In this issue

From the Head of Warragul Secondary School,
Ms Laura Butterworth.

Final Grammarian for 2023
Congratulations to our Years 9 to 11 students who completed their Semester 2 examinations last week. These examinations are important practice and a way for students to continually refine their skills in the lead-up to Year 12. As always, the external supervisors were impressed by our students’ preparation and behaviour throughout.

We have also been impressed with the way in which our students in all year levels have approached Early Commencement this week. Moving to the next year level is always an exciting time and despite the year drawing to a close, our students have embraced Early Commencement with an enthusiasm we hope to see return for the start of 2024.

As I look to the end of the year I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank Ms Donna Sweeney, our Deputy Principal, who will finish her time at St Paul’s at the conclusion of 2023. I have worked under Donna for the entirety of my time as Head of School and her professionalism, extensive knowledge, breadth of experience and unfettered wisdom have contributed to my personal growth but also to the continued growth of our school as an educational leader in our region. Although, as a staff and a community we are sad to see Donna finish her time, we are also grateful for the opportunity to work alongside her and wish her all the best for life beyond the Deputy Principal role.

As this is the final Grammarian for 2023 it is also my final submission as the Head of School here at our Warragul Campus. I have been blessed to work in this role at both our Traralgon and Warragul sub-schools for the past ten years and honoured to have cared for as many talented, kind and joyous young people as I have in that time. I am looking forward to stepping down and sideways here at St Paul’s in pursuit of a new educational challenge and direction. I will always be grateful for the opportunity to work with a committed parent body and a staff who I witness going above and beyond every day. I am also thankful for the support of both parents and staff and comforted knowing that I will still be a part of this wonderful school in 2024 and beyond. I look forward to working with Mrs Debbie Cameron who will begin in the role toward the end of January 2024.

Class of 2023 Valedictory Dinner
We celebrated the Class of 2023 Valedictory Dinner at Lardner Park on Thursday 16 November 2023. The final rite of passage for our graduating class included the presentation of their graduation certificates, dinner with their parents and guardians and plenty of dancing to round out the evening. As is tradition at our Valedictory Dinner, our students were officially welcomed into the St Paul’s Alumni Association by Class of 1995 Alumna, Renée Embom KC, who spoke about her journey beyond St Paul’s. The Class of 2023 Valedictorian Pablo Neofitou also spoke beautifully about his time and that of his cohort at St Paul’s, and finished his speech on behalf of his cohort with a performance on piano that left the room speechless. It was a fitting send-off for a special group of young people and we are very proud of all that they have achieved in their time here at St Paul’s.

Presentation Assembly Warragul Secondary School
All families are warmly invited to attend the 2023 Warragul Secondary School Presentation Assembly in the Warragul Secondary Gymnasium on Friday 8 December commencing at 1:30 pm. We look forward to celebrating the close of the academic school year for all of our students.

Mobile Devices and Christmas
Christmas brings many wonderful presents and for some of our students, this may mean their very first mobile device. The summer holidays are the perfect opportunity to set up parental controls and or conduct a safety audit of mobile devices used in the household. We know that the mobile phone is the single biggest threat to a child’s wellbeing and academic success. Please take the time to visit the ySafe resources through MyStPauls to access information regarding the setting of parental controls. The ySafe site is eSafety-Commissioner approved and has the latest information on trending apps as well as advice as to how to report any concerns.

We continue to appreciate the support of our families with the management of devices. In our continued partnership with ySafe together with our mobile devices policy, we have continued to enjoy a significant decrease in pastoral concerns associated with mobile devices in our secondary school. I sincerely thank our parents and guardians once again for their kind and united support in this space. Together with our electronic devices policy at school, we do seem to be making a significant difference to the wellbeing of all of the young people in our care.

For the ySafe guide to set up parental controls on your child’s device please follow the link: https://stpaulsags.onlinesafetyhub.com.au/

Wellbeing Support – Holiday Period
Our staff will be taking a well-deserved rest over the holiday period and will not be available until students return on Thursday 1 February. If you or someone you know is at risk or in danger, please contact 000, head to your local emergency department or contact your local Mental Health Triage service on 1300 363 322.

Kids Help Line (1800 55 1800), Lifeline (13 11 14) and Headspace (1800 650 890) are available to provide telephone support if required. You can also chat online with Headspace at www.eheadspace.org.au.

If you are a parent and need immediate advice on how to support your child, please call Parentline (13 22 89), Kids Help Line (1800 55 1800) or Headspace (1800 650 890).

Students return to school Thursday 1 February 2024 and School Photographs
The holidays always seem to be the period when adolescents experience exponential growth. Please do not forget to remind your child to try on the various items of summer uniform, in the weeks leading up to the return to school. Students must return with their hair neatly tied back or well-groomed (extreme haircuts and colours are not permitted).

The annual school photographs occur on the first day of school, Thursday 1 February, and it is important that all of our students arrive well-presented on the first day with the correct socks (regulation no labels), shoes (regulation), blazer, tie and no remaining holiday nail polish or jewellery.

A reminder that the blazer is always to be the outer garment, rather than the school jumper when arriving or departing school. Unless it is too warm and then students are most welcome to arrive and leave in their school dress or shirt. The school spray jacket is only to be worn with the Sports and PE Uniform and only when it is raining with the formal uniform.

Comparative Reports
At the end of each semester, parents of a student in Year 7 through to Year 11, may request that the school provide them with written information that clearly shows their child’s achievement compared to his or her peer group at the school. The information will show parents the number of children in the group in each of the achievement levels/subjects. However, where group numbers are fewer than twelve this data will not be provided, in order to protect the privacy of the students in the class. Class teachers will instead explain the student’s level relative to their peers, without identifying the number in each band. A Comparative Report is not available for Year 12 students. Please contact your child/children’s Head of Year if you would like to request a Comparative Report.

Laura Butterworth
Head of Warragul Secondary School

WHAT’S ON

DECEMBER
5 December  Student Leadership Day, 9:00 am
7 December  Prideaux Gallop, Warragul Secondary School Gymnasium, 9:40 am to 11:00 am
Presentation Assembly Rehearsal, Warragul Secondary School Gymnasium, 11:15 am
8 December  Presentation Assembly, Warragul Secondary School Gymnasium, 1:30 pm to 3:10 pm
End of Term 4, 3:10 pm finish

WARRAGUL SECONDARY SCHOOL HOLIDAY OFFICE HOURS

December 2023
Monday 11, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm
Tuesday 12, 8:00 am to 11:30 am
Wednesday 13, 10:00 am to 3:00 pm
Thursday 14, 10:00 am to 3:00 pm
Friday 15, 10:00 am to 3:00 pm

CLOSED 18 December 2023 to 5 January 2024

January 2024
Monday 8 to Tuesday 23, 10:00 am to 3:00 pm
Wednesday 24 and Thursday 25, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm
Friday 26, CLOSED Australia Day Public Holiday

From Monday 29 January, normal hours resume, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm

DOBSONS HOLIDAY TRADING HOURS

Order online or click and collect: Please ensure that you only attend the store to collect your items once you have received notification that your order is ready, order here.

ST PAUL’S PARENT PRAYER GROUP

“Where two or three people gather in my name, I am there with them.” Matthew 18:20

The St Paul’s parent prayer group meets on the first Monday of each month during school terms. We try to keep the meeting brief (we are usually done by 9:45 am) and casual (younger children are most welcome). The group encompasses people both very comfortable with praying, as well as those newer to praying with others. Feel free to get in touch with any questions beforehand or just attend when you are able during the year.

