Term 4 Week 6 - 18 November 2022

Dear Parent/Carer

‘Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. He replied to him, “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

Luke 23: 35-43

We have had some wonderful events take place over the last few weeks which are cause for much celebration.

Our new Year 12, 2023 cohort came together for a retreat in Bonnie Hills. Over three days, Year 12 worked with College staff to explore their faith, develop stronger relationships with their peers and develop further skills in self-reflection, self-care and resilience. It was an excellent experience and I thank our staff for their input. For teachers to take time away from their families, demonstrates the commitment they have to our students and their holistic development.

On Saturday 12 November we welcomed our Higher School Certificate students for their Graduation Dinner. We catered for over 270 guests in our recently refurbished Edmund Rice Hall and the result was amazing. The P & F and the associated Graduation team transformed the hall to reflect the ‘Great Gatsby’ theme. The students looked amazing and the night was a resounding success. I thank all involved, especially Ms Di Mascord who took significant responsibility in setting up the evening and organising tables and other related matters.

This week we welcomed our Year 7 group for 2023. It was an Orientation Day that allowed the students to get a sense of the College, expectations around classes, equipment and the St Paul’s way! The students were excellent and our current Year 7 helpers were essential to the successful running of the day. I thank Ms Di Mascord and Mr Roger Shipton for all their work. The running of the day through the administrative organisation from Mr Geoff Melville and the Curriculum team ensured that the day would be well enjoyed.

We also received news that Ms Tess Meehan’s Year 10 class won the Green Innovation Award. This award was based around a competition involving many schools who needed to identify an environmental issue and determine a creative solution using collaboration and effective communication. The students progressed to the final and presented with the other finalists at Southern Cross University in Lismore. St Paul’s College prevailed and we are very proud of all the students involved.

This week our Year 10 students sat through a one-day workshop called ‘Lovebites’. This was a program focussing on healthy relationships, consent, respect and demonstrating dignity for others. It was very well received and it is hoped that it opened opportunity for further communication both in the playground and at home.

Finally, we commenced our examination period for Year 7-10 this week and I thank all the staff for their work in preparing and delivering these assessment opportunities. These will be marked and the results will be compiled with other evidence to determine a grade for end of year reports. I cannot emphasise enough the importance of continuing to have conversations with your child/ren about these examinations. By doing this, it demonstrates an interest in what is happening at the College and the ongoing value you place in learning and the development of strong educational outcomes.

Several months ago I approached the CSO to support an educational opportunity for myself requiring me to take leave across the last week of this Term. This was recently approved and I will be spending two weeks in Israel/Palestine visiting several schools and universities to learn about cultural/religious pedagogical differentiation as well as how faith based schools manage the challenges of a complex secular world. I am enormously excited about this and will remain until Christmas, which I will spend in Bethlehem. I am hoping to ZOOM into some classes while I am overseas. I am humbled to receive such support and will be thinking about you all across the time I am away.

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

Student Voice
Over the recent weeks I have enjoyed the opportunity to be involved in Learning Walks and Talks across different classes within the College. The esteemed Australian educator, Professor John Hattie, has stated that students with a strong sense of student voice are 7 times more likely to be academically motivated. Professor Hattie bases his research using data which he refers to as effect sizes (ES), this being what the research has found describing the effect on student learning. Professor Hattie outlines the following regarding student voice:

 “The visibility of learning from the students’ perspective needs to be known by teachers so that they can have a better understanding of what learning looks and feels like for the students” (Quality of Teaching = 0.44 ES). Also, teachers who develop strong relations with his/her students have a powerful impact on student learning (Teacher-Student Relations = 0.72 ES). “Building and developing relations with students implies agency, efficacy, respect by the teacher for what the child brings to the class…[and requires teachers to use such skills as] listening, empathy, caring, and having positive regard for others.” And, “Feedback is most powerful when it is from the student to the teacher” (0.75 ES).

