In this issue

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

It has been another busy fortnight at St Paul’s with so many events, excursions and activities happening on and off campus. Last week we held our annual House Cross Country event for Years 7 to 11, enjoyed an entertaining Whole School Assembly, our Academy of Music students experienced an incursion with John Noble from Orchestra Victoria, students participated in DAV Debating in Berwick, another round of SEISA Junior Sport was played, our Year 9 students travelled to Melbourne for their third City Experience Day, we hosted the Years 7 and 8 Disco, and we held both a Studio Concert and the Kammer Konzert giving many students the opportunity to perform in front of a live audience. The next two weeks will be equally busy but in different ways as our Years 9 to 11 students complete their Semester 1 examinations, our Year 12 cohort will compete for house points and individual glory for the last time during their House Cross Country and all other students will complete and submit the last of their Semester 1 coursework before we rollover into Semester 2.

We hope our Years 9 to 11 students are well prepared for their exams but also use them as an opportunity to become familiar with the environment and the conditions, which is the overarching purpose of sitting examinations for these year levels. We wish them all the best.

Semester 2 rollover
Our Year 7 families, and those families in other year levels who are new to us, may not realise that we begin Semester 2 during Term 2 here at St Paul’s. This means that all Semester 1 learning will be finished and we will roll a new timetable into MyStPauls to start Semester 2. This will occur on Tuesday 13 June 2023. Please be aware that electives from Years 7 to 10 will change over on this date so students may require different books or equipment depending on their new electives.

Key dates for your calendar
Please add the following key dates to your calendar in preparation for the weeks to come:

Curriculum and Assessment Day (STUDENT FREE DAY) – Friday 9 June 2023
King’s Birthday Public Holiday – Monday 14 June 2023
The final day of Term 2 – Friday 23 June (2:10 pm finish time)
Term 3 student commencement – Tuesday 18 July 2023

King’s Birthday Holiday and Support Services
We imagine that all of the students are looking forward to a lovely long weekend and our first King’s Birthday public holiday on Monday 12 June 2023. 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. There are also a number of resources on our MyStPauls Wellbeing page: https://my.stpaulsags.vic.edu.au/homepage/11780

Years 7 and 8 Disco
On Friday 26 May, last Friday night, the Year 9 Centre came alive for the annual and much anticipated Year 7 and Year 8 Disco. Our students certainly made the most of the opportunity to dance the night away and it was lovely to see them enjoying each other’s company and socialising outside of normal school hours. Our Prefects did a wonderful job of organising, setting up and running the evening and alongside the disco they had the Friday Night footy playing in a classroom on a screen and board games set up for those students who wanted a quieter activity. They really created an inclusive and fun atmosphere for the students who attended, and we thank them for their efforts and time. The Back Stage Crew were also instrumental in creating the mood with their lighting and DJ set up and we thank those students for running the night so professionally. As always, the limbo and the photo booth were popular and we are glad so many students could attend. Thank you to all of the staff who supervised and to those parents who joined Michelle Ireland and our Friends of St Paul’s parent helpers upstairs in the parent lounge.

Prefects Rinnan and Matt looking disco cool.

Comparative Reports
At the end of each semester, parents may request that the school provide them with written information that clearly shows their child’s achievement compared to his or her peer group at the school. The information will show parents the number of children in the group in each of the achievement levels/subjects. However, where group numbers are fewer than twelve this data will not be provided, in order to protect the privacy of the students in the class. Class teachers will instead explain the student’s level relative to their peers, without identifying the number in each band.

Laura Butterworth
Head of Warragul Secondary School

WHAT’S ON

JUNE
3 June  Sport Aerobics State Finals, Rowville Secondary College, 7:00 am to 3:15 pm
5 June  Ice Skating and Go Karting, Year 12 VET Sport and Recreation Class, Melbourne CBD, 7:00 am to 3:10 pm
Cycling/Mountain Bike Training, Warragul Secondary School Gymnasium, 7:15 am to 8:15 am
St Paul’s Parent Prayer Group, Prideaux Centre, Warragul Junior School, 9:00 am
7 to 8 June  Years 9 and 10 Exams
8 June  Year 11 Exam Catch-Up Day
SEISA Winter Junior Sport, Round 4 (BYE)
DAV Debating – Round 4, St Margaret’s Berwick Grammar, 4:15 pm to 10:00 pm
9 June  Student Free Day (Assessment Day)
Years 9 and 10 Exam Catch-Up Day
12 June  King’s Birthday Holiday
13 June  Semester 2 Commences
14 June  Clay Target Shooting, Sale Field and Game Shooting Ground, Longford, 10:00 am to 2:00 pm
15 June  GAT (General Achievement Test), Warragul Secondary School Gymnasium
SEISA Winter Junior Sport, Round 5
16 June  Sport Aerobics Training, Warragul Secondary School Gymnasium and Dance Studio, 6:55 am to 8:15 am
Centrepiece Rehearsal, Select Performing Arts students, West Gippsland Arts Centre, 9:00 am to 3:10 pm
Centrepiece, Select Performing Arts students, West Gippsland Arts Centre, 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm
18 June  AusCycling Schools Mountain Bike Series Round 1, Dromana Secondary College
19 June  Cycling/Mountain Bike Training, Warragul Secondary School Gymnasium, 7:15 am to 8:15 am
20 June  SEISA Intermediate/Senior Trials, Traralgon Secondary School
21 June  Year 11 VET First Aid Course, Warragul Secondary School Gymnasium Classroom, 9:00 am to 3:10 pm
21 to 23 June  Year 9 City Camp, Melbourne CBD, 7:06 am to 4:48 pm
22 June  SEISA Winter Junior Sport Finals
23 June  Sport Aerobics Training, Warragul Secondary School Gymnasium and Dance Studio, 6:55 am to 8:15 am
End of Term 2, 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.

NATIONAL SIMULTANEOUS STORYTIME

National Simultaneous Storytime is an annual event during which an Australian children’s book is read simultaneously in schools as part of Australia’s Library and Information Week.

On Wednesday 24 May, the Year 10 cohort had the privilege of attending the Warragul Junior School and participating in this event. The combined year levels first watched a video of this year’s book ‘The Speedy Sloth’ being read by author Rebecca Young. The Year 10 students then read their own picture books to Prep, Year 1 and Year 2 students.
It was fantastic to observe the students engaging with each other and the awe and excitement of the younger students whilst being read to by those more senior.

A lovely session was had by all. Thank you to Mr Rock and the Junior School teachers for allowing the Year 10 cohort to participate in this event and read to the Junior School students.

Stephanie Trovato
Head of Year 10

SEISA MUSIC FESTIVAL

SEISA Music is a collaborative event showcasing the musical excellence present in all schools. This year the festival was held over two days to celebrate the 10th Anniversary. Musicians from St Paul’s Traralgon and Warragul Secondary Schools joined Newhaven College, Gippsland Grammar, Beaconhills College Pakenham and Berwick students to participate in orchestral and choral workshops culminating in a concert.

Special guests including conductor Mark Shiell from Orchestra Victoria along with conductors Joanna Patcos and Mark Puddy from the Australian School of Performing Arts provided workshops for students throughout the two-day event.
Our SEISA soloists this year – Holly Davidson Warragul Campus and Sahanna Harikrishna Traralgon Campus are to be commended on their superb performances.

