In this issue

From the Head of Warragul Secondary School,
Mrs Debbie Cameron.

Half way
It is hard to believe we are halfway through Term 1! There have been so many learning opportunities taking place for students and staff over the past two weeks and it has been wonderful to be a part of them. From attending the SEISA Leadership Camp at Newhaven College to cooking a Thai Green Curry with Year 10 Food Technology students, managing a NBN and power outage on campus and overseeing the safe departure and return of our Year 7 staff, students and Year 11 Peer Support Leaders to Camp Rumbug, it has been quite the insight into how the community of St Paul’s operates.

This week I was introduced to a book written by Laele Pepper titled ‘No Ordinary Days’. This book tells the story of how St Paul’s was created from a discussion of thirty or so people who gathered at a public meeting with a common goal of establishing a low-fee, open-entry independent school in Warragul. The message of courage and commitment to the goal and vision sure has rung true for me since starting here at St Paul’s. I have embraced the fact that every day is different and brings different challenges and opportunities. What all these situations have shown me is the courage and strength of the community members that make up St Paul’s. The offers of help and genuine care for each other have been terrific. The teaching and administration staff here really do work well as a team to provide the best learning spaces and opportunities for our students. All learning activities proceeded given the challenges we faced, and this was due to the commitment of staff to fostering an inclusive and supportive learning environment.

As Week 4 comes to an end, assessments begin in earnest and our student’s co-curricular activities are starting to fill their time, it is easy to lose track of important information regarding your child. There are a number of ways in which we communicate information. The fortnightly Grammarian combined with the ‘What’s on Dates’ is a regular resource, as is the Year Level Page on MyStPauls which is regularly updated by each Head of Year. Many areas of the school such as Performing Arts and Sport also have their own pages on MyStPauls where you can access details, dates and times of their various activities. We also email regarding major events and reminders as required. If you are still unsure where to find the information you require or you need something clarified itmis really important that you contact us directly so we can provide the correct and relevant information. In the first instance, you should email or call your child’s Mentor teacher. They should be able to answer or find an answer to almost anything and will look after any immediate Pastoral concerns. If it is a subject-related question or concern then communicating directly with the subject teacher is most appropriate. For more serious concerns you can contact your child’s Head of Year, but we do ask parents to contact the Mentor in the first instance. If you have an enquiry about a specific subject or faculty then you can contact the appropriate Head of Faculty and this may become particularly relevant in Term 3 as we approach subject selection for 2025. Please do not hesitate to contact any of our staff and we certainly encourage our parents and guardians to book our Parent Student Teacher Interviews (PSTIs) for a face-to-face conversation on Thursday 19 March or via Zoom on Wednesday 27 March.

Year 7 Information Evening
We are looking forward to hosting our Year 7 2025 Warragul Secondary Information Evening on Wednesday 6 March 2024. Tours of the Secondary School will be available from 6:00 pm, with the Parent Information and Student Activities Sessions commencing at 7:00 pm. All interested families are most welcome to come along, meet our staff and tour the facilities at our Warragul Secondary School. To register to attend this event please click on the link below and complete the online registration form:
https://www.stpaulsags.vic.edu.au/events/2025-year-7-information-evening/

Signing Out at Student Services
A reminder to families that students should not be contacting their parents during the day if they are unwell. We have a full-time nurse at Student Services so it is important that students present there to be properly assessed and contact will be made with families by the Student Services team. We are finding that several parents are presenting at Student Services to collect their child who has contacted them and it is the first time we are aware that they are unwell. We would appreciate it if families could encourage their child to attend Student Services to get immediate assistance so that we can care for them appropriately and in a timely manner.

SEISA Leadership Camp
The annual SEISA Leadership Camp was held from Friday 9 to Saturday 10 February at Newhaven College. The Prefects or equivalent leaders from each SEISA school are invited to participate in this two-day leadership and networking retreat. Our Prefects thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to camp at Newhaven College and participate in a range of leadership workshops. On the Friday night we were all lucky enough to hear from guest speaker Mat Bowtell who leads his own charity called 3D Hands. In 2017 Mat was made redundant from his position at the Toyota plant in Altona. For many, this would have been a devastating turn of events but for Mat, he turned it into a positive and started working on something that he was truly passionate about, making prosthetic limbs. He now designs, manufactures and distributes them worldwide, for free. Mat’s story highlighted to our students the notion of servant leadership and was very inspiring.

Labour Day Holiday and Support Services
We imagine that all of the students are looking forward to a lovely long weekend on the weekend of Saturday 9 March to Monday 11 March inclusive. Whilst the school counselling team does not provide support over the school holidays or long weekends, should you find that your child needs help, your child is always able to speak to someone at Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800), Headspace (1800 650 890), Lifeline (13 11 14) or Beyond Blue (1300 224 636 ). If you are after advice as a parent, you can also utilise these services, or call Parentline on 13 22 89.

Kokoda Trek with the Collins Award
Great news – both Will Blackwood and Zara McNair have been selected to do the Kokoda Trek with the Collins Award. Big congratulations to them both!

Debbie Cameron
Head of Warragul Secondary School

WHAT’S ON

FEBRUARY
23 February  DAV Debating Incursion, Warragul Secondary Campus Classrooms, 8:55 am to 3:10 pm
Warragul Junior School Welcome Barbeque (Prefects and Year 9 Community Ambassadors assist), 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm
26 February  Presentation Ball Training and Suit Hire Fittings (Boys role only), Warragul Secondary School Gymnasium, 3:20 pm to 5:15 pm
27 February  Dr Justin Coulson Live Webinar: “Breaking Point: Unpacking the Crisis in Youth Mental Health”, 8:00 pm
Register now: https://happyfamiliesfamilyeducation.ac-page.com/StPaulsAnglicanGrammarSchool
28 February  SEISA Swim Training, Warragul Leisure Centre, 7:00 am to 8:00 am
East Timor Tour Meeting, Warragul Secondary School Year 9 Centre (top floor), 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm
29 February  SEISA Summer Sport, Intermediate/Senior, Round 4
DAV Debating, St Margaret’s Berwick, 4:00 pm to 10:00 pm

MARCH
1 March  Year 9 Urban Experience Day 1, Group 1 (9MGT1 and 9MGT3), Melbourne CBD, 7:06 am to 4:48 pm
Year 8 Author Visit: Steven Herrick, Lecture Theatre, 10:00 am to 10:45 am
4 March  House Athletics Carnival
Presentation Ball Training, Warragul Secondary School Gymnasium, 3:20 pm to 5:15 pm
6 March  SEISA Swim Training, Warragul Leisure Centre, 7:00 am to 8:00 am
7 March  SEISA Summer Sport, Intermediate/Senior, Round 5
8 March  Year 9 Urban Experience Day 1, Group 2 (9MGT2, 9MGT4 and 9MGT5), Melbourne CBD, 7:06 am to 4:48 pm
11 March  LABOUR DAY PUBLIC HOLIDAY
13 March  SEISA Swim Training, Gippsland Regional Aquatics Centre, Traralgon, 7:00 am to 8:00 am
Presentation Ball Training, Warragul Secondary School Gymnasium, 12:45 pm to 1:30 pm
14 March  SEISA Summer Sport, Intermediate/Senior, Finals
House Tug of War (Year 12), Warragul Secondary Gymnasium, 9:40 am to 11:00 am
15 March  Year 12 Sport and Recreation – Melbourne Cable Park Day Trip, Bangholme, 9:00 am to 3:00 pm
East Timor Tour Meeting and Pizza Dinner, Traralgon Secondary School, 4:30 pm to 7:30 pm

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 March, at 9:00 am in the Prideaux Centre, Warragul Junior School
Contact: Sheryn Cutler 0417 158 937 or sheryn.cutler@gmail.com

DOBSONS UNIFORM SHOP

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.

DR JUSTIN COULSON WEBINAR

Further to recent communication, we invite all parents and guardians to register for the Dr Justin Coulson webinar, “Breaking Point: Unpacking the Crisis in Youth Mental Health.” Dr Coulson is a prominent psychologist whose website www.happyfamilies.com.au provides advice and resources for families. Dr Coulson features regularly on radio and television in Australia and is also a podcast host and writes for a range of national publications.

Further information about the session and Dr Coulson can be found here: Breaking Point | ANSWERS with Dr Justin Coulson (ac-page.com)

We strongly recommend that parents register for the webinar, giving them access to the recording for fourteen days after the live session.

(Please note that the time of the webinar is 8:00 pm in Victoria.)

Date: Tuesday 27 February
Time: 8:00 pm (AEDT)
Register here: https://happyfamiliesfamilyeducation.ac-page.com/StPaulsAnglicanGrammarSchool

COVID-19 REMINDERS

As a community, we are very mindful of the impact that COVID-19 can have on the health of our most vulnerable and we ask that all community members continue to support us by:
• Keeping students at home if they have any symptoms, irrespective of a COVID-19 test result.
• Keeping students home from school for at least five days and until symptoms have dissipated after they have tested positive.
• Wearing a mask (recommended) if a household contact has COVID-19.

Masks are readily available at school (student services, reception and year level areas).

Please note that rapid antigen tests (RATs) are available to all Victorians from council sites. People can get two free packs (ten tests) for themselves and two free packs (ten tests) for each of their household members.

Gordon Oldham
Deputy Principal

2024 STUDENT RESIDENTIAL ADDRESS AND OTHER INFORMATION COLLECTION NOTICE FOR PARENTS/GUARDIANS

The Australian Government Department of Education (the department) has requested that non-government schools provide the department with all student statements of address in accordance with the Australian Education Regulation 2023.

The school is required to provide the department with the following information about each student at the school:
• names and residential addresses of the student’s parent(s) and/or guardian(s)
• student residential address (excluding student names)
• whether the student is a primary or secondary student (education level)
• whether the student is boarding or a day student (boarding status).

The information collected is used to inform school funding calculations. It is combined with Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data to calculate a non-government school community’s anticipated capacity to contribute to schooling costs.

Please click on the link below to access information regarding this matter from the Australian Government.
https://my.stpaulsags.vic.edu.au/send.php?id=127831

STRESS AND WORRY

Stressed and worried are terms commonly used interchangeably but which are considerably different from one another. Stress is a natural, biological response to a difficult, uncertain or dangerous situation. Stress is extremely common among students, as they are constantly put in situations designed to challenge them physically (for example during camps and sporting classes) and mentally (for example during tests, SACs and exams). Stress is a normal part of human existence and it is often a good thing – it can help students stay alert, motivated, focused and ready to act. It can also drive them to push themselves, which can be useful during sporting matches and assessments. However, if stress persists long after the stressful event has passed, has a negative impact on performance or begins to affect a student’s day-to-day life, then it has become problematic.

Whilst stress involves biological responses, worry involves the mind’s response to a stressor. Worry commonly causes students to dwell on negative thoughts or situations. Again, worry is a normal and important function for students – it helps them to problem-solve situations so that they can take action. However, if the worry becomes obsessive or if it prevents a student from participating in their usual activities (for example withdrawing socially, school avoidance/refusal or ceasing co-curricular activities), it stops being helpful.

If your child is feeling stressed or worried, there are several ways you can help them as a parent. Encouraging your child to be physically active can be extremely beneficial. When a child is stressed, their body releases an excess of adrenaline. Physical activity uses this adrenaline in a productive way, which can reduce the “jittery” feeling that is commonly described. When your child is worried, being active can be a welcome distraction, and can release endorphins, also known as “feel-good hormones”.

