News & Events

Dear Families and friends of St Paul’s,

Week 8 of the term has been a significant mixture of events and celebrations at St Paul’s. Then again, as you all know, that is very much what it is like every week!

You would have all heard, seen, or read about Harmony Week in the news. This is a wonderful opportunity for the whole of society to celebrate Australia’s great diversity of cultures and to acknowledge the positive impact each and everyone has had on who our country has become.

St Paul’s College has, at its heart and one of our core values, Diversity, and Edmund Rice education have Inclusive Community as one of its Touchstones. This means we live harmony week and harmony day regularly, hopefully, every week and day. What this week does allow us to do however is to more formally celebrate the beautiful diversity that exists within our community. These celebrations are many and varied and certainly very well accepted by both students and staff alike.

This week also contained the International Day of Happiness and on Tuesday World Down Syndrome Day. Our primary years in particular were keen to raise awareness of Down Syndrome, so everyone was invited to wear their most eye-catching socks. They were mismatched socks and peoples’ craziest and most colourful socks, but ‘Lots of Socks’ is a celebration that makes all of us different, and yet the same! 

NAPLAN Week

The very much talked about, discussed, debated and argued about NAPLAN tests were conducted this week. We acknowledge several things in this regard. Firstly, we acknowledge that any form of test or exam can bring with it some forms of anxiety for students, and even parents and staff! Secondly, we believe as a college that these tests are exactly that, just a test, just one measure of what any of our students are capable of. We know that these tests are not the be-all and end-all of all achievements and measurements. We look at them as providing us with some information that can assist us in helping students by knowing which areas require additional support. 

Given there are over 40 different languages spoken in our family homes we know that English is not the first, not second or third in some cases, language our families know and understand so we use this data to make sure we provide the very best support we can. Thirdly, however, we do expect that the students, with the support of families, take the tests seriously, give their best and allow other students to do the same. We all need to continually try to be the very best we can be, our most excellent selves and NAPLAN is another opportunity for that to be put into practice.

RAMADAN

Adding to our diversity and harmony-focused activities this week, we would also like to acknowledge the beginning of RAMADAN for our Muslim families. Like LENT for all Catholics RAMADAN is enormously important to them as a time of prayer and fasting. We offer our support and join with them in prayer throughout this time. I know Mr. Hicks is working with some of our senior Muslim students to make they have some time, space and opportunity to practice the prayerful components of their faith.

Take Care and God Bless
Mr Paul Belton