Student voice is very important at St Paul’s College as we work together supporting the opportunity for our students to improve their learning. Our students are welcomed to outline the best ways they find to improve their learning and what obstacles they may have to overcome, and how can we work together to give them the best opportunities. We are discussing further opportunities for our students to provide teachers with feedback towards their learning and which processes are best to allow their voice to be heard. The current educational research supports how critical student voice is to learning; processes allowing celebration of their achievements in all facets of school life; building open relationships empowering teachers and students to ask questions based on mutual respect.

We are very proud of our students at St Paul’s and we seek to continue to nurture students who are positive, ethical, faithful, kind, motivated and resilient; knowing each student and their families and addressing individual needs to allow their full potential to be realised; understanding and living our College Mission so they are ethical and moral members of society.

If you have any questions regarding these matters, please contact me at geoffrey.melville@lism.catholic.edu.au.

Mr Geoffrey Melville - Assistant Principal - Learning and Teaching

geoffrey.melville@lism.catholic.edu.au

Senior Retreat
Thank you to Fr James, staff and all of Year 11 who made the Senior Retreat a success. We enjoyed connecting as a Year group at Bonny Hills Francis retreat for three days last week.

Lovebites
This week the Year 10 students participated in two Love bites sessions - one session exploring healthy relationships and domestic violence and the other session exploring sexual assault and consent. The students were very engaged and curious having many robust but respectful discussions.

A massive thank you to the facilitators from Family connect and Support in Schools, Pathfinders, NSW Health Port Macquarie and Kempsey, Mr Adam Mascord and Mr Dre Barker.

The students also participated in a therapeutic Art session to end the day to create artworks that can be used as a part of a community campaign to create awareness around domestic violence and sexual assault within our communities.

If you need any further support or assistance please contact Ashleigh - Family connect and support worker at St Paul's College 0448 526 777, or 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732 ) 24/7, Kids Helpline- 1800 55 1800 (24/7).

Year 7 Orientation Day
This week St Paul's welcomed our Year 7, 2023 group for their Orientation Day. It was a fantastic opportunity for the students to get a feel of life at the College. Thank you to all staff and students who were involved in the successful running of the day. 

Mrs Bronwyn Shipton - Assistant Principal - Mission and Wellbeing

bronwyn.shipton@lism.catholic.edu.au

Christmas Hampers
Our PC classes have started collecting Christmas Hamper items for distribution to those in need within the Macleay valley. Please reference the flyer below for a list of suggested items for donation. If each student brings in an item or two it will make a massive difference to the lives of those in our community who would otherwise have a less-cheery Christmas.

Giving Tree
As well as our Hamper appeal at St Paul’s, All Saints Catholic Parish will be running a ‘giving tree’ for Christmas too, where people can purchase a gift for a boy or girl this Christmas.

Mr Will Pollock - Leader of Evangelisation

will.pollock@lism.catholic.edu.au

Years 7-10 Catch Up Examinations
Students who have missed any examination in Week 6 must complete catch ups on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of Week 7. Students must check the daily notices on Compass for the periods and rooms these will be held in.

Mrs Amy Tovey - Leader of Curriculum

amy.tovey@lism.catholic.edu.au

Weekly Book Chat
Book Recommendation by Patrick O’Sullivan - After the Lights Go Out by Lisa Wilkinson
This book is exceptional and suspenseful. It’s mainly a psychological thriller and about survival. It chronicles the life of two sisters after their town electronics, lights and power goes out. It also shows what this does to the town and the guilt of their secret.

SORA (ebook library) NEWS

Recommended ‘Always Available’ Non-fiction:
For Juniors - Britannica Kids Encyclopedia Volume 3

“Atoms. Elements. Compounds. Light. Electricity. The physical sciences hold so many wonders to explore! From the Aurora Borealis to Newton's Laws of Motion, find out more about what the universe is made of and how it all works. Find out about metals that explode when they come in contact with water, and how hot air balloons fly. Plus, hear from Britannica Experts about their work in physical sciences, including engineering, physics, and more…”

This volume is part of a series of eight volumes. Other titles are Universe, Earth, Life, Humans. Ancient and Medieval Times, Modern Times, and, Today and Tomorrow.