Congratulations and thank you to all our wonderful SEISA orchestra and choral students who continue to share their musical excellence and for their ongoing involvement and commitment to the SEISA legacy of friendship, goodwill, cooperation and courtesy.

Heather Mason
SEISA Cultural Coordinator

METACOGNITION AND ACADEMIC HONESTY IN THE AGE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

We continue to focus as teaching staff on finding ways to make students conscious of the subconscious and to be aware of how they think as they approach a variety of situations.

Our focus on metacognition – one of the High Impact Teaching Strategies established by the Department of Education – is designed to ensure that we do the following:
• Think about our thinking
• Be aware of our own learning process
• Enhance our capacity for self-regulation
• Help students extend beyond the classroom

We believe that this focus helps us in our pursuit of fostering the growth of students who are:
• Independent
• Self-sufficient
• Reflective
• Questioning

Our previous metacognitive strategies, deliberately placed before exams for Years 9 to 11, were:
• Reviewing a task with guiding questions such as: What worked well? What didn’t work well? What would I do differently next time? What strategies did I use? What other types of problems can I use this strategy for?
• Goal setting

Our current metacognitive strategies are:
• Active reading (making connections, asking questions about the text we are reading)
• Organising thoughts using graphic organisers/concept mapping/visuals (for example mind maps, flow charts and spidergrams)

Please click the link here to view a great paper by psychologist Andrew Fuller regarding metacognition.

ACADEMIC HONESTY AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
The rise of the use of AI is receiving plenty of media attention and, like any change in the way society operates, we need to adapt and utilise new technologies.

When Sam Altman, founder of ChatGPT, was questioned about the impact of AI in education, he noted that it was not dissimilar to the introduction of the calculator and how that might have impacted a mathematics classroom.

Our Academic Honesty Policy has been updated to include references to AI and it is an area that we will be closely monitoring and refining this year.

In short, please note the following points regarding AI:
• AI can be used as part of the research and learning process (for example asking questions online, seeking information or interpretations, gathering information).
• AI cannot be used to generate a task.

As an example, in English:
• AI can be used to gather a list of quotations that reference sun/stars/fortunate/fate in ‘Romeo and Juliet’
• AI cannot be used to generate the essay!

Our MyStPauls submission space produces a plagiarism score for any task (which students can see) and, in addition, now generates an AI percentage score that only teachers can see. We are currently in discussions as a Curriculum Committee to explore an acceptable score and consider the type of changes some tasks require to reduce the temptation to use an AI-generated response.  And, of course, we also need to keep repeating the message to students, who are quite enamoured by the idea of using technology to save them plenty of effort!

Gordon Oldham
Deputy Head of Warragul Secondary School

WARRAGUL SECONDARY SCHOOL ENSEMBLE REHEARSALS

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

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

Heather Mason
Head of Performing Arts – Co-curricular

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 Monday 5 June, 9:00 am in the Prideaux Centre, Warragul Junior School
Contact:  Sheryn Cutler 0417 158 937 or sheryn.cutler@gmail.com

FINANCE NEWS

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 refer 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 2023 closes at the end of Term 2. All forms must be received by 16 June 2023 to be processed.

For parents who received CSEF at the school in 2022 (and the student/s are still enrolled in 2023), the school will ‘copy’ the application across from 2022 to 2023 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.

It is hard to believe we are already over halfway through Term 2. Over the past fortnight, we have had students compete at the Division and Region Cross Country, while our Pre-Prep to Year 3 students joined together with our Year 10 cohort sharing the love of books and reading stories together during National Simultaneous Storytime. We had our sibling and school photos last Friday and classes also acknowledged National Sorry Day with students reflecting on the Stolen Generations and why we have Sorry Day. This week, our Years 5 and 6 students competed in the Winter Round Robin competition with our Soccer and T-Ball teams moving into the next round.

Division Cross Country
Congratulations to the twenty-four students who competed at the Division Cross County at Chairo last Tuesday. Well done to Jun O’Connor, Hadley Purcell, Georgia Joyce, Finlay Heenan, Ollie Elliott, Quin McConville Plant, Sidney Box, Zac Cumming, Nathan Brown and Thomas Sahhar who all made it through to Regional.

School Photos 2023
Annual school photos have been taken by Arthur Reed Photos. To view the images of your child and order photos, you will need to first register online (see attached instructions).

• Go to https://order.arphotos.com.au  and enter the 2023 image code for your child (from their personalised flyer). Please email Sam via svanstokrom@stpaulsags.vic.edu.au if you have misplaced or require your child’s image code.
• Tap on ‘Add another child’ to enter the image codes of any siblings
• Fill in your email and mobile details and then review all details before confirming your registration
That’s it! When the 2023 photos are ready, you will be notified by email and SMS.
Even if you registered last year, it is important that you do it again each year using your child’s new image code to link their photos for the current year with your contact details. To ensure you are ordering school photos for the current year, please wait for notifications that 2023 images are online before placing orders.
In the webshop, you can view photos and customise your photo package – choose ANY layout, ANY image and purchase multiple digital image downloads.
All photo orders will be sent directly to the address you provide when ordering.

REGISTER ONLINE NOW to be notified when 2023 school photos can be viewed and ordered.

World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development
Held every year on 21 May, the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development celebrates not only the richness of the world’s cultures but also the essential role of intercultural dialogue in achieving peace and sustainable development. The United Nations General Assembly first declared this World Day in 2002, following UNESCO’s adoption of the 2001 Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity, recognising the need to “enhance the potential of culture as a means of achieving prosperity, sustainable development and global peaceful coexistence”.

UNESCO would like to call upon everyone to celebrate cultural diversity, through which we will be able to build the intellectual and moral solidarity of humankind.

“We are one, but we are many and from all the lands on earth we’ve come.” – Bruce Woodley

Current statistics indicate that seven in ten students experience racism during their childhood, that every second Aboriginal child experiences racism at sporting events and that one in three adults experiences racism in their workplace. (alltogethernow.org.au)

The Australian Human Rights Commission defines racism as “… the process by which systems and policies, actions and attitudes create inequitable opportunities and outcomes for people based on race. Racism is more than just prejudice in thought or action. It occurs when this prejudice – whether individual or institutional – is accompanied by the power to discriminate against, oppress or limit the rights of others.” (Humanrights.gov.au)

How can we as a community make a stand against any such behaviours and how can we as a community, together with the next generation make a difference for the future? Included below is information from the Victorian Education Department that details the ways that racist bullying can present in school contexts.

The information below has been taken directly from the Victorian State Government Education and Training information on racist bullying in schools. While the Department of Education recommends the following strategies for students, they can also be helpful for us as parents and guardians to have in our ‘toolkit’ as well.

Information for students about racist bullying
Everyone has a role in stopping racist bullying. Do not underestimate your ability to make a difference.

This information sheet provides examples of what racist bullying can look like and how to help stop it from happening.

