashboard on student devices and also the Compass App on Smart Phones. I encourage all students to remind their teachers to reward all those many positive behaviours that they display across all subjects and all extra curricular activities.

Mr Leon Robinson - Leader of Pastoral Care

leon.robinson@lism.catholic.edu.au  

0401 166 415

02 6562 7200

Ricki Saunders - Canteen Manager

In celebration of August being Poetry Month, there have been some imaginative and intriguing poems and it has been wonderful to see the enthusiastic participation of students as well as our very talented staff.

Week Two Winners

The prompt for week two was to write a three-line poem about your favourite place. To try to describe this place in a way that would make your reader feel like they are right there. 

Years 7-9

Tranquil Blossom by Eva Gately

The warm wind wandered aimlessly through the blossoming spring,
gently unlatching the sakura flowers from their safe space among the trees,
bringing them down to rest harmoniously among the still stream.

Years 10-12

Jump Rock by Brendon Witchard

Hot days require a drive to the creek,
where rocks tower over, shading a place to jump into the water,
the sound of a splash scares away snakes and dragonflies.

Staff

Maria Littlejohn

A green and tangled embrace envelops, like a mother's arms,
the bubbling, gurgling stream in which shadow and light give depth
and hint at what lies beneath the crystalline, burbling surface.

Week Three Winners

The prompt for week three was to write a three-line poem in which you transform something that others might describe as ordinary or boring into something beautiful. 

Years 7-9

Porcelain Ceramics by Zara Lee

The patterns generated by another hand are miraculous and minuscule,
The blues, greens and pinks of the many designs are carried over the white porcelain ceramics,
The china, the crockery behind the glass ever so elegant, ever so tasteful and effective.

Years 10-12

The Rocket of '05 by Maxwell Winn

Shiny and red, with a splash of wonder, amazing, it takes me
To Lou's Cafe and back to school for birthdays and such galore,
All of which make me love and appreciate the red Yaris some more.

Staff

Angus Crowley

Joining the trickle of traffic, as the mind begins to map the path home,
It is disrupted with delight, as the familiar intersection becomes the stage,
For the spontaneous synchronised ballet of turning cars.

Ms Catriona Martin - Leader of English

We communicate in various ways to express ourselves, however it is through written texts that we are able to express our feelings, ideas, experiences and imagination. Ms Martin was able to do this through her poem Reverie. It was written to express her love of nature and the beauty of the Dorrigo Rainforest.

The poem was entered into and short listed in a competition last year and although it did not win, it was read by the members of the Hunter Singers who then commisioned the acclaimed Australian composer, Paul Jarman, to adapt it into a piece of choral music.

The adaptation of Reverie was performed by the Hunter Singers at the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Hamilton last Sunday 21 August.

Ms Martin is the Leader of English and she is passionate about reading, writing and creative expression. She is a talented literary critic and poet. Her talent lying in considering the subtleties within literature and the purpose behind an author’s work.

Ms Jessy Haaring and Ms Jennifer Igerl

Now is a great time for your young person to be on the lookout for part time employment or a School Based Traineeship or Apprenticeship. There are multiple opportunities listed on the College Careers website - please follow the link below:

Be sure to click on the job updates document for all the latest information.

If you are a local employer and wish to advertise relevant positions, please email through the details to lee.hancock@lism.catholic.edu.au

St Paul's Agriculture and Primary Industries students from Year 10, 11 and 12 attended the River to the Sea Conference with their teacher Mr Graham Bramley. The Conference was hosted by Kempsey Shire Council at the Slim Dusty Centre.

The students enjoyed the informative presentations from personalities such as Australian Cricket Legend Steve Waugh, ex St Paul’s student and PhD candidate Josie Clarke and her father Glenn Clarke.

The students also met ABC Landline presenter Pip Courtney, pictured with students below. Ms Courtney provided the students with valuable insights into her role as a rural journalist and champion of Australian Agriculture. 

The Conference was a great opportunity for our students and the College would like to thank the Council for its initiative in hosting the event and inviting our students to be a part of it.

Congratulations to St Paul's Year 10 students, Pippa Nugent and Kayla Duroux-Lancaster, who played 6 games undefeated at the Mid North Coast Winter Koori Gala which was hosted by Nambucca Valley Netball.

Netball NSW Koori Gala Days are family fun days that bring the community together and can assist teams with training for the Koori Netball Tournament, which aims to increase the participation of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community in sports and recreation in a fun competitive environment.

Players, officials and supporters travelled from Coffs Harbour, Kempsey, Port Macquarie and Nambucca Valley to enjoy this fun filled day of netball. It was amazing to see so many players and their family members come together to celebrate and represent their culture.

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. Parents/carers are not required to come into the College with their child, however we do require an email or phone call from you to explain the reason for the late arrival.

Thank you for your cooperation with these procedures.