Our next gathering is on Monday 4 December, at 9:00 am in the Prideaux Centre, Warragul Junior School
Contact: Sheryn Cutler 0417 158 937 or sheryn.cutler@gmail.com

ALUMNI EARLY-CAREER AWARD

We are very proud to note that Head of Year 12 Ms Caitlin Powell was recently presented with the Alumni Early-Career Award at the University of Melbourne. The award honours and recognises their graduates who have excelled in their fields while also making significant contributions to the Faculty/Graduate School, the University, or their communities.

The award recognises excellence, innovation and leadership in contribution to education; Evidence of collaboration with and a strong contribution to local, national or international communities, and a sustained record of working to address equity issues in education or related fields.

Ms Powell was nominated by a colleague from her first school, Kyabram P-12 College and some of her lovely words in the nomination were as follows:

“Caitlin has contributed to various communities in her Early Career, inclusive of; regional equity in education and raising awareness for First Nations education and projects within her teaching.

Caitlin always puts the students at the core of her work in education. She leads by example, always treating students with respect and dignity, never shying away from meeting them on their level in co-curricular activities. Likewise, she treats her colleagues with professionalism and respect, always open to learning from others. She wants the best for all of her students and is vocal about the notion of education as a pathway to any avenue. To Caitlin, learning does not occur only in the classroom, and she models this daily in her approach to leadership”.

WARRAGUL SECONDARY SCHOOL ENSEMBLE REHEARSALS

*Soul Band and Jazz Combo are audition/invitation ensembles only. Please contact Mr Chris Staben for further information regarding these ensembles: crstaben@stpaulsags.vic.edu.au

New members and students having lessons outside of school are most welcome. Please contact Mrs Heather Mason and/or the listed ensemble director for further information: hjmason@stpaulsags.vic.edu.au

Heather Mason
Head of Performing Arts – Co-curricular

From the Head of Warragul Junior School,
Mr Rowan van Raay.

The finish of the 2023 school year is not too far away and what a year it has been. Well done to all our students and families on another wonderful year at the Warragul Junior School. Everyone has worked so hard and should be extremely proud of all their achievements throughout the year.

Next week will see us celebrating with mono-colour Monday (SRC gold coin fundraiser), our Christmas Service (wear something Christmassy!), Year 3, Year 4 and Year 6 excursions, Disco Tuesday, Year 6 Dinner on Wednesday evening and concluding with our Presentation Assembly on Friday.

Christmas Gift
We invite students to donate a Christmas gift unwrapped and place it under the Christmas tree in the foyer. These gifts will be donated to our local Anglicare branch to pass on to families in need to help celebrate their Christmas.

Thank you Ms Sweeney
I would like to acknowledge and thank Deputy Principal, Ms Sweeney, for her outstanding contribution to St Paul’s over many years. Her hard work and support in keeping everything moving in the right direction has been very much appreciated and we are certainly going to miss her.

Year 3 Camp
My thanks to Ms Spencer, Mrs Smethurst, Mr Faumuina, Mrs Murphy, Mr Barkla, Ms Rule and the Year 3 students for a wonderful three days at Merricks last week. The students enjoyed a range of activities with surfing, canoeing, possum glider, bush cooking and kite making some of the many highlights. I enjoyed spending time with the students surfing and canoeing. And while I am no Mick Fanning, the students did get a good chuckle at my attempts to ‘ride the waves’! It was a lot of fun and the students had a great time.

Prep to Year 2 Athletics Carnival
Thanks to Mr Boraston for running another wonderful Prep to Year 2 Athletics Carnival on Tuesday. The students competed in a range of events and it was great to see all of the cheering and students supporting each other throughout the carnival. The icy poles went down a treat at the end and were well-deserved. Thanks to the staff and Year 6 Leaders who assisted on the day.

2024 Junior School Leaders
Our 2024 Junior School Leaders were announced on Tuesday and I would like to congratulate all of the Year 5 students for applying for a leadership position. My thanks to Mr Barkla and Kooloos Sensi for overseeing the process this year. An official handover from our current Year 6 students will take place at our Presentation Assembly next Friday. Our Welcome and Leaders’ Induction service (which will see all of our Year 6 Leaders inducted) will be held on Tuesday 6 February 2024 commencing at 9:30 am. Year 6 parents are welcome to join us at this service.

2024 Orientation Day
All students spent the day in their 2024 class with their teacher yesterday. Class lists were sent home to families. Please contact us at the office if they did not make it home.

I wish all the Year 6 students the very best as they move into Secondary School.

End of Year Reports
End of Year Reports will be available for families to view on MyStPauls next Wednesday. Information on how to access these will be emailed to families.

Year 6 Dinner
Year 6 families are reminded that our Year 6 Dinner will be held next Wednesday 6 December at Lardner Park, with arrival from 5:30 pm for a 6:00 pm start. A reminder that students are required to wear their summer uniform, including their blazer. We are looking forward to sharing this occasion with our Year 6 students and their families.

Presentation Assembly
Our 2023 Presentation Assembly will be held in the Secondary School Gymnasium, commencing at 9:30 am. All Years 3 to 6 students will need to be in their summer uniform, including their blazers. Families are able to join us for this occasion and it is expected to conclude around 11:00 am. Students will then return to the Junior School. Should you wish to take your child/ren after the assembly, they can be collected and signed out from their classrooms. After School Care will still be available after school next Friday for families who require it.

2024
A reminder that the 2024 school year commences on Thursday 1 February for all Prep to Year 6 students. Please ensure that your child has all the necessary components of the school uniform prior to commencing the new school year. I will communicate to families in the new year regarding the start of the school year.

As this is the final newsletter for 2023, I would like to thank all of the teaching and education support staff who have worked with our ELC and Junior School students throughout the year. I wish Miss Begg well as she takes long service leave during Term 1 next year. I thank Mr Timmermans, Mrs Oldham, Ms Baughurst, Mrs Carpenter and Mrs Patrickson for their contributions and wish them well in their future endeavours. This week, Mr Beamish resigned to pursue other opportunities and we wish him well. We are grateful to Mrs Murphy and Mr Barkla who will move back into the classroom in Year 6. Ms McCormack will now move back to Year 5 to replace Mr Beamish. Mrs Farr will be taking long service leave at the beginning of next year before moving into retirement. We sincerely thank Joanne for her wonderful contribution to St Paul’s over many years both as a classroom teacher and Director of Learning and Teaching.

I thank the Junior School Leadership team for their unwavering support throughout the year. Thanks also to all our great support staff, Sam, Andy and Luisa in the office, our Maintenance team, our IT department, cleaners, gardener, After Care staff, Finance department, Admissions team, HR team, Marketing team, canteen staff, bus coordinator, Performing Arts staff, crossing supervisors and all of the Secondary School Administration staff.

Finally, I wish everyone a safe and happy Christmas and New Year, we all certainly deserve a good break. I look forward to seeing you in 2024.

Rowan van Raay
Head of Warragul Junior School

WHAT’S ON

DECEMBER
1 December  2024 Year 7 Orientation
4 December  Christmas Service Assembly, 2:20 pm
6 December  Year 6 Dinner
7 December  Year 6 Activity Morning
8 December  Presentation Assembly
End of Term 4, 3:20 pm finish

DOBSONS HOLIDAY TRADING HOURS

Order online or click and collect: Please ensure that you only attend the store to collect your items once you have received notification that your order is ready, order here.