Talking can also be helpful during periods of stress and worry. By encouraging your child to share their worries and concerns, these will often start to feel less cumbersome. Writing down worries and then throwing these away or setting aside scheduled worried time can also be helpful if your child is experiencing a large number of worries.

It is important that you encourage your child to continue with their day-to-day activities during times of stress and worry. Avoiding triggering situations can make it more difficult for your child in the long run. Instead, encourage them to try a mindfulness meditation, breathing exercise, grounding exercise or another coping strategy until the feeling passes.

If the stress and/or worry are not improving, then it may be time to arrange counselling. The St Paul’s Anglican Grammar School counselling team is available to provide up to six sessions for students in need of support. If you think your child would benefit from school-based counselling support, speak to their Deputy Head of School (Junior School) or Head of Year (Secondary School).

Shannon Staples
Head of Counselling Services

DONATE A DICTIONARY!

During the upcoming April holidays, a total of nine students from the Traralgon and Warragul Secondary Schools, together with teachers Kirsten Enders, Andrea Heard and Jan Park, will be travelling to the Ermera District in East Timor.

Amongst many wonderful experiences, we will be visiting the Pre-Secondary School in Ponilala, built with money raised by St Paul’s and be honoured guests at the inauguration of the English Language Study Centre in Malimea Village. We are hoping to present each student at the Ponilala School with an English/Tetun dictionary and leave a class set of dictionaries at the language centre. Each dictionary costs the equivalent of $10AUD and we have approximately one hundred and fifty to buy.

We are hoping that students or families of the St Paul’s community would be willing to donate $10 to buy a dictionary for a Timorese student. A nameplate with the donor’s name will be placed inside each dictionary noting that the dictionary was a gift.

Donations can be made via direct deposit into the school’s account or at Reception.

Payment by direct deposit:
Account Name: St Paul’s Anglican Grammar School
BSB: 033 262
Account Number: 190554

Please include the following reference for your payment:
Team Timor [family name]

Our Timorese colleagues will be most grateful of your support.

Kirsten Enders, Andrea Heard and Jan Park
Team Timor

YEAR 9 AMAZING RACE

During pastoral block on Thursday 15 February, Year 9 students commenced their preparations for upcoming city day trips by engaging in an Amazing Race around Warragul Secondary School. Working collaboratively as teams, they tackled twelve clues, each corresponding to a letter of the alphabet.

Congratulations to the victorious team comprised of Rocky Ryan, James Denton, Alex Hare and Tyler Williames!

Jack Deen
Head of Year 9

WARRAGUL CAMPUS ENSEMBLE 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 .

Heather Mason
Head of Performing Arts – Co-Curricular

FROM THE FINANCE OFFICE

Annual Fee Account
Families have recently received via email an annual fee account for 2024. If you have any queries in relation to your annual fee account, please contact Ms Nicole Giddings 5623 5833. As detailed on the second page of the account, payment options are:

Direct Debit:
All families are encouraged to participate in the school’s direct debit payment arrangement.

We offer fortnightly instalments (twenty-two payments) commencing 9 February 2024 and monthly instalments (ten payments) commencing 15 February 2024.

Other direct debit payment dates are also available by arrangement.

Should families wish to commence payment by Direct Debit, please contact Ms Nicole Giddings, accountsreceivable@stpaulsags.vic.edu.au as soon as possible to set up an arrangement.

Please find the direct debit form on the school website at this link https://www.stpaulsags.vic.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Direct-Debit-Request-Form-2023.pdf

Instalments (due dates):
Instalment 1 – 9 February 2024 (over due)
Instalment 2 – 5 April 2024
Instalment 3 – 3 June 2024
Instalment 4 – 9 August 2024

Payment in Full:
A discount of $350 per child, from Prep to Year 12, is offered to families if the annual invoice is paid in full by 16 February 2024.

Private Car Conveyance Allowance
Families driving students more than 4.8 kilometres to attend St Paul’s Anglican Grammar School may be eligible to receive a conveyance allowance. For further information on the eligibility criteria and application process, please refer to https://www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/conveyance-allowance/policy

Eligible families applying for the car conveyance allowance will have funds credited to their fee account during the year. If the fee account has been paid in full, or is on a direct debit arrangement, any allocation will show as a credit on the following year’s invoice.

The Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF)
The Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF) provides payments directly to the school for the benefit of the eligible student to attend camps, sports and excursions. Families holding a valid means-tested concession card or temporary foster parents are eligible to apply. $125 per year will be paid for eligible primary school students and $225 per year paid for eligible secondary school students. Payments will go directly to the school and be tied to the student. For more information and to download the application form please go to https://www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/camps-sports-and-excursions-fund/resources

Parents are encouraged to lodge the application form immediately. The CSEF program for 2024 closes at the end of Term 2. All forms must be received by 24 June 2024 to be processed.

For parents who received CSEF at the school in 2023 (and the student/s are still enrolled in 2024), the schools will ‘copy’ the application across from 2023 to 2024 on the CSEF system. The CSEF system will automatically validate the parent’s eligibility with Centrelink.

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

What a busy fortnight it has been in the Warragul Junior School with our District Swimming Sports (with many progressing through to Division on Monday) and our Welcome and Information Evenings were well attended recently. All Year Level Parent Information booklets are now on Year Level Parent Information pages on MyStPauls. I have also uploaded the PowerPoint that was shared prior to the classroom sessions on the Warragul Junior School Page on MyStPauls. On top of all that, we have had the excitement of a ‘little known singer’ Taylor Swift becoming the centre of many playground and classroom discussions.

Recent Storms
Our thoughts go out to any of our families and local residents who have been affected by the ferocious storm that hit us last week. We were particularly touched by the devastation our neighbouring suburb, Mirboo North, suffered. Our Student Representative Council (SRC) donated some money (from icy pole sales) which was used to purchase supplies for a community barbeque that was held last Friday at Mirboo North to brighten the spirits of their community. Our SRC is always looking at ways to support both local and global events and organisations and I know the organisers of the barbeque were most appreciative of our school’s donation. Should you be aware of any organisations that require support, please let your child know so they can pass it on to our SRC.

Clubs
A number of clubs have commenced and students are encouraged to read the ‘What’s On’ and listen to announcements each day so they are aware of what is on offer. These are wonderful opportunities for students to try new activities and make new friends. Many of these clubs that are linked to our Performing Arts will be working towards an item that will be shared at our Performing Arts Showcase Concert which will be held at the West Gippsland Arts Centre in June. My thanks to the staff who oversee these clubs during their breaks.

Drop-off and Pick-up
A reminder that we have staff on yard duty from 8:30 am and students must be supervised by parents/carers prior to this time. We have students moving to various areas after school for pick up and we remind families that if you are picking your child up, staff on duty need to sight parents/carers at the crossings near the ELC, Prep Crossing and Brooker Park entry to the Junior School. Staff have been instructed to ask students to wait at these points until their parent/carer arrives. Students who have permission to walk or ride home may continue to do so. Thank you for your cooperation as we work together to ensure our students are safe.

FOSP Fundraiser – Hot Cross Bun Drive
A reminder that FOSP is busy organising our Easter FOSP fundraiser – the Hot Cross Bun drive. Bakers Delight Warragul has provided us with the opportunity to raise funds for the school. For every six-pack purchased, $2 will be donated to FOSP – St Paul’s Warragul.

Orders close: Tuesday 19 March
Delivered to the school: Tuesday 26 March
How to order: You can take advantage of this offer by ordering via MunchMonitor: https://www.munchmonitor.com and clicking on the SchoolShop tile.
If you have completed the 2024 Child Safe Modules and have a current Working With Children’s Check, we would greatly appreciate some parent helpers on 26 March to help organise these orders once they have been delivered. If you are available to help, please let Sam at the Junior School Office know.

ELC and Warragul Junior School Parent/Teacher Interviews
Information regarding Parent Teacher Interviews (PTIs) was emailed to families recently. Booking are open and a reminder that these will take place next week on Wednesday 28 and Thursday 29 February. To access the booking system please click the link or barcode below:

ELC and Warragul Junior School: https://www.schoolinterviews.com.au/code/8fxn3
School Code: 8fxn3

Should you have any problems, please contact the Junior School Office.

I look forward to seeing you at the Welcome Barbeque this afternoon. Our SRC will be selling drinks and running a lucky dip and guess the lolly stall while our Year 12 Prefects and Year 9 Community Ambassadors will be running activities for our students. The Preps will take part in our annual Grand Prix while the 100 m sprint will also take place. Please feel free to bring a picnic or we will be providing a sausage in bread if you would prefer. Whilst we have advertised these will be free, there will be an opportunity for families to make a donation which will put towards supporting the Mirboo North community in its recovery.

Rowan van Raay
Head of Warragul Junior School

WHAT’S ON

FEBRUARY
12 February  Prep to Year 2 Welcome and Information Evening, 7:00 pm
14 February  No Preps
16 February  District Swimming (selected students)
21 February  No Preps
23 February  Family Welcome Barbeque, 5:00 pm
26 February  Division Swimming (selected students)
28 February  No Preps
Parent Teacher Interviews, Day 1
29 February  Parent Teacher Interviews, Day 2

MARCH
1 March  Years 3 to 6 House Athletics Carnival
4 March  Parent Prayer Group
11 March  Labour Day Holiday
12 and 13 March  Year 4 Camp
12 to 19 March  NAPLAN
14 March  Regional Swimming (selected students)
18 March  District Athletics
20 to 22 March  Year 5 Camp
22 March  Prep Excursion to Farm World
28 March  End of Term 1, 2:20 pm finish

YEAR 7 INFORMATION EVENING

Our Year 7 2025 Warragul Secondary Information Evening will be held on Wednesday 6 March 2024. Tours of the Secondary School will be available from 6:00 pm, with the Parent Information and Student Activities Sessions commencing at 7:00 pm. All interested families are most welcome to come along, meet our staff and tour the facilities at our Warragul Secondary School. To register to attend this event please click on the link below and complete the online registration form:
https://www.stpaulsags.vic.edu.au/events/2025-year-7-information-evening/

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 March, at 9:00 am in the Prideaux Centre, Warragul Junior School
Contact: Sheryn Cutler 0417 158 937 or sheryn.cutler@gmail.com

DOBSONS UNIFORM SHOP

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.

DR JUSTIN COULSON WEBINAR

Further to recent communication, we invite all parents and guardians to register for the Dr Justin Coulson webinar, “Breaking Point: Unpacking the Crisis in Youth Mental Health.” Dr Coulson is a prominent psychologist whose website www.happyfamilies.com.au provides advice and resources for families. Dr Coulson features regularly on radio and television in Australia and is also a podcast host and writes for a range of national publications.

Further information about the session and Dr Coulson can be found here: Breaking Point | ANSWERS with Dr Justin Coulson (ac-page.com)

We strongly recommend that parents register for the webinar, giving them access to the recording for fourteen days after the live session.

(Please note that the time of the webinar is 8:00 pm in Victoria.)