For our Senior Students – Economics for Beginners

“Nobody has everything they need, all the time – so how can we make do with what we have? Economics is all about understanding the choices we make to solve this problem. With bright, infographics pictures, this informative book describes why markets are so important, how businesses work out what to sell, and how governments choose how to run a country. Includes Usborne Quicklinks to specially selected websites for more information.”

Audiobook for Everyone
“Time management remains a huge challenge for most people. This book shares the habits and processes used by top leaders worldwide to minimize distractions and maximize accomplishments. In researching more than 1,260 managers and executives from more than 108 different organizations, Steve and Rob Shallenberger discovered that 68 percent of them feel like their number one challenge is time management, yet 80 percent don't have a clear process for how to prioritize their time.
Drawing on their forty years of leadership research, this book offers three powerful habits that the top 10 percent of leaders use to Do What Matters Most.”

Other titles of similar interest are The 7 Best Things Smart Teens Do and The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Visit SORA to see more titles.

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. Access SORA using your child’s school login details.

Year 12 2022 Library Loans
With the HSC now completed our Year 12 2022 cohort should now have returned all library borrowings. If you have a student who is in this year group could you please ensure they have returned all their outstanding loans. If your child has any items outstanding, emails were sent to parents last week so you also have a list of the items to be returned.

Please encourage your child to return these items as soon as possible as replacement costs will be invoiced to your account at the end of November to allow for replacement textbooks to be purchased for next year’s students.

If you have any queries, please contact the College. Please direct any email queries to kmps-lib@lism.catholic.edu.au.

Thank you for your support in this area.

For avid readers, the 2022 Booker Prize has this year been awarded to The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka. If you would like more details on this “searing, mordantly funny satire set amid the murderous mayhem of a Sri Lanka beset by civil war”, click HERE to visit the Booker Prize site.

Kind regards,

Mrs Patrice Martin & Mrs Cathy Whalen - Library Managers

Vaping: How to Support my Child if they are Vaping
Although advertising and peers can heavily influence your teen’s decisions, the impact you have as a parent, carries enormous weight. Research has found that parental involvement and a positive outlook can make a significant difference in healthy decisionmaking, both now and in the future.

Take a Health Approach
If you discover that your teen is vaping, address it as you would any other risk to your child’s health. Try to resist the urge to lecture, yell or punish your child. It is important to keep the lines of communication open and show your child that you are concerned about their health and safety.

Although purchasing vapes containing nicotine without a prescription is illegal in Australia, many vapes labelled as nicotine-free do contain nicotine. Your child may need support to stop vaping as nicotine is very addictive. The more your child vapes, the more both the brain and body will get used to having nicotine, and the harder it is to go without it. When a person stops vaping, even for a short period, they can experience withdrawal, including strong cravings, irritability, fatigue, headache, sleeplessness and difficulty concentrating.

Conversation Starters
Make sure your child recognises how much you care about them and that the conversation is coming from a place of unconditional love, support and concern for their wellbeing. Use the conversation starters below to understand if your child may be continuing to vaping to avoid withdrawal symptoms.

• Do you continue to vape even though you want to stop or think it’s hurting you in some way?
• Do you feel anxious or irritable when you want to use your vape but can’t?
• Do thoughts about vaping interrupt you when you are focused on other activities?
• Do you vape at school? How often?
• Have you ever tried to stop vaping but couldn’t?
• Do you feel like you have lost control over your vaping?

Support to Quit Vaping

Mr Leon Robinson - Leader of Pastoral Care

leon.robinson@lism.catholic.edu.au  

0401 166 415

02 6562 7200

Stitch Club
The Textiles department would like to invite any students interested in joining Mrs Nolan and Miss Emily on Thursdays from Week 7 at lunch for Stitch Club.

Students can enjoy their lunch while learning to sew or mastering their Textiles skills! Coming into summer, we thought a bucket hat would be the perfect project. Why not make a one-of-a-kind hat ready for those hot days or to gift a friend for Christmas. Students can create using upcycled denim, calico or any scrap fabric they like.

