In this issue

At this year’s Whole School Anniversary Service held on Wednesday 22 May, we had the pleasure of featuring two former students of St Paul’s, one of whom gave the address as the guest speaker and the other who played the bagpipes.  Tanika Thorne’s presentation was intriguing with its relevance and inspirational message, and after Benjamin Sim had marched onto the stage with his pipes and accompanied the choir and orchestra in their rendition of ‘You’re the Voice’, a spontaneous, lusty round of applause erupted.  We thank both of these alumni for their contributions to this special, once-a-year event.

I was struck by the extraordinarily high quality of music at the Anniversary Service, as I have been recently during a number of school events.  This has ranged from the incredibly polished playing of ‘The Last Post’ at ANZAC services by Teagan Chapman (Warragul Campus) and Lachlan Wilson (Traralgon Campus), to bigger musical occasions involving our talented soloists and ensembles.  These have included Open Day, the SEISA Music evening and last year’s Presentation Assemblies.  We are truly blessed with a vast array of talented, dedicated students and staff, not just in music but in all of the arts as well as humanities, sciences, mathematics, sports and other domains.  However, through music recently, I have been reminded of this quality very powerfully.

Continuing on a musical theme, I am pleased to announce that Benjamin Sim will be joining St Paul’s as our Artist-in-Residence.  Ben is a highly regarded musician, bandmaster and instrumental teacher with a diverse range of skills (including playing the bagpipes).  He will be bolstering our strings program at both campuses, as well as assisting our current staff with our bands and orchestras.  Apart from being a prominent musician in the community, Ben currently works as a lawyer, so he will be transitioning to St Paul’s from the commencement of next semester before being with us full-time as Artist-in-Residence in 2020.  I hope you will join me in welcoming Ben into our musical community.

On a final note, although not entirely a musical one, Bishop Richard Treloar and I have just returned from a very brief visit to Rwanda, where we represented the Diocese of Gippsland and St Paul’s at the enthronement of Bishop Manasseh Gahima of Gahini.  There were approximately 6,500 people in attendance from a range of countries including Tanzania, Burundi, Uganda, Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.  Although St Paul’s will not be taking students to Rwanda this year, we hope that there will be the opportunity to do so in 2020 and beyond.  I urge any students considering it for Year 12 to do so seriously, as past students who have attended the trip consistently say that it is a life-changing experience.

Cameron Herbert
Principal

From the Head of Traralgon Secondary School,
Mr Stephen Klemke.

Anniversary Service
On Wednesday 22 May the school celebrated the “birthday” of St Paul’s Anglican Grammar School and assembled all students from Prep to Year 12 in the Warragul Secondary School Gymnasium.  What a sight to behold!  It was a wonderful service.  The keynote speaker was Ms Tanika Thorne.  Tanika graduated from St Paul’s in 2010 and since then, alongside completing her teaching qualifications, she has coordinated and led teams of volunteers to Kenya and Uganda to deliver ‘Days for Girls’ kits to local schools and community healthcare centres, and assisted in major projects that deliver essential infrastructure and equipment for schools.  She also volunteered for six months in Kenya as part of the World Youth International Service Program, teaching English to primary school students and tutoring orphans at a local community resource centre.  She spoke about her experiences and asked our students to find and use their voice to make a difference in their world.

In keeping with her message, a combined whole school performance of choir and orchestra moved us all with their rendition of the 1980’s anthem by John Farnham, ‘You’re the Voice’.  It is worth noting that the guest appearance of alumnus, Mr Ben Sim, on bagpipes, was quite spectacular.

Farewell Jayne Sherrard
Ms Jayne Sherard is moving to the United Kingdom to be closer to family and will leave us at the end of term.  Jayne is a dedicated and talented teaching professional and will be greatly missed.  I would especially like to note her wonderful contribution to our robotics program.  We wish her and her family every success and joy as they make this significant change in their lives.
We again welcome Mrs Sue Brady to our staff for the remainder of the year.  Sue will take Jayne’s classes except for Year 10 Science which will taken by Mrs Sharon Pyle.  Sue will also take 9B for English.