Racist bullying can be:
• Physical, verbal or emotional.
• Online via mobile phones, email, social media and games.
• Frequently making casual offensive comments about a minority group.
• Making jokes that use racial and/or religious stereotypes.
• Offensive graffiti.
• Ridiculing, tormenting, threatening or making fun of physical attributes (such as skin colour, hair or facial features), customs, religion, food, accents, language, cultural or religious dress or music or migration history.
• Making comments that imply that a person is not “Australian”.
• Refusing to socialise, work or cooperate with others because they are from a different cultural or linguistic background.
• Making judgements about a person’s ability or values based on their accent, language or cultural background.
• Religious abuse or vilification.

Impacts of racist bullying
Racist bullying can have a big impact on the person who is being bullied. It can make them feel confused, ashamed, rejected, fearful or embarrassed. It can also have a big impact on how safe they feel at school, and even if they want to go to school. Even if you are not directly involved, seeing and hearing racist bullying can have a negative impact on you and the whole school community.

Preventing racist bullying – making a difference
To prevent racist bullying in your school, you can:
• Remember that your experience of living in Australia might be different from other students’ experiences.
• Respect and learn about the different cultures and religions within and around your school community.
• Be kind to everyone including people who may come from a different culture or country to you.
• Read your school’s bullying prevention and student engagement policy, and suggest any changes you think will make a difference.
• Be an upstander.

Be an upstander and not a bystander
When you hear or see racist bullying, it can be difficult to call it out, but when one person stands up to bullying it encourages others to do the same. Most students admire people who stand up for someone being bullied.

There are lots of things you can do to be an upstander.
Upstanders can:
• Be a friend to the person being bullied.
• Interrupt the bullying by shifting everyone’s attention away from the bullying.
For example, you can do this by:
• Asking the target of the bullying for their help with something or asking them to come and sit with you
• Distracting your friend if they are doing the bullying.
• Leave the situation and then think about what you can do to help.
This can include:
• Supporting the target of the bullying to ask for help from a teacher, the school counsellor or the Wellbeing Coordinator.
• Telling a trusted staff member or your parent/carer about what happened.

Calling out racist bullying can be hard but if it is safe, step in and tell the person doing the bullying that their behaviour is not okay and that they should stop. Do not call the other person a bully – comment on their behaviour, not the person, for example: “That was a mean thing to say.”

What if you have said or done something you think might be racist bullying?
When you think you have done or said something that may be racist bullying, ask yourself:
• Was it kind?
• Did my words or actions put someone down?
• Was I trying to feel powerful or seeking the approval of my friends?
• Even if I thought it was funny, would other people agree?

If you think your words or actions were racist bullying, there are steps you can take to avoid hurting someone’s feelings in the same way again.
• Tell the person you are sorry. Remember that people who feel hurt sometimes will not be ready to accept your apology but that does not mean you should not try.
• Make a conscious effort not to be involved in racist bullying again
• If you see or hear any bullying, including racist bullying, be an upstander, not a bystander.’ (www.education.vic)

Given our devastatingly tragic history in this country, it is of the utmost importance that we have these conversations in our workplaces, schools and wider community groups to be a voice for change. In the words of the Collingwood Football Club, “We do not shy away from ensuring that racism is addressed when we see it or hear it and we will continue to listen and learn”.

In our St Paul’s community, we will also continue to have these extremely important conversations, to instill in our children our school values of wisdom, integrity, compassion and respect for the inclusion of all peoples. Racism in this country is complex but quite simply there is always room for us as a community to ‘do better’ to ‘listen, learn’ and ‘make change’. As a collective community, we must commit to the strength of our collective diverse communities, always remembering that “We are one but we are many  – I am, you are, we are Australian”. (Woodley)

Let’s keep having these conversations together with our children and each other.

References
https://alltogethernow.org.au/racism/racism-in-australia/. (n.d.).
https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/race-discrimination/what-racism. (n.d.).
https://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/programs/bullystoppers/Pages/racistbullying.aspx#link29. (n.d.).
https://www.lyrics.com/lyric/4901091/The+Seekers/I+Am+Australian. (n.d.).
https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/thirty-years-ago-nicky-winmar-took-a-stand-against-racism-now-young-players-are-following-his-lead/riohsfchg. (n.d.).
https://www.sportingnews.com/au/afl/news/collingwood-apology-nicky-winmar-gilbert-mcadam/zuuedc4hslfiijwthtxl4blx. (n.d.).

Years 2 to 6 Performance Assembly
On Thursday 15 June our Years 2 to 6 students will attend a special Performance Assembly at 2:20 pm in the Junior School Gymnasium. Our Drama, Dance and Music clubs will perform along with our Symphonic Band, Choir, Year 2 Strings and Year 5 Symphonic Band. Parents are invited to join us for this special occasion.

Energy Drinks
We request that students do not bring energy drinks to school. There is a school-wide ban on these drinks as they contain caffeine and other ingredients that may be harmful to our children’s health in both the short and long term. We ask for your cooperation with this matter.

Comparative Reports
At the end of each semester, parents may request that the school provide them with written information that clearly shows their child’s achievement compared to his or her peer group at the school. The information will show parents the number of children in the group in each of the achievement levels/subjects. However, where group numbers are fewer than twelve this data will not be provided, in order to protect the privacy of the students in the class. Class teachers will instead explain the student’s level relative to their peers, without identifying the number in each band.

Rowan van Raay
Head of Warragul Junior School

WHAT’S ON

JUNE
5 June  Parent Prayer Group, Prideaux Centre, 9:00 am
6 June  Second Hand Uniform Sale,  8:30 am to 9am and 3:00 pm to 3:30 pm
9 June  Student Free Day
12 June  King’s Birthday Public Holiday
14 June  Prep Community Excursion
Year 1 Expo – Inventions (parents welcome)
15 June  Years 2 to 6 Performance Assembly, 2:20 pm
16 June  Centrepiece, West Gippsland Arts Centre, 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm
23 June  End of Term 2, 2:20 pm finish

JULY
18 July  Term 3 Commences
19 to 21 July  Year 4 Camp

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.

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 Monday 5 June, 9:00 am in the Prideaux Centre, Warragul Junior School
Contact:  Sheryn Cutler 0417 158 937 or sheryn.cutler@gmail.com

WARRAGUL JUNIOR SCHOOL ENSEMBLE REHEARSAL SCHEDULE

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

Heather Mason
Head of Performing Arts – Co-curricular

FINANCE NEWS

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 refer 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 2023 closes at the end of Term 2. All forms must be received by 16 June 2023 to be processed.

For parents who received CSEF at the school in 2022 (and the student/s are still enrolled in 2023), the school will ‘copy’ the application across from 2022 to 2023 on the CSEF system. The CSEF system will automatically validate the parent’s eligibility with Centrelink.

From the Head of Traralgon Secondary School,
Mrs Leonie Clark

A New World of Healthy Supportive and Respectful Relationships
It is during adolescence that children are beginning to form their own unique personalities and identities, they are considering their values for the future and begin to question everything! From their place in the wider community, to their relationships with family members, as well as their position in the social fabric of their immediate peers. The world of an adolescent is indeed tumultuous! It can, at times, be a very difficult period for families who have no choice but to embark on the journey that is ‘adolescence’, hang on tight and gently navigate their child through the intriguing twists and turns, while nurturing positive and respectful relationships and behaviours. The upside however is, that by the end of Year 10, most students will have travelled through a variety of different social experiences and developed greater resilience, independence and understanding as they journey towards and have a greater understanding of what constitutes mutually supportive, respectful and healthy friendships.

