13 May 2022

Dear Friends of St Paul’s,

Welcome back to term two!

We hope that everyone has had an impressive easter and a restful break at the end of term one. (Given it is week two that seems a long time ago now!!) Term two brings a great deal of excitement at the College as, finally, we hope the COVID restrictions start to lift, and we can again celebrate all the wonderful things that happen at St Paul’s in a more formal and more relaxed way.

Parents and family members are allowed back on-site and while we will continue to maintain safety precautions such as masks and spreading people out, we hope to be able to share with the community on a much more personal level.

As a staff, we have not met all together in the one-room all year. This has been frustrating given we had over 25 new members of staff join us this year and to also not have a whole school assembly means we have not been able to all be together to formally welcome the additional 200+ students who joined our community in 2022.

Having said that the celebration of the Stations of the Cross that Mr Joe Hicks our new APRIM and the Catholic Identity team led on the last day of last term, in the courtyard was amazing and a tremendously inclusive celebration of the most significant event in our Catholic, Christian calendar – the death and resurrection of Jesus. The whole community was there in the open and everyone enjoyed and appreciated the power, solemnity, and celebration of the liturgy.

One example of just how important returning to more face-to-face is to our community occurred this week when, as a staff, we were able to go into the Chapel together for staff prayer. In speaking to a staff member who started at St Paul’s at the beginning of 2021, this was the first time he had experienced the beautiful staff prayer we share together every Friday morning, collectively in the chapel. It is so much better than the online versions!

Parent / student / teacher conversations’

By now most families would have engaged in our mid-semester learning conversations. Again, while these could not be held face-to-face the staff have reported back on how well they all went and how valuable they are in assisting the students in their learning, and in fact helping them reach their full potential. We often speak of the three-way partnership that exists at St Paul’s between parents, students, and staff. When this partnership is strong, and we are all “on the same page” there is no limit to the achievements that can be reached. The most important message to come out of these meetings is that we are all working and will continue to work, together, for the students in our care.

New Building

Another wonderful occasion occurred this Monday when we were finally able to start the usage of the new senior learning centre. While things are not fully completed, we are so delighted, and so are the senior students, to be able to use what is a quite remarkable facility. The college will have a formal opening later in the term or year and we look forward to sharing this beautiful environment with as many of you as we can, through parent meetings etc. It fills us with such an enthusiastic sense of pride to be able to have a state-of-the-art learning facility that is as good as what would be provided in any school. And, as a bonus, the view across the ovals to the Adelaide hills is as good a view as you could get in any school! St Paul’s gets to have and share such a facility because of the enormous amount of work that has been done by so many community members, over a long time. It is indeed a just reward for that diligence and great belief in the College.

God Bless, take care

Paul Belton

Dear Families,

Welcome back to Term 2! I sincerely hope the break was restful and that all families shared an enjoyable and peace-filled Easter.

We are aware that many families have been impacted by COVID over the break with family members being diagnosed as positive or needing to quarantine at home. We continue to be extremely grateful for the opportunity to work closely with families who are experiencing these challenges.  Thank you for continuing to follow SA Health guidelines and expectations and not sending your children to school if they are unwell.

I would like to take this opportunity to extend our congratulations to Mrs Rachel Delaney and her husband Matt, who have just announced that they are expecting their first child later in the year.  The children in Rachel’s class, 1/2D, are very excited and we all look forward to walking with Rachel and Matt on their baby journey and wish them every joy and blessing at this time! 

This week we held Part 1 of our Parent/Teacher Learning Conversations. Thank you to the families who have made time to speak with their child’s teacher. These Learning Conversations are a wonderful opportunity to celebrate learning and a chance for you to discuss the outcomes with your child and really congratulate them on their strengths and goals.

These rich conversations, using the evidence from teacher pre and post-tests, the student’s participation in differentiated and explicit teaching sessions, teacher observations and student achievement on a range of assessments conducted throughout the year, give teachers a clear and evidence-based snapshot of where your child sits on the learning continuum. Learning Conversations are just one way to share your child’s learning, to report to you about their progress and to set future goals for each student, in partnership with you, the parent/carer, your child and their teacher. 

If you have not yet made a time to speak with the classroom teacher, you can still book a meeting time for Part 2 next Tuesday 17 May. 

Together We Grow!

Take care and have a great fortnight.

Marianne Loftus

Head of Primary Years

Child Protection and Safeguarding

Dear Families,

As a College, we recognise that every child has the right to be safe and free from all kinds of abuse, including bullying and harassment, and neglect.