Date: Tuesday 27 February
Time: 8:00 pm (AEDT)
Register here: https://happyfamiliesfamilyeducation.ac-page.com/StPaulsAnglicanGrammarSchool

COVID-19 REMINDERS

As a community, we are very mindful of the impact that COVID-19 can have on the health of our most vulnerable and we ask that all community members continue to support us by:
• Keeping students at home if they have any symptoms, irrespective of a COVID-19 test result.
• Keeping students home from school for at least five days and until symptoms have dissipated after they have tested positive.
• Wearing a mask (recommended) if a household contact has COVID-19.

Masks are readily available at school (student services, reception and year level areas).

Please note that rapid antigen tests (RATs) are available to all Victorians from council sites. People can get two free packs (ten tests) for themselves and two free packs (ten tests) for each of their household members.

Gordon Oldham
Deputy Principal

2024 STUDENT RESIDENTIAL ADDRESS AND OTHER INFORMATION COLLECTION NOTICE FOR PARENTS/GUARDIANS

The Australian Government Department of Education (the department) has requested that non-government schools provide the department with all student statements of address in accordance with the Australian Education Regulation 2023.

The school is required to provide the department with the following information about each student at the school:
• names and residential addresses of the student’s parent(s) and/or guardian(s)
• student residential address (excluding student names)
• whether the student is a primary or secondary student (education level)
• whether the student is boarding or a day student (boarding status).

The information collected is used to inform school funding calculations. It is combined with Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data to calculate a non-government school community’s anticipated capacity to contribute to schooling costs.

Please click on the link below to access information regarding this matter from the Australian Government.
https://my.stpaulsags.vic.edu.au/send.php?id=127831

STRESS AND WORRY

Stressed and worried are terms commonly used interchangeably but which are considerably different from one another. Stress is a natural, biological response to a difficult, uncertain or dangerous situation. Stress is extremely common among students, as they are constantly put in situations designed to challenge them physically (for example during camps and sporting classes) and mentally (for example during tests, SACs and exams). Stress is a normal part of human existence and it is often a good thing – it can help students stay alert, motivated, focused and ready to act. It can also drive them to push themselves, which can be useful during sporting matches and assessments. However, if stress persists long after the stressful event has passed, has a negative impact on performance or begins to affect a student’s day-to-day life, then it has become problematic.

Whilst stress involves biological responses, worry involves the mind’s response to a stressor. Worry commonly causes students to dwell on negative thoughts or situations. Again, worry is a normal and important function for students – it helps them to problem-solve situations so that they can take action. However, if the worry becomes obsessive or if it prevents a student from participating in their usual activities (for example withdrawing socially, school avoidance/refusal or ceasing co-curricular activities), it stops being helpful.

If your child is feeling stressed or worried, there are several ways you can help them as a parent. Encouraging your child to be physically active can be extremely beneficial. When a child is stressed, their body releases an excess of adrenaline. Physical activity uses this adrenaline in a productive way, which can reduce the “jittery” feeling that is commonly described. When your child is worried, being active can be a welcome distraction, and can release endorphins, also known as “feel-good hormones”.

Talking can also be helpful during periods of stress and worry. By encouraging your child to share their worries and concerns, these will often start to feel less cumbersome. Writing down worries and then throwing these away or setting aside scheduled worried time can also be helpful if your child is experiencing a large number of worries.

It is important that you encourage your child to continue with their day-to-day activities during times of stress and worry. Avoiding triggering situations can make it more difficult for your child in the long run. Instead, encourage them to try a mindfulness meditation, breathing exercise, grounding exercise or another coping strategy until the feeling passes.

If the stress and/or worry are not improving, then it may be time to arrange counselling. The St Paul’s Anglican Grammar School counselling team is available to provide up to six sessions for students in need of support. If you think your child would benefit from school-based counselling support, speak to their Deputy Head of School (Junior School) or Head of Year (Secondary School).

Shannon Staples
Head of Counselling Services

DONATE A DICTIONARY!

During the upcoming April holidays, a total of nine students from the Traralgon and Warragul Secondary Schools, together with teachers Kirsten Enders, Andrea Heard and Jan Park, will be travelling to the Ermera District in East Timor.

Amongst many wonderful experiences, we will be visiting the Pre-Secondary School in Ponilala, built with money raised by St Paul’s and be honoured guests at the inauguration of the English Language Study Centre in Malimea Village. We are hoping to present each student at the Ponilala School with an English/Tetun dictionary and leave a class set of dictionaries at the language centre. Each dictionary costs the equivalent of $10AUD and we have approximately one hundred and fifty to buy.

We are hoping that students or families of the St Paul’s community would be willing to donate $10 to buy a dictionary for a Timorese student. A nameplate with the donor’s name will be placed inside each dictionary noting that the dictionary was a gift.

Donations can be made via direct deposit into the school’s account or at Reception.

Payment by direct deposit:
Account Name: St Paul’s Anglican Grammar School
BSB: 033 262
Account Number: 190554

Please include the following reference for your payment:
Team Timor [family name]

Our Timorese colleagues will be most grateful of your support.

Kirsten Enders, Andrea Heard and Jan Park
Team Timor

WARRAGUL CAMPUS ENSEMBLE 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 .

Heather Mason
Head of Performing Arts – Co-Curricular

FROM THE FINANCE OFFICE

Annual Fee Account
Families have recently received via email an annual fee account for 2024. If you have any queries in relation to your annual fee account, please contact Ms Nicole Giddings 5623 5833. As detailed on the second page of the account, payment options are:

Direct Debit:
All families are encouraged to participate in the school’s direct debit payment arrangement.

We offer fortnightly instalments (twenty-two payments) commencing 9 February 2024 and monthly instalments (ten payments) commencing 15 February 2024.

Other direct debit payment dates are also available by arrangement.

Should families wish to commence payment by Direct Debit, please contact Ms Nicole Giddings, accountsreceivable@stpaulsags.vic.edu.au as soon as possible to set up an arrangement.

Please find the direct debit form on the school website at this link https://www.stpaulsags.vic.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Direct-Debit-Request-Form-2023.pdf

Instalments (due dates):
Instalment 1 – 9 February 2024 (over due)
Instalment 2 – 5 April 2024
Instalment 3 – 3 June 2024
Instalment 4 – 9 August 2024

Payment in Full:
A discount of $350 per child, from Prep to Year 12, is offered to families if the annual invoice is paid in full by 16 February 2024.

Private Car Conveyance Allowance
Families driving students more than 4.8 kilometres to attend St Paul’s Anglican Grammar School may be eligible to receive a conveyance allowance. For further information on the eligibility criteria and application process, please refer to https://www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/conveyance-allowance/policy

Eligible families applying for the car conveyance allowance will have funds credited to their fee account during the year. If the fee account has been paid in full, or is on a direct debit arrangement, any allocation will show as a credit on the following year’s invoice.

The Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF)
The Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF) provides payments directly to the school for the benefit of the eligible student to attend camps, sports and excursions. Families holding a valid means-tested concession card or temporary foster parents are eligible to apply. $125 per year will be paid for eligible primary school students and $225 per year paid for eligible secondary school students. Payments will go directly to the school and be tied to the student. For more information and to download the application form please go to https://www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/camps-sports-and-excursions-fund/resources

Parents are encouraged to lodge the application form immediately. The CSEF program for 2024 closes at the end of Term 2. All forms must be received by 24 June 2024 to be processed.

For parents who received CSEF at the school in 2023 (and the student/s are still enrolled in 2024), the schools will ‘copy’ the application across from 2023 to 2024 on the CSEF system. The CSEF system will automatically validate the parent’s eligibility with Centrelink.

CLUB HOUSE BOOT CAMP

From the Head of Traralgon Secondary School,
Mrs Leonie Clark

Learning to Love Your Neighbour with Wisdom, Integrity, Compassion and Respect

Did you know that it is a fundamental human instinct to desire to belong, to be accepted and loved?

We know that in school communities when students feel that they belong, their involvement in co-curricular activities is far greater and their academic results are significantly higher.

Baumeister and Leary’s paper, “The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation,” firmly identified belonging as a universal human need, ingrained in our motivation as a species and stemming deeply from our ancestral roots.  https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/sense-belonging/202202/the-science-behind-our-need-belong

Every human being deserves and has the right to belong and form connections. However, different social groups, settings and contexts have very different expectations and ways of connecting and belonging. In fact, scientists and psychologists are still trying to work out what belonging means and looks like to different people.

Our school community is no different and for many students, they are still learning what it means to belong to our family at St Paul’s. When each student together with their families first entered the doors at St Paul’s Anglican Grammar School and long before you had made the decision to join our community; you felt something very special about our community. You could not touch it and you probably could not see it, but you could certainly feel it. Collectively you sensed that this community, our St Paul’s community was not like other schools. New visitors, staff, students and families recognise that our school ‘feels like home’. They sense the care and warmth of our school climate and want to belong to our St Paul’s community/family – our new students and families want what our current students and families enjoy.

Grounded in our Anglican values and ethos we enjoy a precious and shared understanding of community and belonging. As the Bible reminds us in Matthew (22: 37-39) we are reminded to “… love our neighbour as ourselves”.  As we demonstrate wisdom, integrity, compassion and respect for self, we are prompted to apply these same values to our neighbours (everyone else in our community). To further support the strength and understanding of our community we have a number of documents and policies that clearly articulate the manner in which we encourage all community members to interact. We have a Parent Code of Conduct, a Student Code of Conduct, a Mobile Phone and Electronic devices policy, a Bullying Policy, a Racism Prevention and Intervention Policy as well as many other professional expectations and guidelines that our staff, students and community are required to meet and renew each year. But more importantly than all of the many dot points contained within the policies are the four key Christian values that underpin the community culture to which we all desire to belong.

This year we will delve a little deeper to truly bring these four key values to life. The values will be firmly embedded in our hearts and minds as operational not just aspirational. We will as a community continue to reflect upon actions and decisions to identify where we may have applied greater WISDOM from lessons learned in all that we do and say. We will explore INTEGRITY by being truthful and honest and by doing what is right, even when no one is watching. We will continue to care and consider the feelings of others more deeply as we demonstrate COMPASSION and empathy. We will be taking greater care of our immediate learning spaces and treating our property and environment with RESPECT. We will appreciate each other by being respectful, polite, grateful, and considerate in our communication and care of each other.

When our St Paul’s community members work within and exemplify our values in their everyday actions and interactions – the feel, connection and sense of belonging is enjoyed by every individual in our community. This is what belonging looks and feels like in our community – collectively we are the guardians of what is a unique and incredibly valuable school climate. It is up to every single one of us, every single day to care for our community and love our neighbours as ourselves, to ensure that everyone has a place, everyone is valued for their contribution and where your child and family as well as anyone else who might like to join us on our journey, is warmly welcomed to belong.

Year 7 Peer Support Leader Camp – “Best camp ever!”
Our Year 7 students thoroughly enjoyed the adventure at Foster last week with very hot conditions followed by some rather wild and unexpected weather! We do hope that all of our families are safe and well post the storm and damaging winds. I would like to commend the staff at PGL Camp Rumbug as well as our very own brilliant St Paul’s Year 7 teaching team who were remarkable in their management and care of your children for the three days. Our new Year 7 students demonstrated that they are an outstanding cohort ready to embrace challenges and remain incredibly positive and joyful despite some challenging conditions. We look forward to journeying with our fabulous new Year 7 cohort throughout the next six years as they grow and develop stronger connections and friendships. Many thanks to our Peer Support Leaders who cared for, listened to and facilitated conversations while role-modelling what it means to be a student at St Paul’s throughout the experience. We hope that all of your children returned home with some fabulous stories to share with you and that lifelong connections were made. Many thanks to Mr Andrew McGrath, Head of Years 7 and 8, who once again facilitated a brilliant experience and camp for our students.

