News & Events

St Paul’s College is proud to launch our inaugural Indigenous round cocurricular uniforms. These unique guernseys, designed by our First Nations students, will be proudly worn over the next two rounds in AFL, Soccer, Basketball, and Netball.

Our First Nations students have been dedicated to developing these designs throughout the past semester. Students from both Primary and Secondary schools gathered to explore examples of guernseys and Aboriginal Art symbols, which were sourced by Brandon Jackson-Martin, our First Nations Education Support Officer. They carefully selected symbols that resonated with their personal experiences and the spirit of the College, incorporating these elements into their designs.

The resulting artwork tells the story:

“Our community sits under the stars that shine over Kaurna land. As a tight-knit community, we bond together at the meeting place. Each of us is unique, bringing our own shining light, having come a long way to be here. The river represents Dry Creek, with each student represented by their own unique symbol, showcasing their belonging and connection to the St Paul’s community.”

This incredible design, which truly reflects the voices of our students, would not have been possible without the contributions of Nick Gillard, Brandon Jackson-Martin, Claudia Lamberto, Alexandra Harrison, Stephanie Singh, the St Paul’s RAP committee, and, of course, our talented students.

“This initiative displays our commitment to promoting reconciliation at St Paul’s College, fostering a deeper understanding and respect for First Nations cultures among our entire school community,” said Campbell Burton, First Nations Key Teacher. “I look forward to seeing the guernseys being worn with pride during future co-curricular rounds.”

Families and School – on the same journey for success

A highlight of the past fortnight has been Learning Conversations that involved families and young people discussing learning, school experience and wellbeing.

While perhaps obvious, wherever families positively engage school community and staff, their child(ren) is more likely to experience connection to the school community, trust and relationship with teachers, and success (whatever that looks like for each student). For this reason, St Paul’s College expresses heartfelt thanks to families who booked and attended Learning Conversations to begin Term 2.

As a staff of St Paul’s College, we pride ourselves on proactive communication with families, especially wherever there have been successes or challenges. Of course, these conversations are centered on the child and student, meaning they are deeply important and often emotional conversations.

As we all know and appreciate, healthy conversations remain respectful and focused on the care that family and school have for the young person. There are opportunities to respectfully raise concerns and it is important that families and staff can talk freely with one another; however, the college continues to seek the trust and confidence of families that we always act in the best interest of all young people.

Above all, St Paul’s continues to prioritise partnership with families and seeks families to continue trusting that all decisions are made in the best interest of you and your child(ren).

Catholic School Parents Australia (CSPA) offer an array of information and resources for families around supporting their young people and the school, noting that families can and must support both parties, not one or the other.

As one body of work completed by CSPA, you may also find interest in the information at Gearing Up for Parent Engagement in Student Learning. Here, you can find resources for connecting with schools and teachers, as well as young people, as they navigate Primary or Secondary education.

From the perspective of St Paul’s College, there are some crucial point we encourage for all families:

Do not hesitate to communicate: sometimes a ‘wait and see’ approach to your child’s concern may seem appropriate – it isn’t! Please communicate early so that any concerns do not compound.
Phone and in-person is most effective: while it is sometimes appropriate to use email or SEQTA, emotion can often be confused in these modes of communication, making phone calls and in-person conversations most effective.
School staff are asked to communicate proactively and often: A college directive to staff is for them to communicate with families often, especially where there are challenges or concerns. Understanding that families are busy, we commit to this communication.
Staff don’t make things up: great work and effort goes into supporting students through moments of challenge, perhaps poor decisions, and moments of success. Like anybody, we make mistakes; however, we do ask for implicit trust from families in the first instance, whereby staff and families are the adults best equipped to support young people through challenge.

Thanks again for the ongoing connection of families with our college and its staff; may this continue as we strive to support our young people.

Celebrating Blessed Edmund Ignatius Rice

Well underway for Term 2, we acknowledge the recent Feast Day of Blessed Edmund Rice that is celebrated globally each year on 5 May. At St Paul’s College, we paused usual learning schedules last Friday 3 May to celebrate the founder of the Christian Brothers who established St Paul’s College 65 years ago.

With thanks to many staff who organised the day of celebration, especially our Catholic Identity Team, students were able to focus on our exceptional school community and recall their place as part of a national and indeed international community.

Knowing that Blessed Edmund Rice was grounded in service, his Feast Day is a welcome opportunity for all of us to recall our purpose. Serving others is both selfless and life-giving, and we hope for countercultural young people and graduates who know their innate value and its worth to others. Amidst a world where selfishness and personal outcomes are measures of success, we use the historical account of Blessed Edmund Rice to challenge self-fulfillment by way of contributing to something greater than ourselves: community.

Reviewing Practice for Continuous Improvement

As previously communicated, St Paul’s College is currently undertaking a review of its Middle Years Program in Years 7-9, which currently hosts structures driven by integrating subjects and a focus on Project-Based-Learning. This approach to Middle Years has been an exceptional aspect of student-experience since its advent in 2019, when Year 7 moved from Primary Years to Secondary.

