RevelationsThe fortnightly newsletter for preK to Year 12 families of St Paul’s

Revelations - St Paul’s Fortnightly Newsletter. Issue No. 34 1

Issue No. 34 8 February, 2019

The year has started back with the usual frenzy of activity. I would particularly like to welcome all of the new families to St Paul’s who just commenced their journey with us – I do hope you are able to settle in quickly and build good connections into the community.

A great way to do this is to come along to our parent support group called Friends of St Paul’s. This group meets once a month on a Tuesday evening. The first meeting, which is also the AGM, is coming up on Tuesday, 26th February at 7:30pm in the main administration building. Friends of St Paul’s organises various activities throughout the year, which aims to build community and raises funds for the school.

It was wonderful to meet so many families at the Sunset Social. It is always a great evening which provides a relaxed and informal opportunity for parents and staff to connect. I am grateful to our committed staff who give their time and efforts to make sure these events are a great success. The strength of our community is such an important characteristic of our school and I believe is one of the key elements that contributes to the success of the school.

Another significant community event that is coming up is our annual Grandparents Day on Friday, 5th April. This is always a highlight of the school year, which acknowledges and celebrates our very special grandparents. The day involves a welcome assembly, a beautiful morning tea, attending classes from all year groups and enjoying lunch together. This is a free event but booking is essential https://www.trybooking.com/BAOAS

We are of course very proud of our outgoing Year 12. Their achievements have been outstanding. Our first Principal’s Assembly of the year will acknowledged our Year 12 high achievers. One of the fascinating aspects of this time is hearing

the huge variety and diversity of courses and universities to which our students have gained admission. Our thoughts and prayers are with each of our graduates as they commence this exciting and rewarding new phase of life.

As 2019 commences please encourage your children to get involved in the full life of the school. One of the great strengths of St Paul’s is the large range and scope of co-curricular activities that are available. It is so important for our students to engage whole-heartedly with our holistic education program, continuing to develop their physical, emotional, spiritual and intellectual abilities.

Looking forward to meeting with you at one of our upcoming activities. I pray that you and your family have a blessed year at St Paul’s. Thank you for your ongoing support of this vibrant and dynamic learning community.

Praise the Lord, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples. For great is his love toward us,

and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord.

Psalm 117

Ian WakePrincipal

From the Principal

CRICOS 02267A

Revelations - St Paul’s Fortnightly Newsletter. Issue No. 34 2

From the Head of Junior School

A Strong StartI would like to welcome you all back to a new school year and hope you had a relaxing time over the break. A special welcome to all our new families and students in the Junior School. I pray you will settle in quickly to the St Paul’s Community.

At Monday morning's Junior School Assembly, I commented to the students how well they had started the year. Despite the hot weather, I saw students making good choices about the games they played and keeping themselves hydrated. I also noted many students going out of their way to make the new students feel welcome.

The Junior School gathers every Monday morning in the Junior School hall at 8:40am for announcements and to acknowledge student achievement. All parents are welcome to attend.

Parent InformationInformation regarding each grade for this year can be found on mystpauls. In previous years we have held a Parent Information evening for all parents. This year the evening has been streamlined and will be for new parents only in Years 1 to 6 and for Kindergarten parents who were unable to attend the information evening at the end of 2018.

All parents will be able to access ‘Seesaw’ and find out about their child’s class routines and keep up to date with their learning. Teachers will begin posting in the next week and will also provide a helpful link to mystpauls where additional information for parents can be found. New families have also been notified about ‘Seesaw’ and I am sure they will enjoy connecting with their child’s learning in this way. Kerry McCaffery is the ICT integrator and is available to talk with any families needing help with ‘Seesaw’.

Parents can always contact their child’s teacher via email or by contacting the Junior School Office. Teachers are always willing to talk on the phone or make a meeting time if parents have questions or concerns.

Co- Curricular ProgrammeMrs Newton and Mrs Mansley announced our cocurricular programme this week. I am amazed at the variety of activities on offer including cartooning, gardening and Lego. Thursdays are set aside for our Christian groups; Praise Kids (K-2) and Cru Group (3-6). I would encourage all students to consider the activities they might like to get involved with.

Staffing NewsDuring the holidays, Ms Boyer had a baby girl. Zoe was born on 15/1/19 at 8:47am. 2.51 kg, 49cm. Mother and baby are doing well. Congratulations!