Growth Mindset
With mid-year exams fast approaching I wanted to remind families that a core belief at St Paul’s is that of growth mindset.
A growth mindset is characterised by children believing that intelligence can be trained and the brain is a growth organ, it is NOT a fixed trait that some are born with and others are not.  “With a growth mindset children know that hard work is the key to success in all things; that putting a lot of effort into learning and working hard is the key; that mistakes are to be capitalised on and deficiencies to be confronted”. (Dr. Carol Dweck, Mindset)

So while exams give a measure of your academic performance at one point in time, they also provide opportunity to see where you are and set goals about where you would like to be.  Hard work and persistence are qualities that will stand you in good stead, both in school, and in life.

Stephen Klemke
Head of Traralgon Secondary School

WHAT’S ON IN THE SECONDARY SCHOOL

JUNE
4 to 6 June  Year 10 Exams
5 and 6 June  Year 9 Exams
5 June  SEISA Intermediate Trials
Year 10 day with Warragul Secondary School Year 10s
6 June SEISA Winter Sport, Junior, Round 4
7 June  Student Free Day
10 June  Queen’s Birthday Public Holiday
11 June  Semester 2 begins
‘The Addams Family’ Production Rehearsal, 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm
12 June  ‘The Addams Family’ Production Rehearsal, 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm
13 June SEISA Winter Sport, Junior, Round 5
‘The Addams Family’ Production Rehearsal, 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm
17 June Traralgon Campus Ensemble Evening, 7:00 pm
19 June ‘The Addams Family’ Production Rehearsal, 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm
20 June  DAV Debating
‘The Addams Family’ Production Rehearsal, 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm
21 June   Boho Friday Fundraiser
End of Term 2, 3:10 pm finish

JULY
14 July  ‘The Addams Family’ Production Weekend Rehearsal, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm

ACCESSING ACADEMIC REPORTS IN SCHOOLBOX

As part of St Paul’s commitment to producing less paper we will no longer be printing paper copies of student reports, instead they will be available on MyStPauls for parents to access anytime.  An email will be sent to all parents letting you know when this semesters report is available, in the meantime previous years reports are accessible now by following the steps below.  Any family still requiring a hard copy of their child’s report can request it by contacting the school.

1. Navigate to the MyStPauls Home Page, https://my.stpaulsags.vic.edu.au/
2. Login using your MyStPauls credentials. For assistance please contact IT Services either via phone 5622 6148 or email itsupport@stpaulsags.vic.edu.au
3. Locate your child in the My Students – section on the left hand side navigation pane.  Here you will find the ‘Academic Reports’ link.
   
4. Clicking here will open a list of academic reports stored as PDF files.
5. These files can then be downloaded or printed.  If you are unable to read them, it may be because you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your device.  You can download and install Adobe Acrobat Reader by clicking on this link,  Get Adobe Reader 

INSPIRING YOUNG WOMEN

Nia Fatouros, Isabella Watts, Paige Hill, Annalise Strini, Cassie Austin, Sophie Waller and Annaliese Nix, accompanied by Mrs Sandra Timmer-Arends and Ms Kirsten Enders, attended the ‘Inspiring Young Women’ dinner on Thursday.  Hosted by Baw Baw Latrobe LLEN, the evening links successful women in the community with young women to give them some insight and information about specific careers, and career and life journey advice.  The students enjoyed a two course dinner and the chance to hear inspiring stories of career journeys from successful local women including international make-up artist Alarna Bell and art curator and restorer Sherryn Vardy.  The messages of ‘be the best person you can be’ and ‘follow your passion’ no matter how hard it may seem, were engagingly reinforced by the stories told by these amazing women and were very well received by the students.

Kirsten Enders
Head of Year 9 and Year 10

DA VINCI DECATHLON

On Wednesday 22 May, eight Year 7 students competed in the da Vinci Decathlon at Gippsland Grammar in Sale.  This competition is designed to challenge students in the areas of Maths, English, General Knowledge, Code Breaking, Engineering, Science, Art and Poetry, Performing Arts, Cartography and Ideology.  Eleven teams were present on the day.  It is a long hard day for both students, who wade through a ton of material and staff, who correct all their work.  I want to pass on my congratulations to our St Paul’s Traralgon students as they received four awards for the day: first place in Cartography and General Knowledge, second place in Art and Poetry and third in Engineering.  Students attending were Hunter Leahy, Joshua Cullen, Vyas Mageswaran, Krsna Prajapati, Kate Edgar, Nicholas Krafft-Murat, Darcy Ellen and Tarj Fitzpatrick.