Navigating the social spaces in the adolescent years (in person and online) can be quite the challenge for children, their parents and guardians alike, particularly as identities change and independent communication skills and personal values begin to emerge. Some children are lucky enough to have friendships that span many years, while others seem to have a best friend/s one day and what seems like a new one the next!

There is no right or wrong way to traverse this period with children, every child is different and additionally, they are at different stages of social, emotional and academic development. They are wrestling with overwhelming feelings and extremely strong emotions during a rapid period of development. We know that the type of friendships children have change significantly in Year 7 and Year 8 as students mature, meeting their varying needs as typically “… friends in early childhood mainly provide companionship and fun” while connections formed in adolescence “… start fulfilling other needs for trust, intimacy, attachment, and emotional support.” (Berndt, 2004; Hartup and Stevens, 1997).

Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic saw children, particularly in Victoria, deprived of large periods of time to develop and refine their social skills at school with their friends. It is now more than ever, vitally important to take steps together to prevent becoming “… frustrated with children for not always knowing the developmentally appropriate ways to interact. They have missed many pivotal opportunities and exposures to social situations and we ” … shouldn’t expect that they can figure it out on their own”. (Unicef) As teachers, we duly noted and understood that once students returned to school there was and would be a small ” … decline in student behaviour and social interaction … “(Newcastle.edu.au). Post COVID-19, there are times when it is necessary as a team of parents and staff ” … to provide children with more coaching and explicit instruction than we have ever had to provide in the past.” (Unicef). There is certainly a need for us to demonstrate greater understanding as well as compassion and support to assist everyone in the community to rebuild social capacity and resilience in our children together.

Allowing children time and space to speak with significant supportive adult role models in their lives and providing time to decompress and deconstruct social encounters is a fabulous opportunity to share community values and assist children to try to solve things, as much as is practicable for themselves. We know that as they progress through the early years of adolescence they tend to “ … show increasingly more giving, sharing, and trusting behaviours toward their friends and thereby also differentiate more between friends and other disliked, neutral, or unfamiliar peers” (Güroğlu et al., 2014). It is crucial at this time that we can and do guide students to respectfully and compassionately manage their emotions and use their refined communication skills to name and share their feelings in considered conversations and negotiations. These are also wonderful lifelong skills that are highly valued by employers and the wider community.

At St Paul’s, and in discussions with children about their developing social skills and friendships, our Mentors and Heads of Year always return these significant learning opportunities and conversations to our four core school values of Wisdom, Integrity, Compassion and Respect. These four values can easily be applied to most relationship situations that arise. They are a proven guiding framework that allows our staff to unpack and support the emotional and social growth in a straightforward message that guides our students to continue to make respectful and compassionate decisions that act in the best intentions of all.

While we would dearly love all children to be friends, we understand that this is an unrealistic expectation. Instead, we continue to remind our students, “We don’t expect you to be friends with everyone, but we do expect you to be friendly, respectful and compassionate towards everyone”. It is always our intention in speaking with children and unpacking events that we nurture positive, respectful relationships and behaviours as we show our children how to develop greater independence, self-awareness, resilience and understanding of the difference in the making of mutually supportive, tolerant, respectful and healthy friendships at St Paul’s.

If you or your child would like some support or even if you are even a tiny bit concerned about something your child may have shared with you, please reach out to your child’s Mentor and/or the relevant Head of Year. We encourage you to call and to have a conversation with one of our professional team members below:

Year 7A Ms Kara Kimberley KKimberley@stpaulsags.vic.edu.au
Year 7B Ms Kirsten Enders kenders@stpaulsags.vic.edu.au
Year 7C Ms Scott Stuckey SStuckey@stpaulsags.vic.edu.au
Year 8A Mr Nathan Byrne nbyrne@stpaulsags.vic.edu.au
Year 8B Ms Jennifer Witney jwitney@stpaulsags.vic.edu.au
Year 9A Ms Deborah Gatti djgatti@stpaulsags.vic.edu.au
Year 9B Mrs Victoria Wilson vwilson@stpaulsags.vic.edu.au
Year 10A Mrs Sharon Pyle spyle@stpaulsags.vic.edu.au
Year 10B Mrs Donna Byrne dbyrne@stpaulsags.vic.edu.au
Head of Years 7 and 8 Mr Andrew McGrath anmcgrath@stpaulsags.vic.edu.au
Head of Years 9 and 10 Mrs Sandra Timmer-Arends sgtimmer-arends@stpaulsags.vic.edu.au

References
Guroglu, B. (2022). The power of friendship: The developmental significance of friendships from a neuroscience perspective. Child Development and Perspectives Vol 16 Issue 2.
https://parents.au.reachout.com/skills-to-build/wellbeing/things-to-try-friendships/talking-to-your-teen-about-bad-friendships. (n.d.).
https://www.unicef.org/parenting/mental-health/managing-long-term-effects-pandemic-your-childs-mental-health. (n.d.).
Newcastle.edu.au. (n.d.). https://www.newcastle.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/704924/Evaluating-the-impact-of-COVID-19-on-NSW-schools.pdf.

Year 9 and Year 10 Examinations
We do not have long now until our Years 9 and 10 students will sit their end of semester examinations. It is important that students take little steps each day towards revising content. Staff have been working very hard with students to assist the students to prepare. We know that practice tests and spaced practice testing the best methods for remembering content and assisting the information to be retained in the long-term memory. Examinations are scheduled for Week 7 commencing Monday 5 June until Thursday 8 June inclusive. A catch-up examination day is planned for Friday 9 June and any students who have been unable to complete an examination earlier in the week will have the opportunity to sit their examination/s on the student-free day Friday 9 June. Please encourage your child to ask their teachers plenty of questions in the coming weeks, as they prepare to confidently approach the examination period.

Student Free Day Friday 9 June and King’s Birthday Long Weekend
A reminder to families that Friday 9 June is a student-free day for all students. We hope that our students and families enjoy the King’s Birthday long weekend in preparation for the Semester 2 rollover when school recommences on Tuesday 13 June. Should your child need to attend school on Friday 9 June to complete any outstanding assessment for their teachers or a catch-up examination the relevant staff will be in touch with you. Wishing all of our students and families a well-deserved rest after a very busy period of assessment.

National Sorry Day and Reconciliation Week ‘Be a voice for Generations’
Our newly formed Student Harmony Advisory Committee have worked to appropriately acknowledged National Sorry Day and Reconciliation Week ‘Be a voice for Generations’, with an interactive display at our Traralgon Secondary School. Gracie Hasthorpe Year 7 researched and developed the digital display. She also wrapped a large gum tree branch in indigenous textiles, while gum leaves were used to adorn the tree and the space with messages of respect, understanding and acknowledgement.
Students and staff were invited by the Student Harmony Advisory Committee to participate, by writing their own individual messages of recognition and hope for all Australians in the future. This is a most fitting and respectful acknowledgement by our students who are passionate about the need to ‘Be a voice for Generations’ as they continue to make a difference in our community.

