Term 3 Week 2 - 2 August 2024

Welcome to Term 3 - I hope students, their families and friends took time to relax and recharge in preparation for what will be a very busy semester. I thank our community for providing staff with a Professional Development day last Monday. We took considerable time programming to accommodate the new curriculum, fine tuning our use of Compass and communicating aligned practices for emergency evacuations. 

On Thursday last week we celebrated NAIDOC week with a morning assembly followed by a series of activities that fully engaged our students. I thank all staff involved in coordinating this experience and to the many community organisations who took time to attend. It was a great way to honour the contribution First Nation people make to our community. 

Last week we also took part in our College Athletics Carnival. As usual it was a well coordinated and run event. Attendance and participation was high, unfortunately the weather was not ideal and we were required to end the carnival early. It is expected that the events missed will be arranged to take place across the next few weeks. I thank our students and staff who managed the conditions and postponement of events exceptionally well. I particularly acknowledge our administration staff who managed the early collection of students across this day incredibly professionally. 

I remind our community that a number of important academic items will be taking place across this Term. We have our Year 12 Trial HSC examinations, end of Preliminary HSC examinations along with Subject Selection processes for Year 11, 2025 and elective choices for Year 9, 2025. Lots of preparation, study and considered thought for our students and I thank the staff who continue to prepare our College community well for these upcoming experiences. 

It is wonderful to see the success of many of our students within the College. I note Year 10 student, Keeley Smith's performance at the School Sport Australia Swimming Championships held at the Gold Coast Aquatic Centre where she made the finals in all four of her events, finishing 3rd in the 100m butterfly, 4th in 50m butterfly, and 5th in both the 50m and 100m breaststroke - lots of Personal Bests within these results. Well done Keeley!

I also note Year 12 student, Ava Ryan, who was brought in as a late selection for the NSW All Schools Cricket team to compete against Queensland schools in Mackay. Unfortunately this opportunity coincided with the HSC Trial Examinations and she was unable to take part. Well done Ava for being asked to play in this representative team!

Finally I would like to provide an update on the building of the new hall. At this stage we are anticipating completion towards the end of this Term. This has been a significant project for the College and I thank DLCS (Catholic School Office, Lismore) and especially O'Donnell & Hanlon for their committed work within this space. I also thank O'Donnell & Hanlon who are working with the school in a potential refurbishment of the College toilets. We need to consider the design of our toilets to make them more aesthetically pleasing for our students and it is hoped that this will be progressed over the next few months. 

Wishing you all a nice weekend. 

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

The Australian Government Department of Education would like to advise all staff, parents and guardians that it will collect certain information about our school, its staff and student body as part of the 2024 Non-government schools census collection.

Please refer to the below link.

2024_Census_privacy_collection_notice.pdf

During Term 3 on Monday 2 September, Mr Geoff Melville, will be involved in an Assistant Principal appraisal process as part of his contract conditions with the Catholic Schools Office.

The appraisal process seeks information from a variety of people associated with the school. The process aims to highlight the positive aspects of the Assistant Principal’s performance and identify areas for further development.

A timeline will be constructed to suit the needs of the school community. A panel consisting of the College's Principal as Chair and a Regional Service Leader from the Catholic Schools Office will conduct the appraisal.

The full Assistant Principal appraisal process involves:

• a survey and self-appraisal statement completed by the Assistant Principal
• surveys of the College's staff, Catholic Schools Office personnel
• input by the Principal
• input as arranged with the Parish Priest
• interviews with College staff
• interviews with parents/carers who wish to present
• a formal interview with the Assistant Principal by the panel
• Any parents/carers who wish to make contact with the panel are welcome to do so by contacting the Principal before the appraisal date. Not all those that wish to be interviewed may be accommodated.

Thank you for your support of the College’s leadership team.

