2023 Term 4, Week 8

It was with a mixture of celebration and yet sadness we farewelled our Year 12 students last week. Sadness as they leave our school community as students and move off from this place where we have all grown and learnt together. Celebration as they take their place in the world beyond formal schooling at St Paul’s and begin to carve out their paths into the future, using the skills, knowledge, and wisdom they have developed in their time at our school. God bless all our year twelve students and I pray they will continue to keep us informed of their progress and share with us whatever it is they choose to pursue. We give thanks for their time at our school and keep them in our prayers.

Yet with endings come new beginnings and this week we welcomed new students and parents for Junior School and also our Year Seven orientation day. Watching the year seven students as they gathered for the orientation morning I was interested in the different reactions within the group, as they displayed varying degrees of nervousness, excitement, and shyness. It reminded me of how wonderfully different each child is and how they bring not only different personalities but different gifts and talents to share with this community. We give thanks for all students in our school and pray this place will be somewhere they can grow and develop their God given potential for the good of the whole community and those in it. We pray for all new families, and I am sure they will be welcomed into St Paul’s and cared for as we all grow in faith, community and learning.

As the year draws to a close, thoughts of course turn to Christmas, holidays and time spent with family. I pray you manage to find some time to relax and refresh as well as celebrate the birth of Jesus. Yes, at Christmas we celebrate God creator of all that is and will be, coming into the world as a human child and becoming the Saviour of us all. This must remain our focus for Christmas beyond all else and through all the trimmings and trappings that go with the season let us make time for giving thanks to God for coming into the world.

Peace, joy and blessings to all at Christmas and may God watch over those you love and bring us all safely back to this place in the new year.

Reverend Mark Leam

In Years 3 & 4, students have used varied, activity-based learning that has built on their interests and capabilities and made connections with other learning areas. The Year 4s learned about the weather and seasons in Japan and learned to understand and present a Japanese weather report. They also learned to order food at fast food outlets in Japan, encompassing the use of Japanese money for authentic learning. The Year 3 learned to understand and tell the time in Japanese and talk about their birthdays and understand the month and date when other people’s birthdays occurred.

In Years 5 and 6, students began asking and responding to questions, exchanging information, expressing some ideas, performing, and interacting with Japanese language resources. In the past, students have had the opportunity to travel to Japan for a ten-day language immersion tour which has included homestay and classes at our partner school, Keio Yokohama Elementary School.

The Year 5s and 6s have talked about their favourite foods and drinks, talked about their breakfasts, lunches and dinners in comparison to Japanese ones and learned all about the magic of Japanese Convenience Stores and how to order the food from behind the counter and navigate their way around these places.

The students have had many extension and consolidating opportunities which have heavily incorporated the use of technology. It is a seamless integration of technology in the classroom. This includes the regular use students’ laptops for learning and our very own St Paul’s Junior School Japanese website where students can learn vocabulary, listen to songs, watch videos and study for achievement badges in Reading and Speaking and Listening (Race to Black Belt Program). We have also used Education Perfect this year to practise vocabulary and are currently extending students learning through Duolingo for Schools.

We have also just started a St Paul’s Staff Japanese Program to teach some of the staff some basic Japanese so that they can better interact with the students who are learning Japanese. We are soon to embark on a Japanese program for parents so that they can learn alongside their children. Lots happening and always a bunch of fun!

Students and parents shared memories and laughter reflecting on their Junior School journey at St Paul’s.

Thank you to all the parents who were able to join us. We wish you all a safe and happy Christmas break.

Click here to see the students in action.

Click here to watch our Music students in action.

Well, the 2023 school year is done. Congratulations, you made it. Now comes the time of celebration, family, summer days and a little bit of free time. It’s the perfect time to get back into reading. As well as offering holiday borrowing for the summer holidays, the St Paul’s School Library offers students and families a wide variety of options for reading during the break.

Story Box Library

Access to Story Box Library provides students and families with videos of picture books being read by actors, authors and celebrities. Great to listen to, watch and read along with, these stories also come with activities related to the story, perfect for holiday crafting and creating sessions. Login here with the username and password provided via SeeSaw.

ePlatform – ebooks and audiobooks

The ePlatform provides access to a massive range of ebooks and audiobooks. These can be accessed on any device with the ePlatform app, logging in with your student username and password.

The 2023 Year Book is almost complete. As previously communicated, the School has transitioned to a digital Year Book from 2023 onwards. If, however, you would like a printed copy of the Year Book, they will be available for purchase for $20.

Orders for a printed version of the Year Book will open once the Year Book has been completed and the digital copy has been distributed to the St Paul’s community.

2024 TERM DATES:

• Term 1: Monday 22 January to Thursday 28 March
  Monday 22 January: Pre-Prep to Year 6, Years 7, 11 & 12, and New International (all day)
  Tuesday 23 January: All students (Pre-Prep to Year 12 & International)
• Term 2: Tuesday 16 April – Friday 14 June
• Term 3: Monday 8 July – Friday 13 September
  Monday 8 July: Pre-Prep only
  Tuesday 9 July: Prep to Year 12
• Term 4: Monday 30 September to Friday 22 November

For a more detailed look at the term dates for 2024, see HERE.

Enrolment Deposit
For students leaving at the end of Term 4 (including the Year 12 students) the enrolment deposit will be refunded to the fee account after the School year has finished. If there are any outstanding School resources (eg library books) this cost will be charged to the fee account. You will then receive a statement with the refund amount and a request for your bank account details.

Term 4 Fees
Term 4 fees are now overdue and were due on Friday 6 October 2023.  If you didn’t receive your statement or need to request an extension, please email Charyn at [email protected]

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.

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.