The Year 10 Peer Support Leader Disco for Years 7 and 8 2023
Last Friday night our Year 10 Peer Support Leaders, our Head of Years 7 and 8 Mr Andrew McGrath and our ‘intriguingly’ attired staff, hosted a most extraordinary evening of social opportunity and connection for our younger students. The annual Years 7 and 8 Disco at the end of autumn, is an entertaining and relaxed social event for our younger students who make the most of the opportunity to let off some steam and dance the evening away! Many thanks indeed to Alessio Fenech (alumnus) for his most professional mix of popular tunes that filled the dance floor. We will always remember staff and students dancing together in perfect synchronicity in honour and respect for the life and work of the great Tina Turner in the Nutbush! This iconic dance has been and always will be an integral component of any celebratory gathering in Australia. I have included some images of the wonderful memories that were created for all of us as the students thoroughly enjoyed their time together, donning themselves in the many glow sticks and decorating their faces with the fluorescent face paint.

Leonie Clark
Head of Traralgon Secondary School

WHAT’S ON

JUNE
5 June  DAV Debating
8 June  SEISA Winter Junior Sport, Round 4 (Bye)
9 June  Student Free Day
12 June  King’s Birthday Public Holiday
13 June  Semester 2 Commences
15 June  SEISA Winter Junior Sport, Round 5
16 June  Centrepiece, West Gippsland Arts Centre, 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm
20 June  SEISA Intermediate/Senior Trials
22 June  SEISA Winter Junior Sport, Finals
Cross Country Trials
23 June  Boho Friday
End of Term 2, 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.

SEISA MUSIC FESTIVAL

SEISA Music is a collaborative event showcasing the musical excellence present in all schools. This year the festival was held over two days to celebrate the 10th Anniversary. Musicians from St Paul’s Traralgon and Warragul Secondary Schools joined Newhaven College, Gippsland Grammar, Beaconhills College Pakenham and Berwick students to participate in orchestral and choral workshops culminating in a concert.

Special guests including conductor Mark Shiell from Orchestra Victoria along with conductors Joanna Patcos and Mark Puddy from the Australian School of Performing Arts provided workshops for students throughout the two-day event.
Our SEISA soloists this year – Holly Davidson Warragul Campus and Sahanna Harikrishna Traralgon Campus are to be commended on their superb performances.

Congratulations and thank you to all our wonderful SEISA orchestra and choral students who continue to share their musical excellence and for their ongoing involvement and commitment to the SEISA legacy of friendship, goodwill, cooperation and courtesy.

Heather Mason
SEISA Cultural Coordinator

METACOGNITION AND ACADEMIC HONESTY IN THE AGE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

We continue to focus as teaching staff on finding ways to make students conscious of the subconscious and to be aware of how they think as they approach a variety of situations.

Our focus on metacognition – one of the High Impact Teaching Strategies established by the Department of Education – is designed to ensure that we do the following:
• Think about our thinking
• Be aware of our own learning process
• Enhance our capacity for self-regulation
• Help students extend beyond the classroom

We believe that this focus helps us in our pursuit of fostering the growth of students who are:
• Independent
• Self-sufficient
• Reflective
• Questioning

Our previous metacognitive strategies, deliberately placed before exams for Years 9 to 11, were:
• Reviewing a task with guiding questions such as: What worked well? What didn’t work well? What would I do differently next time? What strategies did I use? What other types of problems can I use this strategy for?
• Goal setting

Our current metacognitive strategies are:
• Active reading (making connections, asking questions about the text we are reading)
• Organising thoughts using graphic organisers/concept mapping/visuals (for example mind maps, flow charts and spidergrams)

Please click the link here to view a great paper by psychologist Andrew Fuller regarding metacognition.

ACADEMIC HONESTY AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
The rise of the use of AI is receiving plenty of media attention and, like any change in the way society operates, we need to adapt and utilise new technologies.

When Sam Altman, founder of ChatGPT, was questioned about the impact of AI in education, he noted that it was not dissimilar to the introduction of the calculator and how that might have impacted a mathematics classroom.

Our Academic Honesty Policy has been updated to include references to AI and it is an area that we will be closely monitoring and refining this year.

In short, please note the following points regarding AI:
• AI can be used as part of the research and learning process (for example asking questions online, seeking information or interpretations, gathering information).
• AI cannot be used to generate a task.

As an example, in English:
• AI can be used to gather a list of quotations that reference sun/stars/fortunate/fate in ‘Romeo and Juliet’
• AI cannot be used to generate the essay!

Our MyStPauls submission space produces a plagiarism score for any task (which students can see) and, in addition, now generates an AI percentage score that only teachers can see. We are currently in discussions as a Curriculum Committee to explore an acceptable score and consider the type of changes some tasks require to reduce the temptation to use an AI-generated response.  And, of course, we also need to keep repeating the message to students, who are quite enamoured by the idea of using technology to save them plenty of effort!

Gordon Oldham
Deputy Head of Warragul Secondary School

TEAM TIMOR NEWS

Boho Friday on Friday 23 June to raise money for an English Language Centre in Malimea, Timor Leste.

Junior School students and Secondary School students are invited to attend Boho Friday, occurring in the Secondary School on Friday 23 June from 12:00 noon. This is the fundraising activity for East Timor we have run in the past, where students can have their nails done, hair braided or feathered, and receive henna body art or tattoos.
The money raised will go towards building a new English Language classroom in Malimea Village in the Ermera District.

A parent consent form will need to be signed for students under thirteen to receive henna body art.  This will be handed out in class closer to the day. However, we would advise students who have a skin condition or sensitive skin not to have one, in case of reaction. We will also run our Fair Trade stall, with goods from fifty cents through to twenty-five dollars, including bags, jewellery, purses, scrunchies,  baskets and more.

If you have any queries or would like to know more, please contact Kirsten Enders on 5175 9222 or by email at kenders@stpaulags.vic.edu.au.

Kirsten Enders
Team Timor
Traralgon Campus

DAV DEBATING TEAMS CLINCH THIRD CONSECUTIVE VICTORY!

In an impressive display of wit and eloquence, the Year 9 DAV Debating Teams at Traralgon Secondary School secured their third consecutive triumph in the ongoing debating season. With only two more rounds to go, the teams have emerged as formidable contenders, showcasing their exceptional skills and determination.

The exhilarating victory streak began early in the season, and the teams have continued to excel, proving their mettle with each debate. This remarkable achievement is a testament to the dedication and hard work put in by the debaters. In the most recent debate, held on 22 May, the debaters demonstrated their ability to articulate their arguments persuasively and critically analyse the topics at hand. The debaters displayed remarkable teamwork, coordination, and resilience throughout the intense competition. We would also like to extend our heartfelt congratulations to Pragnya, who was awarded the title of Best Speaker in this round. Pragnya’s exceptional oratory skills, persuasive arguments and confident demeanour contributed to the team’s success.

As the debating season draws to a close, the Year 9 DAV Debating Teams are undoubtedly looking forward to the remaining rounds with great anticipation. Their consistent victories and commendable teamwork have already established them as a force to be reckoned with. Best of luck to all the debaters and may their debating journey continue to be filled with triumphs!