Subject Selection - Year 10
Thank you to all students and families who have participated in the subject selection process with the College leadership team. We acknowledge the time you have invested coming to the subject selection evening and meeting at the school. This investment will go a long way towards ensuring that your children are on the right pathway and in the right courses. A very sincere thanks to you all!

Parent Teacher Interviews - Year 7-12
Please book in for the Parent Teacher interviews for Year 7-12 which will be held at the College in the Edmund Rice Centre on Wednesday 7 August from 4pm to 6.30pm. This is a great time to meet with the teachers and set goals for Semester 2.

Bookings are now accessible through the parent Compass dashboard.

If you have any questions or issues booking, please contact Mrs Amy Tovey - Leader of Curriculum, amy.tovey@lism.catholic.edu.au

Year 12 - Trial HSC exams
The HSC trial exam period is 19 - 30 August. This is an incredibly important assessment block for the students as it prepares them for the reality of the HSC exams. Please ensure that Year 12 students are working with their teachers in the lead up to this period and seeking help from the Pastoral Care team if they need it. Atomi is an excellent resource for these students at this time. Year 12 Trial Exam Timetable

Year 11 Preliminary Exam Period
The Year 11 classes are working towards their preliminary exams in Week 9. This culminates the course for these students before they move into their HSC year which starts in Term 4. Encourage Year 11 students to work with their teachers for revision tasks during this period. Atomi is an excellent resource for these students at this time.

Attendance at school during the above two exam periods is mandatory. We do understand that there is a lot of sickness around at the moment. Students must follow the guidelines on the notification if they are unwell on the day of or the day before a task. This is incredibly important as it follows the necessary guidance from NESA in preparation for their HSC.

Please reach out if you have any questions about the learning for your students.

Ms Kate Fullbrook - Assistant Principal - Learning and Teaching
kate.fullbrook@lism.catholic.edu.au

The NSW Education Standards Authority, in partnership with The Sydney Morning Herald, has released the 2024 HSC Study Guide, which is packed with everything students need to reach their HSC exam goals.

Students can find tips to help their study routine, access the HSC quiz and read advice from past students and markers.

The guide also includes advice from mental health and wellbeing experts at ReachOut on how to support students, as well as tailored tips for parents and families on how to support their children in the lead-up to exams.

This year’s HSC Study Guide busts some of the common misconceptions about the HSC, including how marks are calculated, the disability provisions program, and illness misadventures. It also provides specific information regarding vocational education and training (VET) courses as part of the HSC and advice on finding the right course that fits different career goals.

To access the study guide click here.

NAIDOC celebrations at St Paul’s
The St Paul’s community embraced a wonderful NAIDOC celebration during the first week of Term 3. The College met together for a beautiful ceremony supporting many aspects of the Dunghutti culture within the Macleay Valley, which included an outline of the meaning of NAIDOC and the 2024 National NAIDOC theme - Keep the fire burning! Blak, Loud and Proud. The fire represents the enduring strength and vitality of Indigenous cultures, passed down through generations despite the challenges faced. The Blak, Loud and Proud encapsulates the unapologetic celebration of Indigenous identity standing proud in heritage and asserting a place in the modern world.

St Paul’s were privileged to be Welcomed to Country by Aunty Vicky Taylor and then listened to Aunty Vicky’s address where she spoke about her beautiful culture and the importance of NAIDOC in modern Australia. The ceremony continued with the Reconciliation prayer, the presentation of the Australian, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags then concluding with a beautiful prayer for Aboriginal people.

NAIDOC celebrations continued throughout the day with a range of Indigenous activities including: Indigenous Sports, Aboriginal Art painting on tiles and leaves, creating magnetic animal art, wellbeing drumming, Aboriginal cooking, Dunghutti Trivia and a First Nations survival video narrated by the Uncles from Kinchela Boys Home. These activities showcased the beauty and meaning of many aspects of the Dunghutti culture which is greatly respected and supported by our St Paul’s community.

