2023 Term 3, Week 5

Only current St Paul’s students are eligible to apply for the Ray Geise Bursary.

Bursary Details:

The Ray Geise Bursary for Service will be offered to one current St Paul’s School student, who will be in Year 7, 8, 9, 10 or 11 in 2024.

This Bursary is to the total value of $1,000 (as a reduction in School fees) for 2024 only.

Criteria:

Students should submit a covering letter detailing their performance in pursing the Aims and Goals of the School and must show evidence of consistently caring for others and helping them to live worthwhile and meaningful lives; students must have pride in their School and demonstrate this in their dealings with their peers and indeed the whole School community.

In addition to the covering letter, students should submit a 1000 word essay on “Building a Christian Caring Community in the 21st Century.”

In awarding the Ray Geise Bursary, particular attention will be paid to the performance of the applicants in pursuing the Aims and Goals of the School, and to any financial need which exists in the family.

Preparing an Application:

All Bursary applications and offers are to be treated as private and confidential and are not for public discussion or announcement.  Applications must include:

1. A completed Bursary Application Form
2. A Covering Letter
3. An Essay

A separate application should be submitted for each child within a family.

Bursary Application Forms are available upon request by emailing the Headmaster’s Executive Assistant, Ms Sam Beeney:  [email protected]

Submitting an application:

Bursary applications (including the completed Bursary Application Form, Covering Letter and Essay) should be submitted as follows:

• via email to the Headmaster, via Ms Sam Beeney: [email protected]
• OR as a printed copy, enclosed in a sealed confidential envelope, addressed to Dr Browning, Headmaster; and handed in to Ms Sam Beeney, Headmaster’s EA (in Tooth Admin Building).

Closing Date:

Bursary applications are due in by Friday 13 October 2023.

Dr Paul Browning
Headmaster

This week, parents of student in Year 9 have been invited to come to the school for a Pastoral Care Conversation with their child’s Tutor and Co-tutor. These PCCs are offered to parents of students in Years 7, 8 and 11 at other times of the year. In inviting parents to attend these conversations, I usually say “This may be the single most important conversation in the school year … In considering the various aspects of a holistic education, this conversation sets targets and discusses the strategies for improvement that enables these targets to be achieved.” I was involved in a PCC yesterday afternoon and was reminded again of what a valuable opportunity this is to have an honest conversation about the growth and development of the whole child, involving those who know the child best and care for them the most. When your opportunity comes to participate in a Pastoral Care Conversation, I urge you to seize the moment.

We have a broad team of pastoral carers at St Paul’s: indeed, we see the pastoral care of students as being a vital responsibility of all members of staff (and not only the teachers). We are fortunate to have such caring staff as part of our community, who often go far beyond the call of duty in carrying out their duties. Whether it be as tutors, coaches, classroom teachers, counsellors or camp leaders, our staff show exceptional care for all our students.

You may be unaware that, for the past three years, a group of our students who are currently in Year 10, have been participating in an important longitudinal research project, being carried out by the Black Dog Institute. The project, called the “Future Proofing Project” is tracking the journey of over 6000 young Australians through their high school and young adult years, paying particular attention to mental health and wellbeing, The findings of their most recent surveys are shown on the next page.

Kind Regards,
Nigel Grant

My dad quit school at 15 years old.

Now, my dad is a smart guy.  He was a business owner and paid off the family home he built in less than three years.  Dad worked hard and is very intelligent.

But my dad was never really engaged in my own education.

He did show interest only once, when I finished Year 12 and failed to gain a university spot.  He grabbed me by the scuff of the neck, drove me to Dandenong TAFE, and made be apply for a Business Marking course.  Job done!

On reflection over the years, I’ve come to one stark conclusion about my dad.

Dad was a teacher!

He taught me my values and ethics.

He taught me what to think about family, friends, and education…for good or ill.

One of the most important factors in a child’s education is their parents.  All the research shows that when parents care and are engaged in the school and education of their children, usually the child flourishes in their academics and wellbeing.

When parents are involved, school becomes a natural link to a child’s personhood.  School and learning are no longer compartmentalised to the periphery of a child’s life.  It becomes a natural focal point of their worldview.

Fathers and father figures have an important role to play in this.

When fathers show interest, children take notice.  Now here’s the important message to you fathers and father figures…it only requires a little interest to start with.

Show interest!

When a father, or uncle, or dad’s best mate, ask about and discuss learning, the child usually equates that to approval that leads to further engagement and commitment.

This is gold for a child’s education.

As Father’s Day roles around for another year, I tend to reflect on my own fathering.  How am I going as a dad and an uncle?

First, I want to encourage and celebrate fathers and father figures.  Keep up the all-important work and responsibility of raising the children in your families.

To that end, we at St Paul’s School want to encourage you by putting on a free Father’s Day Breakfast. Come along with your children to make that all important connection with their education whilst enjoying breakfast.