Jennifer Witney
Head of Year 7 and 8

LEADING SCOUT AWARD

Congratulations to Year 8 student Sarah Farley, who was recently awarded the prestigious Australian Scout Medallion.  This is the highest award obtainable for Scouts in the eleven to fourteen year old category.  In order to be awarded the medallion, Sarah had to:
• Participate in a Scout Leadership Course
• Demonstrate an active leadership role in Scouting and;
• Achieve the Adventurer Cord.

Well done Sarah, and we wish you all the best as you transition to Scout Venturers.

CHARITIES BENEFIT FROM COMMERCE STUDIES

Year 10 Commerce students at St Paul’s Anglican Grammar School recently hosted ‘Market Week’ to other students, providing a variety of stalls of which monies raised will be donated to charities.

The concept of Market Week is for Commerce students to learn about business processes such as setting up and running a small business, business planning, cost analysis, obtaining resources, risk assessment (including OH&S), product/service branding and post-performance analysis.

The students plan and advertise their stalls in groups in this hands-on learning activity and are required to overcome any challenges to ensure their ‘business’ ran smoothly.

Some of the businesses included ‘Coconut Lane’, ‘Kings BBQ’, ‘Honey Fairies’, ‘Moussekeeter’, ‘Milkshake Bros’, ‘Sassy Sundaes’, ‘Pancakes to Go’, ‘Sugar Spice Sisters’ and ‘Dogs for Dogs’.

Over $1,150 was raised between the students which will now be donated to a charity of their choice, some of which include Red Cross, World Vision, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, World Wildlife Fund, Leukaemia Foundation and RSPCA.

BOHO FRIDAY

Traralgon Junior and Secondary School students are invited to attend ‘Boho Friday for Ponilala’ taking place during both secondary and junior lunchtimes in the Secondary School on Friday 21 June.  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 henna body art or tattoos done (Year 3 and above only are recommended for tattoos).

The money raised will go towards building new school rooms at the school we built and support in Ponilala Village.

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 $1 through to $25 including bags, jewellery, purses, scrunchies, caps, baskets and more, all made in East Timor.

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

DONATE A DICTIONARY

In the first week of the mid-semester holidays, ten Warragul and Traralgon Secondary students together with teachers Andrea Heard and Kirsten Enders, will be visiting East Timor.

One of the highlights is visiting the village school in Ponilala, built with money raised by St Paul’s Anglican Grammar School.  We are hoping on the upcoming visit to present each student in the school with an English/Tetum dictionary.  Each dictionary costs $5 and we have approximately one hundred and fifty to buy.

We are hoping that students or families from the school could donate $5 to buy a dictionary for a Timorese student.  A nameplate will be placed inside each dictionary noting that the dictionary was a gift and naming the family/student who donated it.  If you would like to provide a family/student photo, this could also be attached to the dictionary.

If you would like to donate, please either email Andrea Heard at aaheard@stpaulsags.vic.edu.au or Kirsten Enders at kenders@stpaulsags.vic.edu.au or complete the attached form with your money and drop it to either Traralgon Secondary Student Services or Warragul Secondary Student Services.

Thank you for your support.

East Timor Dictionary donation

Family/student name: ______________________________

Amount of dictionaries donated: ____________

Amount enclosed: $ ____________

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

As always, it has been a busy few weeks in the Junior School and it was wonderful to be able to celebrate our School’s 37th year at our Prep to Year 12 Anniversary Service last Wednesday.

We congratulate Kade Cannon (Year 3F) and Regan Smith (6F) on being selected to represent Victoria.  Kade has been selected for the State Swim team with a week-long competition to be held in July in Melbourne.  Regan has been selected for the State Hockey team as the goalkeeper.  She competes in August at Bendigo for a week.  They will compete against competitors from all the other states in Australia.  We are all very excited for Kade and Regan on this fabulous achievement and we wish them all the best in representing Victoria!