Many thanks to our Aborginal leadership team of Mrs Linda Pogson, Mr Dre Barker and Mr Adam Clay, to Aunty Vicky Wilson for her inspiring words and to Headspace Kempsey, Burran Dalai Aboriginal Corporation, Dhina Durriti Aboriginal Corporation and our wonderful St Paul's staff, Mr Scotty Edwards, Mrs Tess Meehan, Ms Helen Bush and Ms Laura Von Holdt for their stirling efforts.

Teachers may run their own teacher-led detentions for minor behavioural incidents. These will be recorded in Compass. Any further incidents during a semester will result in further disciplinary measures as detailed below. 

Lunch detentions

• If during a semester a student incurs a second behaviour incident record on Compass this will automatically trigger a lunch detention supervised by Leaders of Learning and/or Pastoral Care Coordinators.
• Parents/carers will be informed via email that their child is to serve a lunch detention.
• Detentions are held during lunchtime from 1.55pm - 2.20pm. Students are required to complete a reflection sheet during the lunch detention.
• As a disciplinary action, a lunch detention takes precedence over all other activities.
• Students who are absent from school without acceptable explanation from their parent/carer on the day of their lunch detention will be issued a penalty afternoon detention. If a student is absent from school with an acceptable explanation from parent/carer on the day of their lunch detention will serve the lunch detention at a rescheduled date.

• If during a semester a student incurs a third behaviour incident record on Compass this will automatically trigger an afternoon detention as a consequence.
• At the discretion of the College certain major behaviour incidents will incur an afternoon detention.
• Parents/carers will be informed via email that their child is to serve an afternoon detention.
• A student who has an afternoon detention is expected to be present on the designated Wednesday afternoon from 3.30pm to 4.30pm.
• Detentions are conducted in the library and are supervised by a member of the teaching staff.
• As a disciplinary action, an afternoon detention takes precedence over all other activities.
• Students who fail to attend a designated afternoon detention will be placed on the next available afternoon detention.
• If the date of an afternoon detention presents difficulties for a family to accommodate parents/carers are required to contact the College to reschedule within the dates offered by the College.
• While an afternoon detention remains unserved the student will not be permitted to engage in any College activities outside of the mandatory requirements of their subjects.
• Parents/carers must collect students promptly at the conclusion of detention from the main Sea Street gate.

• If during a semester a student incurs four (4) or more behaviour incident records on Compass this will automatically trigger a suspension as a consequence. The fourth and each subsequent behaviour incident record in a semester will trigger a suspension until ten (10) incidents have occurred, at this point the student will serve the suspension for the tenth incident and their ‘tally’ of incidents will be reset.
• Fighting or breaking the ‘hands-off’ rule in a serious manner.
• The possession of illicit substances including but not limited to tobacco, vapes, drugs and alcohol at school, consumption and/or supply of illicit substances at, or prior to, school or any school function.
• Swearing at or verbally abusing a staff member (external suspension for a minimum of one day). Students with disabilities will be sanctioned in accordance with advice regarding their diagnosis.

• Failure to follow instructions
• Disrespectful behaviour
• Breaches of the uniform and presentation policy
• Theft
• Bad language
• Truancy from class/school
• Vandalism
• Disruptive behaviour in class
• Repeat offence
• Breaking the hands-off rule
• Misuse of technology
• Inappropriate conduct during an examination
• Bystander to major incidents 

Under 14 Boys Rugby 7's State Tournament 
It was a great pleasure to be associated with 21 fantastic players and two great Year 11 coaches as the Under 14 boys took part in the Mid North Coast Rugby 7's State Tournament.

There is great interest in rugby at St Paul’s in Years 7 and 8 which was signified by our school entering two strong sides. At the end of the tournament the St Paul’s Blue side won all their preliminary matches and narrowly lost the final to MacKillop College who presented a significant size difference, however the tenacious tackling and skill from St Paul’s was awesome.

