St Paul's Catholic Primary School Rapid Creek eNewsletter

Principal's Message

Dear St Paul’s Families,

As we come to the end of school year, we give prayers of thanks and gratitude that we were able to celebrate the end of the year with freedom. We offer prayers of love and support for the families of the Hillcrest Primary School Community whose school year ended in tragedy. We pray that everyone in our school community remains safe and healthy over the holiday period and that we are able to return to school in the same manner that we finished the year.

I would personally like to thank everyone in our school community (students, staff and families) for their trust and support over the last 12 months. The end of the year always brings a strong sense of nostalgia that allows us to reflect on the challenges the year has brought and most importantly the blessings. Every day I have countless moments where my blessings from being part of the St Paul’s Community make me smile, laugh and sometimes cry (usually tears of joy and pride).

We were so proud of our Year 6 students yesterday as they graduated from St Paul’s. You can read copies of speeches from the day from myself and our 2021 School Captains, Catie and Gabe. The Year 5/6 team ensured the day was safe, fun and enjoyed by all. Once again, the comments from the wider community that our children were respectful, police and well-mannered. Thank you Year 6s and we wish you luck in the next chapter of your lives.

For those families who are leaving our school community, we thank you for your support in your time with us. Every child and every family brings unique gifts and talents that helps to create the diversity of our community of which we are so proud. We thank the following ISAs and Educators for their contribution to the St Paul’s community - we will miss them and we wish them luck: Mr Tadhg, Mr Rahul, Mr Jacob, Miss Piper and Mr Lachy. Whilst some of their contributions have been brief – they have been powerful and the relationships they have built with students and staff will be missed.

I wish everyone a safe and happy Christmas. Some of you will be enjoying time with family and friends here in Darwin and some will be travelling to other parts of the country. Please stay safe and may the love you have in your hearts, spread to the lives of those you share your time with.

Kind regards and Merry Christmas!

Ms Megan Evans

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Year 6 Graduation

It has been an absolute honour getting to know our Year 6 children. We are all extremely proud of them.

Thank you Teachers – Thank you to our 5/6 Team – what a huge couple of weeks you have had. Today will be a wonderful day of celebration for our students –than to you!

I’ll ask each of our Year 6s now to take a moment to remember a teacher who helped you along the way…who was the teacher who helped you learn something new? Who was the teacher who helped you when you needed a hand? Who was the teacher you could talk to when you needed a friend? That teacher may be here today, or they may be working somewhere else now – I would encourage you to put on your attitude of gratitude and quietly say a prayer of thanks for people like them.

Thank you Families – thank you mums and dads for trusting us with your child –you’re about to enter a new chapter – it won’t always be easy but I hope you continue to be filled with the same pride for your children that you are feeling right now. They really are a beautiful group of kids and you should be so proud.

Finally, thank you to the Year 6 class of 2021–you really are a great group of students and I feel truly bless to have been able to be your principal for nearly half of your primary school years – that’s the first time I’ve ever been able to say that!

Thank you to our school captains, Gabe and Catie and our Catholic Identity Leaders –Angelina and Chloe, you have represented our school with pride and inspired those around you. Thank you also to our House Leaders –thank you for demonstrating leadership for the children in our school community.

Most of all we wish you well for you next adventure – please take a little bit of St Paul’s with you. Whether it’s taking some time to see the spirit of Jesus in those around you or remembering what it is to be WEST person, we hope you walk away from St Paul’s with great memories of what it is like to walk together with those around you. As you grow into the young adults you will become, remember that we believe in you please never give up, never give in. Good luck.

Year 6 Leader's Speeches

Catie’s Speech

Good morning Ms Evans, parents, staff and fellow students. It has been a great honor to represent the students of St Pauls as one of the school captains this year. The position has provided me with many opportunities for growth in confidence, organization and being a role model for the younger students. I have enjoyed representing our school at a number of events such as the Bombing of Darwin, ANZAC Day at Robinson Barracks and the 200 Years of Catholic Education mass.

On behalf of the year six students, I would like to relate some of our best school experiences. We all enjoyed the sports and swimming carnivals where our house teams competed fiercely for the House Cup or the Spirit Cup. Our team cheers will remain etched into our brains forever!