Many of our Prep to Year 6 students enjoyed National Simultaneous Storytime on Wednesday with the Year 10 students.  Our thanks to Mr Herbert who read ‘Alpacas with Maracas’ written and Illustrated by Matt Cosgrove and the Year 10s who joined us to read some picture story books to the Junior School students.
National Simultaneous Storytime aims to:
• promote the value of reading and literacy
• promote the value and fun of books
• promote an Australian writer and publisher
• promote storytime activities in public libraries and communities around the country
• and provide opportunities to involve parents, grandparents, the media and others to participate in and enjoy the occasion.
It is always a lovely way to bring junior and secondary students together and I thank Mrs Leighton who organised this event.

Our Performing Arts Concert is fast approaching on Thursday 6 June and we remind parents to book your tickets online at:  www.wgac.com.au select ‘What’s On’ and choose the ‘St Paul’s Anglican Grammar School, Junior School Performing Arts Concert’. Parents and students will find choreography videos, music files, scripts, lyrics and links to costume information on our Junior School Production page, which is located under ‘My Groups’ on the side bar on MyStPauls.  Students performing will need to arrive by 6:40 pm on the evening in costume.  Families who do not have any children performing are welcome to attend and can also book tickets online.  If you have any questions at all about the concert, please contact Mrs Bramstedt at school.

Teams are busily preparing for the RoboCup Junior Victoria Regional Competition being held in our Junior School Gymnasium on Saturday 15 June.  We have around twelve teams entered and they have been attending Robotics Club under the direction of Ms Rapinett, Mrs Murphy and Mrs Smethurst.  The competition runs all day, so please feel free to drop in and take a look and see our students and their robots in action.

This week, parents should have received feedback about their child’s writing from their classroom teacher via MyStPauls and we roll-out our continuous online reporting to families.  I ask that you check that you have received this feedback and if not, please contact us as soon as possible.  Prep families will also receive online feedback from some specialists in the coming weeks, so please also keep an eye out for this.  If you require a new login for MyStPauls, I ask that you contact our IT Department via itsupport@stpaulsags.vic.edu.au

There has been a lot of illness running through our Junior School recently among both staff and students.  I thank families that are keeping their children home until they are fully recovered and for your understanding when staff are absent and replacement teachers are filling in.  We understand that this can be unsettling for some students, however, we endeavour to keep the daily routines and programs as normal as possible.

Rowan van Raay
Head of Warragul Junior School

WHAT’S ON IN THE JUNIOR SCHOOL

JUNE
3 June  St Paul’s Parent Prayer Group, Prideaux Centre, 9:00 am
Canberra Tour Information Evening, Secondary School Science Centre Lecture Theatre, 7:00 pm
6 June  Performing Arts Concert, West Gippsland Arts Centre
7 June  Winter Round Robin
10 June  Queen’s Birthday Public Holiday
14 June  Centrepiece, West Gippsland Arts Centre, 7:00 pm
15 June  RoboCup Regional Competition
17 June  Studio Concert, Parker Centre, 7:00 pm
19 to 22 June  Canberra Tour
20 June  Winter Round Robin (Division TBC)
21 June  Reports Distributed
End of Term 2, 3:20 pm finish

STUDENTS LEARN CALLIGRAPHY FROM JAPANESE ARTIST

Students studying Japanese at St Paul’s Anglican Grammar School were recently visited by a Japanese Calligraphy Artist, Mr Fujita, who demonstrated some of his calligraphy artwork to the students.  Mr Fujita spoke to the students about his career and how he had been learning calligraphy in Japan since he was in Junior School.  Mr Fujita continued calligraphy as an elective subject in secondary school and it is a career that he has pursued ever since.  Mr Fujita shared his expertise with the students with an artistic performance of dipping a large brush in ink and painting a two by two metre calligraphy piece on the floor that represented one of the school’s values (compassion).  He then painted some special word requests in Kanji for the students.  Junior School students were provided with a special workshop where they used fude pens (ink brush pen) to create their own Kanji calligraphy works by painting the school’s values onto bookmarks.