The St Paul’s White side also played very well with two wins and two losses, it is important to note that 14 of the 21 players are in Year 7 playing usually heavier opponents. Another highlight of the day was the wonderful opportunity for the boys to meet and be trained by current NSW Waratah and ex St Paul’s student Tristan Reilly. Tristan is a very proud Macleay Valley man and was wonderful with our students. Next year the Waratahs are blessed with two outstanding St Paul’s ex students contracted to them - Tristan Reilly and current Wallaby, Darby Lancaster.

Congratulations to the following players for their skills and sportsmanship:

• Addison Norton
• Archer McMurray
• Ashton Swaine
• Benjamin Hiscock
• Caylum Appleyard
• Charlie Fuller
• Cooper Anderson
• Cruze Schubert
• Darcy Gordon
• Ethan Layton
• Hamish Davies
• Harrison Moffitt
• Jacob Williams
• Jordy Kirkman Dates
• Kieran Walsh
• Lucas Chow
• Oliver Haydon
• Thomas Prior
• Will Kane
• Xavier Whitley-Berrigan
• Zeph Hough

Mr Geoffrey Melville - Coach

NSW All Schools Cross Country Championships
Congratulations to Amelia Wilson and Wilton Townsend who both placed 6th at the NSW All Schools Cross Country Championships in Sydney last week. We wish you both the best of luck for the National level of competition!

The importance of Learning Intentions for improving student engagement
Often as teachers, we hear from our students “Why are we learning this?” or “I don’t get the point of this lesson Miss/Sir”. As teachers who are often very passionate about our subject areas and determined to pass this on to our students, unfortunately, such questions can be very troubling and difficult to hear.

However, on reflection, many of the outcomes provided in our respective syllabi are confusing and unrelatable unless we unpack them with and explain their importance to our students. For example, why do we need to learn about Pythagoras’ theorem in Maths or about conduction, convection and radiation in Science? Unless we give them the context for these concepts based in the real world, there is a good chance the students will continue to ask those questions that we don’t want to hear. This is where good learning intentions come into play. Providing our students with clear learning intentions assists them to know what they are learning about and to understand why we are teaching them about certain concepts.

At St Paul’s, our aim is to have clear and relevant learning intentions written into our programs and articulated in our classrooms to increase the relevance of the learning for our students. Ensuring that the learning intentions are written to inform the students about what they are learning and why they are learning it will improve student engagement with the concepts taught. For example;

• "We are learning to apply Pythagoras’ theorem so that we can find the distance between two points in real-life situations, such as determining the shortest path in a park or measuring the height of a ladder needed to reach a certain height."
• "We are learning to describe the transfer of heat energy by conduction, convection, and radiation so that we can understand how heat moves in everyday situations, such as cooking food, heating a room, and feeling the warmth of the sun."

Perhaps when your child comes home from school, you could have a conversation with them about what they are learning in class and determine if they can tell you why they are learning about those particular concepts.

Ms Maria Littlejohn - Leader of Pedagogy
maria.littlejohn@lism.catholic.edu.au

Tapping into Council Trainee and Apprenticeships
Kempsey Shire Council visited St Paul's College at the start of Term 3 to share information to a group of Year 11 and 12 students about upcoming traineeships in the following:

• Mechanical Fitter Apprentice Role
• Apprentice Electrical and Instrumentation Technician
• Trainee Water Operations

Students were taken through the requirements for these roles and the application recruitment process. We thank Kempsey Shire Council and look forward to preparing our applicants for these roles.

White Card Training
Holding a White Card is a prerequisite for the Council Traineeships mentioned above. St Paul's students undertook this vital industry training at the end of Term 2. Pictured below are Year 10-12 students who are now ready to enter a construction site for their future career. Congratulations to all students for your interaction within this training program.