Donna Byrne and Sharon Pyle
Debating and Public Speaking Coordinators, Traralgon Secondary School 2023

TRARALGON SECONDARY SCHOOL ENSEMBLE REHEARSAL SCHEDULE

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

Heather Mason
Head of Performing Arts – Co-curricular

FINANCE NEWS

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 refer 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 2023 closes at the end of Term 2. All forms must be received by 16 June 2023 to be processed.

For parents who received CSEF at the school in 2022 (and the student/s are still enrolled in 2023), the school will ‘copy’ the application across from 2022 to 2023 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.

National Reconciliation Week
National Reconciliation Week (NRW) is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia. This year’s National Reconciliation Week theme, Be a Voice for Generations, urges all Australians to use their power, their words and their actions to create a better, more just Australia for all of us. Last Friday our Junior School acknowledged National Sorry Day and this week students and teachers have engaged in lessons and conversations about reconciliation. Reconciliation is about strengthening relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous peoples, for the benefit of all Australians.

Winter Sports
Years 4, 5 and 6 students thoroughly enjoyed their day of winter sports last week and competed well against teams from other local schools. Many thanks to Mr Rilen for his organisation and to all of the teachers and parents involved.

National Simultaneous Storytime
St Paul’s joined millions of students and teachers across the country to read ‘The Speedy Sloth’, as part of 2023 National Simultaneous Storytime. The National Simultaneous Storytime is held annually by the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) to promote literacy among young people. Every year a picture book, written and illustrated by an Australian author and illustrator, is read simultaneously in libraries, schools, pre-schools, family daycare centres, childcare centres, family homes and bookshops. This year, our Year 9 students visited the Junior School and read some carefully selected picture storybooks to our younger students.  It was a delightful reading session with lots of engaged and keen students working together. Many thanks to Ms Jannet Taylor for her coordination of this event and to our Year 9 students for their involvement. Resilience Project
Teachers and students continue to participate in weekly lessons about GEM – Gratitude, Empathy and Mindfulness. This week’s presentation from The Resilience Project focuses on Gratitude. Gratitude is paying attention to the things that we have right now and not worrying about what we do not have. We practise this by noticing the positives that exist around us. Research shows that practising gratitude rewires our brains to overcome negativity bias (which can lead to anxiety and depression) and see the world for what we are thankful for. It is also shown to broaden thinking, and increase physical health through improved sleep and attitude to exercise.

View Part 2 of the series for families here:
Part 2 – Gratitude: https://theresilienceproject.com.au/2023-parent-carer-hub-inspire-martin/

There are many ways in which you can practise gratitude, including starting a gratitude journal. You can simply use a notebook to list three things that went well for you each day or use a more comprehensive Wellbeing Journal, like those created by The Resilience Project.

Resilience Survey Data
We have received our Resilience Survey data results from The Resilience Project. Students in Years 3 to 6 completed a short survey at the end of Term 1 and the data has provided us with some very useful information about our student’s wellbeing, engagement and hope. In the past 12 months, our student data has shown some very positive upward movement in the areas of Healthy Mind and Ready to Learn.

An area of concern that was highlighted in the survey data is the number of students who are online late into the evening, after 10:00 pm and not getting at least eight hours of sleep each night. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that there should be no screen time at all for children under two, less than an hour a day for children aged from two to five, and less than two hours for five to seventeen year olds. Parents are encouraged to play an important role in modelling a positive approach to using screens and assisting children to navigate the content they access.

Please see this week’s Special Report: Managing Screen Time for some excellent information and guidelines about managing screen time for families https://stpaulsags.vic.schooltv.me/newsletter/managing-screen-time

St Paul’s Trivia Night
Our FOSP team have been busy organising some special events for next term. The first being a St Paul’s Trivia Night. Families are invited to gather together for an evening of trivia with host Andrew “Deaksy” Deak. It is sure to be a great evening and lots of fun.

When: Friday 28 July
Time: 7:00 pm for a 7:30 pm start
Where: Traralgon Tennis Club, Corner Franklin and Davidson St
Who: St Paul’s parents, teachers and friends (18+ years)
Cost: $20 per ticket
Drinks will be available for purchase at bar prices
Purchase tickets here: https://www.trybooking.com/CIVYV

Class Expos
The end of term is quickly approaching and parents are invited to join us for our end of term Classroom Expos. Students and teachers will have learning on display and parents are encouraged to visit classrooms on Wednesday 21 June from 2:30 pm to enjoy classroom activities and the sharing of learning tasks from throughout the term. Students are eager to showcase to their families the wonderful learning that has been happening. Please sign in on arrival at the Junior School office.

Tracey King
Head of Traralgon Junior School

WHAT’S ON

JUNE
7 June  Division Winter Sport
9 June  Student Free Day
12 June King’s Birthday Public Holiday
15 June  Years 5 and 6 Endeavour Program Showcase
16 June  Centrepiece, West Gippsland Arts Centre, 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm
21 June  Classroom Expo Afternoon, 2:30 pm
ELC Winter Solstice
23 June  Boho Friday
End of Term 2, 2:20 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.

TEAM TIMOR NEWS

Boho Friday on Friday 23 June to raise money for an English Language Centre in Malimea, Timor Leste.

Junior School students and Secondary School students are invited to attend Boho Friday, occurring in the Secondary School on Friday 23 June from 12:00 noon. This is the fundraising activity for East Timor we have run in the past, where students can have their nails done, hair braided or feathered, and receive henna body art or tattoos.
The money raised will go towards building a new English Language classroom in Malimea Village in the Ermera District.

A parent consent form will need to be signed for students under thirteen to receive henna body art.  This will be handed out in class closer to the day. However, we would advise students who have a skin condition or sensitive skin not to have one, in case of reaction. We will also run our Fair Trade stall, with goods from fifty cents through to twenty-five dollars, including bags, jewellery, purses, scrunchies, baskets and more.

If you have any queries or would like to know more, please contact Kirsten Enders on 5175 9222 or by email at kenders@stpaulags.vic.edu.au.

Kirsten Enders
Team Timor
Traralgon Campus

ELC IN NATURE

Nature kinder is in full swing and we are seeing some amazing learning and development occurring.

Our hands-on experiences in the environment is promoting wellbeing and motor skills. Uninterrupted play, imaginative, creative and physical skills for example, climbing, swinging, running, carting logs, weaving, building and of course jumping in puddles.
Children are finding insects that promotes curiosity; What is it?, Is it dangerous?, Is it good or bad for the environment? They then extend their research skills back at Kinder.

The imaginative play has challenged some of the children on attempting to change their play each week and try something new. Pretending in play inevitably involves some sort of story scenario (for example: a sick baby, flying on a moon mission, teachers), and stories are patterned and/or logical structures. Understanding of narrative and organisation of thinking are important pre-literacy skills and both are necessary for a child to think up play ideas and then play out these ideas.

Fiona McDonald
ELC Director – Traralgon Campus

CLASS UPDATES

Prep
This fortnight in Prep, students have enjoyed discussing how their family celebrates different events within the school year. These include birthdays, Christmas, Easter, Halloween and housewarming parties. They have also identified similarities between the different celebrations.

In literacy students have been working on turning a fragment (part of a sentence) into a complete sentence, using correct boundary punctuation. They have also been expanding their vocabulary, looking into synonyms for the word small, including microscopic, miniature, undersized and runt.