DONATE A DICTIONARY

In the first week of the mid-semester holidays, ten Warragul and Traralgon Secondary students together with teachers Andrea Heard and Kirsten Enders, will be visiting East Timor.

One of the highlights is visiting the village school in Ponilala, built with money raised by St Paul’s Anglican Grammar School.  We are hoping on the upcoming visit to present each student in the school with an English/Tetum dictionary.  Each dictionary costs $5 and we have approximately one hundred and fifty to buy.

We are hoping that students or families from the school could donate $5 to buy a dictionary for a Timorese student.  A nameplate will be placed inside each dictionary noting that the dictionary was a gift and naming the family/student who donated it.  If you would like to provide a family/student photo, this could also be attached to the dictionary.

If you would like to donate, please either email Andrea Heard at aaheard@stpaulsags.vic.edu.au or Kirsten Enders at kenders@stpaulsags.vic.edu.au or complete the attached form with your money and drop it to either Traralgon Secondary Student Services or Warragul Secondary Student Services.

Thank you for your support.

East Timor Dictionary donation

Family/student name: ______________________________

Amount of dictionaries donated: ____________

Amount enclosed: $ ____________

ST PAUL’S PARENT PRAYER GROUP

If you are interested in getting together with other parents of the School to pray, you are most welcome to join the following two prayer groups:
First Monday of the month, 9:00 am Prideaux Centre, Warragul Junior School.  Next gathering Monday 3 June.
Contact: Sheryn Cutler 0417 158 937
Fridays Fortnightly, 9:15 am, Jenny Charles’ home
Contact: Jenny Charles 0402 249 036

“Don’t worry about anything; instead pray about everything.  Tell God what you need and thank Him for all that He has done.” Philippians 4:6

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

In the last few weeks at St Paul’s, at both campuses, the number of events in which our students have participated in for the good of their broader community has been notable.  At our Junior School and the Traralgon Campus we have had casual clothes fundraisers for the homeless and bushfire relief, and a massive response to the ‘Give a Damn, Give a Can’ food can drive for local charities organised by Rotary.  Our Warragul Junior School Year 6 Community Service at a local nursing home also involved students baking and brightening the days of our local elderly citizens.  Here at Warragul Secondary we also held a casual clothes fundraiser for Team Timor and sent students to Melbourne to prepare and cook meals for those in need during the FareShare Excursion.  Last week our Year 10 students held our most successful ‘Biggest Morning Tea’ to date and on Wednesday this week they participated in National Simultaneous Storytime with Warragul Junior School.  With many more community service and fundraising activities planned, our students have ample opportunity to further develop their philanthropy.

We know that giving to others and thinking about the needs of others plays a significant role in maintaining our mental health and helping us to feel more connected to our community and to the broader world around us.  It develops our own humanity and enables us all to feel that we can make a positive difference in our world.  This is the empathy and these are the habits that I see being developed in our students on a regular basis.  It makes me feel very grateful for our community of St Paul’s and the positive impact we can and do have on each other and the world around us.

Years 7 to 12 Pastoral Sessions with Headspace
Yesterday we welcomed a guest speaker from Headspace to speak to our Year 10 students.
The presenters covered the following topics:
• Understanding mental health, including definition, what it refers to, positive and negative mental health and statistics
• Mental health as a continuum
• Self-care and coping strategies
• What to do if you are not ok
• Tips for a healthy headspace
• If your friend is not ok
• E-headspace and other service to access.
Headspace will visit our Thursday Pastoral block over a number of weeks at the beginning of Term 3 to speak with our other year levels.  Each session will be tailored to the needs and developmental stage of each year level.  A letter will be emailed to parents in advance so you are aware that it is taking place and we hope that you will be able to continue the conversation at home with your child.

Assessment and Reporting Day
Friday 7 June is our Assessment and Reporting day for staff at the Secondary School and a student free day for your child.  Semester 2 will begin at St Paul’s after the Queen’s Birthday long weekend on Tuesday 11 June.