This year's looooong awaited School camp at Batchelor was also a highlight. It provided great opportunities for us to get out of our comfort zones and try new experiences and spend time with our friends before we head off to different schools and new places next year.

I, like the other Year 6s, have had many teachers throughout our years at St Paul’s, and I would like to thank them all. In Transition my teachers were Miss Jade & Miss Kit, I spent my Year 1/2 years with Miss Jo, Miss Meg and Mrs Del. During 3/4 I had Miss Mandy, Miss Tessa, Miss Lauren and Miss Jemma. In my senior years of schooling I was taught by Miss Mandy, Miss Hicks, Miss Lauren and Ibu Margy.

We have also been lucky to have lots of special specialist teachers over the years like Miss Jemma, Ibu Margy and Mr Decrick. All these teachers are so significant to our schooling career and I know whoever has them in the future will have an equally amazing experience.

St Paul’s is a great school. It has provided us with an excellent education, spiritual guidance and many social skills. I believe we are now ready to go to middle school and rise to the challenges it may offer!

Gabe’s Speech

My name is Gabe and I would like to thank all of our parents for attending our Mass and celebration this morning. More importantly though, I would like to thank you for your choice in selecting St Paul’s for our primary schooling. I know I speak for all of us when I say that we feel blessed for all the important things of life that our school has provided us. We learned about friendships and working as a team, we learned about including others and having compassion, we learned about God’s unconditional love for us, we learned about our life-long responsibility to be carers of our environment.
What if I had told you 13 months ago that St Paul's would win the public school speaking competition for the first time in 5 years, our 2021 school concert happening by the help of teachers and volunteers. What if I had told you that our Children's University made a major difference with our school's waste management, our school raising more than $1300 for Caritas K for people in need and our 5/6 camp luckily having the chance out of the all schools in Darwin who unfortunately didn't get theirs. If I told all of you that, you might have said, our sights were set a little too high. But that's what we did. You were the change. The answer of people's hopes, and because of you, and by almost every measure, St Paul's is a better, stronger place than it was when we started.
I will always be a proud, past student of St Paul’s and remember all that it taught me. Thank you Mrs Evans and our teachers. We appreciate all your time and effort to give us the best final year at St Pauls. I have enjoyed my role as a school captain and I believe the role has helped me to establish leadership skills that I will continue to develop.

Uniforms and School Office Hours

The school office is closed and will re-open on 17th January 2022.

From the 17th of January to the return of school (2nd of February) you can visit the school office and purchase uniforms - which our uniform supplier confirms we will have plenty in stock.

Office hours during this time are Mon-Fri 9am - 2pm.

Upcoming Events

School Term Dates

Please note that on Friday December 17th, our ELC and OSHC services will be closed.

On this day, our whole staff will gather together. This is a rare occasion but one that is very important for staff wellbeing and has been supported by our school board and Catholic Education Northern Territory. Families will not be invoiced for this day and therefore this will not be counted as 'allowable absence' for CCS purposes.

Our ELC and Vacation Care will be open as per usual hours from December 20 -22. Services will be closed from December 23 - January 10.

We have endeavoured to give families enough notice of this closure so that alternative care arrangements can be made on this day.

Please return all St Paul's Library and reading books by the end of Week 9

FINAL_VAC_PROGRAM_Dec_2021_Feb._2022.pdf

Registrations for Vacation Care closed on 3rd December

Please ensure fees are paid at least 1 week in advance. Please be advised that there is a late fee of $2.50 per minute for any late pick up. Operating hours are 7.30am to 5:30pm during this holiday break.

It is essential for your child’s safety that you notify us if your child is to be absent. Please ring OSHC directly on 8948 5362

Please note Vacation Care (& ELC) will be closed:

17th of December

23rd December to 9th January

26th January

SCHOOL UNIFORMS

A huge thank you for your patience to all families who are still waiting on their formal shirt and culottes orders. You will be able to collect your completed orders from the 17th January 2022.

We will have a good supply of uniforms once they arrive after the 17th of January 2022 so can swap your order for larger sizes if required.

End of Year Awards

OSHC & ELC NEWS

ELC FEE CHANGES IN 2022

Dear St Paul's families,

Please note that as at the 1st January 2021 ELC fees will slightly increase.

Fees will be $500 per week (up from $475) for full time enrolments & $105 per day (up from $95) for part time enrolments.