At St Paul's College, we use a variety of digital technologies to promote engagement and creativity across all learning areas. The Parent Release of Information Consent and Student Digital Technology User Agreement 2024 (link here) provides our families and students with the processes in place to build responsible digital citizens and also helps create an understanding of expectations when using digital technology throughout the school year. It is mandatory for every student at a Diocese of Lismore Catholic School and their parent/carer to complete the form.

This is a reminder that if you have not reviewed and signed this document with your child, then please do so as soon as possible. If you have already done this, you need not take further action.

Please take the time to read through the Parent Release of Information Consent and Student Digital Technology User Agreement 2024 (link here) with your child. If you have more than one child at St Paul's, you are required to complete the form with each of your children.

Please contact Douglas Gately (douglas.gately@lism.catholic.edu.au) via email if you require any further information.

Thank you for your continued support of your child and promoting the responsible use of Digital Technology use at St Paul's College Kempsey.


Mr Douglas Gately - Acting Leader of Technology

NSW Health will be conducting the NSW Schools Vaccination Program catch up clinic on Thursday 24 October for Year 7 and Year 10 students.

Online consent for school vaccinations
If your child is in Year 7 or Year 10 this year and have not received their routine school vaccinations, you can provide online consent for them to receive their vaccinations at the catch up clinic.

⦁ Year 7 students are offered free vaccines for diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (dTpa) and human papillomavirus (HPV).
⦁ Year 10 students are offered a free vaccine for meningococcal ACWY.

Please note - Year 8 and Year 11 students who have an online consent/signed consent form from 2023, will be offered catch up vaccinations in 2024.

If parents/guardians consent online they will receive a reminder text 3 days prior to the clinic date.

Vaccination will only be provided at school if consent has been received.

Catch Up Clinic for 2024 Vaccination Program:

• Term 4 - Thursday 24 October

To provide consent for vaccination online, parents/carers will need to:

• Visit the online consent portal here.
• Follow the steps to log in to your existing Service NSW account. This is the same account you may already use to renew your driver's licence. If you don't have a Service NSW account, refer to Service NSW to create one.
• Enter Medicare details for yourself and your child and provide consent.
• If you consent online, you will receive a reminder text 3 days prior to the clinic date.
• Read a step-by-step guide on how to provide consent online. Translated guides are available online.
• If you or your child do not have a Medicare card or you cannot provide consent online, please email the College Office kmps@lism.catholic.edu.au to request a paper consent form to be sent home.

The benefits of providing consent online:

⦁ easily update your child's details.
⦁ receive SMS and/or email notifications when vaccinations are given.
⦁ faster upload of vaccination records to the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR).

For more information on routine school vaccinations, please visit www.health.nsw.gov.au/schoolvaccination. If you have any questions regarding your child's school vaccinations, please contact the NSW Public Health Unit on 1300 066 055.

St Paul’s Year 12 Biology students traveled to Fiji at the end of Term 2 to learn about and participate in coral conservation efforts, coastal erosion management, propagation and planting of local crops, turtle rehabilitation and, of course, immersion into the Fijian Culture. An amazing experience for our senior students.

A huge thank you to Mrs Amy Tovey and Mr Andrew Fouracre for their organisation of the trip and care of our students.

Congratulations to St Paul's Year 8 student, Shianne McKee, for achieving fantastic results including Junior Champion at the Taree - Wingham Poultry Club Show over the holidays.

The St Paul's College 2021-2023 Yearbook is now available to order! Please contact the College Office on 6562 7200 to order and pay for your copy before Friday 16 August.

Each copy is $10 and multiple copies may be purchased. We anticipate that copies will be ready for collection from the College by the end of Term 3 (please note that we are unable to offer postage).

All parents/carers and friends of the College are warmly invited to attend the P & F meeting on Monday 12 August in the staff lunchroom at 5:30pm.

The Year 12 group photo will be taken on Wednesday 14 August. All Year 12 students are required to wear full academic uniform including ties and meet the presentation expectations of the College.

Please refer to the College Uniform and Presentation Policy for information regarding uniform expectations.