In Maths students have been using their knowledge of the numbers 0 to 10 to create number lines. It has allowed students to visually understand the sequence of these numbers and be able to explain that a specific number is bigger or smaller than another number.

Year 1
In Year 1 we learnt about the importance of recognising National Sorry Day. After reading a story we decorated a foot with our special place which represented the many footsteps those in the Stolen Generation took to find their families.

In Writing we have focused on writing three types of sentences – statements, questions and exclamations.

In Maths, we have been measuring length using informal units such as paper clips and dominoes.

We were also very excited to perform a poem on stage at last week’s assembly.

Year 2
The Year 2 students have been developing their addition and subtraction strategies so that they have a range of strategies for different numbers. In the past couple of weeks, the strategies have been to partition the numbers, and this has led to us also being able to make mental calculations.

In Writing, we have been working on writing information paragraphs on animals. Students have been using known sentence structures to write a range of sentences to provide interest for a reader.
Our Integrated Studies have included a focus on Sorry Day and World Cultural Diversity Day.  Students are enjoying learning about each other’s culture and language, as well as Australian history.

Year 3
We have had a very big last few weeks, so much has been going on, we have not even had time to update! Last week, the Year 3 students visited their Kinder Buddies in the ELC. It was fabulous to see some of the Year 3 students going back to where it all began for them and immerse themselves in the nature play, open-ended environment of the ELC.
We have also been learning about World Rivers in our Core Knowledge unit and Australia and our Neighbours in our Integrated Unit. Last week we meshed the two together and the students began creating their own maps of Australia out of salt dough, complete with Uluru, The Great Dividing Range, The Murray River and the Stuart Highway among other features.

Year 4
In Year 4, the students have been involved in a variety of exciting activities.

Last Wednesday, students participated in National Simultaneous Storytime with the reading of ‘The Speedy Sloth,’ by our school librarian which they thoroughly enjoyed. Then on Friday, the students acknowledged National Sorry Day by making posters and cutting out handprints. They also enjoyed making paper helicopters with their Prep Buddies and testing them out on the playground to see which one flew the best.
In Numeracy, the students have been looking at reading temperatures on thermometers and subtracting multi-digit numbers and equivalent fractions.

During our Literacy sessions, the students have been working on sentence-level writing and using a variety of vocabulary to make their writing more interesting.

Year 5
The Year 5 students were educated about the Stolen Generation, we watched the apology from Kevin Rudd and learnt about the National symbol and how Australia Commemorates this occasion. Following this learning, the Year 5 students completed activities directly related to this lesson.
Year 6
This week in Year 6 we participated in Winter Sports. There were lots of different sport options to choose from including soccer, hockey, t-ball and netball. The Soccer A team played five teams and came second. The Soccer B team played three games and placed second. The Hockey Girls team played two matches and placed first. They made it through to region. The Hockey Boy’s mixed team played four games and came second. The T-Ball team played four games and placed third. The Netball mixed team played five teams and placed fourth. The Netball Girl’s team played eight games and placed fifth. We all really enjoyed winter sports and had an awesome time. We wish the Hockey Girls team luck at the Regional Competition.

SPORT NEWS

Latrobe Valley Division Cross Country Championship
The Latrobe Valley Division Cross Country Championships were held on Wednesday 17 May at Gaskin Park Churchill. The day was blessed with perfect running conditions, with just the right amount of sun and breeze.

The day saw a number of strong performances, Mason Chan achieved an impressive eighth place finish in the 12/13 Boys three kilometre event, completing the event in 13:51.76 which started off a day full of top twenty performances. Third place in the 12/13 Girls three kilometre event was claimed by Lilijah Deveson in a time of 14:23.24.

Continuing the strong streak of ribbons, William Lambert achieved a third place finish in the 11 Boys three kilometre event with a time of 12:24.92. The 11 Girls three kilometre event saw Georgia Hasthorpe finish as runner up in a time of 12:55.61.

In the 9/10 Boys teo kilomtere event, Jake Kaminski claimed eighteenth place in a time of 8:34.97. Abi Dean set the early pace in the 9/10 Girls two kilometre event. Abi finished in second place in a time of 8:38.74, with Ruby Demetrios achieving an eighteenth place result of 10:06.79

All the St Paul’s Traralgon runners did an amazing job and Abi Dean, Georgia Hasthorpe, William Lambert, Mason Chan and Lilijah Deveson all qualified to compete in the Gippsland Regional Cross Country Championships at Drouin Golf and Country Club on Thursday 1 June.

Congratulations to all who competed and well done to all those qualified for the Gippsland Regional Cross Country Championships.
Traralgon District Winter Sports – Hockey 7s 
The St Paul’s Boys/Mixed team and Girls team have both had an outstanding performance at the Traralgon District Winter Sports – Hockey 7s on Tuesday 23 May at Agnes Brereton Reserve. The Boys/Mixed team were undefeated and finished in runner up only by goal difference.

The Girls team were also undefeated claiming the Traralgon District and Latrobe Valley Division Girls Hockey Championship.

The Boys/Mixed team had a great tournament with wins against Stockdale Rd PS 1-0, Grey St PS 5-0 and Liddiard Rd PS 3-0. The team also had a draw against St Gabriel’s PS 1-1.

The Girls team also had a great tournament with wins against Stockdale Rd A 1-0 and Stockdale Rd B 2-0.

The St Paul’s Girls side hasnow qualified for the Gippsland Region Hockey 7s at Gippsland Regional Sports Complex, Sale on 17 July. We wish them the best of luck.

The St Paul’s Boys/Mixed and Girls Hockey teams are to be commended on their outstanding performance and should be proud of their achievement.
Traralgon District Winter Sports – Netball 
St Paul’s had a great day of netball at the Traralgon District Winter Sports on Tuesday 23 May at Agnes Brereton Reserve.

The Boys/Mixed team finished fourth overall, with a 5-0 victory over Stockdale Road Primary School, 5-8 loss to St Michael’s Primary School, 3-9 loss to St Gabriel’s Primary School and a 2-9 loss to Grey Street Primary School.

The Girls team finished fifth overall with a 0-18 loss to Grey St Primary School, 1-26 loss to St Michael’s Primary School, 6-3 victory over Kosciuszko St Primary School, 2-23 loss to St Gabriel’s Primary School and a 1-15 loss to Stockdale Road Primary School.

The St Paul’s teams put in a great effort, battling hard against teams with far more experience and should be proud of their results. Congratulations to all the teams!
Traralgon District Winter Sports – Soccer
It was a successful day for St Paul’s at the Traralgon District Winter Sports Soccer Championship at Harold Preston Park. Both the Boys/Mixed A and B teams were undefeated and finished runners up in their respective pools.

The Boys/Mixed A team had an impressive performance scoring twelve goals and conceding only one, with wins over St Gabriel’s Primary School 1-0, Stockdale Road Primary School 7-0 and Grey Street Primary School 3-0 and two draws against Liddiard Road Primary School 1-1 and eventual Champions St Michael’s Primary School 0-0.

The Boys/Mixed B team also had a strong showing scoring eight goals and conceding only one, with wins over Grey Street Primary School 6-0 and Kosciuszko St Primary School 2-1, and a draw against St Gabriel’s Primary School 0-0.