ST PAUL’S PARENT PRAYER GROUP

“Where two or three people gather in my name, I am there with them.” Matthew 18:20

The St Paul’s parent prayer group meets on the first Monday of each month during school terms. We try to keep the meeting brief (we are usually done by 9:45 am) and casual (younger children are most welcome). The group encompasses people both very comfortable with praying, as well as those newer to praying with others. Feel free to get in touch with any questions beforehand or just attend when you are able during the year.

Our next gathering is on Monday 4 December, at 9:00 am in the Prideaux Centre, Warragul Junior School
Contact: Sheryn Cutler 0417 158 937 or sheryn.cutler@gmail.com

WARRAGUL JUNIOR SCHOOL ENSEMBLE REHEARSAL SCHEDULE

New members and students having lessons outside of school are most welcome.  Please contact Mrs Heather Mason, and/or the listed ensemble director for further information hjmason@stpaulsags.vic.edu.au.

Year 2 and Year 5 Performing Arts Application for Lessons 2024

Dear Years 2 and 5 Parents and Guardians,

A reminder that Performing Arts Lesson applications for Year 2 Strings and Year 5 Symphonic Band Program students wishing to continue with individual lessons in 2024 are now due.
The 2024 Application for Lessons form can be found on the Performing Arts MyStPauls Portal page under Permission Forms and Other Information.
For further information please contact the Performing Arts Office performingartsoffice@stpaulsags.vic.edu.au

Heather Mason
Head of Performing Arts – Co-curricular

CLUB HOUSE BOOT CAMP

Thank you to all of our Club House families who made our year so amazing. We have made many new friends, learnt cool new things and had fun adventures with LOTS of laughs!

2024 will be an exciting time for our little ELC and Preppies. Remember us if you need care for your littlies during the transition periods now and in early 2024. We are offering a FREE visit if you would like to have a trial visit for your littlie over the transition sessions. It Is a wonderful opportunity to nurture your child’s sense of belonging as they explore more of the school at a relaxed pace.

See dates and times below.

From our family to yours, we wish you all a safe and relaxing Summer break.

Cath Stoney
Founder and Director
Club House Boot Camp

From the Head of Traralgon Secondary School,
Mrs Leonie Clark

So many moments!
As I began to write the final Grammarian article of 2023, I reflected upon all of the moments we have shared as a community together this year. How can you, in one single article ever encapsulate the journey that is a trip around the sun for our students, staff and our families? There are many moments when we have laughed together, as well as moments when our hearts have collectively burst with pride at the accomplishments of our talented students – your children! For all of those moments, I am grateful for the unwavering support of our St Paul’s extended family. Thank you to our incredibly dedicated staff as well as our families, who continue to generously support our work each day to make your child’s experience in our school community safe and successful for each child in our care at the Traralgon Secondary School.

As Christmas and the New Year rapidly appear on the horizon and when there is sadly far too much conflict and distress in the world, I hope that we see greater understanding, tolerance and peace. Our academic school year is very quickly coming to an end and I warmly wish all of our families, students and staff a very safe, restful and peaceful holiday with loved ones.

I together with my colleagues at the Traralgon Secondary School would like to acknowledge and thank Ms Donna Sweeney, our Deputy Principal, who will conclude her time in that role, at the conclusion of 2023. Donna’s professionalism, extensive knowledge, breadth of experience and unfettered wisdom have contributed to my continued personal growth as a Head of School at both the Warragul and Traralgon Campuses. Her guidance and wise counsel have nurtured the continued growth of our school in Gippsland. Although, as staff and a community we are extremely sad to see Donna finish her time in the role of Deputy Principal, we are grateful that at the Traralgon Secondary Campus we will continue to have the opportunity to work alongside her as she guides and advises the continued growth of our campus to VCE in the not too distant future.

Year 10 Celebration
Our 2023 Year 10 cohort enjoyed a brilliant evening celebration with their teachers, support staff and their families. This cohort is the second last Year 10 cohort to transition to the Warragul Campus where they will continue their VCE studies in Year 11 and Year 12. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed a fabulous evening hosted by our 2023 School Captains Georgia Vardy and Axel Sellings. Their polished presentations and heartfelt memories resonated with their peers and families as the community came together to recall the many events and experiences that have seen this cohort become closely connected over many years. Sincere appreciation is also extended to Sandra Timmer-Arends, Kelly Read, Kerryn Doble and Nathan Byrne for their organisation and support of the event. We wish all of our Year 10 students the very best for their brilliant futures as they stretch themselves a little further and embrace new learning experiences.

Year 7 Orientation
At the other end of their journey our 2024 Year 7 cohort commenced three days of orientation this week. Slightly damp students and families made their way into our buildings for an exciting start to Secondary School. Students were welcomed to the school by our 2024 Year 10 Peer Support Leaders as well as our 2023 School Captain Alannah Rogalsky Year 12 who was accompanied by Deputy School Captain Nikita Buhagiar Year 12. Alannah and Nikita generously shared their memories, advice and journeys with the students as former students of the Traralgon Campus. This was a brilliant start for the students as new acquaintances and friendships were formed. The new Year 7 cohort was reminded that Year levels that are supportive, kind and that work together for the benefit of all, always seem to enjoy a united journey, make lifelong connections, and achieve higher academic results.

Mobile Devices and Christmas
Christmas brings many wonderful presents and for some of our students, this may mean their very first mobile device. The summer holidays are the perfect opportunity to set up parental controls and or conduct a safety audit of mobile devices used in the household. We know that the mobile phone is the single biggest threat to a child’s wellbeing and academic success. Please take the time to visit the ySafe resources through MyStPauls to access information regarding the setting of parental controls. The ySafe site is eSafety Commissioner-approved and has the latest information on trending apps as well as advice as to how to report any concerns.

We continue to appreciate the support of our families with the management of devices. In our continued partnership with ySafe together with our mobile devices policy, we have continued to enjoy a significant decrease in pastoral concerns associated with mobile devices in our secondary school. I sincerely thank our parents and guardians once again for their kind and united support in this space. Together with our electronic devices policy at school, we do seem to be making a significant difference to the wellbeing of all of the young people in our care.

For the ySafe guide to set up parental controls on your child’s device please follow the link: https://stpaulsags.onlinesafetyhub.com.au/

Wellbeing Support – Holiday Period
Our staff will be taking a well-deserved rest over the holiday period and will not be available until students return on Thursday 1 February. If you or someone you know is at risk or in danger, please contact 000, head to your local emergency department, or contact your local Mental Health Triage service on 1300 363 322.

Kids Help Line (1800 55 1800), Lifeline (13 11 14) and Headspace (1800 650 890) are available to provide telephone support if required. You can also chat online with Headspace at www.eheadspace.org.au.

If you are a parent and need immediate advice on how to support your child, please call Parentline (13 22 89), Kids Help Line (1800 55 1800), or Headspace (1800 650 890).

Students return to school Thursday 1 February 2024 and School Photographs
The holidays always seem to be the period when adolescents experience exponential growth. Please do not forget to remind your child to try on the various items of summer uniform, in the weeks leading up to the return to school. Students must return with their hair neatly tied back or well-groomed (extreme haircuts and colours are not permitted).

The annual school photographs are occurring on the first day of school, on Thursday 1 February, and it is important that all of our students arrive well-presented on the first day with the correct socks (regulation no labels), shoes (regulation), blazer, tie and no remaining holiday nail polish or jewellery.

