Term 3 Week 10 - 23 September 2022

Dear Parent/Carer

‘Then Abraham said, ‘If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.'”

Luke 16: 19-31

I welcome you to the end of Term and hope that you are all looking forward to the holidays sharing time with family and friends. The adjustments around lesson delivery due to the demolition work at the College required flexibility from students and families and this has been very much appreciated. The movement of heavy machinery, closing of sections of the College and the hazardous materials that needed to be removed required a reduction of student movement. We are at this stage on track for the refurbishment of BLOCK J (our old hall) and the new hall (BLOCK P) to be completed early 2023. The weather has certainly done us no favours.

The work that was prepared for Year 7-9 during Week 10 was quite detailed and I am looking forward to hearing how well this work was completed and what was learnt and understood across the week. This will be looked over early in Term 4.

During Week 10 Year 10 students were engaged in presentations on Aboriginal Spirituality, Literacy Activities and Career/Employment sessions. Year 11 continued their Preliminary Higher School Certificate examinations and Year 12 continued their Graduation journey.

Year 12 students were invited to a Breakfast BBQ this week, run by College staff, where Year 12 were presented with ‘mock' awards nominated by their peers. They also took part in the final round of the Warwick Clarke Shield (Staff v Students). The students were then joined by their families for a magnificent Graduation Mass and Awards Ceremony which recognised the many achievements of the year group across 2022. I thank Fr James for his involvement across the day and Mr Guy Campbell, Principal of St Joseph’s who provided the venue for the Awards Ceremony as we await the completion of our new hall. I also acknowledge the presence of our Assistant Director from the Catholic Schools Office, Mrs Jenny Allen, who attended this special occasion.

The Year 12, 2023 leadership team has now been finalised and the group were handed responsibilities of leading our College during our Graduation Mass. We are excited about this leadership team and anticipate that much will achieved across next year. The College leadership team and their specific roles were announced on Friday in front of their peers and I congratulate the following:

College Captains

Isaac Gorline-Singleman
Olivia Dunbar

I thank these students for expressing an interest in contributing to Student College Leadership and wish them every success. We are fortunate to have such impressive students leading our school.  A Commissioning Ceremony will be held in early Term 4, with Fr James in attendance to bless the Student Leaders.  Families of the Student Leaders will be sent invitations to this event as soon as arrangements have been confirmed.

Wishing you all a wonderful break.

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

Considering the role of Aboriginal Spirituality at St Paul’s and the Macleay Valley, Week 10 has presented St Paul’s with an opportunity to support our current Year 10 students with opportunities leading into their next phase of life.

Our current Year 10 cohort have been afforded a range of opportunities over the last week of Term:

• Discussions with visitors and staff regarding Aboriginal Spirituality
• Consideration of important literacy skills fundamental for Stage 5 & 6 learning
• Discussions with local businesses about the needs of the work force in 2022 and ongoing
• The opportunity to create a unique student identifier (USI) and complete NESA mandatory All my own work
• and to share with Year 12 during their final week’s celebrations.

The College was privileged to welcome Uncle Bob Smith, as well as Jo and Jeffrey from the Kinchela Boys Home Aboriginal Corporation to address our Year 10 students about Aboriginal Spirituality with a special emphasis on the Macleay Valley.

Uncle Bob spoke of his life growing up in Kempsey, the rules and regulations associated with government mandated missions at Burnt Bridge and Bellbrook and segregated rules impacting on Aboriginal people in Kempsey in the 1950s and 60s.

He also provided a detailed outline of the history of the Dunghutti people, the stories of the Rainbow Serpent and totem gurginj (Praying Mantis) in forming the land and the impact of dispossession on the rituals, language and ceremonies of the Dunghutti people since the 1920s.

Our beloved staff member Aunty Sharon Kelly then spoke to our students about her experiences as a child living in the Burnt Bridge mission and then subsequent aspects of her life growing up and working in Kempsey. Aunty Sharon is a wonderful role model for Aboriginal students and families in our school.

Her sister Jo Kelly is the leader of the Kinchela Boys Home Aboriginal Corporation and a recipient of a 2022 Australia Day award. Jo and Jeffrey from KBHAC both spoke about the history of the home, with over 600 young boys sent to live at the home between 1924 and 1970, with only approximately 60 survivors alive today. They spoke of the harsh rules imposed, the resulting abuse at the home and the impact on the young boys still today.

Jo informed our students of the upcoming referendum regarding the Voice to Parliament and what it meant, as well as the other aspects of support provided by KBHAC.

We were blessed to listen to the stories of our esteemed visitors, our students demonstrated great respect while these stories were presented - we have some wonderful students in Year 10. These topics are foundational in Year 11 and 12 studies so the information provided is invaluable evidence to support their writings.