Communication
As Week 4 comes to an end, assessments begin in earnest and our student’s co-curricular activities are starting to fill their time, it’s easy to lose track of important information regarding your child. There are a number of ways in which we communicate information.

The fortnightly Grammarian combined with the ‘What’s on Dates’ is a regular resource, as is the Year Level Page on MyStPauls which is regularly updated by Student Services. Many areas of the school such as Performing Arts and Sport also have their own pages on MyStPauls where you can access details, dates and times of their various activities.

We also email regarding major events and reminders as required. If you are still unsure where to find the information you require or you need something clarified it is really important that you contact us directly so we can provide the correct and relevant information. In the first instance, you should email or call your child’s Mentor Teacher. They should be able to answer or find an answer to almost anything and will look after any immediate Pastoral concerns.

If it is a subject-related question or concern then communicating directly with the subject teacher is most appropriate. For more serious concerns you can contact your child’s Head of Year, but we do ask parents to contact the Mentor Teacher in the first instance.

If you have an enquiry about a specific subject or faculty then you can contact the appropriate Head of Faculty and this may become particularly relevant in Term 3 as we approach subject selection for 2025.

Please do not hesitate to contact any of our staff and we certainly encourage our parents and guardians to book our Parent Student Teacher Interviews (PSTIs) for a face-to-face conversation on Monday 18 March or via Zoom on Wednesday 27 March. Communication will be sent home to families regarding the booking process for PSTIs in the coming weeks.

The Futures Centre – ‘Open for Inspection’
We would like to invite all families to tour the new Futures Centre between 3:20 pm and 5:00 pm on Friday 1 March. Our students will be ready to take families on a guided tour throughout the new facility as the choir undertakes a live rehearsal in the new auditorium. Please enter via the front door where our team of staff and students will warmly greet you and assist you, as you journey ‘into the future’ at St Paul’s.
Year 7 Information Evening
We are looking forward to hosting our Year 7 2025 Traralgon Secondary Information Evening on Tuesday 5 March 2024.  Tours of the Secondary School will be available from 6:00 pm, with the Parent Information Session commencing at 7:00 pm. All interested families are most welcome to come along, meet our staff and tour the facilities at our Traralgon Secondary School. To register to attend this event please click on the link below and complete online registration.
https://www.stpaulsags.vic.edu.au/events/2025-year-7-information-evening/

Signing Out at Student Services
A reminder to families that students should not be contacting their parents during the day if they are unwell. We have staff at Student Services so it is important that students present there to be properly assessed and contact will be made with families by the Student Services team. We are finding that several parents are presenting at Student Services to collect their child who has contacted them, and it is the first time we are aware that they are unwell. We would appreciate it if families could encourage their child to attend Student Services to seek immediate assistance so that we can care for them appropriately and in a timely manner.

Labour Day Holiday and Support Services
We imagine that all of the students are looking forward to a lovely long weekend on the weekend of Saturday 9 March to Monday 11 March inclusive. Whilst the school counselling team does not provide support over the school holidays or long weekends, should you find that your child needs help, your child is always able to speak to someone at Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800), Headspace (1800 650 890), Lifeline (13 11 14) or Beyond Blue (1300 224 636 ). If you are after advice as a parent, you can also utilise these services, or call Parentline on 13 22 89.

Leonie Clark
Head of Traralgon Secondary School

WHAT’S ON

FEBRUARY
27 February   Dr Justin Coulson Live Webinar: “Breaking Point: Unpacking the Crisis in Youth Mental Health”, 8:00 pm
Register now: https://happyfamiliesfamilyeducation.ac-page.com/StPaulsAnglicanGrammarSchool
29 February  SEISA Summer Sport, Intermediate/Senior, Round 4

MARCH
1 March  Year 8 Author Visit
4 March  House Athletics Carnival
5 March  Years 7 and 10 Immunisations
Year 7 2025 Information Evening, 7:00 pm, tours at 6:00 pm
7 March  SEISA Summer Sport, Intermediate/Senior, Round 5
18 March  NAPLAN Conventions of Writing
Parent Student Teacher Interviews (PSTIs) – Face-to-Face
19 March  NAPLAN Numeracy
21 March  SEISA Swimming, Badminton and Table Tennis
Harmony Day
27 March  Parent Student Teacher Interviews (PSTIs) – Online via Zoom
28 March  Easter Service
FOSP Easter Egg Hunt
End Of Term 1,  2:10 pm Finish

DOBSONS 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.

DR JUSTIN COULSON WEBINAR

Further to recent communication, we invite all parents and guardians to register for the Dr Justin Coulson webinar, “Breaking Point: Unpacking the Crisis in Youth Mental Health.” Dr Coulson is a prominent psychologist whose website www.happyfamilies.com.au provides advice and resources for families. Dr Coulson features regularly on radio and television in Australia and is also a podcast host and writes for a range of national publications.

Further information about the session and Dr Coulson can be found here: Breaking Point | ANSWERS with Dr Justin Coulson (ac-page.com)

We strongly recommend that parents register for the webinar, giving them access to the recording for fourteen days after the live session.

(Please note that the time of the webinar is 8:00 pm in Victoria.)

Date: Tuesday 27 February
Time: 8:00 pm (AEDT)
Register here: https://happyfamiliesfamilyeducation.ac-page.com/StPaulsAnglicanGrammarSchool

COVID-19 REMINDERS

As a community, we are very mindful of the impact that COVID-19 can have on the health of our most vulnerable and we ask that all community members continue to support us by:
• Keeping students at home if they have any symptoms, irrespective of a COVID-19 test result.
• Keeping students home from school for at least five days and until symptoms have dissipated after they have tested positive.
• Wearing a mask (recommended) if a household contact has COVID-19.

Masks are readily available at school (student services, reception and year level areas).

Please note that rapid antigen tests (RATs) are available to all Victorians from council sites. People can get two free packs (ten tests) for themselves and two free packs (ten tests) for each of their household members.

Gordon Oldham
Deputy Principal

2024 STUDENT RESIDENTIAL ADDRESS AND OTHER INFORMATION COLLECTION NOTICE FOR PARENTS/GUARDIANS

The Australian Government Department of Education (the department) has requested that non-government schools provide the department with all student statements of address in accordance with the Australian Education Regulation 2023.

The school is required to provide the department with the following information about each student at the school:
• names and residential addresses of the student’s parent(s) and/or guardian(s)
• student residential address (excluding student names)
• whether the student is a primary or secondary student (education level)
• whether the student is boarding or a day student (boarding status).

The information collected is used to inform school funding calculations. It is combined with Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data to calculate a non-government school community’s anticipated capacity to contribute to schooling costs.

Please click on the link below to access information regarding this matter from the Australian Government.
https://my.stpaulsags.vic.edu.au/send.php?id=127831

STRESS AND WORRY

Stressed and worried are terms commonly used interchangeably but which are considerably different from one another. Stress is a natural, biological response to a difficult, uncertain or dangerous situation. Stress is extremely common among students, as they are constantly put in situations designed to challenge them physically (for example during camps and sporting classes) and mentally (for example during tests, SACs and exams). Stress is a normal part of human existence and it is often a good thing – it can help students stay alert, motivated, focused and ready to act. It can also drive them to push themselves, which can be useful during sporting matches and assessments. However, if stress persists long after the stressful event has passed, has a negative impact on performance or begins to affect a student’s day-to-day life, then it has become problematic.

Whilst stress involves biological responses, worry involves the mind’s response to a stressor. Worry commonly causes students to dwell on negative thoughts or situations. Again, worry is a normal and important function for students – it helps them to problem-solve situations so that they can take action. However, if the worry becomes obsessive or if it prevents a student from participating in their usual activities (for example withdrawing socially, school avoidance/refusal or ceasing co-curricular activities), it stops being helpful.

If your child is feeling stressed or worried, there are several ways you can help them as a parent. Encouraging your child to be physically active can be extremely beneficial. When a child is stressed, their body releases an excess of adrenaline. Physical activity uses this adrenaline in a productive way, which can reduce the “jittery” feeling that is commonly described. When your child is worried, being active can be a welcome distraction, and can release endorphins, also known as “feel-good hormones”.

Talking can also be helpful during periods of stress and worry. By encouraging your child to share their worries and concerns, these will often start to feel less cumbersome. Writing down worries and then throwing these away or setting aside scheduled worried time can also be helpful if your child is experiencing a large number of worries.

It is important that you encourage your child to continue with their day-to-day activities during times of stress and worry. Avoiding triggering situations can make it more difficult for your child in the long run. Instead, encourage them to try a mindfulness meditation, breathing exercise, grounding exercise or another coping strategy until the feeling passes.

If the stress and/or worry are not improving, then it may be time to arrange counselling. The St Paul’s Anglican Grammar School counselling team is available to provide up to six sessions for students in need of support. If you think your child would benefit from school-based counselling support, speak to their Deputy Head of School (Junior School) or Head of Year (Secondary School).

Shannon Staples
Head of Counselling Services

DONATE A DICTIONARY!

During the upcoming April holidays, a total of nine students from the Traralgon and Warragul Secondary Schools, together with teachers Kirsten Enders, Andrea Heard and Jan Park, will be travelling to the Ermera District in East Timor.

Amongst many wonderful experiences, we will be visiting the Pre-Secondary School in Ponilala, built with money raised by St Paul’s and be honoured guests at the inauguration of the English Language Study Centre in Malimea Village. We are hoping to present each student at the Ponilala School with an English/Tetun dictionary and leave a class set of dictionaries at the language centre. Each dictionary costs the equivalent of $10AUD and we have approximately one hundred and fifty to buy.

We are hoping that students or families of the St Paul’s community would be willing to donate $10 to buy a dictionary for a Timorese student. A nameplate with the donor’s name will be placed inside each dictionary noting that the dictionary was a gift.

Donations can be made via direct deposit into the school’s account or at Reception.

Payment by direct deposit:
Account Name: St Paul’s Anglican Grammar School
BSB: 033 262
Account Number: 190554

Please include the following reference for your payment:
Team Timor [family name]

Our Timorese colleagues will be most grateful of your support.

Kirsten Enders, Andrea Heard and Jan Park
Team Timor

TEAM TIMOR SPREADS THE LOVE THROUGHOUT ST PAUL’S

Last week on Tuesday 13 and Wednesday 14 February, love blossomed throughout the St Paul’s Traralgon Secondary School, with Team Timor running our annual Valentine’s Day stall and over $100 being made. Whether the gifts were purchased for friends or someone a little more special, we appreciate all who supported Team Timor.
For the Year 7 students who missed Valentine’s Day or any hopeless romantics out there, Team Timor will be holding a late Valentine’s Day stall called ‘Friday I’m In Love’ this Friday 23 February. This will be operated by our new Year 7 team members who we are very excited to welcome to Team Timor.