A reminder that the blazer is always to be the outer garment, rather than the school jumper when arriving or departing school. Unless it is too warm and then students are most welcome to arrive and leave in their school dress or shirt. The school spray jacket is only to be worn with the Sport and PE uniform and only when it is raining with the formal uniform.

Holiday Reading
All students in Years 7 to 10 are advised to read their novels for English over the holidays in preparation for their text studies in 2024. Reading the text for enjoyment and then rereading it throughout the year, while studying it in depth, assists students in gaining a greater complex understanding of the context as well as the characters, settings and interrelationships.

Of course, we would love our students to work their way through a very long reading list over the summer break. Our library staff are only too willing to assist with the borrowing of books for the holidays and are well placed to make suitable recommendations for students.

Thank you to our Traralgon Secondary School Captains and all of the 2023 Traralgon Secondary School Leaders
I would like to thank our two Traralgon Secondary School Captains, Axel Sellings and Georgia Vardy and their team for their leadership this year. They have been exemplary role models for the younger students and they have truly demonstrated what it means to be a student at St Paul’s. They will be greatly missed at our Traralgon Campus and we wish them all the very best for their continued VCE studies at Warragul.

Presentation Assembly Traralgon Secondary School
All families are warmly invited to attend the 2023 Traralgon Secondary School Presentation Assembly in the Traralgon Campus Gymnasium on Friday 8 December commencing at 9:30 am. We look forward to celebrating the close of the academic school year for all of our students. In order to provide adequate seating at this event we do ask that you RSVP to Kelly Read via 5175 9222 or  kread@stpaulsags.vic.edu.au.

Comparative Reports
At the end of each semester, parents of a student in Year 7 through to Year 10, may request that the school provide them with written information that clearly shows their child’s achievement compared to his or her peer group at the school. The information will show parents the number of children in the group in each of the achievement levels/subjects. However, where group numbers are fewer than twelve this data will not be provided, in order to protect the privacy of the students in the class. Class teachers will instead explain the student’s level relative to their peers, without identifying the number in each band. Please contact Kerryn Doble on 5175  9222 or email kdoble@stpaulsags.vic.edu.au if you would like to request a Comparative Report for your child.

Friends of St Paul’s (FOSP) Annual General Meeting
A sincere congratulations is warmly extended to our continuing FOSP Co-Presidents and current Junior and Secondary School parents, Tanya Rong and Janelle Szkwarek. Tanya and Janelle have successfully driven several initiatives this year that have not only raised significant funds towards a Years 5 to 8 playground but have more importantly brought our Traralgon St Paul’s community together. Both Tanya and Janelle have been involved with FOSP for many years and we have no doubt that they will continue to bring much enthusiasm and experience to the role in 2024.

Monique Cawcutt is thanked for her contribution as FOSP Secretary this year and we welcome Michelle Harding who will take on the Secretarial position next year. We also appreciate the work of Catherine Burns who will continue in the role of Treasurer, together with Jo Loeschenkohl who will continue to manage the Facebook pages and social media posts for FOSP.

General members of FOSP include, but are not limited to, Georgina den Houting, Monique Cawcutt, Renee Paulet, Stephanie Madden and Susan Stuckey.

Leonie Clark
Head of Traralgon Secondary School

WHAT’S ON

DECEMBER
5 December  Christmas Service Assembly
7 December  Run for East Timor
Presentation Assembly Rehearsal
Theatre Sports
8 December  Presentation Assembly
End of Term 4, 2:10 pm Finish

TRARALGON SECONDARY SCHOOL HOLIDAY OFFICE HOURS

CLOSED 18 December 2023 to 19 January 2024

From Monday 22 January, normal hours resume, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm

DOBSONS HOLIDAY TRADING HOURS

Order online or click and collect: Please ensure that you only attend the store to collect your items once you have received notification that your order is ready, order here.

SPORT NEWS

Most Valuable Player – SEISA Junior Summer Round Robin
At our recent Assembly, I had the privilege to present two Most Valuable Player certificates to Blake Cooper (cricket) and Harper Connolly (basketball). This award recognises someone for being an outstanding role model and providing unwavering support. This award not only values their skills and contributions but also their impact on others. It acknowledges qualities like leadership, empathy, and encouragement, which are often integral in fostering a positive environment and inspiring others to excel. Both these boys deserve such an award. Unfortunately, their medals did not arrive in time so they will be presented at a later date.

Blake receiving his award from Mr Cameron Herbert.

Harper receiving his award from Mr Cameron Herbert.

Snow Sports – Allan Thaw Award
Mr Herbert presented Angus Michael with the Allan Thaw Award as he was acknowledged as the best Snowsport person at the recent Snow Sports camp held at Mt Buller.

Angus with his award and Mr Cameron Herbert.

Allan Thaw was a parent from the Warragul Campus who assisted at every Snow Sport event, even when his children no longer attended. He was seen as a valuable parent who would just want to help in any way possible even without being asked, just so the students had an enjoyable and memorable time. Angus was able to display those qualities and deserved this award.

Sandra Timmer-Arends
Head of Years 9 and 10
Head of Sport – Traralgon Campus
Health and Physical Education

ENSEMBLE REHEARSAL TIMETABLE

New members and students having lessons outside of school are most welcome. Please contact Mrs Heather Mason and/or the listed ensemble director for further information: hjmason@stpaulsags.vic.edu.au

Heather Mason
Head of Performing Arts – Co-curricular

From the Head of Traralgon Junior School,
Ms Tracey King.

This is our final Grammarian for 2023 and as the end of the year quickly approaches, I would like to acknowledge and thank our school community for their continued support and resilience throughout the year. We are all very proud of our students and their individual achievements along with how well they have finished the year engaging in learning activities, special events and our Step Up program in readiness for 2024. It has been lovely to enjoy some special activities as a school community at the end of this term where our students have been able to really shine and share their talents.

Students spent this week engaged in activities and lessons with their new classes and teachers setting themselves up for success in 2024. It was terrific to see how quickly students settled and connected with each other and their teachers. We welcomed a number of new students and families to our school on Orientation Day and it was wonderful to see many smiling happy faces as they were welcomed into classrooms, given individual tours of our Junior School and engaged in activities with enthusiasm. We look forward to each of them joining our community next year.

During our three days of Step Up, teachers designed activities to build relationships and connections with students, set expectations for classroom routines and processes, reviewed effective learning practices and reminded students about our school values, school uniform and behaviour expectations.

School Uniform Reminder
It is also timely to remind parents about uniform expectations; especially before purchasing new uniform items for the 2024 year. At St Paul’s there are certain expectations for all students regarding the wearing of the school uniform. It should be clean, in good repair and worn correctly at all times. This helps the school to set and maintain high standards of appearance. It also instils a sense of pride in each student and promotes unity within the school. We ask for your cooperation in ensuring our uniform requirements are met.

Access to the School Uniform policy can be found on MyStPauls. It would be very much appreciated if all families could ensure that their child/ren arrives at school each day in the correct uniform with particular attention to blazer, shirts, correct socks and footwear and appropriate jewellery and hairstyles.

Book Fair
Exciting News! Our Scholastic Book Fair was a hit, with $5,580 in book sales! Thanks to your support, we now have over $1,600 to splurge on new library books. Imagine the worlds we can explore and the adventures we can embark on with this contribution to our literary collection! To celebrate this great result Jannet Taylor, Head of Libraries and I submitted to the spray can holding hands of the Library Leaders to have our hair coloured pink!