Ian BrookerHead of Junior School

Revelations - St Paul’s Fortnightly Newsletter. Issue No. 34 3

A Warm Welcome to 2019 to all our Families.Our year commenced with our combined Welcome to Year 7 Assembly/Middle years Prefect Induction Ceremony in the Centre. This initial assembly sees all our incoming Year 7 students presented individually to the school and more specifically to their individual houses, by their respective Heads of House. It was really encouraging to see that such a large number of Year 7 parents were able to stay for the assembly to mark the occasion of their son or daughter’s first day of High School.

The assembly also saw the Middle Years prefect team that were announced on speech night 2018, inducted into the various roles they will undertake this year. After being presented to Mr Wake, our leaders were badged by their outgoing predecessors in a manner which symbolised the handover of responsibilities. Then all members of the prefect team made a public profession of their oaths in front of the entire school community. This public promise of both what they will attempt to do over the next year and the ways in which they will try to achieve their goals is a particularly significant part of the ceremony. At the morning tea held after the assembly our leaders were joined by their parents to sign and have witnessed their leadership agreements. Our congratulations go to the following who have been appointed as Middle Years Prefects:

Our new team of prefects have gone straight into action serving our school and by the time this edition of Revelations makes it to inboxes, our prefects will have helped our Junior School staff in the running of the Swimming Carnival on Wednesday. This is always a great event and our new recruits always do an amazing job of creating plenty of house spirit and instilling lots of enthusiasm in our Junior School swimmers.

The year has commenced extremely smoothly with all students settling back into the routine of school rapidly. Year 7 are doing particularly well at adjusting to the new surroundings and demands of high school. The wearing of uniform and presentation of students always have the capacity to be somewhat challenging coming off the long summer break, but uniform is mostly being worn well. The aspects of uniform however, that need improvement are; for the girls the failure to tie up hair beyond shoulder length, the use of scrunchies to tie up hair and the wearing of more than one pair of earrings or earrings that are not a plain sleeper or stud. For the boys work still needs to be done on ensuring belts are worn and that shirts are always tucked in when not actively running around and the occasional hairstyle that is too long. These areas have been addressed with our students on assembly this week and staff will be ensuring our uniform standards are met in these areas. Your support on this is always appreciated.I am looking forward to a great and productive 2019.

Mr Philip HeathDirector of Students and Family Services

From the Director of Students and Family Services

Middle Years Prefects

House Captains

Castlereagh - Jacinta Jeffery & Lachlan Armour

Claremont - Tully Brown & Sienna Driver

Cornwallis - Ilaria Sinka & Sydney Robins

Melville - Mazin Alfadhli & Emily Walker

Strathdon - Ting Hay & Dishitha Dasireddy

Wilberforce - Abigail Keane & Keira Hastings

Vice Captains

Ariana Levy & Kyle Henson

Captains

Emerick Agahari & Jasmine Digges

Revelations - St Paul’s Fortnightly Newsletter. Issue No. 34 4

Congratulations to Year 12, 2018 for Their Outstanding Academic Achievement!It is with great pleasure that we can begin the academic year celebrating the success of Year 12, 2018.

From our graduating class of 2018 the HSC dux is Matthew Seckold achieving an ATAR of 92.10. Matthew has been accepted to study a Bachelor of Commence and Advanced Science (Honours) at UNSW. The IB Diploma Duces are Emma Bryant and Isabelle Duffy, who shared an IB score of 42 out of 45 or ATAR equivalent of 99.40! Emma has been accepted to study a flexible double Law Degree at The Australian National University. Isabelle has accepted a Bachelor of Design in Animation at The University of Technology, Sydney.

Combining HSC and IB scores, 29 students achieved ATARs above 90 (35%) and 42 students achieved ATARs above 80 (50%)! University and private college course offers are still being made, but feedback so far is that most students are being offered places in their first choice of course. We are also very pleased that a number of our students have been accepted as apprentices and are enrolled in TAFE courses

whilst others take the opportunity to have a ‘gap’ year. We congratulate all of our outgoing Year 12 students and wish them the very best for the future!

I would like to welcome continuing students back to a new academic year and also students starting with us. I encourage students and parents to continue to contact the school to discuss any questions or aspect of concern regarding academic progress. Please contact classroom teachers in the first instance if you have any enquiry about your child’s progress.