Chloe Ellen
Traralgon Team Timor Leader

CAMP RUMBUG

With a blend of anticipation and butterflies, our Year 7 Traralgon group, along with our fantastic Peer Support Leaders, set off for Camp Rumbug, nestled in the scenic hills of Foster. Upon arrival, we were thrilled to find our rooms ready for us, allowing us to settle in before embarking on a tour of the grounds. This initial trek turned out to be quite the reality check, with steep hills and mid-thirty-degree temperatures challenging us from the start. Welcome to camp indeed!

After a satisfying lunch and some ice-breaking games, we dove into our first round of group activities. Over the next two and a half days, students pushed their limits in raft building, canoeing, the flying fox, the giant swing and various team-building initiatives. The mud run was a definite highlight, with many students embracing the challenge with gusto. Despite the extreme heat, our group powered through each day, fuelled by hearty breakfasts and capped off with delicious dinners.

Night-time brought its own adventures, with engaging activities keeping everyone entertained before settling in for a well-deserved rest. Our enthusiastic camp leader, Josie, deserves special mention for her exceptional care and leadership throughout.
I want to express my pride in everyone on camp, who exhibited resilience, courage, teamwork and a great sense of humour in challenging conditions. We are excited to continue working closely with this group throughout the year and look forward to witnessing their remarkable achievements. A huge ‘thank you’ to our Peer Support Leaders, whose exemplary care and initiative were truly appreciated.

Lastly, I must commend our staff for their unwavering professionalism and dedication, going above and beyond to ensure a memorable camp experience for all.

Andrew McGrath
Head of Years 7 and 8

NAPLAN TESTS

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) 2024 for Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 students will be held on Wednesday 13 March, Friday 15 March, Monday 18 March and Tuesday 19 March 2024. NAPLAN tests assess student knowledge and skills in Writing, Reading, Language conventions (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and Numeracy. The results of the tests provide information for students, parents, teachers and principals which can be used to improve student achievement.

Students and parents can access the NAPLAN practice site at https://nap.edu.au/naplan/public-demonstration-site to become familiar with the format of these online tests.

All students are expected to participate in the NAPLAN tests. During test week, catch-up sessions will be available for individual students who are absent on test days. These students may undertake catch-up sessions on the days in the test week after the scheduled test, up to and including Monday 25 March 2024.

Support can be arranged for students with disabilities if the student regularly uses similar support for classroom assessment tasks. The NAPLAN online system also allows adjustments to how the tests are presented. Exemptions may be granted to students with significant intellectual disabilities and to students who have been learning English for less than one year. If your child is eligible for support due to disability or an exemption, you should discuss this with his/her teacher prior to the tests. Parental consent is required before any support due to disability or exemption is granted.

Students may be withdrawn from NAPLAN by their parent or carer. This is a matter for consideration by parents and carers in consultation with the school. If, after consultation, you decide to withdraw your child, you must sign a Student Withdrawal form. Please contact Chris Ambrozy at cambrozy@stpaulsags.vic.edu.au should you wish to obtain Student Withdrawal form.

Later in the year, you will receive your child’s personal NAPLAN report. The report will describe your child’s particular skills in reading, writing, language conventions (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy. The report will also show how your child performed in relation to national minimum standards. These describe the minimum acceptable standards for students across Australia.

I am confident that the information you receive as a result of your child’s participation in the NAPLAN tests will be valuable in helping you to assess your child’s progress in literacy and numeracy.

For more information about the tests, please visit the NAP website at www.nap.edu.au

Chris Ambrozy
Director of Studies

CO-CURRICULAR CLUBS AT ST PAUL’S

We are excited to release our 2024 Co-curricular Clubs’ timetable for this year. There is something for everyone!
Co-curricular activities at St Paul’s give all our students opportunities to extend their passions whilst fostering student connections with both students and staff in the process. Whether a student’s passion is in the Arts, Science, English or anywhere in between students will find a club that suits their interest.

Clubs can also be beneficial as they allow students to build their personal development skills such as enhancing, organisation, teamwork, negotiation, communication and time management. Whilst making lifelong memories and friends in the process, clubs and activities are a great way to make broader connections. Our diverse range of clubs can allow for whole school representation at various SEISA events that occur during the 2024 calendar year, such as Chess and Debating to name just a few.

Anyone interested in a particular club or sporting activity should keep an eye on MyStPauls for regular updates and sign-up details. Or simply come along on the day to the room and time identified on the timetable to join in.

All welcome!

Alice Zanella
Deputy Head of Secondary School – Traralgon Campus

TRARALGON CAMPUS 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 .

Heather Mason
Head of Performing Arts – Co-Curricular

FROM THE FINANCE OFFICE

Annual Fee Account
Families have recently received via email an annual fee account for 2024. If you have any queries in relation to your annual fee account, please contact Ms Nicole Giddings 5623 5833. As detailed on the second page of the account, payment options are:

Direct Debit:
All families are encouraged to participate in the school’s direct debit payment arrangement.

We offer fortnightly instalments (twenty-two payments) commencing 9 February 2024 and monthly instalments (ten payments) commencing 15 February 2024.

Other direct debit payment dates are also available by arrangement.

Should families wish to commence payment by Direct Debit, please contact Ms Nicole Giddings, accountsreceivable@stpaulsags.vic.edu.au as soon as possible to set up an arrangement.

Please find the direct debit form on the school website at this link https://www.stpaulsags.vic.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Direct-Debit-Request-Form-2023.pdf

Instalments (due dates):
Instalment 1 – 9 February 2024 (over due)
Instalment 2 – 5 April 2024
Instalment 3 – 3 June 2024
Instalment 4 – 9 August 2024

Payment in Full:
A discount of $350 per child, from Prep to Year 12, is offered to families if the annual invoice is paid in full by 16 February 2024.

Private Car Conveyance Allowance
Families driving students more than 4.8 kilometres to attend St Paul’s Anglican Grammar School may be eligible to receive a conveyance allowance. For further information on the eligibility criteria and application process, please refer to https://www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/conveyance-allowance/policy

Eligible families applying for the car conveyance allowance will have funds credited to their fee account during the year. If the fee account has been paid in full, or is on a direct debit arrangement, any allocation will show as a credit on the following year’s invoice.

The Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF)
The Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF) provides payments directly to the school for the benefit of the eligible student to attend camps, sports and excursions. Families holding a valid means-tested concession card or temporary foster parents are eligible to apply. $125 per year will be paid for eligible primary school students and $225 per year paid for eligible secondary school students. Payments will go directly to the school and be tied to the student. For more information and to download the application form please go to https://www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/camps-sports-and-excursions-fund/resources

Parents are encouraged to lodge the application form immediately. The CSEF program for 2024 closes at the end of Term 2. All forms must be received by 24 June 2024 to be processed.

For parents who received CSEF at the school in 2023 (and the student/s are still enrolled in 2024), the schools will ‘copy’ the application across from 2023 to 2024 on the CSEF system. The CSEF system will automatically validate the parent’s eligibility with Centrelink.

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

Family Fun and Information Evening
Thank you to all families who joined us for our annual Family Fun and Information Evening. It was terrific to see our community come together and join in activities and classroom information sessions. The Prep Grand Prix was really lovely and it was wonderful to see our Year 4 students fulfilling their buddy role supporting Prep students as they paraded in their cardboard racing cars.  Our Years 5 and 6 students did a marvellous job organising some excellent activities which kept everyone entertained and engaged. Huge thanks to our amazing FOSP parents who cooked a delicious barbeque all night and kicked off the first fundraising activity for the year, Lucky Ducks. Congratulations to the winners of the Lucky Duck competition: Kamy Wu, Chris Hector and Meeva Shinu.
Parent handbooks for each year level are now available on the parent pages of MyStPauls.

Teaching Teams for 2024
At a recent staff meeting, our teaching teams were asked to share their teaching experiences, qualifications and beliefs about education. We discovered a team of experienced, passionate and highly trained educators with a wide range of qualifications and experiences across many different contexts. This is very exciting for our school as we draw on teachers’ skills and knowledge and continue to develop our Junior School ensuring all students have opportunities to pursue their individual potential.

Each team developed a brief paragraph to share with parents.

The Prep to Year 2 team for 2024 includes Lauren Vercoe, Sarah Berryman, Julia Cullen, Stefanie Settle, Lara Gibbons and Jade Hosken. The team is looking forward to working together again in 2024. We are a diverse group of teachers with a collective experience of 63 years in education with a wide range of leadership involvement. We are passionate about science, digital technologies, literacy, numeracy and wellbeing. We are all trained in a range of evidence-based practices including The Writing Revolution, Explicit Direct Instruction, Let’s Decode and various Science of Learning programs. We are a strong team working collaboratively together to ensure our students can achieve their personal best.

Our Years 3 and 4 team for 2024 includes Quinn McGennisken, Lucas Tripodi, Rick Battista, Lorelle Cotterrell, Deb Dean and Emily Galea. Together, we share a variety of passions including teaching and learning, student wellbeing, sport, fitness, reading and our own learning. Through our experiences, the team brings a diverse range of qualities, strengths and knowledge to their roles which are complementary and contribute to strong collaboration and support for one another and their students. We have been in many roles including leadership, many year levels and specialists such as PE, art, STEM, science and intervention. The team is looking forward to creating a safe, positive, inclusive and exciting environment where our students learn their best and are enthusiastic about the opportunities available here at St Paul’s.

Our Years 5 and 6 team includes Tegan Clavarino, Carly Sellings, Laura Vannapraseuth, Jodie Bugeja, Anita Richmond-Smith and Sarah Johnson. We are an experienced team who are hardworking and passionate educators. They have adapted and developed their teaching skills and are highly trained in evidence-based instruction. Our team has a strong focus on student wellbeing, and encourages and supports our students to be involved and active members of our community, taking on leadership roles and being of service to others.

St Paul’s offers a highly accomplished dedicated team of specialist educators who are committed to fostering the individual skills and strengths of all students. Our specialist teachers include Jannet Taylor (Library), Sienna Reid (Performing Arts), Billy Rilen (PE), Shinya Takusari (Japanese), Natalie Coleman (Community, Culture and Country), Glen Treble (Christian Studies) and Karen Fox (Visual Art). We have a wide range of experiences and qualifications in our specialist fields across educational sectors and we bring enthusiasm and passion to the teaching of our subject.

Our Education Support team together has over sixty years of experience in supporting students with their learning. Every day looks different and our Education Support team work with students to guide and mentor students supporting them socially, emotionally and academically in and out of the classroom. The Education Support team includes Karen Ashworth, Rebecca Coulston, Sam Vaninetti, Luke Phillips, Brittney Paulet, Kelsea Timmers and Gareth Waack-Hawkins. You can find them at any given time driving buses, cooking in the Endeavour Program, teaching small groups of children, supporting students with their learning in the classroom, assisting in the yard, assisting with special events, encouraging participation of students, attending camps and sporting competition, administering first aid and completing admin tasks. They are highly skilled and experienced and loved by our students, teachers and families.

Shrove Tuesday
Last week Year 6 students attended St James Church and assisted with cooking and serving pancakes to the church community for Shrove Tuesday. Students were respectful, kind and polite. Reverend Gradwell Fredricks was impressed with our students’ display of leadership qualities and their generosity. Many thanks to teachers Tegan Clavarino and Carly Sellings who organised this worthwhile event and accompanied students.