Huge thanks to all who helped us achieve this goal, whether by purchasing books, volunteering, spraying hair or spreading the word!

Year 5 Market Day
Congratulations to all of our Year 5 students who did an amazing job with their market stalls this year. There was a fabulous range of products on sale all created with a sustainability focus. There was great excitement across the school as students from each class went shopping and purchased their special items. The students and teachers together raised close to $2,000 for the Cancer Council. Well done to everyone involved and thank you to parents for their support of this worthwhile learning experience.
Christmas Celebration Evening
Our Christmas Celebration evening is tonight and will be a relaxed and enjoyable evening for everyone. Families will gather together in our school gardens and we will be treated to a number of musical performances and Christmas Carol singing by each of our classes. Students are able to wear something Christmassy to help create a festive atmosphere. Families are encouraged to bring a rug and picnic dinner and FOSP will be selling drinks and ice creams as a special treat.

Swim Carnival
We are also excited and really looking forward to our Swim Carnival next Wednesday 6 December. Our whole school excursion to the Gippsland Regional Aquatic Centre is a fabulous way to end the year. Students will swim in races and enjoy the water slides, water play station and novelty competitions.

Thank you to our school community
I would like to acknowledge our students, families and teachers for being so cooperative and considerate this year as we weathered bouts of illness across the school and absenteeism. Some of us shared laughter and some shared tears as we navigated the challenges and rewards of 2023 together. It has certainly been another unexpected year that has continuously thrown curve balls at us. We have however enjoyed hosting our special events and activities and providing a wonderful range of learning and co-curricular experiences for students. We are indeed very lucky to belong to such a wonderful supportive school community.
Thank you to all of our teaching team, education support staff and administration staff who have worked with our ELC and Junior School students this year. We are very grateful for the amazing work and dedication of our team who have remained committed to the education and wellbeing of each young person in their care. Thanks also to our great support staff: maintenance team, gardeners, canteen staff, cleaning team, Before and After School Care staff and IT Department staff.

Friends of St Paul’s (FOSP) Annual General Meeting
A sincere congratulations is warmly extended to our continuing FOSP Co-Presidents and current Junior and Secondary School parents, Tanya Rong and Janelle Szkwarek. Tanya and Janelle have successfully driven several initiatives this year that have not only raised significant funds towards a Year 5 to Year 8 playground but have more importantly brought our Traralgon St Paul’s community together. Both Tanya and Janelle have been involved with FOSP for many years and we have no doubt that they will continue to bring much enthusiasm and experience to the role in 2024.

Monique Cawcutt is thanked for her contribution as FOSP Secretary this year and we welcome Michelle Harding who will take on the Secretarial role next year. We also appreciate the work of Catherine Burns who will continue in the role of Treasurer, while Jo Loeschenkohl will continue to manage the Facebook pages and social media posts for FOSP.

General members of FOSP include, but are not limited to Georgina den Houting, Monique Cawcutt, Renee Paulet, Stephanie Madden and Susan Stuckey.

Year 6 Graduation
Our Year 6 students are excited about their upcoming end of year special events and these occasions will be an opportunity to recognise and celebrate the learning and growth of each individual student.  All of our students are thanked for their contributions to leadership in the Junior School and for the many and varied responsibilities they have carried out throughout the year. Special thanks to David Ogabiela and Arlo Agustin, our School Leaders, who have both been excellent role models. The entire cohort has been an absolute delight and our students are encouraged to embrace all the new opportunities offered to them as they move into secondary school.

Students and families who are moving on to new schools are wished every success for their future.

We welcome back Ms Karen Fox from her year of leave. She will be teaching Visual Art in 2024. We will also officially welcome Ms Quinn McGennisken to our Year 3 teaching team.

We farewell Mr Justin Woodroffe who will be returning to his previous school and thank him for his contributions in Year 5 this year. We will also farewell Mrs Mim Cavanagh. Mim is thanked for her nine years of service to St Paul’s Anglican Grammar School as Art Teacher. We wish her the very best as she begins a new adventure. Ms Dianne Kuyken has also recently resigned after extended leave throughout this year. We celebrated and acknowledged Ms Kuyken’s twenty years of service as Junior School Music teacher this week with a special gathering. We hope that her next adventure brings her much joy.

We also will say goodbye to Ms Kassie Olivier who is transferring to the Warragul Campus in 2024. Kassie is thanked for her contributions over the past seven years to the Traralgon Junior School. She has been a key team player in the development of our Explicit Instruction model and shift of teaching practice to evidence-based approaches, particularly in literacy. Her commitment, passion and high expectations will be missed by staff and students.

As we look to the end of the year, it is important to also acknowledge and thank Ms Donna Sweeney who has been our Deputy Principal for the past eleven years and who will be finishing with St Paul’s and changing roles next year. She is thanked for her contributions to the Junior School, for her leadership, her generosity in sharing her experience and wisdom and for her professionalism. We will be lucky to have her continue to work with our Traralgon Campus as we grow as a school and introduce Years 11 and 12 classes.

ySafe Online Safety
Christmas brings many wonderful presents and for some of our students, this may mean their very first mobile device. The summer holidays are the perfect opportunity to set up parental controls and or conduct a safety audit of mobile devices used in the household. We know that the mobile phone is the single biggest threat to a child’s wellbeing and academic success. Please take the time to visit the ySafe resources through MyStPauls to access information regarding the setting of parental controls. The ySafe site is eSafety Commissioner-approved and has the latest information on trending apps as well as advice as to how to report any concerns.

For the ySafe guide to set up parental controls on your child’s device please follow the link below. https://stpaulsags.onlinesafetyhub.com.au/

School TV Special Report: Digital Reputation
Social media has become such an integral part of a teenager’s life that it can cause anxiety and lower their self-esteem. Modern teens are learning to do most of their communication whilst looking at a screen instead of another person. They are missing out on very critical social skills and dependent on what they are communicating online, it can affect their digital reputation. Friendships, relationships and even future job prospects are all at risk. As a parent, it is very important that you are aware of what picture your child is painting of themselves online.

Once information makes its way online it can be difficult to remove. Images and words can be misinterpreted and altered as they are easily and quickly shared around. Privacy settings on social media sites need to be managed in order to protect your child’s digital reputation.

Find more information and resources for families here https://stpaulsags.vic.schooltv.me/newsletter/social-media-and-digital-reputation.

Our final school event for the year is our Presentation Assembly. All families are warmly invited to attend the 2023 Traralgon Junior Presentation Assembly in the Traralgon School Gymnasium on Friday 8 December commencing at 12:30 pm. We look forward to celebrating the achievements of our Year 6 students and the close of the academic school year for all of our students. In order to provide adequate seating at this event we do ask that you RSVP to tgonadmin@stpaulsags.vic.edu.au.

Finally, I wish everyone safe and restful holidays, a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. The Junior School team will be looking forward to welcoming you all back on Thursday 1 February for the start of 2024.