Ms Laura Butterworth
Head of Warragul Secondary School

WHAT’S ON IN THE SECONDARY SCHOOL

JUNE
1 June  Sport Aerobics State Finals, 6:00 am to 6:30 pm
3 June  St Paul’s Parent Prayer Group, Prideaux Centre, Warragul Junior School, 9:00 am to 10:00 am
3 and 4 June  Year 10 Exams
3 to 5 June  Year 9 Exams
5 June  Year 10 Day at the Traralgon Campus, 9:05 am to 3:30 pm
6 June  Years 10 and 11 Exam Catch Up Day
7 June  Reporting and Assessment Day (Student Free Day)
10 June  Queen’s Birthday Public Holiday
11 June  East Timor Tour Meeting, Warragul Secondary School Library, 3:45 pm
12 June  GAT Morning Tea, 9:10 am to 10:00 am
GAT, 10:00 am to 1:15 pm
13 June  SEISA Winter Sport, Junior, Round 5
14 June  Centrepiece, West Gippsland Arts Centre, 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
14 June to 1 July  Japan Study Tour
15 June  RoboCup Regional Competition, Warragul Junior School Gymnasium, 9:30 am to 3:00 pm
17 June  Studio Concert, 7:00 pm to 9:30 pm
19 June to 21 June  Year 9 City Camp
20 June  SEISA Winter Sport, Junior, Finals
Year 12 English Practice Exam, 1:00 pm to 3:30 pm
DAV Debating, St Margaret’s School, Berwick, 4:00 pm to 10:00 pm
21 June  End of Term, 3:30 pm finish
23 June to 1 July  East Timor Tour
22 June to 14 July  Mid-year Holidays
15 July  Student Free Day

ACCESSING ACADEMIC REPORTS IN SCHOOLBOX

As part of St Paul’s commitment to producing less paper we will no longer be printing paper copies of student reports, instead they will be available on MyStPauls for parents to access anytime.  An email will be sent to all parents letting you know when this semesters report is available, in the meantime previous years reports are accessible now by following the steps below.  Any family still requiring a hard copy of their child’s report can request it by contacting the school.

1. Navigate to the MyStPauls Home Page, https://my.stpaulsags.vic.edu.au/
2. Login using your MyStPauls credentials. For assistance please contact IT Services either via phone 5622 6148 or email itsupport@stpaulsags.vic.edu.au
3. Locate your child in the My Students – section on the left hand side navigation pane.  Here you will find the ‘Academic Reports’ link.
   
4. Clicking here will open a list of academic reports stored as PDF files.
5. These files can then be downloaded or printed.  If you are unable to read them, it may be because you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your device.  You can download and install Adobe Acrobat Reader by clicking on this link,  Get Adobe Reader 

FINANCIAL ADVISORS VISIT

In Year 9 the students are working on a unit where they investigate the requirements of work, the cost of living and supporting a family unit and the financial risks and benefits involved in managing finances.  The students prepare a budget and we were lucky enough to have members of our community with expertise in this area visit.  The students were able to discuss their budgets and receive advice on areas they may be able to improve.  We thank all our amazing financial advisors for their advice and time.  Thank you to Andrew Weekes, Shannon Gibbon, Phil Sahhar, Noelene Neyland, Leah Young, Hayley Cantwell and Peta Matthews from Findex and Stuart Kendall, Eliza Monacella and Jaymie Canobie from Pursuit Advisors.

Megan Schreyer
Science and
Thinking and Learning Teacher

BIG WEEK FOR YEAR 10 STUDENTS

Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea
The Year 10 students really impressed last Thursday when they hosted an event for Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea.  Each student contributed a plate of yummy treats, which were on offer to staff and secondary students, who contributed $2 to partake in the event.  The atmosphere on the ground floor of the John McIntyre Centre was full of laughter and good will, with the Year 10s really enjoying themselves, relishing the praise heaped on them for all of the efforts they went to.  All money raised will be donated to the Cancer Council who use funds for a number of different support services to help patients battling cancer.  A big congratulations and thank you to all Year 10 students – you raised a whopping $353.40!