At school, students competed in some exciting relay pancake races. There was cheering and pancake flipping and dropping! Students were very keen to eat some delicious pancakes afterwards. Many thanks to our awesome Education Support staff who cooked up hundreds of pancakes throughout the morning.

Valentine’s Day Competition
Congratulations to Adam Shein and Noah Macri for their winning entries in our Valentine’s Day competition. Both Adam and Noah completed research to discover the origins of Valentine’s Day.
Did you know?

The origins of Valentine’s Day are somewhat unclear and are rooted in both Christian and ancient Roman traditions. One popular legend attributes the day to a Christian martyr named St Valentine. According to this story, during the third century in Rome, Emperor Claudius II outlawed marriage for young men, believing that single men made better soldiers. St Valentine defied the decree and continued to perform marriages for young couples in secret. When his actions were discovered, he was imprisoned and eventually executed on 14 February.

Another theory links Valentine’s Day to the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia, which was celebrated around the same time in mid-February. Lupercalia was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, and involved rituals and celebrations that included pairing young women with men through a lottery.

Over time, these traditions merged, and by the Middle Ages, Valentine’s Day became associated with romantic love. In the 14th century, the poet Geoffrey Chaucer popularised the idea of romantic love in his writings, further contributing to the association of 14 February with love and affection. The exchange of love notes and tokens also became a common practice during this period.

In the 19th century, the tradition of sending Valentine’s Day cards gained popularity and the day evolved into the celebration of love and affection that we recognise today. Today, Valentine’s Day is celebrated worldwide, with people expressing their love and affection for one another through the exchange of cards, flowers, chocolates and other gifts.

FOSP Engraved Paver Project
It was very exciting to see our engraved pavers installed this week adjacent to the new Futures Centre. The pavers are a lovely feature in the garden and seating area near the canteen. Our FOSP parent group worked very hard to get this fundraiser underway at the end of 2023 and they are thanked for their organisation and determination. Many thanks also to the families who supported the fundraiser and purchased pavers. The pavers make a lovely addition to our garden space and everyone is encouraged to visit and enjoy.

District Swimming
Congratulations to our eighteen students who competed in the recent District Swimming competition. All students can be proud of their efforts and achievements along with their displays of sportsmanship, teamwork, and personal growth. Many thanks to Mr Rilen for his organisation of this event.

Year 7 Information Evening
The Year 7 2025 Traralgon Secondary Information Evening will be held on Tuesday 5 March 2024.  Tours of the Secondary School will be available from 6:00 pm, with the Parent Information Session commencing at 7:00 pm. All interested families are most welcome to come along, meet our staff and tour the facilities at our Traralgon Secondary School. To register to attend this event please click on the link below and complete online registration.
https://www.stpaulsags.vic.edu.au/events/2025-year-7-information-evening/

Sovereign Hill Camp
Our Year 5 students enjoyed a fabulous time at Sovereign Hill Camp. This immersive experience offered a journey back in time to the 1850s gold rush era. Students had the unique opportunity to step into the shoes of early Australian settlers, to explore the bustling streets of the authentically recreated goldfields town. The camp provided hands-on activities such as gold panning, candle making, and traditional crafts, allowing students to experience the daily life of the pioneers. Through interactive workshops and engaging demonstrations, students gained insights into the challenges and triumphs of this pivotal period in Australian history. The Sovereign Hill Camp has been a memorable and educational journey that has created lasting impressions and piqued the students’ interest in history.

Many thanks to our staff, Sarah Johnson, Anita Richmond-Smith, Jodie Bugeja, Luke Phillips and Kayla Ludbey, who attended the camp and took care of students ensuring everyone had a wonderful experience.

Cyber Safety
We are very pleased to announce that our school has partnered with Australia’s leading cyber safety experts, ySafe by Linewize, to provide our parents, students, and teachers with the best possible cyber safety education support.

Online Safety Hub
As a part of our partnership with ySafe, we have received our very own Online Safety Hub. The Online Safety Hub provides a rich source of information for you to help you manage cyber safety in the home, including engaging blogs, articles, guides and resources. The Online Safety Hub can be accessed using the link below.
stpaulsags.onlinesafetyhub.com.au

I encourage all parents to have a look through the Online Safety Hub and the resources available.

Parent Information Session
An information session for parents has been scheduled for Tuesday 27 February. This session will be online and the link to register will be emailed to families shortly.

Protecting children in their digital worlds is an ever-evolving task for Australian families. Now more than ever parents are looking for guidance in how to manage screen time and navigate the world of games and social media.

We are therefore pleased to help our parent community by offering a crucial and engaging education session with ySafe, Australia’s leading provider of online safety education. This practical, strategy-rich session will cover the most important points that all families need to know about online safety, covering key information about social media and gaming, screen time recommendations and step-by-step instructions on how to set up a cyber safe home for children of all ages.

If you have ever struggled with getting your children off their games and into bed, worried about the content of the games that they are playing or felt concerned that your child was spending too much time in the digital world, this session is for you!

Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying is a form of bullying using technology such as the Internet or mobile phone. It can be shared widely and quickly with a lot of people, making this form of bullying extremely dangerous and harmful. It has become increasingly common, especially among teenagers. Cyberbullying can be identified as being repeated behaviour by an aggressor with the intent to harm or embarrass someone. This type of behaviour can include posting rumours about a person, posting direct threats or sexual remarks and even disclosing a victim’s personal information. Internet trolling is another common form of cyberbullying often found in online gaming or social media circles. Internet trolls often do this to elicit a reaction or disruption from their victim purely for their own personal amusement.

For more information and resources about cyber bullying please visit School TV. Click here https://stpaulsags.vic.schooltv.me/newsletter/cyber-bullying

FOSP Hot Cross Buns
This year for our annual Bun drive, FOSP have teamed up with local Traralgon business Missen Link, who are providing St Paul’s Anglican Grammar School with the opportunity to raise funds for our school. For every six-pack of buns purchased, $2 will be donated to FOSP – St Paul’s Traralgon Campus.

Orders close: Tuesday 12 March 2024 with delivery to the school on Friday 22 March 2024

The most difficult part will be deciding what flavour/s to purchase – choose from Traditional, Traditional Fruitless, Chocolate Chip, Caramel White Choc, Strawberry White Choc, Raspberry Milk Choc, Nutella Custard, Custard Filled or Jam Filled.

Families are able to order online via MunchMonitor: https://www.munchmonitor.com  and click on the SchoolShop tile.

Tracey King
Head of Traralgon Junior School

WHAT’S ON

FEBRUARY
16 February  Family Fun and Information Evening, 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm
20 February  District Swimming (selected students)
Year 5 Sovereign Hill Camp (four days)
26 February  Hot Cross Bun Drive, Orders open
27 February  Years 5 and 6 ySafe Cyber Safety Session
ySafe Parent Information Session
Dr Justin Coulson Live Webinar: “Breaking Point: Unpacking the Crisis in Youth Mental Health”, 8:00 pm
Register now: https://happyfamiliesfamilyeducation.ac-page.com/StPaulsAnglicanGrammarSchool
28 February  Parent Student Teacher Interviews, 3:30 pm to 8:00 pm
29 February  Parent Student Teacher Interviews, 3:30 pm to 6:00 pm
Questacon Science Circus Incursion

MARCH
1 March  School’s Clean Up Australia Day
5 March  Parent Volunteer Induction, 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm
20 March  Athletics Carnival
12 March  ELC to Year 2 Parent Evening: Learning to Read, 6:00 pm
Year 6 Urban Camp begins (four days)
Hot Cross Bun Drive, Orders close
11 March  Labour Day Public Holiday
20 March  Athletics Carnival
21 March  Harmony Day
22 March  Hot Cross Bun Orders delivered to school
25 March  Hoodie Up for Autism
26 March  District Athletics (selected students)
27 March  Classroom EXPOs, 2:30 pm
28 March  Easter Service
FOSP Easter Hunt
End of Term 1, 2:20 pm finish

DR JUSTIN COULSON WEBINAR

Further to recent communication, we invite all parents and guardians to register for the Dr Justin Coulson webinar, “Breaking Point: Unpacking the Crisis in Youth Mental Health.” Dr Coulson is a prominent psychologist whose website www.happyfamilies.com.au provides advice and resources for families. Dr Coulson features regularly on radio and television in Australia and is also a podcast host and writes for a range of national publications.

Further information about the session and Dr Coulson can be found here: Breaking Point | ANSWERS with Dr Justin Coulson (ac-page.com)

We strongly recommend that parents register for the webinar, giving them access to the recording for fourteen days after the live session.

(Please note that the time of the webinar is 8:00 pm in Victoria.)

Date: Tuesday 27 February
Time: 8:00 pm (AEDT)
Register here: https://happyfamiliesfamilyeducation.ac-page.com/StPaulsAnglicanGrammarSchool

DOBSONS 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.

CLASS UPDATES

Early Learning Centre
The Jirrah team highly value the individual child’s emotional, health and wellbeing to best support their sense of safety in what may possibly be their first educational environment away from their families. Positive and trusting relationships are an integral part of three-year-old kinder between not only the children but also their families. This community and understanding of the families assist us in providing an extension of the child’s first learning space, their home. This safe supportive space assists families in building strong foundations in not only the school but also a strong understanding of their child’s development and wellbeing.

The Goongera team feel strongly about providing a safe, secure and calm environment for the children. We feel our strengths are in building respectful relationships with the children and their families. We value the importance of play for children and want to support children in their independent skill development. We value each child as a unique individual with different needs and interests, and encourage children to be the best version of themselves. We absolutely love what we do and feel privileged to make an impact in the children’s lives.

The Noorat team acknowledges that every child is a unique, competent and capable individual. We celebrate each child’s learning as they strive to reach their full potential. We provide an inclusive and supportive learning environment and value that parents are a child’s first teacher. We endeavour to make close connections and communications with children and families, to ensure that children feel safe and secure with staff in the ELC environment. Our team works in a consistent approach using the Play is the Way life concepts as a guide throughout all learning.

The Goola team engage in lots of collaboration. We bounce ideas off each other and involve the children in decision-making – we feel it is important to have the child’s voice in the program. We are passionate about trying new things and learning new ways of meeting the needs of the group. Creating a safe and welcoming environment is one of our strong points, as is balancing everyone’s strengths.

“It takes a Village to raise a Child”. — African proverb
Prep
Prep students have been extremely busy continuing their learning about the brain, identifying the things it needs to function effectively and how what we learn is moved through our brain to our long-term memory. Students then proudly demonstrated their knowledge and understanding of the brain by completing their first bubble map.

In literacy, students have been excitedly learning about various letters and the sounds these letters represent as part of our Let’s Decode program. In our literacy reviews, students have continued to develop their understanding of our Explicit Instruction engagement norms, answering questions about classroom routines and reviewing new concepts learned this term. During our Wellbeing sessions, students have begun to discuss emotions and have been eagerly identifying and classifying what makes us feel these feelings.

What a wonderful fortnight of learning it has been!
Year 1
In Year 1 we have continued to learn about our brains and the best way to keep them functioning and working effectively. Getting lots of sleep, drinking plenty of water and filling our bodies with healthy foods will help us be the best learners we can be. We have been enjoying movement breaks to give our minds and bodies time to recharge in between lessons. We have also had time to explore our exciting new library and enjoyed climbing the stairs to look at the view!
Year 2
Weeks 3 and 4 saw students racing with pancakes, visiting the new library, practising for Athletics Day and getting their string instruments in Music.