All parents/carers, family and friends are warmly invited to St Paul's HSC Creative Arts Showcase on Thursday 29 August at 5:30pm in the Edmund Rice Centre. No RSVP required.

Wednesday 13 November 2024
Please save the date if you have applied for a position at the College for Year 7 2025. This is a compulsory day for students who accept an offer of a position at St Paul's for Year 7 2025.

Alumni Stories
Our alumni spotlight is focused on Daniel Hudson, currently working in Brisbane as an Architect and Director of Jackson Teece. Daniel graduated from St Paul's in 1994 and gives this advice to students, "Find your passion, something that you enjoy and then find a career that aligns with that. Be honest with yourself, but never underestimate what you can ultimately achieve. Every ladder can be climbed, it might take you longer or you might take a different path to the top but with effort and determination it's achievable."

Thank you for sharing your story with us!

 
Calling All Past Students
St Paul's College history spans close on 60 years and is blessed with exceptionally talented students. If you are a former student, we would love to hear about your post-school journey! We are looking for authentic, real life stories from ALL career paths to share with our students. You do not need to be a Prime Minister or an Olympian to inspire our students!

Our ex-students can be business owners, tradespeople, sportspeople, self-employed, entrepreneurs, professionals and more. All stories encourage our students to see what life can offer after high school.

If you are a past student of St Paul's College or know someone who is, please fill in this short questionnaire or share this link. We would love to hear your post-school story!

Managing the BULL
A six week group program for teens to gain skills and resilience against bullying. For more information about this program, please follow this link or download the PDF flyer below.

If you or someone you know are experiencing any issues that are causing distress, please contact the services below for further support options.

Family Connect Service
The Family Connect services at St Paul's offers support with ANY issues your children or family unit may be experiencing. The service assists to link families to the appropriate specialist services all while providing a confidential and safe space to work with you and advocate for your needs.

St Paul's Family Connect and Support Worker, Ashleigh Howe, works at the College on Mondays and Fridays. Ashleigh has a professional background in the Family Support, Specialist Domestic and Family Violence and Mental Health spaces, and has worked and supported the Macleay Valley community for over 10 years.

If you would like to talk or need advice or support, please contact Ashleigh via email ashleigh.howe@socialfutures.org.au or text/call her on 0448 526 777.

Online Hate
In today's digital era, guiding children and young people through the online landscape is imperative for parents. It's crucial to assist them in evaluating and reflecting critically on the content they come across online, as well as to emphasise the significance of their own online interactions and their potential effects on others.

Online hate encompasses any derogatory content targeting individuals or groups due to their race, religion, ethnicity, disability, or gender. Talk to your young person about online hate rather than waiting for an incident to occur. Initiate conversations about respectful online behaviour regularly, and use real-life examples or news stories to illustrate the impact of online hate.

Tips for parents from Internet Matters:

• Model and encourage your young person to treat others as they want to be treated.
• Advise your young person not to spread hateful or threatening content online but to report it.
• Encourage your young person to have an open attitude and honest curiosity about other people because some instances of hate speech are based on ignorance or false information.
• Be attentive to terms that might creep into your young person's vocabulary. Sometimes they use harmful terms without realising.
• Expect that they will respect other online users and to think before making a comment, sharing an image or sending a message.

By engaging in open and honest conversations with your young person about online hate, you can help empower them to navigate the digital world safely and responsibly while promoting kindness and respect online.

Read more at eSafety about Online hate.

If you have any concerns about your young person please contact the College. It is important for St Paul's to know about any wellbeing issues that may impact on learning and behaviour at school.

Understanding how to support your child with online gaming
Suitable for parents and carers of children and young people in primary and early secondary school.

• Tuesday, 3 September, 12.30pm
• Register here

An introduction to online safety and emerging technologies
Suitable for parents and carers of children and parents in primary and secondary school.

• Thursday, 5 September, 12.30pm
• Register here