National Simultaneous Storytime with the Junior School
On Wednesday 29 May, the Year 10 cohort joined our Junior School students for National Simultaneous Storytime.  They enjoyed Mr Herbert’s oratory of ‘Alpacas with Maracas’ and delighted in the innocent joy exhibited by the youngest students.  It was then their turn to read to small groups of Junior School students and what a fantastic job they did.  It was very impressive to see Year 10 students confidently entertain their younger peers and the junior students absolutely loved the interaction with the ‘big kids’.  There was spontaneous applause as each group finished a book and it was amusing and heart-warming to witness the Year 10s shine in this joyful environment.

Career Wise Feedback
For those who braved the cold, wet and windy conditions on the evening of Wednesday 29 May, I am sure you found great value in attending the Career Wise feedback session hosted by Jenny in our Lecture Theatre.  The reports that you received are not only very interesting and thought provoking, but they will keep proving beneficial to your child long after subject selections for VCE are made.  As a cohort, the Year 10s have now started their journey into VCE and with our day in Traralgon next week, and the Year 10 Conference early in Term 3, the students should feel well equipped to make some of the decisions that will shape the next two years of their education.  For those students unable to attend the feedback session, Mrs Cumming will return your report to you in time (after exams) and will be able to explain the information that it contains.

Adrienne Percy
Head of Year 10

YEAR 12 ROAD SAFE PRESENTATION

On Thursday 23 May we were fortunate enough to have various guest presenters representing the Victoria Police, Paramedics, SES volunteers and VicRoads to discuss both the positives and negatives of driving when on your P plates.  The cohort also discussed how road trauma can impact both in the short and long term.  This session was worthwhile for all Year 12 students and we thank our local presenters for giving up their time to address this important issue.

Ben Zanella
Head of Year 12
Head of Health, Physical Education and Food Technology

JAPANESE CALLIGRAPHY

On Friday 24 May Japanese students in Year 8 and Year 10 had the privilege of meeting Mr Fujita – a master in Shodo (calligraphy).  During the incursion Mr Fujita firstly demonstrated his skills on a two by two metre sized piece of Hanshi (special calligraphy paper).

He needed to work on his knees and used specific breathing techniques to assist him in creating his Artistic Shodo piece to present to St Paul’s.  Mr Fujita chose one of the School’s values Compassion – 思(おも)いやり- (Omoiyari) and wrote it using his large brush with a bucket of ink.  The students were amazed at his skill and his intensity whilst he used his whole body to expressively write the brush strokes.

Year 8 students also had the opportunity of participating in a calligraphy workshop with Mr Fujita which was a lot of fun!  Students had researched a Kanji character of interest to them and with Mr Fujita’s encouragement they wrote their character on an Uchiwa (Japanese fan) as part of their cultural project assessment.

Mr Fujita has performed Artistic Shodo around the world and has even visited New York and written a masterpiece in Times Square.  He has travelled to Mongolia, Europe and Australia to name a few places and his largest Artistic Shodo piece was written on a five by five metre piece of Hanshi.  His work is well regarded in Japan.

It was a wonderful experience for all students to meet a true Calligraphy Master and we hope that this experience is one that they will treasure.

Rebecca Crossley and Noriko Teranishi
Japanese Teachers

DONATE A DICTIONARY

In the first week of the mid-semester holidays, ten Warragul and Traralgon Secondary students together with teachers Andrea Heard and Kirsten Enders, will be visiting East Timor.

One of the highlights is visiting the village school in Ponilala, built with money raised by St Paul’s Anglican Grammar School.  We are hoping on the upcoming visit to present each student in the school with an English/Tetum dictionary.  Each dictionary costs $5 and we have approximately one hundred and fifty to buy.

We are hoping that students or families from the school could donate $5 to buy a dictionary for a Timorese student.  A nameplate will be placed inside each dictionary noting that the dictionary was a gift and naming the family/student who donated it.  If you would like to provide a family/student photo, this could also be attached to the dictionary.

If you would like to donate, please either email Andrea Heard at aaheard@stpaulsags.vic.edu.au or Kirsten Enders at kenders@stpaulsags.vic.edu.au or complete the attached form with your money and drop it to either Traralgon Secondary Student Services or Warragul Secondary Student Services.

Thank you for your support.