Tracey King
Head of Traralgon Junior School

WHAT’S ON

DECEMBER
1 December  Orientation Day – Step Up 3
State Cricket
Christmas Celebration Evening, 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm
4 December  Year 6 Excursion
5 December  Christmas Service
Year 6 Graduation Dinner
6 December  Swim Carnival
7 December  Christmas Activity Day
8 December  Presentation Assembly, 12:30 pm
End of Term 4, 3:20 pm finish

TRARALGON JUNIOR SCHOOL HOLIDAY OFFICE HOURS

December 2023
Monday 11 to Friday 15, 10:00 am to 12 noon

CLOSED 18 December 2023 to 12 January 2024

January 2024
Monday 15 to Tuesday 23, 9:00 am to 1:00 pm
Wednesday 24 and Thursday 25, CLOSED
Friday 26, CLOSED Australia Day Public Holiday
Monday 29 January, CLOSED
Tuesday 30, 10:00 am to 2:00 pm
Wednesday 31, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm

DOBSONS HOLIDAY TRADING HOURS

Order online or click and collect: Please ensure that you only attend the store to collect your items once you have received notification that your order is ready, order here.

WELLBEING

Across the term, students have demonstrated the green Life Raft – “Be brave – participate to progress” in Moana JR., the Arts Showcase and a range of musical and sporting events. Whilst doing this, they have been able to draw on their earlier work from The Resilience Project to identify their emotions and strategies to self-regulate.

In classrooms, they have been focusing on gender and identity and gender relations. They have reflected on their own identities, similarities and differences of others and how they can be considerate of the needs of others. They are building their capacity to value the differences of others and how these might contribute to their relationships. As students enter Step Up, they will call on these skills as they work within new classrooms and groups of learners.

Lara Gibbons
Pastoral Care Team Leader

CLASS UPDATES

Early Learning Centre
This time of year offers the opportunity to reflect on the growth of our students in the ELC and celebrate our learning journey. The children have participated in many experiences throughout the school and ELC. Nature Kinder, Specialist classes, Buddies and Incursions have provided many learning experiences. This year our programs were immersed in The Resilience Project and Play is the Way giving our students the language and personal and social skills to engage in the community.

On Wednesday, we had a successful transition session with our 2024 ELC children fully engaged in our program. The children participated in a morning meeting, music and story then moved on to some Christmas craft and finished off with morning tea.

The ELC team would like to thank all of our families for an amazing year and wish you all a very happy and safe holiday season.

Prep
This fortnight in Prep has been a fortnight of celebrating learning. We have reflected on and celebrated just how extraordinarily far the Prep students have come this year. Students combined their sound Literacy, Numeracy and ICT skills and explored activities via QR codes on iPads. Conjunctions have continued to be a focus in Writing where students have written some incredibly creative and humorous pieces. In Maths, students have further developed their numeracy skills by continuing to work with tens and ones as well as sharing groups of objects. It has been, perhaps, the Prep teachers more than students this week who have had to dig deep and follow the Play is the Way Life Rafts, specifically ‘Be Brave, Not Matter Who You Work With!’ This extremely special ‘school family’ we have created over the last year is ready to evolve as our wonderful students look excitedly towards new goals and new adventures in Year 1. Our students bravely stepped into new learning experiences as they met with their Year 1 teachers in their new classrooms. As the year draws to a close, we are sad to farewell our Preps but so incredibly proud of every single one of them and their incredible achievements this year!

Year 1
We have had a huge year of fun and learning in Year 1. Here are some of the things we enjoyed most this year.
• I’ve enjoyed playing with my friends and making things and watching things and making new friends.
• We enjoyed doing PE because we love running and playing games.
• We enjoyed the Moana concert.
• I liked the Moana concert because I liked the movie and performing it.
• We liked Art because we got to use pens and textas and draw pictures and we got to do free drawing.
• I liked sports and art because I like running around and I like to paint Christmas stuff.
• I liked cross country because you can see how fast you can go but it is also fun.

Year 2
Over the past few weeks in Year 2, we have been continuing with compound sentences, now adding a where and when. We know that ‘but’ ‘so’ ‘and’ can join two independent clauses. We have learnt more vocabulary words to use in our new sentence structures. In Numeracy, we have focused on giving and following directions to a location on a simple map. We have also reviewed quarter past and quarter to time, as well as how to count days and weeks between events on a calendar. We have been super excited about trying out Year 3 and the new playground areas that we can access. Students have been learning simple Microsoft PowerPoint skills such as inserting pictures and text.

Year 3
The Year 3 cohort has been finishing up the year in readiness for their transition to Year 4. They are bringing in their Kris Kringle presents ready to share with their classmates on the last day of school. They have created a range of academic and personal learning goals for next year and have written a final narrative piece highlighting all of their key learning in literacy for the semester. It has been wonderful seeing the students reflect on their year of learning, the friendships they have made and the progress they have made in their personal learning journeys. We have thoroughly enjoyed seeing our little people flourish throughout the year and wish them all the best for the year ahead.

Year 4
While the year is drawing to a close, we in Year 4 are still super busy and focused on using every minute we have to further our learning. Daily reviews and explicit instruction lessons have helped keep structure to our day and of course, revise key skills and knowledge.

This week we have had the opportunity to showcase our learning journey, reflect on our growth and discuss educational goals with a trusted adult during Student-Led Conferences. It was a great opportunity to reflect and celebrate, and a timely reminder that we are responsible for our own learning and progress.

Step Up was also a wonderful chance to mingle with our 2024 grade and teacher.

Year 5
On Tuesday 28 November, the Year 5 children set up their stalls to sell their Market Day products to the children at St Paul’s. The aim of the day was to attempt to use recyclable materials to create a product and raise money for a charity. Our handmade designs ranged from fidget spinners, hydro-dipped pencils and rock friends, paper flowers and egg carton plants, along with so many more. Attached are a few pictures of some stands before the day started.

The kids voted to donate our funds to the Cancer Council. We are incredibly happy to share that we raised almost $2,000 to donate.

Year 6
Our classrooms are beginning to have a festive feel with some lovely Christmas decorations hanging to get us in the Christmas spirit. Thank you to Mrs Sellings and Brodie for loaning us tinsel, bobbles and mini-Christmas trees. This fortnight, students have been busy preparing for their Year 6 Graduation Dinner. They are currently refining their speeches and have thoroughly enjoyed reminiscing on photos and memories from their past amazing seven years. Georgia, Will, Eshan, Fraser and Hayley also presented their projects at the Rotary Dinner last Tuesday night. It was a huge success with so much positive feedback. These terrific students were acknowledged for their hard work and commitment to the community with an award. The Endeavour Showcase was held last Thursday. Students were proud to share their learning with their peers and parents.

SPORT NEWS

State Hot Shots Tennis Championship
On Tuesday 21 November, eighteen students travelled down to compete in the State Hot Shots Tennis Championship at Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club. After winning the Gippsland Region Championship our Boys and Girls teams took on some very tough competition from all over Victoria.

Our girls team had a very tough draw in the pool stage taking on Echuca PS winning 6(149) sets to 6(126) on points countback, Alamanda College who won the State Championship losing 1 set to 11 and Bialik College who won bronze losing 2 sets to 10. The girls finished third in their pool putting them in the fourth semi-final against Yarrawonga College who they defeated 9 sets to 3. This qualified the girls for the fifth place final where they played against Sacred Heart Primary School Colac, we lost our final 3 sets to 9, finishing in sixth place overall. This was an amazing achievement by our girls team (three Year 6, one Year 4 and five Year 3 students) who were playing against much older, bigger and more experienced players. I think we have a very bright Hot Shots future ahead of them.