Students have explored the Thinking Maps so that they can visually represent their knowledge and thinking. These Thinking Maps have allowed them to think their way through new information and process ideas. The subject of the Thinking Maps has been ‘Our Story’ and classmates have learnt about each other as they have completed them.

Students have also discussed the importance of practising over and over again when learning, to make sure it stays in our long-term memory. In Maths, they have been learning to use calendars. They know that we count the weeks and then the days when seeing how long it is until a particular event today. They have been getting back into routine with Let’s Decode, continuing to develop their letter-sound knowledge and reading fluency.
Year 3
The anticipation has been palpable this week, with most of our Year 3 students eagerly awaiting their opportunity to participate in brain dissections! This finally came to fruition on Wednesday, when our students donned their gloves and wielded their plastic knives and skewers in the pursuit of identifying the various structures of the brain that they have learnt about during our initial weeks of school. We severed cerebellums, halved hemispheres, and prodded pineal glands as we explored the innermost parts and pieces of the brain. It was a challenging yet enjoyable experience and undoubtedly one lesson that parents will be privy to the details when asking the golden question – “How was your day?”  beyond the school gates.

Last week, we had the pleasure of hosting Year 3 parents and students for our Family Fun and Information Evening. It was a wholesome and informative event that fostered the community spirit we have here at St Paul’s and brought families and teachers together to discuss our routines and expectations, setting a positive tone as we embark on the year ahead. Our students continue to settle into Year 3 life with ease and enthusiasm and we are looking forward to hitting the ground running with all our subject areas next week and meeting parents at Parent Student Teacher Interviews!
Year 4
The Year 4 cohort transitioned smoothly into their new classroom routine and students have been working well together, rising to the challenges expected of them.

Our ‘Learning to Learn’ unit is coming to an end and the students have enjoyed being immersed in engaging content about the brain and many hands-on activities. They have enthusiastically made brains out of playdough, neurons out of pipe cleaners, created thinking maps and done sketch-noting to share their knowledge and reinforce their learning. They have also had the opportunity to identify the different parts of the brain by dissecting a sheep’s brain.

They have continued to review Numeracy and Literacy skills learnt last year through daily reviews. They have also created a variety of thinking maps about themselves, allowing them to learn more about each other.

Our buddy sessions with the Preps have been a highlight, especially making cars for the Grand Prix parade and spending some time with them again for a picnic lunch.
Year 5
After the last few weeks of looking at the brain and how we learn, we headed off to camp. Some of the students may have even experienced how sleep deprivation can affect us as our first night was quite late after watching the Aura show.

Year 5 camp to Sovereign Hill has been a wonderful experience for students who took advantage of every opportunity to join in activities and learn about the gold fields. Students enjoyed dressing up in period costumes and role-playing together. They particularly enjoyed the sound and light show highlighting the Eureka Stockade, Aboriginal dreamtime stories, open-air theatre, gold panning bowling, confectionery making, musket firing and candle making along with education sessions and exploring the township.

Thank you to all the parents that attended the information session last Friday.
Year 6
Our Year 6 students recently had the opportunity to attend St James Church in Traralgon for the celebration of Shrove Tuesday. Under the guidance of Reverend Gradwell Fredericks, our students had the opportunity to learn about the significance of Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday. They eagerly participated in making pancake batter, flipping, and cooking dozens of pancakes for the church community. One of the highlights of the event was the captivating performance by our students, who sang “Our Lighthouse” and “God So Loved” with beautiful voices that captured the audience’s hearts. We would like to extend our gratitude to our talented musicians for their dedication in preparing and performing during the event. We are proud to report that our students respectfully served and communicated with the members of the church community, representing our school with pride and integrity. The Shrove Tuesday celebration at St James Church was truly a memorable experience that not only enriched our students’ understanding of their faith but also strengthened their connections within the community. Events like these play a crucial role in fostering a sense of belonging and responsibility among our students.

We also acknowledge the innovative contributions of our Year 6 students at our Family Fun Night. These young leaders demonstrated creativity, organisation and community spirit. Year 6 students took the lead in organising and operating various stalls, offering entertainment and enjoyment for all attendees. Their efforts not only brought joy to the younger members of our community but also highlighted their ability to work collaboratively and manage projects effectively.

With their creativity, compassion and resilience, these young leaders are poised to continue making meaningful contributions to our school community and beyond.

Community, Culture and Country: Natalie Coleman
Community, Culture and Country is off to a great start at Traralgon Junior School!

Our Prep to Year 2 classes have had a busy start in their new subject Community, Culture and Country.

We have begun our year exploring the Country we live and learn on and understanding the importance of Acknowledging the Traditional Owners, the Gunaikurnai people.

All students can now say hello in the local language and are getting great enjoyment from both singing and speaking language. Local stories have been featured each week and students have been enjoying hearing about Jiddalick (Tiddalick), Borun and Tuk and relish the opportunity to move across the school grounds from classroom to classroom as a frog, pelican or musk duck.

Students have begun to build their suitcases of belonging, promoting the celebration of diversity and recognising the importance of difference in shaping perspectives and world views.

We are looking forward to sharing snippets of our learnings at upcoming school assemblies.

Performing Arts: Sienna Reid
St Paul’s Traralgon Junior School Traralgon is thrilled to unveil the cast for our upcoming production of ‘Aladdin JR.’  After an intensive audition process filled with talent and enthusiasm, we are delighted to announce the following students who will bring the magic of Agrabah to life.
– Aladdin: Rumindu R
– Jasmine: Ava S
– Genie: Ava B
– Jafar: Emma C
– Sultan: Alex L
– Iago: Mitchell T
– Babkak: Frank K
– Omar: Jack R
– Kassim: William L
– Isir: Charvi M
– Manal: Mila M
– Rajah: Natasha P
– Prince Abdullah: Jetson V

Congratulations to all the cast members! Your dedication and passion shone brightly throughout the auditions; we cannot wait to see you bring these beloved characters to life on stage. Rehearsals will begin promptly and we look forward to an enchanting and unforgettable performance. Thank you to all the students who auditioned; your talent made the selection process truly challenging. Let’s make this production of ‘Aladdin JR.’ a shining success together!

Japanese: Shinya Takusari
Students from Years 3 to 6 had a good start learning Japanese in 2024. Some classes have already had a chance to talk to Japanese students via the internet in the last two weeks and all of them remember the Japanese self-introduction they learnt in previous years.

Visual Art: Karen Fox
The Traralgon Year 2 students have been learning about the colour wheel. They have looked at several well-known artworks and discussed how colour has been used to convey a message or feeling. Students are now putting their colour knowledge to use, carefully painting their own individually coloured Elmer the Elephant.
Library: Jannet Taylor
We have been welcoming back students to a thrilling start of Term 1 in the library with some very exciting news … we have unveiled our brand-new library within the Futures Centre. The library is teeming with literary wonders for students from ELC to Year 6 and beyond. The students are embarking on a reading adventure like never before. Our dedicated team is thrilled to welcome students into the space and find the right resource for their needs. For regular updates keep a watch on our Junior School Library MyStPauls page. https://my.stpaulsags.vic.edu.au/homepage/2862/

Physical Education: Billy Rilen
The Traralgon District Swimming Championships took place at the Gippsland Regional Aquatic Centre on Tuesday 20 February. It was an exciting event that brought together students from various schools in Traralgon.

St Paul’s had a strong presence at the championships, with eighteen students representing the school across thirty-six events. The students demonstrated their skills and competed fiercely in their respective events. Our students gave their all in the pool whilst displaying sportsmanship, teamwork and personal growth.

Several students emerged as ribbon winners, highlighting their exceptional swimming abilities. It is a testament to the hard work and support provided by both the students and their families. The dedication and encouragement from the families play a crucial role in nurturing the students’ passion for swimming and helping them to excel in their chosen sport.

Unfortunately, the Year 5 students from St Paul’s missed participating in the championships as they were away at the Sovereign Hill camp. However, for those students who have qualified, there is good news. They will receive invitations to progress to the division level.

In conclusion, St Paul’s had a commendable performance at the Traralgon District Swimming Championships finishing fourth place overall. The school community is proud of your achievements.

Results

50m Freestyle
9/10G – fourth – Willow Orchard – 47.47
9/10G – ninth – Anna Sievers – 51.81
9/10G – twelfth – Ada Abrecht – 53.74
9/10G – fifteenth – Lillian Zanella – 59.90
9/10B – third – Dylan Wu – 50.57
9/10B – twelfth – Ari Cane – 1:05.19
9/10B – thirteenth – Manendu Rohanachandra – 1:07.86
9/10B – fifteenth – Blake Richmond-Smith – 1:21.83
11G – first – Avaya Mittelmajer – 42.06
12/13B – second – Rumindu Rohanachandra – 35.49
12/13B – third – Tyrone Ke – 35.80
12/13B – fourth – Nicholas Hector – 36.09
12/13B – fifth – William Lambert – 40.50

50m Backstroke
9/10G – fourth – Charli Dalla Valle – 56.06
9/10G – sixth – Willow Orchard – 57.83
9/10B – fifth – Ari Cane – 1:07.17
9/10B – sixth – Manendu Rohanachandra – 1:08.82
11G – second – Avaya Mittelmajer – 48.92
12/13G – sixth – Emma Chen – 1:07.54
12/13B – second – Tyrone Ke – 43.70
12/13B – third – Rumindu Rohanachandra – 45.39

50m Breaststroke
9/10G – fifth – Willow Orchard – 1:07.34
9/10G – sixth – Ada Abrecht – 1:08.68
9/10B – first – Dylan Wu – 1:03.27
12/13B – second – Patrik Wu – 48.61
12/13B – third – William Lambert – 55.46

50m Butterfly
9/10G – second – Willow Orchard – 1:05.58
9/10G – — – Isabella Young – DQ
11G – first – Avaya Mittelmajer – 51.08
12/13B – second – Nicholas Hector – 53.40
12/13B – third – William Lambert – 55.77

4x50m Freestyle Relay
9/10 Girls – third – Ada A, Lil Z, Anna S and Willow O – 3:40.11
9/10 Boys – third – Ari C, Manendu R, Blake R and Dylan W – 4:48.45
12/13 Boys – first – Nicholas H, Tyrone K, William L and Rumindu R – 2:33.25 PB

200m Medley Relay
Girls – second – Willow O, Ada A, Avaya M & Anna S – 3:52.84
Boys – first – Tyrone K, Patrik W, William L and Rumindu R – 3:10.13

COVID-19 REMINDERS

As a community, we are very mindful of the impact that COVID-19 can have on the health of our most vulnerable and we ask that all community members continue to support us by:
• Keeping students at home if they have any symptoms, irrespective of a COVID-19 test result.
• Keeping students home from school for at least five days and until symptoms have dissipated after they have tested positive.
• Wearing a mask (recommended) if a household contact has COVID-19.

Masks are readily available at school (student services, reception and year level areas).

Please note that rapid antigen tests (RATs) are available to all Victorians from council sites. People can get two free packs (ten tests) for themselves and two free packs (ten tests) for each of their household members.