Mr Geoffrey Melville - Assistant Principal - Learning and Teaching

geoffrey.melville@lism.catholic.edu.au

Year 12 Graduation Mass

Thank you to Fr James for helping our community celebrate the end of Year 12. It is such a special time to witness the class of 2022 processing in and out of the church for the last time as a year group. It was so wonderful to be together.

Special thanks to Mr Will Pollock and Lou Baird for their hard work and service in preparing this celebration. Thank you also goes to Ms Beth MacMillan, Mr Angus Crowley, Ms Amanda Jordan and our College musicians for the impeccable music performed at the Mass. The highlight and a long time tradition of the singing of the Irish blessing by College staff was my highlight.

We wish Year 12 all the best with the upcoming exams.

Mrs Bronwyn Shipton - Assistant Principal - Mission and Wellbeing

bronwyn.shipton@lism.catholic.edu.au

It has been a busy last couple of weeks on the Evangelisation front at St Paul’s. This week we farewelled our Year 12's at Mass on Wednesday. They were joined and supported by the Year 10 and 11 students and the staff of the College. I would like to thank Fr James for celebrating Mass for us, and for all of the support he has provided to Year 12 throughout their time at the College. I’d also like to thank Mrs Beth MacMillan, Mr Angus Crowley, Mrs Amanda Jordan and Mrs Leonie Capararo for their efforts with our musicians.

In other news, several students, Ms Rilee O’Loughlin, Lou our Youth Ministry Officer, Mr MacAndrews and myself braved the weather early on Friday morning to head off to Brisbane for the annual Ignite conference. This conference had been postponed for the last couple of years, and we are all keen to join with people from across the eastern states at this event over the weekend. A full report of the experience will follow in the first newsletter of next Term.

We are excited to begin celebrating Mass more regularly in our Chapel in Term 4. More details about this will follow in the first weeks of the new Term. All of our students will be most welcome to join in the celebration of the Eucharist on Tuesdays at lunchtime.

In the Chapel, we will be continuing with Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament on Thursdays at lunchtime. I thank Mr MacAndrews for leading this wonderful opportunity.

Mr Will Pollock - Leader of Evangelisation

will.pollock@lism.catholic.edu.au

Looking for somewhere to go these holidays? The newly renovated local library in Kempsey is well worth a visit.

Staff from St Paul’s accepted an invitation in July to explore the new renovations and we were all very impressed with the new facilities. The library now boasts a fantastic new kid’s treehouse area, a teenage ‘Chillzone’ section and a new gaming area. If your child has a spare moment during the holidays we strongly recommend a visit to the library to make use of these great new services.

They may also find the library website worth a visit. Here students can access educational services such as Mango Languages, World Book encyclopaedia and HSC Resources. Best of all membership is free!

SORA NEWS

Always Available Collection

The Always Available collection in SORA is a unique collection of titles. As the title suggests, these e-books are available to borrow at any time. To view titles in this collection, log into SORA  (ACEN is our school) and select ‘Collections’, as shown below. There are over 508 titles in this collection so plenty to choose from.

Recommended ‘Always Available’ Reads

This week our ACEN (Australian Catholic Education Network) experts recommend the following from the Always Available Collection:

For an Easy Read - On Track by Kathryn Apel

For our Secondary Students - Island of Morovia by Sophie Anderson

For Adults - the Audiobook Canticle Creek by Adrian Hyland

For more information about these three novels click HERE

If you would like to install the SORA app or search for other titles in our library collection, please visit our website  for more information.

Year 12 Library Loans 

Year 12 students recently received an email listing their current library loans and by now parents would have received a copy as well. To help streamline the return process, please check with your child that they have these books in their possession, and, if they are not sitting an HSC exam, that they have already returned these loans. If not already returned, please encourage them (i.e. non ATAR students) to do so by dropping the books into the Front Office at the start of Term 4.

Year 12 students who are sitting the HSC exams will need to return their books on the day they sit that subject’s exam.

Just a bit of forewarning, any outstanding library loans will be invoiced to your account once exams are finalised. So please check the emailed list and contact the College if any issues.

Any queries can also be emailed to kmps-lib@lism.catholic.edu.au.

Enjoy the Spring break!

Kind Regards,

Mrs Patrice Martin & Mrs Cathy Whalen - Library Managers

Warwick Clarke Shield

We had a fantastic afternoon of sport to commemorate the Warwick Clarke Shield in the last week of Term. The Year 12 students chose to play a game of netball and soccer in this competition of Staff Vs Students.

Netball 

The Year 12's robbed the staff in this one. They took an early lead, putting pressure on the staff by scoring 4 unanswered goals. The staff took some time to gel and eventually linked up. Our shooters Ms Catriona Martin and Ms Olivia Bailey drained a few into the net, getting us on the board. As usual, the Year 12's hindered our attack and defence by lobbing waterbombs at the staff. Unfortunately, the game was well away from the staff by the time we got our groove on, and the students ended up winning 10-4. It was clear that the Year 12's had played this game before... A biased choice on their part.