The cost to participate will be $5-$10 per project depending on materials. Spaces are limited so be sure to sign up to secure your place. Keep your eye out for a google form in your emails.

Textiles donations wanted
We are sending a call out for any unwanted denim (jeans, jackets) for the students to use for their projects. Please drop them off to the textiles room. Thank you to all the recent donations of sheets and towels, these have already been extremely useful for the Year 9 projects. These students have been tie-dying the sheets and using them as a backing for their ‘under the sea’ themed cushions. If you have any unwanted sheets or towels that are destined for the bin please send them in and we will repurpose them. Nothing is in too bad a condition for us to take.

Sustainability in Textiles and Year 10 upcycle project
In Textiles, we have been diving deep into sustainability with all year groups. Finding new ways in which we can reduce our impact on the environment through recycling materials, reusing scraps and upcycling unwanted items.

In addition to creating the Stitch Club which will help students develop an appreciation for recycled fashion and textiles, the Year 10 students have also been creating an upcycled item as part of their Term 4 assessment task.

At the beginning of the Term, Year 10 Textiles were taken on an excursion to the Anglican Op Shop where they were tasked to find items which they could upcycle into something new. Over the last few weeks, we have seen these students turn recycled clothing items into a fashionable item of their choice.

Watch this space for more Textiles news every fortnight!

Last week, four keen Year 8 students attended Festa Christi, a student discipleship retreat facilitated by the Catholic Schools Office. Held at the Coffs Coast Adventure Centre in Bonville, this overnight experience gave our students, along with those from other secondary schools in the Diocese, a chance to share and explore their faith, whilst participating in some outdoor physical challenges. These challenges included the Giant Swing, Ladder Logs and Commando Course and it was awesome to see our students get involved in embracing these challenges, overcoming their own fears and encouraging others to overcome theirs and complete the challenges.

Fr Joy from St Augustine’s Parish in Coffs Harbour finished this retreat with a beautifully engaging Mass for all who partook in Festa Christi.

Here is what our students took away from their time at Festa Christi, in their own words:

⦁ “The biggest thing I took out of Festa Christi is to be more considerate to a stranger because you don’t know what they’ve been through”. – Maya.

⦁ “You have to understand and really feel what other people are feeling to put yourself in their shoes to understand how they feel”. – Ruby

⦁ “What I really enjoyed about Festa Christi is that I got new experiences, faced my fears, made new friends, and enjoyed fabulous activities and food. It was awesome”. – Patrick

⦁ “Making new friends and exploring my faith – friends, fun, faith”! - Eva

Congratulations to Ms Tess Meehan and her Year 10 geography students for winning the High School Category of the 2022 Green Innovation Awards which was held at Southern Cross University in Lismore. Their fun and practical innovation encouraged school students to recycle more by challenging them to shoot their waste through a hoop.....with great success! 

Last week 12 students from St Paul's College had the opportunity to be included in the filming of a commercial for the Panadol Care Collective. The commercial features St Paul’s Indigenous Education Worker and long standing community member, Aunty Sharon Kelly, who is a finalist for the Panadol Care Package Community Member Award. The students experienced firsthand what it takes to create a meaningful commercial, from meeting television presenter Ms Johanna Griggs, to the filming of staff and student interviews.

On 10 November, 29 St Paul's students from Year 8-10 attended an event in Maitland organised by the Power of Engineering (POE) which is a not for profit organisation established to connect Universities and Industry with school students who may be considering a career in an Engineering fiel

The event is unique in that it is fully funded by industry partners and is organised by the POE who coordinate the buses, venue, meals, graduate presenters, keynote speaker and industry site visits.

The keynote presentation was given by a Project Engineer who works for Besix Watpac, the firm responsible for massive projects including the world's tallest skyscraper the "Burj Khalifa" in Dubai, the Kangaroo Point Green Bridge across the Brisbane River and numerous other large infrastructures such as stadiums. She spoke about her career path, all of the amazing projects she has overseen over the last 27 years including the newly constructed Frederickton to Eungai Rail section of the Pacific Highway and 16 major bridge projects.