East Timor Dictionary donation

Family/student name: ______________________________

Amount of dictionaries donated: ____________

Amount enclosed: $ ____________

MATHS SUPPORT SESSIONS

A Maths support session will be offered in Room 3 (Year 9 Centre) each Tuesday at the end of the school day.  This session will operate from 3:30 pm to 5:00 pm and students are able to attend for all or part of each session as required.

Participants may use this session to get assistance with and complete homework tasks, seek an additional lesson on a particular Maths topic or simply work with other students who share a similar love of Mathematics with extension activities provided as required.  This session is primarily aimed at students from Years 10 to 12 although all Secondary School students are welcome to attend.  These sessions are additional to those already provided by teachers from the Maths Faculty which occur regularly at nominated lunchtimes.

No formal registration is required.  Students simply attend whenever they feel the need for some additional support or extension.

For further inquiries please contact Mr Rowley via email jrowley@stpaulsags.vic.edu.au

ST PAUL’S PARENT PRAYER GROUP

If you are interested in getting together with other parents of the School to pray, you are most welcome to join the following two prayer groups:
First Monday of the month, 9:00 am Prideaux Centre, Warragul Junior School.  Next gathering Monday 3 June.
Contact: Sheryn Cutler 0417 158 937
Fridays Fortnightly, 9:15 am, Jenny Charles’ home
Contact: Jenny Charles 0402 249 036

“Don’t worry about anything; instead pray about everything.  Tell God what you need and thank Him for all that He has done.” Philippians 4:6

NATIONAL RECONCILIATION WEEK

This week is National Reconciliation Week so it seemed timely to share a few comments on how the School is active in this area.  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.  The dates for NRW remain the same each year; 27 May to 3 June.  These dates mark two significant milestones in the reconciliation journey – the successful 1967 referendum, which gave the Australian Government the power to make laws for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and to include them in the Census, and the High Court Mabo decision, which saw the concept of terra nullius overturned.

In recent years the School has been doing some preparation work towards developing a Reconciliation Action Plan.  Part of this process has been establishing what we already do in this area.  As well as the more ceremonial components (for the past five years we have had a regular acknowledgement of country at the beginning of assemblies and formal occasions and fly the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flag) other activities include the following: • Our Year 9 program has an integrated unit that focuses on understanding Indigenous and Colonial shared history.  • Our Food Technology curriculum includes extensive exploration of Indigenous people as agriculturalists and pastoralists.  • The Traralgon Campus have consulted local Indigenous elders regarding the rehabilitation of the adjacent wetlands and care of the Scar Tree which has led to some collaboration and increased understanding of the local history.  • In Prep to Year 2 they explore issues mainly through stories such as Dreamtime picture books and other picture fiction on the topic such as Mem Fox’s book ‘Ernie Dances with the Didgeridoo’.   • Year 2 complete a whole unit of work on Dreamtime Stories.
This is just a sample of things that are already part of what we do.  If any members of the St Paul’s community have ideas or contacts that could help us continue to build on this please do not hesitate to contact us.

In thinking about why this is an important issue for us to address as a school, I would like to conclude with some thoughts from Aboriginal Christian Leader Safina Stewart.  Safina’s Indigenous heritage comes from Wuthathi Country and Mabuiag Island and her non-Indigenous heritage comes from Scotland.  She currently lives in Wonthaggi, Victoria.  While she holds Bachelor of Education, Safina identifies as a contemporary Indigenous faith artist who uses her art to connect stories across cultures in ways that ask her audiences to consider the “other”.  This is her response to the question, “How does being a Christian and desiring Reconciliation go together for you?”
“I don’t think you can separate being a Christian and desiring Reconciliation.  How can you separate the hand and its shadow?  The reality of Reconciliation can impact every relationship and role we have – whether with other individuals, other groups or with creation itself.  God’s desire has always been to heal broken relationships and make things right.  He teaches us, in His wisdom, how that can be done and He gives us the ministry of administering His healing through Reconciliation.  My hope for the nation is that we would be characterised and known for our generosity and hospitality.  Able to welcome and hold hospitality with grace, forgiveness, justice, strength, integrity and power.”

Reverend Daniel Lowe
Senior Chaplain