I thoroughly enjoyed the change of times, showing that St Paul's is a progressive school, allowing some male staff and students to be involved in this skirmish.

Football (soccer)

The Year 12's had one in the bag already and their confidence was high coming into this one. They were well above the salary cap, having both age and skill on the staff of St Paul's.

The staff were put under early pressure. After some changes from the Year 12 bench, they continued an onslaught of attack and eventually slotted a goal. We went into halftime 1-0 down...

With only 18 minutes to score 2 goals, the staff needed something. Luckily for us, we had a professional athlete on our squad. With his experience playing Football, Mr Adam Preocanin mentioned to the staff that there was "at least a 2-point wind with us now". That was all it took. The pressure continued to mount on the Year 12's and eventually, Ms Amy Tovey got into some space and took her chance. She slotted a goal, nutmegging Ronan O'Loughlin, knocking the confidence out of the Year 12s.

Their tactics turned to dirty play and it wasn't long until Mr Jesse Kerfoot was hacked from behind inside the box, and Mahlia signaled for a dot-shot. A very good call indeed.

It was Ms Emma Tamblyn's chance to score a goal ... she didn't disappoint. The ball found the back of the net for the second time, bringing the score to 2-1. The game wasn't over, and at times the staff had some scrambled defence and an excellent save from Mr Angus Crowley. He even copped a number of Year 12 boots to his body for his efforts. The final whistle blew, with the staff coming out on top 2-1.

The staff remain in possession of the Warwick Clarke Shield for at least another year. Well done to all who were involved.

A special thanks to Mahlia Hoskins for refereeing this game!

Mr Heath Needs - Teacher and Sports Coordinator

heath.needs@lism.catholic.edu.au

St Paul’s College has now transitioned into our new Student Level System for Pastoral Care. The system is outlined below and there will be parent contact if students move into the Amber or Red Levels.

Your child's Level will be visible on the Compass dashboard for students and parents.

Student Behaviour Level System

This new Level System is strongly supporting the teaching and assistant teaching staff at St Paul’s to reward positive student behaviour and works hand in hand with the Positive Behaviour Reward (PBRS) points system.

The following students have been awarded the PBRS Points Winners for Term 3 and will be rewarded with a $100 gift card.

• Year 7 - Hudson Gidzala - Edmund
• Year 8 - Clarence Northey - Farrelly
• Year 9 - Evelyn Schipp - Edmund
• Year 10 - Jayden Allen - Edmund
• Year 11 - Mikayla Cameron - Edmund
• Year 12 - Louis Gambrill - MacKillop

These students are all excellent examples of the positive and highly motivated students we like to have here at St Paul’s and are fully deserving of these prizes.

Mr Leon Robinson - Leader of Pastoral Care

leon.robinson@lism.catholic.edu.au  

0401 166 415

02 6562 7200

Local business engagement

Two students, Ebony Vella and Maxwell Winn each now have a $50 gift card burning a hole in their pocket as the two students who distributed the most amount of business survey cards to the community. These cards invited local businesses to complete a survey as part of a larger College initiated investigation into employability skills and attributes of the future workforce. These findings along with filmed interviews conducted with a number of local business leaders will be shared with the community in the near future.

White Card Training

A number of College students completed their White Card training course onsite recently. This training, delivered by Mid Coast Training, enables students to safely and legally enter construction sites. This is an essential element for any work experience involving a construction site. The College will look to offer onsite White Card training again at the beginning of 2023.

Year 10 Food Technology students at St Paul's have made an outstanding effort in the design and preparation of their Special Occasion Cakes.

Students showed off their time management and artistic skills, baking their cakes at home and completing the icing and decoration of the cake at school within the allocated time frame. Delicious creations, well done Year 10!

Regional Youth Called Upon to be in the Room Where it Happens

Applications close soon for the 2023 Regional Youth Taskforce, an advisory group that shares feedback and ideas to the Minister for Regional Youth and the Office for Regional Youth about issues that affect young people living in regional NSW.

The Taskforce offers youth throughout rural and regional NSW an opportunity to meet with government and inform decision making that will have flow-on benefits for their peers and communities.

The Taskforce is comprised of 18 members aged 12-24, each with diverse backgrounds and experiences, and with two people representing each of the state’s nine regions. The group meets four times throughout the year either online or in person. Travel costs, meals and accommodation are covered when travel for meetings is required.

Being part of the 2023 Regional Youth Taskforce will allow young people to connect with like-minded people and talk about issues such as entering the workforce, mental health, public transport and connectivity in the regions.

Applications close 23 October 2022 and young people aged 12-24 living in regional areas are eligible. The fourth Taskforce will be appointed from January 2023 until 31 December 2023.

If you want to make a difference to your community, we encourage you to apply.

To find out more or to apply, please follow the link HERE.