Secondary School Curriculum Contacts

If you have any questions about Secondary School Curriculum please feel free to contact me, especially with regard to NESA Year 11 HSC and IB Diploma curriculum and assessment questions. Dr Mary Robyn continues to be responsible for NESA Years 7-10 and IB MYP Years 2-5 curriculum and assessment, so any curricula or assessment questions for these years should be addressed to her. Dr Robyn also oversees the Secondary School Library. In the Junior School, Mrs Corinne Day as Deputy Head - Curriculum has overall responsibility for Junior School NESA and IB PYP curricula.

Mr Matthew Berg continues as the Coordinator of Learning Enrichment, answering questions regarding student inclusion and support in the Secondary School.

From the Director of Learning Services

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Secondary School Appointments

A number of appointments have been made for the Secondary School this year.

Mrs Tania Murray has been appointed Coordinator of Gifted and Talented. Mrs Catherine Stacker has been appointed Coordinator of MYP Core, a position aligned with Mrs Kirrily Leask who is Coordinator of IB Diploma Core.

Mr Matt Palmer has been appointed as Senior Chaplain to work with Mr Matt Steele-Smith who joined St Paul’s in Term 3, 2018 as Assistant Chaplain. The Chaplaincy responsibility is across the whole St Paul’s school community.

A number of new teachers have also joined St Paul’s due to growth in Years 7-10, where the school is now four streams (in Years 7-9). These teachers have all had significant teaching experience at their previous schools. Mr Peter Horan joins the Individuals and Societies faculty, Miss Madelene Leva joins the Sciences faculty and Mr Jordan Williams joins the English faculty. In addition, Mrs Hailey Tantalos joins the Physical Development, Health and Physical Education faculty while Mrs Tantalos is the new Head of Sport. Miss Kate Ridge continues a maternity leave position in the PDHPE faculty whilst Mrs Patten remains on leave. Mr David Peddar has also returned to share some of the Latin teaching load with Mr Anderson.

my.stpauls - Online Classes and Timetable Structure

Student timetables are published on my.stpauls with class pages allowing students to engage in activities for the class. These are updated through the year as students commence new units of work. Parents are able to access aspects of class pages, allowing them to support student learning.

Class composition differs from year to year. Year 7 classes are all mixed ability, colour coded to enable students and teachers to distinguish between classes. In Years 8 to 10, one class has been created with students whose average academic achievement across a range of subjects in the previous year placed them at the top of their year group. Other classes in these years are of equal academic composition. These classes will be reviewed at the end of Semester One. Elective subjects including languages other than English are formed based on student choice. Mathematics classes are based on the specific Mathematics curriculum requirements in Years 8-10.

Year 11 and 12 classes are based on student choice within the restrictions placed by NESA or the IB Organisation.

Further information regarding Years 7 to 10 may be found at the Middle Years my.stpauls page.

Further information regarding Years 11 and 12 may be found at Senior Years my.stpauls page

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any teaching and learning enquiries.

Mr Antony MayrhoferDirector of Learning Services

E: antony.mayrhofer@stpauls.nsw.edu.auP: +61 2 4776 4705

From the Director of Learning Services

Revelations - St Paul’s Fortnightly Newsletter. Issue No. 34 6

From the Library

Secondary School Library Tutoring

Following the enormous success of tutoring in the Secondary School Library last year, we are pleased again to offer this free service. Most of our tutors are former students of St Paul’s Grammar School. These students earned outstanding academic results in their respective HSC and IB Diploma courses, and are continuing with tertiary education in their personal areas of expertise. Four recent graduates have just joined our team.

No formal bookings nor appointments are required. Tutoring runs from 3.10pm-5.00pm on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons, in the Secondary School Library, commencing this week.

In addition, St Paul’s teachers of Mathematics offer tutoring Wednesday after school and some specialist tutoring (for example in Latin) will be provided by senior students.

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From the Dance Academy

Welcome to the Dance Academy for 2019! The dance staff are very excited to have you dancing with us this year. Below I have outlined some important information for you.

Dance Academy StaffDance Coordinator: Mrs. Lauren Cullimore Assistant Dance Coordinator: Ms. Charlene Peffer

Dance Academy ClassesAll classes will start on Monday 11th February (Week 3, Term 1) and will run for the duration of the term (excluding public holidays).

Please note: All Junior School students will be collected from the Kiss and Drop area at the end of the school day and taken to their classes with the Dance Tutor. Pre-K students will be collected from After School Care and taken to class. Students will be returned to Kiss and Drop at the conclusion on the lesson. If you would like your child to be taken to after school care at the end of the lesson, please contact Mrs Lauren Cullimore to arrange this.