Thank you for understanding,

ELC Team

OSHC CASUAL BOOKINGS

From the start of 2022 we are implementing some changes to help with the strain on the OSHC team when last minute changes occur.

We ask that families give the OSHC team at least 24 hours notice when booking children into OSHC for casual days.

We would also like to note that families will be charged the casual rate of $30 for these days regardless if they have other regular booking days.

Thank you for your understanding.

Dear St Paul's ELC & OSHC Families,

This week you will receive your invoice for the care of your child in our St Paul's OSHC & ELC. This invoice will show your final balance to be paid. It is important all these fees are paid promptly, prior to the close of term.

We understand that some family circumstances may change and different care arrangements are made between full-time and part-time care, however you should be basing your payments on approx. $30 per day (taking into consideration your CCS). We are also aware that some families may be experiencing financial difficulty. If you are not able to have your account up-to-date by the end of Term 4, please contact principal.stpauls@nt.catholic.edu.au and finance.stpauls@nt.catholic.edu.au as soon as possible to make a time for further discussion.

Please note, if you do not see a payment you have made in the past week on your invoice, please do not worry. There is a data entry delay, we receive our transaction report for the previous week’s payments each Monday where payments get assigned to accounts (we manually record payments in the system). This means that your payments will appear behind but in actual fact it is simply the data entry delay. Please also take note that if you pay on a weekend we don’t receive the monies until the Monday so your payments may appear 2 weeks behind.

Kind regards,

Ms. Megan Evans

General Information/News

OFFICE HOURS: The school office is open 7:50am to 3:30pm Monday to Friday during term time.

LOST PROPERTY: Please check the names on your children's hats and other property as we have discovered that children are accidentally taking other children's belongings home.

SCHOOL UNIFORMS: A huge thank you for your patience to all families who are still waiting on their formal shirt and culottes orders. We will have a good supply of uniforms once they arrive so can swap your order for larger sizes if required. If you are waiting on the sports polos and green polos, you should have these now. If not, please check at reception. If you have a child in year 6 awaiting an order, please email admin.stpauls@nt.catholic.edu.au to request a refund or have your refund go towards school fees. We currently have a good supply of sports polos, hats, shorts and green polos available for purchase.

SCHOOL FEES: Families will be invoiced via email for the coming year during term 1. If you do not receive your invoice by Term 2 or there are any issues please email finance.stpauls@nt.catholic.edu.au.

When paying fees please ensure you include a reference for what the payment is for, either 'School Fees', 'OSHC Fees' or 'ELC fees' in the name.

SIBLING DISCOUNT: If you have more than 1 child studying at a Catholic School in the NT, you will be eligible for a sibling discount. Please contact finance.stpauls@nt.catholic.edu.au to inform our finance team of which schools your other children attend.

PARENT CONTACT DETAILS: Please advise the office of any changes to your contact details. This includes phone numbers, address details and emails. Please also keep all information up to date on Operoo. It is vitally important that we have the correct contact number in view of any emergency. Thank you for your assistance in this area.

SCHOOL START TIMES: Please do not drop your children at school before 7:45am (when the school gates open) as they are unsupervised until this time. We request that families drop their children off at school as close to 8am as possible. Should you arrive prior to this time please wait with your child until the school gates open.

PICKING UP CHILDREN at the end of the school day: School finishes at 2.45pm and children must be picked up from steps within the school ground or at the express carpark lane which is supervised by a teacher. Any students not picked up by 3.00pm will be sent to our Outside of School Hours Care (OSHC) located on the school grounds and families will be charged. Our OSHC operates from 2.45pm to 5.30pm every day. We ask that all parents/carers who will be picking up their child from school please wait in the area outside the office and staffroom.

CARPARK PICK-UP: In an effort to move the traffic along more quickly and freely we ask that parents safely follow the appropriate procedures. Should you need to get out and buckle your child in—we ask that you use the car spaces available to do so and not the pick up area.

LUNCHES: Lunch boxes are taken to the coolroom each morning between 8.15 and 8.30am. It is important to be at school on time for the smooth running of this program and it is important that all recess and lunch boxes are labelled with your child’s name and Room No.