The St Paul’s teams were a credit to the school, with their sportsmanship and teamwork on display throughout the day. Congratulations to all the players on their efforts!
Traralgon District Winter Sports – Tee Ball
The St Paul’s Boys/Mixed A team travelled to Agnes Brereton Reserve in Traralgon to compete in the Traralgon District T-Ball Winter Sports Tee Ball on Tuesday 23 May.

The team, made up of Years 4, 5 and 6 students, put in a strong performance throughout the day. In the first match, they faced a tough opponent in Kosciuszko St Primary School, but unfortunately lost the game. However, the team rallied and went on to win their next two matches against St Gabriel’s Primary School and Grey Street Primary School, giving them a chance to defend their District and Division title.
In the final match of the round robin, they faced a strong St Michael’s Primary School team and, despite a valiant effort, were unable to secure a win. Despite this, the team finished in an impressive third place overall.

The St Paul’s team showed great sportsmanship and resilience throughout the tournament and should be proud of their performance. Congratulations to all the players and coaches involved.

Billy Rilen
Physical Education and Sport Teacher
Traralgon Junior School

TRARALGON JUNIOR SCHOOL ENSEMBLE REHEARSAL SCHEDULE

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

Heather Mason
Head of Performing Arts – Co-curricular

FINANCE NEWS

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 refer 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 2023 closes at the end of Term 2. All forms must be received by 16 June 2023 to be processed.

For parents who received CSEF at the school in 2022 (and the student/s are still enrolled in 2023), the school will ‘copy’ the application across from 2022 to 2023 on the CSEF system. The CSEF system will automatically validate the parent’s eligibility with Centrelink.

USE THE FORCE, LUKE!

“Luke, you’ve switched off your targeting computer, is something wrong?”

Anyone with any exposure to the Star Wars universe knows what comes next. Amid the chaos of the battle, Luke hears the wise counsel of his recently departed mentor, Obi-wan Kenobi, who whispers, “Luke, trust your feelings.” Luke then switches off his targeting computer and — using the Force as his guide — fires his missiles and destroys the Death Star. I cannot help but wonder just how much this moment, and the prevailing narrative of the Star Wars universe, has helped to shape the psyche of our day. Whether it is the NCIS protagonist, Leroy Jethro Gibbs, insisting that we ‘trust our gut’ or Ernesto de la Cruz from Coco singing “The rest of the world may follow the rules, but I must follow my heart”, the message is that our feelings are our best guide in life.

But let’s go back to Star Wars for a moment – the prequel episodes specifically – where we follow would-be hero Anakin on his journey to becoming uber-villain Darth Vader. “You don’t need guidance, Anakin. In time, you will learn to trust your feelings. Then you will be invincible”, says Supreme Chancellor Palpatine in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones. Writing for Patheos magazine, Terry Mattingly observes, “No wonder Anakin Skywalker seems so confused. Every time the Jedi apprentice turns around, a spiritual master tells him to trust his feelings, search his feelings or follow his feelings. Trouble is, the young super-warrior in ‘Star Wars: Attack of the Clones’ is a tornado of feelings. He feels love. He feels hate, ambition, desire, frustration, fear and fury.” https://www.patheos.com/blogs/tmatt/2002/06/trust-your-feelings-darth/

This leads us to the second of Jonathan Haidt’s ‘three great untruths’ that we began to explore in our last Grammarian article, “Always trust your feelings.” The first great untruth that “what doesn’t kill you makes you weaker” leads to an unhelpful desire to shield young people from possible ‘trauma’. In Haidt’s words, “By over-protecting our children we are setting them up to be weak, to be more easily damaged, to be more easily discouraged”. The language of safety and trauma is now applied to experiences and topics where it never would have been before. Increasingly, students conflate trauma with emotional discomfort. But emotional discomfort is simply not the same as trauma. Now add to this an unhelpful elevation of feelings as the most accurate way to make sense of our experiences and you have a recipe for disaster.

So, what is wrong with always following our feelings? Feelings are not always bad. Emotions are an intrinsic and wonderful part of being human and Haidt is not suggesting that all emotions should be ignored. From a Christian perspective, we only need to look at the Psalms to see the full range of emotions being expressed – anger, fear, joy, love, anxiety, depression and so on. And in the Gospels, we see Jesus experiencing the full gamut of human emotion. Humans are created as emotional beings. The danger lies in giving too much weight or putting too much trust in our emotions. Here are two reasons Haidt suggests why always trusting your feelings can be unhelpful:

Negative-Feedback Loops
Emotional reasoning can have negative consequences. It often leads to negative cognitive feedback loops. Individuals who suffer from anxiety and depression often start from a place of low self-esteem. And because they feel so badly about themselves, they selectively seek out “proof” to confirm their negative self-beliefs. These “proofs,” in turn, further reinforce the original negative beliefs.

One way they do this is through catastrophising, turning minor setbacks into disasters.

Another symptom is generalisation: taking one setback and re-casting it as a comment on one’s entire experience in life. A third symptom is mind-reading, assuming (nearly always falsely) that others have a negative opinion of them, without any proof.

You may well have seen this played out in your own home. Imagine the child who comes home declaring in great distress, “everyone is laughing at my haircut!”.  After some sympathetic conversation, you establish that one or two people made a comment in class about funny haircuts that may or may not have been referring to your child. By the end of the day, in the child’s mind, “everyone is laughing at their haircut!” Their distress might be real, but it has been brought about by faulty emotional reasoning.

Microaggression and Misperception
Another dangerous manifestation of emotional reasoning can be seen in the phenomenon of so-called “microaggressions.” Microaggressions are minor, often inadvertent slights that members of minority groups are often exposed to in the course of daily life. Too often, emotional reasoning causes us to misperceive the world around us. For young people, emotional reasoning can cause them to feel intentional slights where there are none and strengthen the desire to shelter themselves from emotionally triggering experiences—even speech that they merely disagree with. “… students are encouraged to follow their feelings; if they feel offended by something then they have been attacked. They’re supposed to not question those feelings.” Haidt says.

The great untruth is that we should always trust our feelings but the counter to this is not that we should never trust our feelings. The end goal is not to suppress or crush or even invalidate the things our young people feel. Instead, we want to help young people to understand what is, potentially, a counter-cultural message that their feelings do not need to rule them and in fact, they might sometimes be deceived by them. Proverbs 25:28 says, “Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self-control.” If we do not learn to deal with how we feel we will manipulate ourselves and leave ourselves open to being manipulated by others.

A great way to help young people evaluate and regulate their emotional reasoning is by modelling it ourselves. If you catch yourself heading down a negative feedback loop or potentially overreacting to something, make a conscious effort to verbalise for your child the thinking process that you go through in recognising and moderating your response. Let them hear, as much as is appropriate, how you manage your feelings. And if you see them getting caught up in faulty emotional reasoning, help them to pause and reassess. Essentially, you want to say to them, “You’ve switched off your targeting computer, is something wrong?”.

“Test me, Lord, and try me, examine my heart and my mind; for I have always been mindful of your unfailing love”. (Psalm 26:2-3)

Reverend Daniel Lowe
Senior Chaplain