Additional Dance ClassesIn 2019, we will be offering three additional classes due to an increased number of registrations. A second class will now be offered in the following styles High School Jazz, Hip Hop and Contemporary. Please ensure you have downloaded the information booklet located on the Dance Academy my.stpauls page, as this contains uniform requirements and important event dates. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact Mrs. Lauren Cullimore.

Lauren Cullimore Coordinator of Dance

Email: lauren.cullimore@stpauls.nsw.edu.auPhone: 4776 494

Revelations - St Paul’s Fortnightly Newsletter. Issue No. 34 8

SPGS Music AcademyWelcome to the SPGS Music Academy. The Music Academy is available for Junior School and Senior School students and focuses on exploring the relationship between a biblical faith and the origins and expressions of goodness, truth, beauty, imagination and creativity. We are continuing to develop an arts scene that is linked to the wider society - to its orchestras and ensembles; the arts and entertainment industries. We want to celebrate and engage with cultural diversity educationally. The Music Academy has two strands offering positive and rigorous instruction and experiences in a range of disciplines:

Strand One - The SPGS Conservatorium Program offers individual tuition to the St Paul’s community - lesson opportunities are available for students, family and staff. Lessons are available on a range of instruments and voice as well as music theory, composition and speech and drama.

Strand Two - The SPGS Ensembles Program provides an opportunity for students to choose from a range of ensembles to attend weekly rehearsals in order to develop their musicianship, performance and ensemble skills. Please click here to find out more about High School music ensembles. Please click here to find out more about Junior School music ensembles.

To register for the Conservatorium Program or the Ensembles Program or to find out more information about our tutors as well as the types of ensembles available please visit the my.stpauls Music Academy page here. Scroll down to the registration box and click on the Conservatorium or Ensembles heading to complete the relevant registration.

AMEB Piano Examination Results

Congratulations to the following students and their tutor Mrs Phyllis Huthnance for excellent results in their AMEB examinations in the last session. A special thanks to Mrs Huthnance for her great devotion to all the students:

Speech and Drama ResultsOn Saturday, 10th November, 2018, Mrs Lynette Sibley's SPGS Speech & Drama students completed their annual practical exams at The Joan Sutherland Theatre. Congratulations for excellent results for our Junior and Senior School students:

Speech and Drama Results - High School

High Distinction

Richard Norris (Yr 9) -Senior Performance Certificate

Ammarah Ahmed (Yr 7) -Senior Grade 4 exam

Distinctions

Josh Lim (Yr 9 -Senior Grade 4 exam)

Daniel Schouten (Yr 9) -Senior Grade 6 exam)

Every SPGS Speech and Drama Student of Mrs. Sibley received a distinction or a high distinction which is a reflection of student skill and quality of teaching. A special thanks to Mrs Sibley for her great devotion to all the students.

From the Music Academy

AMEB Piano Examination Results

Student Grade

Geoffrey Norris Grade 4 gained: A+ (High Distinction)

Serena Madfouni Grade 4 Leisure: A+ (High Distinction)

Miley Madfouni Preliminary Grade: A (Honours)

Joel Ong Grade 5 Leisure: A (Honours)

Marvin Madfouni Grade 6: A (Honours)

Richard Norris Grade 7 Leisure: B+ (Credit)

Matthew Featherby Grade 6 Leisure: B (Credit)

Speech and Drama Results - Junior School

High Distinctions

Geoffrey Norris (Yr 6) -Senior Grade 2 exam

Mohammad Ahmed (Yr 5)

Addy Lock (Yr 4)

Miley Madfouni (Yr 3)

Freya Lock (Yr 3)

Tiffany-Rose Burchett (Yr 3)

Zayne Ahmed (Yr 1)

Daksh Malick (Yr1)

Distinctions

Martin Drayton (Yr 6) -Senior Grade 1 exam

Saisha Nariani (Yr6) -Junior Grade 4 exam

Revelations - St Paul’s Fortnightly Newsletter. Issue No. 34 9

Sunset Social Music Congratulations to the following students who performed at the Sunset Social on Friday February 1st. The event provided an opportunity for parents and staff to interact at the beginning of the year and the music added a wonderful atmosphere to the occasion:

Sunset Social Music Performers

Ziggy Benzko-Greig Geoffrey Norris

Kaitlyn McCarthy Imogen Taylor

Thomas Keane Ella Lock

Richard Norris Grace Heckenberg

Elan Gock Lauren Hogan

Josh Lim Robert Brandenburg

Alexander Seppelt Marilyn Oxlade

Alice Wake Natalie Willis

Kel Tredinnick Abigail Keane

Juliette Ruming

Also, a big thank you to Mr Jarman, Mr Tredinnick, Mr Freeland and the Properties Team for their leadership and support for the event.