CANTEEN NEWS:

The Canteen will provide recess and lunch through quickcliq.com.au (account set up required). It seems that some children are choosing not to eat food brought from home and are instead requesting snacks and food from the canteen. Please note that families will be invoiced for this so please ensure your child is aware of what food is packed for them each day and that all food is labelled clearly (including packets of snack foods as it is confusing when children have the same snacks).

Quickcliq

OSHC NEWS:

Public Holidays: As per prescribed policies and procedures, if a child’s booked day falls on a Public Holiday (when the centre is closed), families will still be charged as per normal for this day. This allows businesses to pay staff whom are scheduled to work on public holidays as is required by Fair Work.

Absences: OSHC absences require written notice to admin.stpauls@nt.catholic.edu.au by at least 8:30am on the day of absence, if this written notification is not received by 8:30am the daily fee will still be charged. This also aligns with the procedures of other schools and services in the area. If a child goes home sick from school during the day, families will still be charged their regular daily fee for that child. This is to accommodate the pressures associated with staffing, resource and catering arrangements. The government entitles each child to 42 allowable absences per year (inclusive of public holidays) before it affects the Child Care Subsidy (CCS). These days can be used as holidays, sick days or just days off.Please also note that written notification is also required at least 2 weeks in advance of the last day of care prior to a planned absence of 3 days or more. We ask this as it is required to assist with staffing, resource and catering arrangements. When no notice has been given, parents will be charged. For this reason we would also like to remind families that as per our policy, payment of all accounts should be maintained two weeks in advance.

Casual Days: From the start of 2022 we are implementing some changes to help with the strain on the OSHC team when last minute changes occur. We ask that families give the OSHC team at least 24 hours notice when booking children into OSHC for casual days. We would also like to note that families will be charged the casual rate of $30 for these days regardless if they have other regular booking days.

Late Fee: Please be reminded that a late fee of $2.50/min for each minute that a child is picked up after 5:30pm.

Fee Payment Reference: When paying fees please ensure you include a reference for what the payment is for, e.g. 'OSHC Fees' so we can promptly assign your payment to your OSHC account.Please do not hesitate to contact us should you have any questions or concerns.

Rm 4 Transition - Miss Jo & Sr Hilde - SPORT DAY: Tuesday LIBRARY DAY: Friday

Rm 1 Yr 1-2 - Miss Mona - SPORT DAY: Tuesday LIBRARY DAY: Thursday

Rm 2 Yr 1-2 - Mr C - SPORT DAY: Wednesday LIBRARY DAY: Friday

Rm 8 Yr 3-4 - Miss Mandy & Sr Hilde - SPORT DAY: Wednesday LIBRARY DAY: Monday

Rm 9 Yr 3-4 - Miss Alex - SPORT DAY: Tuesday LIBRARY DAY: Thursday

Rm 12 Yr 5-6 - Mrs Del & Miss Margy - SPORT DAY: Tuesday LIBRARY DAY: Tuesday

Rm 13 Yr 5-6 - Miss Lauren & Miss Jess - SPORT DAY: Wednesday LIBRARY DAY: Wednesday

Rm 14 Yr 5-6 - Mrs Pond - SPORT DAY: Wednesday LIBRARY DAY: TBA

INSTRUMENTAL LESSONS: Instrumental lessons will take place again this year with Andrew Arthur, Violin lessons with Kirsty McCullum and Woodwind lessons with Eliza Tobin. Instrumental lessons will take place each Friday and Violin lessons each Wednesday during school hours. Contact details for Andrew are – dapa@live.com.au 0428153355 and Kirsty McCullum- kirstymac@bigpond.com and Eliza Tobin for Woodwind lessons - elizatobin@hotmail.com.

BOOK CLUB ORDERS: Book Club orders are sent out from Scholastic through the school twice per term. We use the “LOOP” system which means online ordering only. For more information on how to do this please see the link below www.scholastic.com.au/LOOP

Please remember to use your child’s classroom number when ordering.

SCHOOL DENTIST: St Paul’s does not have on onsite dental clinic, however you can use the Dental Clinic at Nightcliff Primary school. Parents are asked to contact the clinic on 89226466 to arrange an appointment. Parents are to accompany their child to the appointment. There is no charge for this service and it is highly recommended that children’s teeth should be regularly checked. This also includes pre-school children.