Free Father’s Breakfast at St Paul’s School

Starts 7:45am Thursday 31^st August – Rear Deck of the new Innovation Precinct Building

RSVP HERE

Book Week 2023 – Secondary School

It’s that time of year – Book Week. A chance to celebrate reading and Australian literature. Did you know that regularly reading for pleasure increases both wellbeing and creative thinking, as well as so many other benefits. There is lots to get involved in this Book Week.

What’s On

Monday

World School Art Competition – Possibility Hub. Have your say in which art pieces will be sent to the World School event. Voting is open for one day only.

Spelling Bee – do you have what it takes to win the SPS Spelling Bee? Join in on the Innovation Precinct deck at lunchtime on Monday.

Tuesday

Trivia – lunchtime in the Innovation Precinct, Think Studio 1 and 2. Teams of three will compete on general knowledge and book related trivia. Register teams of three here.

BookCon – from 3:15pm – 4:30pm in the Innovation Precinct.  Cosplay – dress up a a book, comic book or movie character. Get changed into your costume after school. Prizes for the most creative, best homemade, most detailed and most authentic costumes. Sherlock Holmes escape room in the Collaborate rooms. Quizzes, prizes, food and games. All welcome.

Wednesday

Badge making and bookmark and notebook string art. Design and create your own badges, bookmarks and notebook covers. Lunchtime in the Possibility Hub.

Thursday

Graphic Novel Artist and Author Visit – Chris Gooch will be working with the Year 9 and 10 classes on visual literacy and graphic design.

Visiting graphic novel artist and author presentation – Chris Gooch. Lunchtime in the Connect Lounge.

Friday

Zine making with visiting graphic novel artist and author, Chris Gooch. Learn the art of graphic design, illustration and putting it all together in your very own zine. Lunchtime in the Possibility Hub.

Short Story Competition

Open to all Secondary School students. Two categories – Years 7 -9 and Years 10-12. Submit a short story on the theme Read, Grow, Inspire. Maximum word count: 1000 words or 40 pages for graphic novels. Competition opens 21st of August and closes Friday of Week 10, 15th of September 2023. Winners will be announced in Term 4.

Photo’s are scheduled for Friday 18 August. Please click here for the schedule.

It is vital that all contact details remain up to date so that we can contact you as necessary and continue providing your family with relevant information via email, phone and post.

Visit Parent Lounge

Parents/guardians can report their child’s absence from school via parent lounge.  An email detailing the process will be sent to you in the coming days.

If you have forgotten your Parent Lounge password, you can reset this yourself via the Parent Lounge login screen. If you have forgotten your Parent Lounge username, please contact the School’s reception.

This change is another improvement in the School’s approach towards child protection as it adds a level of security and authentication to child absences from school.  If you have any questions please contact the Risk and Compliance Officer, Mark Barratt ([email protected]).

Please note, if your child will be absent for three days or longer email your child’s House Leader.

Did you know that we have a SPS Careers Website?  You can find it on the School Portal or at https://www.stpaulscareers.com.au/.  Check out the Important Info section that has a Calendar of Events from Universities, Defence, TAFE, Expo’s etc!

To see the latest Career Tools Newsletter click here. You can also click here to view SPS Career Tools Weekly on the SPS Careers Website.

Family & Friends Day – Sunday 27 August, 9.00 – 11.30am

Team up with a family member or friend for a fun morning of social tennis at the school courts.  All levels of play welcome.  The morning includes:

• Short, 15-minute friendly matches
• Serving competition – hit a target to win a prize!
• BBQ
• Raffle drawn on the day

This is a fundraising event for the Tennis Supporters’ Group.

Tickets:  $10 per player (includes one free raffle ticket valued at $5)

Get your tickets here

Tennis Raffle

Don’t miss your chance to win some fantastic prizes including:

• 1 x Head Radical S. tennis racquet valued at $349 – donated by Club Coops
• 2 x Skincare pamper hampers valued at $100 and $50 – donated by Dare to Australia
• 2 x $50 Hart Sport voucher – donated by Councillor Sandy Landers
• 2 x $50 La Zucca Italian restaurant voucher – donated by La Zucca
• 1 x $50 Rebel Sport voucher – donated by Bart Mellish MP
• 2 x $50 Bunnings voucher – donated by Bunnings Carseldine
• 3 x $25 Mia Bella’s Coffee Drive Thru voucher – donated by Mia Bella’s

The raffle will be drawn at the Tennis Family and Friends Day on Sunday 27 August.  You don’t need to be in attendance to win (we will contact you afterwards if you are a lucky winner).

Tickets: $5 each.  Buy 4 and get a 5^th FREE!

Get your tickets here

Next TSG Meeting and AGM – Tuesday 10 October, 7.00pm 

Join us for our AGM followed by a general meeting on Tuesday 10 October, 7.00pm. This will be a face-to-face meeting at school, so it’s a great opportunity to meet fellow parents in person.  Two of our committee members will be leaving this year, so we’re seeking support from new members to fill the executive roles and keep the TSG operating. If you would like to know more about the roles and/or the work the TSG does, please don’t hesitate to contact Kelly Spencer on [email protected].

TSG Facebook Page

Don’t forget to follow our TSG Facebook page for photos and videos from match days and training sessions and information on upcoming events.