Gordon Oldham
Deputy Principal

2024 STUDENT RESIDENTIAL ADDRESS AND OTHER INFORMATION COLLECTION NOTICE FOR PARENTS/GUARDIANS

The Australian Government Department of Education (the department) has requested that non-government schools provide the department with all student statements of address in accordance with the Australian Education Regulation 2023.

The school is required to provide the department with the following information about each student at the school:
• names and residential addresses of the student’s parent(s) and/or guardian(s)
• student residential address (excluding student names)
• whether the student is a primary or secondary student (education level)
• whether the student is boarding or a day student (boarding status).

The information collected is used to inform school funding calculations. It is combined with Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data to calculate a non-government school community’s anticipated capacity to contribute to schooling costs.

Please click on the link below to access information regarding this matter from the Australian Government.
https://my.stpaulsags.vic.edu.au/send.php?id=127831

STRESS AND WORRY

Stressed and worried are terms commonly used interchangeably but which are considerably different from one another. Stress is a natural, biological response to a difficult, uncertain or dangerous situation. Stress is extremely common among students, as they are constantly put in situations designed to challenge them physically (for example during camps and sporting classes) and mentally (for example during tests, SACs and exams). Stress is a normal part of human existence and it is often a good thing – it can help students stay alert, motivated, focused and ready to act. It can also drive them to push themselves, which can be useful during sporting matches and assessments. However, if stress persists long after the stressful event has passed, has a negative impact on performance or begins to affect a student’s day-to-day life, then it has become problematic.

Whilst stress involves biological responses, worry involves the mind’s response to a stressor. Worry commonly causes students to dwell on negative thoughts or situations. Again, worry is a normal and important function for students – it helps them to problem-solve situations so that they can take action. However, if the worry becomes obsessive or if it prevents a student from participating in their usual activities (for example withdrawing socially, school avoidance/refusal or ceasing co-curricular activities), it stops being helpful.

If your child is feeling stressed or worried, there are several ways you can help them as a parent. Encouraging your child to be physically active can be extremely beneficial. When a child is stressed, their body releases an excess of adrenaline. Physical activity uses this adrenaline in a productive way, which can reduce the “jittery” feeling that is commonly described. When your child is worried, being active can be a welcome distraction, and can release endorphins, also known as “feel-good hormones”.

Talking can also be helpful during periods of stress and worry. By encouraging your child to share their worries and concerns, these will often start to feel less cumbersome. Writing down worries and then throwing these away or setting aside scheduled worried time can also be helpful if your child is experiencing a large number of worries.

It is important that you encourage your child to continue with their day-to-day activities during times of stress and worry. Avoiding triggering situations can make it more difficult for your child in the long run. Instead, encourage them to try a mindfulness meditation, breathing exercise, grounding exercise or another coping strategy until the feeling passes.

If the stress and/or worry are not improving, then it may be time to arrange counselling. The St Paul’s Anglican Grammar School counselling team is available to provide up to six sessions for students in need of support. If you think your child would benefit from school-based counselling support, speak to their Deputy Head of School (Junior School) or Head of Year (Secondary School).

Shannon Staples
Head of Counselling Services

DONATE A DICTIONARY!

During the upcoming April holidays, a total of nine students from the Traralgon and Warragul Secondary Schools, together with teachers Kirsten Enders, Andrea Heard and Jan Park, will be travelling to the Ermera District in East Timor.

Amongst many wonderful experiences, we will be visiting the Pre-Secondary School in Ponilala, built with money raised by St Paul’s and be honoured guests at the inauguration of the English Language Study Centre in Malimea Village. We are hoping to present each student at the Ponilala School with an English/Tetun dictionary and leave a class set of dictionaries at the language centre. Each dictionary costs the equivalent of $10AUD and we have approximately one hundred and fifty to buy.

We are hoping that students or families of the St Paul’s community would be willing to donate $10 to buy a dictionary for a Timorese student. A nameplate with the donor’s name will be placed inside each dictionary noting that the dictionary was a gift.

Donations can be made via direct deposit into the school’s account or at Reception.

Payment by direct deposit:
Account Name: St Paul’s Anglican Grammar School
BSB: 033 262
Account Number: 190554

Please include the following reference for your payment:
Team Timor [family name]

Our Timorese colleagues will be most grateful of your support.

Kirsten Enders, Andrea Heard and Jan Park
Team Timor

TRARALGON CAMPUS 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 .

Heather Mason
Head of Performing Arts – Co-Curricular

FROM THE FINANCE OFFICE

Annual Fee Account
Families have recently received via email an annual fee account for 2024. If you have any queries in relation to your annual fee account, please contact Ms Nicole Giddings 5623 5833. As detailed on the second page of the account, payment options are:

Direct Debit:
All families are encouraged to participate in the school’s direct debit payment arrangement.

We offer fortnightly instalments (twenty-two payments) commencing 9 February 2024 and monthly instalments (ten payments) commencing 15 February 2024.

Other direct debit payment dates are also available by arrangement.

Should families wish to commence payment by Direct Debit, please contact Ms Nicole Giddings, accountsreceivable@stpaulsags.vic.edu.au as soon as possible to set up an arrangement.

Please find the direct debit form on the school website at this link https://www.stpaulsags.vic.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Direct-Debit-Request-Form-2023.pdf

Instalments (due dates):
Instalment 1 – 9 February 2024 (over due)
Instalment 2 – 5 April 2024
Instalment 3 – 3 June 2024
Instalment 4 – 9 August 2024

Payment in Full:
A discount of $350 per child, from Prep to Year 12, is offered to families if the annual invoice is paid in full by 16 February 2024.

Private Car Conveyance Allowance
Families driving students more than 4.8 kilometres to attend St Paul’s Anglican Grammar School may be eligible to receive a conveyance allowance. For further information on the eligibility criteria and application process, please refer to https://www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/conveyance-allowance/policy

Eligible families applying for the car conveyance allowance will have funds credited to their fee account during the year. If the fee account has been paid in full, or is on a direct debit arrangement, any allocation will show as a credit on the following year’s invoice.

The Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF)
The Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF) provides payments directly to the school for the benefit of the eligible student to attend camps, sports and excursions. Families holding a valid means-tested concession card or temporary foster parents are eligible to apply. $125 per year will be paid for eligible primary school students and $225 per year paid for eligible secondary school students. Payments will go directly to the school and be tied to the student. For more information and to download the application form please go to https://www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/camps-sports-and-excursions-fund/resources

Parents are encouraged to lodge the application form immediately. The CSEF program for 2024 closes at the end of Term 2. All forms must be received by 24 June 2024 to be processed.

For parents who received CSEF at the school in 2023 (and the student/s are still enrolled in 2024), the schools will ‘copy’ the application across from 2023 to 2024 on the CSEF system. The CSEF system will automatically validate the parent’s eligibility with Centrelink.

CLUBHOUSE BOOT CAMP

THE HUMBLING HOPE IN A FALLEN TRANSMISSION TOWER

If you are reading this article, then I will take it as an encouraging sign that you have access to both power and the internet after last week’s storms. The catastrophic weather event that swept through our area, rendering us powerless in more ways than one, prompted me to reflect on our relationship with nature and our place in the grand tapestry of creation.

In the blink of an eye, the forces of nature dismantled our illusions of control. The widespread loss of power, internet and phone services in the space of twenty minutes served as a stark reminder of our vulnerability in the face of the majestic power inherent in God’s creation. It is humbling to acknowledge that, despite our technological advancements and societal progress, there are elements beyond our mastery. Not that we always appreciate the experience.

In times of crisis, our immediate response is often to seek someone or something to blame. Power companies and governments become easy targets for our frustration as if they should have been impervious to the whims of nature. While there may be validity in holding entities accountable for preparation and response, it is also important to maintain perspective.

The spectrum of reactions to this event that I heard highlights a broader truth about human nature. Some among us, heavily reliant on essential services for life-saving reasons, rightfully fear the prospect of prolonged power outages. However, hearing others complain about inconveniences such as the inability to place online bets or stream favourite shows suggests a lack of perspective and a disconnect from the real challenges faced by our fellow community members. For some of our young people, this lack of perspective may be born simply out of a lack of life experience and offers a perfect opportunity for valuable conversation with them, to be critical but to help prepare them for future challenges that may impact them more significantly.

I cannot help but be reminded of the biblical story of Job, who, in the face of immense suffering, received this response from God:
“Where were you when I made the earth? If you are so smart, answer me. And who decided how big the earth should be? Who measured it with a measuring line? What is the earth resting on? Who put the first stone in its place.” (Job 38:4-6).

Just as Job was reminded of the vastness and unpredictability of creation, we too must recognise our place within the intricate design of the universe. The recent events were not just a test of our patience but an opportunity for reflection. In the wake of catastrophe comes the opportunity for profound lessons in humility and hope.

I do not intend to diminish the genuine suffering and loss experienced by many in our community. The devastation to property, stock and the heartbreaking loss of a farmer’s life in the storm demands our acknowledgment and compassion. These are real losses that cannot be overlooked or understated.

But for those of us fortunate enough to have emerged from this event relatively unscathed, the crumpled telegraph towers may serve as a visual reminder. They stand not only as symbols of physical damage but also as reminders of the power inherent in creation and the greater power of the Creator. A Creator whom we often imagine in very sanitised ways when life is comfortable.

An article written by Nicholas Russell, Chaplain at Christ Church Grammar School in Perth, reminded me of this reality. He suggests, “Our students often conceive of God in finite terms. God is a kind ethereal man with a beard in the sky who made the world, sets up a game of life, experiences moods and his existence in much the way we do, and is subject to and dependent upon the laws of reality in the same way we are.” (https://www.aplaceformission.org/what-even-is-god/)

A God like that is easy to ignore or sideline as irrelevant to our daily lives. But when our lives are interrupted by something like a powerful weather event, we might be prompted to look for a more robust envisioning of God. In his article, Russell draws on the work of David Bentley Hart for a different description of God.

“Hart points out that the God of Christianity, Judaism, Islam and even Hinduism (Brahman), share a common conviction – that God is the ground by which all things exist. God is the One by which all things live and move and have their being (Acts 17:28). God is the non-contingent reality that makes all contingent reality possible. God, he says, does not even exist in the sense that we do, he is instead the wellspring of all things.”

Now if this is all a bit too esoteric for you then perhaps the words of C.S. Lewis will resonate more. In the story of ‘The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe’, four children find themselves in a magical world preparing for the return of the great King Aslan.

“Aslan is a lion – the Lion, the great Lion.” “Ooh” said Susan. “I’d thought he was a man. Is he-quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion”…”Safe?” said Mr Beaver …”Who said anything about safe? “Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.” (C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe).

Events like last week’s storm can engender in us a sense of humility – an acknowledgment that, despite our technological prowess, there are forces beyond our control. Simultaneously, it can inspire hope in us by encouraging us to recognise a power greater than ourselves, a force that, in its essence, is truly good. In nature’s intricate dance, there lies a source of inspiration and guidance, a reminder that amidst the chaos, there is an underlying order that sustains us all. An order that many of us call God.

I would prefer not to face storms like last week’s on a regular basis but in a world where the storms of life seem to keep getting bigger, I am glad that my vision of God is also growing; a God that may not be safe but is certainly good. And I wonder if our young people might also find reassurance in a bigger vision of God.

Reverend Daniel Lowe
Senior Chaplain