In the boys section our team played their pool stage matches against Irymple South Primary School winning 9 sets to 3, Livingstone Primary School the runners up on the day, losing 3 sets to 9 and Geelong College winning 7 sets to 5. This pitted us against last years state champions, Valkstone Primary School, in a semi-final to qualify for the gold medal match. Our boys were defeated by the eventual 2023 State Champions 2 sets to 10. The loss saw our boys team playoff in the bronze medal final coming up against Epping Views Primary School. The match was much closer than the final scoreline shows with 5 sets decided by golden point or by 1 point. Unfortunately, of those 5 sets we only managed to win 1 of them, losing the bronze medal match 2 sets to 10. What a great achievement by our boys team after finishing in eighth place last year.

Congratulations to all students who made it through to the State Championships. In what was a difficult day of umpiring and scoring your own matches you all conducted yourselves with great sportsmanship and can be very proud of the way you played. Thank you for your hard work and dedication over the many recesses and lunchtimes in preparation for the day.

Division Bowls
On Wednesday 22 November, Traralgon Bowls Club hosted the 2024 Latrobe Valley Division Bowls event (played the year before due to the busy start of the year in sport). St Paul’s was represented by thirty-six boys and girls in three mixed teams on the day. For some of the students, this was their first time playing bowls competitively and for others, this was a return after winning the LV Division Championship last year.

In Round 1 St Paul’s 1 team played against South St Primary School in the first round defeating them 3 games 9 ends to 0 games 4 ends. St Paul’s 3 played against Liddiard Road Primary School 2 losing in a close match 1 game 6 ends to 2 games 9 ends. St Paul’s 2 had the bye.

Round 2 saw our 1 and 3 teams playing against each other in pool 1. St Paul’s 3 caused the upset of the tournament, defeating St Paul’s 1, 2 games 9 ends to 1 game 6 ends. St Paul’s 2 played Liddiard Road Primary School 3 defeating them 2 games 9 ends to 1 game 6 ends.

Round 3 was a blockbuster round with our 1 and 2 teams needing to win to advance to the final. In pool 1 St Paul’s 1 took on Liddiard Road Primary School 2 defeating them 3 games 10 ends to 0 games 5 ends. St Paul’s 3 lost their match to South St PS by the same margin 0 games 5 ends to 3 games 10 ends. St Paul’s 2 played Liddiard Road Primary School 1 in the final pool 2 match. St Paul’s 2 running away winners 2 games 11 ends to 1 game 4 ends.

This set up a final between St Paul’s 1 and St Paul’s 2. Each team won a game each, making the final game of the match the decider. The game did not disappoint, coming down to the final end, where St Paul’s 2, 2 games and 8 ends defeated St Paul’s 1, 1 game and 8 ends.

Well done to all students on the day who played with good conduct and showed kindness to the other teams helping to show them how to play and cheering for good play even when it meant they lost the end or the game.

Tryouts will be held in Term 2 next year to select the Gippsland Region Bowls team.

SSV Sporting and Academic Achievement Medal
Each school can nominate two, Years 5 or 6 students each year for this award.

These medals are awarded to students who show dedication and enthusiasm in both academic and sport fields, achieving Region or State level performances.

Congratulations to the following students on your academic and sporting achievements not just this year but also in previous years:

Georgia Hasthorpe
• Region Champion and twelfth place at State Track & Field in the 11 Girls 1500m.
• Region Bronze Medallist and forty-eighth place at State Cross Country in the 11 Girls 3km.
• Eighth place in Hockey 7s at the State Championship.

Eshan Shankar
• Region Bronze Medallist in Individual Tennis.
• Fourth place in Hot Shots Tennis at the State Championships.

End of Year School Sport Wrap
Wow! What a year we have had in PE and Sports here at St Paul’s Traralgon Junior School.

Here is a snapshot of our school sporting year in numbers:

Our students participated in 1,467 overall school sports opportunities.
Our students took part in thirty different school sporting events this year.
295 (ELC to Year 6) students participated in school trials or carnivals for Track and Field, Swimming and Cross Country.
128 students participated in non SSV sporting events including Netball Victoria’s ‘Train Like a Vixen’ excursion and School Netball Championships.
222 students and twenty-five teams participated in the SSV Traralgon District Championships. With twelve individual district champions and forty placegetters. We had three team district champions, four runners ups and three third place teams. Our school came runners up in both Swimming and Cross Country carnivals and third place in the Track and Field carnival.
116 students and twelve teams participated in the SSV Latrobe Valley Division Championships. With eight individual Division Champions and fourteen placegetters and six team Division champions and five Runners Ups.
109 students and eleven teams competed in the SSV Gippsland Region Championships. With one individual Region champion/gold medallist, one silver medallist and three bronze medallists. We had four team Region Champions and two Runners ups.
37 students and four teams participated in the SSV State Championships.
I would like to acknowledge the students who medalled at region or made it to state in their individual sport and the teams who were Division and or Region Champions:
• Georgia Hasthorpe: Region Champion and twelfth place at State Track and Field in the 11 Girls 1500m. Region Bronze Medallist and forty-eighth place at State Cross Country in the 11 Girls 3km.
• Abi Dean: Region Silver Medallist and thirteenth place at State Track and Field in the 9/10 Girls 800m. Sixty-sixth at State Cross Country in the 9/10 Girls 2km.
• Eshan Shankar: Region Bronze Medallist in Individual Tennis.
• Avaya Mittelmajer: Region Bronze Medallist in the 9/10 Girls 50m Backstroke.
• Jayden Tran: Seventh place at State Swimming in both the 12/13 Boys 50m Breaststroke and 12/13 Boys 50m Butterfly.
• Boys/Mixed Hot Shots Tennis: Eshan Shankar, Ryder McGregor, Nand Patel, Jayden Tran, Harrison Crane, Jack Rankin, Jetson Vella, William Lambert, Bosco Ke, Om Parankusham and Ryan Stockil. Latrobe Valley Division Champions. Gippsland Region Champions. State fourth place.
• Girls Hot Shots Tennis: Annika Shankar, Grace Wilk, Neave O’Mara, Lil Zanella, Zaara Korula, River Tomski-Booker, Paygan-Lily Wilkie, Ada Abrecht, Aerin Stockdale and Charli Dalla Valle. Latrobe Valley Division Champions. Gippsland Region Champions. State sixth place.
• Boys/Mixed 11 Year Olds 4x50m Freestyle Relay: Tyrone Ke, Patrik Wu, Rumindu Rohanachandra and Nik Hector. Latrobe Valley Division Champions. Gippsland Region Champions. State seventh place.
• Girls Hockey 7s: Aerin Stockdale, Dheaia Rajadurai, Frankie Henthorn, Georgia Hasthorpe, Josie Ruyg, Lilijah Deveson, Sophie Dodd and Zaara Korula. Latrobe Valley Division Champions. Gippsland Region Champions. State eighth place.
• Mixed Lawn Bowls: Ilias Clavarino, Elliot Cane, Leo James, Rumindu Rohanachandra, Estelle Agustin, Ava Stuckey, Ava Burslem, Charvi Mageswaran, Natasha Pimjaiyen, Mila McMenamin, Avaya Mittelmajer, Adam Shein and Emma Chen. Latrobe Valley Division Champions.

House Leaders: I want to say a huge thank you to my House Leaders for 2023.
Burgundy – Ashlyn Bugeja and Fraser Rong
Emerald – Ari Phillipou and Sophie Dodd
Gold – Eshan Shankar and Frankie Henthorn
Navy – Georgia Hasthorpe and Jayden Tran
Thank you for all your help throughout the year.