From the Music Academy

Revelations - St Paul’s Fortnightly Newsletter. Issue No. 34 10

From the Music Academy

Arabella Logan Year 7Congratulations to Arabella Logan - violinist Year 7 who has been invited into the new prestigious Western Sydney Youth Orchestra based in Parramatta 2019. Arabella will commence weekly rehearsals with the WSYO and attend a three day music camp getting to know her orchestra and conductor in February 2019. Arabella also attended the SYO week long Summer School in January during the school holiday's. A week of orchestral music concluding with a concert at the Conservatorium of Music Sydney. Arabella was featured in the Hawkesbury Gazette newspaper in January 2019 for her Musical Achievements http://www.hawkesburygazette.com.au/story/5849909/musical-dream-comes-true-for-12-year-old-violinist-arabella/?cs=1453

Cathy JarmanMusic TeacherMusic Academy Coordinator

Revelations - St Paul’s Fortnightly Newsletter. Issue No. 34 11

Welcome to 2019Following on from our campaign monitor, this is a reminder that the Friends of St Paul’s Annual General Meeting will be held on Tuesday, 26th February 2019 at 7.30am in the Secondary School’s meeting room, which is located in the Administration Building.

The AGM will be followed by our first meeting of the year.

Friends of St Paul’s assists the school in many areas that normal school funding cannot, by holding events such as Mother’s and Father’s Day stalls, and other community events during the year. If you would like to be part of this parent committee, please join us at 7:30pm on Tuesday, 26th February.

We look forward to meeting and welcoming new members.

Deanne AshSecretary - Friends of St Paul's

Friends of St Paul's Report

Revelations - St Paul’s Fortnightly Newsletter. Issue No. 34 12

French Excursion Report

On 27 November, 19 students from the Year 9 French class with their teacher, Mrs King, went to the Art Gallery of NSW to see the Modern Masters exhibition.

There were many French paintings and other works from around the world on display. Afterwards the class went to a French restaurant (Cocotte Bistro) in Haberfield and Mr Linfoot, who drove everyone in the school bus, joined the group.

Marvin Madfouni was very interested in the art works and loves French. He wrote:

'On Tuesday, Year 9 French went on an excursion to the Art Gallery of New South Wales. There, we viewed an exhibition with paintings by famous French artists. We also viewed some paintings by famous Australian artists as we had some spare time, and it was very interesting to see the difference in style. We then hopped back on to the bus and we went to an authentic French restaurant. We had a two-course meal, a main and dessert, and it was delicious! Also, the waiter was from France, so he conversed with us in French, so we could practise. Overall, it was very interesting to experience some French culture and also a very enjoyable experience!'

Revelations - St Paul’s Fortnightly Newsletter. Issue No. 34 13

Community Annoucement

REMINDER: Grandparents’ Day Friday, 5 April 2019Dear Parent

Our annual Grandparents’ Day is fast approaching and we are looking forward to once again inviting all our Grandparents to share the St Paul’s experience with their grandchildren. Please share this information with your child/rens’ Grandparents so that they are able to attend and book their tickets.

Grandparents’ Day is a wonderful opportunity for Grandparents to go to school with your children for the day, to see them in their classes and to find out what is happening in their school. We hope that they will be able to join us and help make this a very special day for all concerned.

Grandparents should arrive at The Centre from 9:00am with the Official Welcome and Special Presentations starting at 9:30am. Grandparents will have the opportunity to visit classrooms and have lunch with their grandchild/ren. Grandparents’ Day concludes at 1:30pm.

This is a free event. Bookings are essential and are available from Monday 4 February via Trybooking. Grandparents are asked to bring their printed tickets as these are required for the collection of their lunch. A registration table will be located outside The Centre with replacement tickets for any Grandparent who does not have their ticket on the day.

Book FairThere will be a Book Fair in the Junior School Enquiry Centre between recess and lunch for Grandparents to purchase books for their grandchild/ren or if they wish, to donate to the school library.

If you have any questions about this event, please contact Charlene Peffer on 02 4777 4888 or email community@stpauls.nsw.edu.au

Mr Ian WakePrincipal