The South Australian Commission for Catholic Schools (SACCS) requires schools to implement child safety policies and practices, including child safety education. This is supported by The Catholic Archdiocese of Adelaide, which values the dignity of all God’s children and takes seriously our role in safeguarding their wellbeing and protection both within the Church environment and communities in which they are raised.

St Paul’s College has focused on The Keeping Safe: Child Protection Curriculum for many years now. The curriculum is centred on respectful relationships and child safety for children and young people. We use the Keeping Safe curriculum in conjunction with other programs taught in Pastoral Care lessons to teach students to:

• recognise abuse and tell a trusted adult about it
• understand what appropriate and inappropriate touching is
• understand ways of keeping themselves safe.

Learning about respectful relationships is at the foundation of the KS: CPC for children and young people from early to secondary years.

As a college, we have a legal responsibility to protect children and young people from abuse in their own settings and broader communities. At St Paul’s College, we believe that children and young people have a right to:

• be treated with respect and to be protected from harm
• be asked for their opinions about things that affect their lives and to be listened to
• feel and be safe in their interactions with adults and other children and young people
• understand as early as possible what is meant by 'feeling and being safe'.

The curriculum focuses on two themes

• we all have the right to be safe
• we can help ourselves to be safe by talking to people we trust.

The two themes are explored through 4 focus areas:

• the right to be safe
• relationships
• recognising and reporting abuse
• protective strategies.

The focus areas are targeted to the age of the learners and a strengthened by the protective practices of our staff. The Protectives Practices provide clear advice to staff about building positive, caring and respectful relationships with children and young people in education and care settings. As a college, we take safeguarding children and young people seriously by helping staff to understand appropriate boundaries in relation to their professional role and all interactions with children and young people.

St Paul's College offers a counselling service for all students to access. Students who may wish to speak to someone about personal or learning challenges and seek advice to move forward are invited to speak with our trained counsellors, Lucy May and Alice Ward.

Our counsellors can provide support on issues related to grief and loss, families, and relationships to help students manage situations. Information is treated sensitively and with respect. Where information may need to be shared with parents and staff, it will be done in confidence. Parents are welcome to access the counselling service to discuss concerns relating to their child.

Appointments may be made by contacting the Home Group teacher, Mr Nick Callary or Mr Jake Stewart. Here are some other telephone and online mental health support services:

• Kids Helpline – 1800 551 800
• Beyondblue – 1300 224 636
• Headspace – 1800 650 890

For mental health concerns, including if you are thinking about self-harm or suicide, please call:

• Lifeline – 13 11 14

For concerns that relate to family violence, please contact:

• Domestic Violence Helpline – 1800 800 098

For child protection concerns (that relate to abuse, neglect, or family violence), please contact:

• Child Abuse Report Line – 13 14 78

Regards,

Nick Callary and Jake Stewart – Heads of Wellbeing

Excitement is building for our 2022 College Musical - All Shook Up which will be held Term 3, week 4.

Tickets will be available from College Reception closer to the performances.

Click to view flyer

Catholic Education Week is being celebrated in Catholic schools throughout South Australia from 9 – 15 May 2021.

This week is an opportunity to thank the people that make our schools special and work hard Raising Hearts and Minds every day.

Join us on social media this week in sharing a ‘thank you’ post to our staff and teachers using the hashtag #LoveMyCatholicSchool.

Introduction to Construction Trade Program

Click to view flyer

http://Link to register: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/supporting-your-childs-journey-to-university-tickets-302329033277

In this webinar Uni SA will be answering questions frequently asked by parents, such as:

1. How can I support my child if they are undecided about what they want to do?
2. What is university like compared to high school?
3. How does my child get into university?
4. What if my child isn’t offered a place?
5. What resources are available?

AIE's Industry Experience Day on Fri 15 July 2022 is a great opportunity for students in Years 10, 11 and 12 to learn about the local and international game development, 3D animation and visual effects industries. Students will get the opportunity to learn about the different pathways to get into the industry, what should be in a portfolio and will be able to get creative in practical workshops using industry-standard 3D animation and game development tools.

The sessions are run by industry professionals who have worked on some blockbuster games and films. Everything is provided for you to participate in the hands-on workshops, and you will be using the same software that is used in the industry.

If you are thinking about a career in the games or film industry, then we highly recommend registering for this free event. We are limiting numbers for this event due to physical distancing requirements, with Year 12 students having priority to register.

https://aie.edu.au/articles/mid-year-intake-fast-track-your-future/