Following this the students were divided into 3 groups with students from Maitland Grossman High school and Warners Bay to undertake two STEM challenges. These included making and testing a bionic hand and devising a water filter for a particular budget depending on the country allocated, as a real world simulation of third world conditions. St Paul's students made the most successful bionic hand which was able to carry several objects over a set distance. These sessions were run by recent engineering graduates from the University of Newcastle and Queensland Institute of Technology.

After a short drive to the industry tour venue, students were lucky enough to spend an hour with a company called AMPcontrol which is an Australian firm that has grown significantly since its inception to now employ more than 1000 people, with 3 locations across Australia and a gross turnover in excess of $60 million. This firm employs a host of engineers and specialises in designing and constructing electronics to make underground mining safer, including gas testing, industrial earth leakage devices and a range of other projects including the development of an electric/diesel hybrid engine for boats. The students had to gear up in high Vis and safety glasses and along the tour were shown every major aspect of the business from manufacturing, logistics, electronics, software engineering to what subjects to focus on at school.

The students came away with real world exposure to what Engineering entails and the huge diversity of roles, large projects and the entry points and pathways through this field including trades, Tafe diplomas, degrees and an appreciation that this field is in huge demand offering rewarding career opportunities. The students were excellent ambassadors for St Paul's College and we thank their parents/carers for supporting their attendance.

During Week 5 and 6 the SRC have been running the inaugural St Paul's College PC Champions Challenge. Over the 2 weeks, the SRC have set up a range of challenges (including jokes, memes, art, dance, Rube Goldberg Machine, Master chef, music, obstacle course...) for students, both individually and as part of their PC, to show their talents, earn some House points and have fun as a PC.

Each valid entry to a challenge will earn House participation points, with first, second and third earning further points and prizes. Challenges have been grouped into categories - Easy, Intermediate & Hard with more points awarded to harder challenges and bonus points awarded for creativity and effort. At the end of the 2 weeks, a PC will be crowned Champion and receive a grand prize. All House points will be combined with points from the Feast Day 2023 to win the Community and Cultural Shield.

Save the Date for Christmas Carols!
Get in to the Christmas spirit as we join together for this year’s Kempsey Community Carols with the Kempsey District Silver Band. Bring your picnic baskets, rugs, chairs and dress in your most Christmas-y festive attire and join in the fun.

Friday 9 December 2022, at 6:30 pm.
The oval at St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Kempsey

Below is a range of video tutorials to assist parents/carers in familiarising with the features of Compass:

• Using the Compass School Manager App
• The Parent Portal Overview
• Adding a Note/Approval
• Processing Events
• Processing Events in the App

You may be aware of an increased number of positive cases of COVID-19 in the broader community.

Please be reminded that students and staff CANNOT attend school if they are showing any symptoms of COVID-19. These include fever, cough, sore throat, shortness of breath, runny nose, loss of smell/taste, muscle/joint pains, diarrhoea, nausea/vomiting, extreme tiredness, unexplained chest pain or conjunctivitis (eye infection).

It is no longer a requirement to self-isolate if you test positive for COVID-19, however, if your child is unwell, displaying any COVID-19 or cold and flu-like symptoms at any time, your child CANNOT attend school and should undertake a rapid antigen test.

If the rapid antigen test is positive and your child is unwell and/or experiencing any symptoms, your child CANNOT attend school.

If the rapid antigen test is positive and your child is not feeling unwell and not displaying or experiencing any symptoms, your child CAN attend school under the following conditions:

● the Office is informed of the positive test result, AND
● your child (over 12 years old) wears a mask for a period of 7 days in all indoor settings.

The best place for our students to learn is in the classroom but the safety and wellbeing of students and staff is our number one priority. We will continue to monitor the situation and advise when it is safe for all our students and staff to return to our classrooms. We appreciate your understanding and thank you for your ongoing support.