House Champions Cup for 2023
It is a close race to claim the House Champions Cup this year with the Swim Carnival still to come and 4200 still up for grabs!

Thanks
Thank you to Ms King and Mr Battista who have supported our initiative to give students as many opportunities to participate in school sport and for facilitating the staffing for these events.
Thank you to all the staff members who have supported me with these events by coaching, taking teams or groups of students to the events, giving up your break times to help train teams or washing uniforms. Your help is priceless. Thank you to parents for allowing their children to attend some… or all the events. Thank you to all the students for putting your hand up, giving it your best try and displaying fantastic good conduct during all the events we participated in. I am very much looking forward to seeing you all continue to improve and do it all again next year!

Billy Rilen
Sport and PE Teacher

TRARALGON JUNIOR SCHOOL ENSEMBLE REHEARSAL SCHEDULE

Traralgon Junior School Ensemble Rehearsal Schedule. New members, including students receiving tuition outside of school, are most welcome. Please contact Mrs Heather Mason, and/or the listed ensemble director for further information hjmason@stpaulsags.vic.edu.au .

Year 2 and Year 5 Performing Arts Application for Lessons 2024

Dear Years 2 and 5 Parents and Guardians,

A reminder that Performing Arts Lesson applications for Year 2 Strings and Year 5 Symphonic Band Program students wishing to continue with individual lessons in 2024 are now due.
The 2024 Application for Lessons form can be found on the Performing Arts MyStPauls Portal page under Permission Forms and Other Information.
For further information please contact the Performing Arts Office performingartsoffice@stpaulsags.vic.edu.au

Heather Mason
Head of Performing Arts – Co-curricular

CLUB HOUSE BOOT CAMP

Thank you to all of our Club House families who made our year so amazing. We have made many new friends, learnt cool new things and had fun adventures with LOTS of laughs!

2024 will be an exciting time for our little ELC and Preppies. Remember us if you need care for your littlies during the transition periods now and in early 2024. We are offering a FREE visit if you would like to have a trial visit for your littlie over the transition sessions. It Is a wonderful opportunity to nurture your child’s sense of belonging as they explore more of the school at a relaxed pace.

See dates and times below.

From our family to yours, we wish you all a safe and relaxing Summer break.

Cath Stoney
Founder and Director
Club House Boot Camp

INFLATABLE SANTAS, CHRISTMAS LIGHTS AND HOPE

I can tell it is nearly Christmas time because an obscenely large inflatable Santa just appeared in the front yard of a neighbour’s house. And this is just the beginning! In recent years the desire to turn the family home into the gaudiest, brightest, most ridiculous light-polluting Christmas display has well and truly taken hold. So much so that it is now the basis for the latest Christmas movie, “Candy Cane Lane”, featuring comedian Eddie Murphy. IMDb describes the plot: “A man is determined to win the neighbourhood’s annual Christmas decorating contest. He makes a pact with an elf to help him win – and the elf casts a spell that brings the twelve days of Christmas to life, which brings unexpected chaos to town.” Having seen the trailer, I am not sure if I would find the movie amusing or horrifying!

Don’t get me wrong, I am no Christmas Grinch. I love a tasteful display of Christmas lights and I am sometimes impressed by some of the displays around town. What I cannot help wondering is whether, in the face of so much that is wrong in the world, we have all but given up on hoping for things like peace and good cheer and settled instead for the satisfaction of a colourfully decorated front yard. Taking our cue from another recently released movie, ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ we are reminded in the tagline that “Everyone hungers for something”. So, what hunger does our addiction to over-the-top Christmas displays point to? I think it speaks to our need for hope. In the face of alarm at rising youth suicide rates in America, Harvard social scientist, Robert Putnam, said “It proves that society has got a crisis of hopelessness”. When our newsfeeds are full of wars, environmental disasters, climate doomerism, abuse and corruption, it is no wonder we struggle to feel optimistic about the state of the world. When the dominant narratives of our TV shows and our movies are nuclear disasters, environmental disasters, zombie apocalypse and dystopian futures, it suggests that we are even losing the ability to imagine hope. It is well documented that mental health concerns in Australia have escalated dramatically in recent years, especially among young people. Are we raising a whole generation with no hope?

And yet, we put up Christmas lights. German theologian Jürgen Moltmann defines hope as “a stubborn desire, stemming from difficult times and oppression, to see a better, alternative future.” I wonder if our fixation with the Christmas display is in fact a product of our tenacious human desire to hope for a better future. A light in the darkness. A reclaiming of joy and life at least in our own little patch of dirt. And if that is the case then perhaps the bigger and brighter the displays, the better. Drawing again from The Hunger Games, President Snow observes, “Hope. It is the only thing stronger than fear. A little hope is effective. A lot of hope is dangerous. A spark is fine, as long as it’s contained.”

It makes sense that the Christmas season draws us towards a desire to rediscover hope. For all its commercial baggage and disputed origins, the Christian message still gives shape to the things we celebrate. And that Christian message is one of hope. Czech playwright Vaclav Havel, in his 1997 book, ‘The Art of the Impossible’, underlined our having a “universal sense of responsibility” to our communities and to each other: “Genuine hope is humanity’s profound and essentially archetypal certainty… that our life on this earth is not just random.” Christian hope goes a step further and says our life on earth is not just random, it is in fact the work of a loving creator. Our sense of responsibility to one another reflects the character of the God who created us. Our sense that the world is not as it should be is a recognition that the created order has been damaged and needs repair. Author J.R.R. Tolkien once wrote, “Christians understand why human beings cannot get rid of those longings. They are memory trees. Deep inside our soul, they are memory trees of what the world was created to be, but it’s not, because we turned away from God. That’s what the whole Bible is about.”

The Christian hope is not so much that we will go to heaven but more that heaven will come to us! And in the Christmas story that hope begins to take shape in the form of a humble birth – the creator God becomes a created being. As Paul writes in his letter to the Philippians, “He was like God in every way, but he did not think that his being equal with God was something to use for his own benefit. Instead, he gave up everything, even his place with God. He accepted the role of a servant, appearing in human form.” (Philippians 2:6-7)

Author and Pastor Tim Keller said this about the Christian hope in a radio interview in 2017:

“Now, let me just tell you four things about the Christian hope that are unparalleled. That is to say, you’re not going to get your deepest hopes satisfied by affluence. You’re not going to get your deepest hopes satisfied by Capitalism, or Communism, or Socialism, or by any particular human ingenuity. So, how will you? Well, here’s the Christian hope. This Christian hope is, and I’ll just give you four things. It’s historical, it’s powerful, it’s personal, it’s wonderful. Okay? Let’s go through those quickly.

The Christian hope is this. Jesus Christ, a human being Who lived and died in history, then was raised from the dead, and He was raised from the dead in history, and He was seen, and this proves that there is something beyond the grave. This proves that there is something, there is a transcendent reality beyond this imminent reality, and that’s what’s going to satisfy our hopes.” (https://richardesimmons3.com/lifes-great-hope-q-tim-keller/)

Not everyone who puts up grand Christmas displays has a clear picture of this Christian hope in mind. But the very act of creating this patch of light and fun and joy in the darkness of the night speaks to our shared and very human longing, our hope, for a better world. And that seems like a pretty good place to start.

May the lights of Christmas fill you with renewed hope for the world and remind you of the Christian hope that rests on the person of Jesus and the desire for heaven on earth.

Reverend Daniel Lowe
Senior Chaplain