Like all components of our college, a commitment to continually improve requires review processes to ensure that practices are delivering the most meaningful experiences for students and the highest outcomes possible. St Paul’s constantly strives for our young people and given that the college has now delivered a cycle of students (our current year 12 cohort were the first group of Year 7 students to undertake the Middle Years Program in 2019), noting that the educational landscape is ever-changing, and recognising that students have changed in profile and grown in number since 2019, provide motivation to review our unique approach to middle years education.

In coming weeks, students and families and staff alike, will be asked to provide feedback as part of the Middle Years Review. This input is crucial and so families are urged to complete the 5 minute survey when it is provided. For our community’s knowledge and transparence, the review seeks to identify what is best for our students, as related to the following measures:

• Student experience
• Orientation to Secondary (high school)
• Student learning outcomes
• Student wellbeing outcomes
• Readiness for success in Senior Years
• ERICA (the college’s Learning Principles: Engaging, Relevant, Innovative, Creative, Authentic) and the college’s strategic directions
• Developments in education (landscape) and external contexts (EREA, CESA, Government Bodies, Research)
• Teacher administration (teacher efficacy, workload, capability, effectiveness, documentation)
• Meeting the requirements of the Australian Curriculum

Please keep your eyes-peeled for the parent survey, with thanks in advance for contributing to this important component of the review process.

*Photo - Mr Foulis recognising Walter Chatindiara on 10 years of service

Mr Paul Belton, Principal is proud to announce St Paul's College is an official partner of the Adelaide 36ers and is an official High Performance Academy school.

“Basketball is an extremely popular sport at St Paul’s College.  Through access to the 36ers club’s resources and knowledge throughout the year, this partnership will deliver outstanding opportunities to our students to develop in the sport.” Mr Belton said

The College will benefit from exclusive access to coaches, training sessions, coach education, leadership engagements, match day experiences and clinics.

Dear Friends and families of St Paul’s,

Term One is marching on, and our community life remains as busy and energetic as always. Since our last newsletter, we have had a much-needed long weekend, students have sat for their NAPLAN tests across the College, we have celebrated Neuro Diversity Week, World Down Syndrome Day, the beginning of Ramadan for our Muslim students and today, Harmony Day.

This is all in addition, of course, to the in-class activities, excursions and co-curricular events that take place every week. It also does not take into consideration all the work that is going on “behind the scenes.”

EREA Principal’s National Charter Strategy Forum

On Tuesday and Wednesday of last week, I had the privilege of attending a national gathering of my fellow EREA Principals in the Barossa Valley. We gathered together with the senior leaders of the EREA governing bodies to review and discuss our Charter. The Charter is the document that contains the four EREA Touchstones (Gospel Spirituality, Inclusive Community, Liberating Education and Justice and Solidarity,) that together with our own St Paul’s four core values (Faith, Relationships, Excellence and Diversity), form the very foundation of who we are as a Catholic College in the Edmund Rice tradition and the education we are committed to for all our students and families.

These experiences are not only inspirational but also transformational in that as a collective the entire Australian Edmund Rice family recommits itself to the type of education we want for all our students regardless of their race, culture, religion, socio-economic status, intelligence, sporting ability etc. In other words, all families who want to embrace this type of ethos and charism are not only welcome but also valued and included. We are indeed blessed to be a part of this national family, and in fact, a worldwide family whose aim is to educate students in such a way that they know their responsibility is to assist in making the world a better place for all.

Harmony Day

Given we are part of an international family it is most appropriate that we acknowledge and celebrate Harmony Day together. At St Paul’s our sincere hope is that we live in harmony with all our students and families. We believe that our diversity should not only be welcomed but very much included in all we do. This week, with Ramadan beginning for our Muslim families, we hope that they all feel included, valued, and appreciated for who they are and what their faith brings to our community. We hope that through the celebrations and spiritual liturgies we hold not only help all our students appreciate our Catholic faith but also reinforce their commitment to their own faith and spiritual journey.

Our God is a God of love, of inclusion, of oneness, of truth and is not only good but beautiful too. These are universal values and beliefs that belong to all the great religions of the world. They are the very deepest things we share, and we have every right to hold each other accountable for those beliefs.

We are who we are at St Paul’s because of that, and it is what we genuinely hope we are a shining light in our broader society.

As our Christian celebration of Easter approaches, we will hold several different liturgical celebrations from Palm Sunday to the Stations of the Cross and to the resurrection of Jesus following Easter. These will not only enhance the knowledge of our faith community but will also celebrate how fortunate we all are to be a part of such an inclusive family of cultures and faith backgrounds. It is a blessing to be a part of this great community.

God Bless

Paul Belton

It is with great excitement that we announce and congratulate 2023 Stage 2 Visual Art-Art student Ali Najafi on his work being displayed in the 2024 SACE Art Show. Ali was one of 129 Year 12 students in the state to have their work selected for the exhibition. His artwork entitled ‘Flying Free’ depicts the life cycle of an eagle sketched in graphite on paper.  Ali is a talented and skilled artist and his attention to detail is remarkable. 

The exhibition will be open to the public at Light Square Gallery - Adelaide College of Arts 39 Light Square Adelaide. 19 March to 12 April Mon - Fri 9am - 4pm Saturdays 10am - 3pm.

Congratulations to Ali on this enormous achievement!

Sarah Fedele - Leader of Learning the Arts