VOL 23 ISSUE 17, 1 DECEMBER 2021

FarewellWinnie The Pooh had it absolutely right when he said:

“How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.”

As another wonderful school year draws to a close, we enter into another season of inevitable farewells.

Soon, we will farewell our Year 6’s, whose laughter, energy and vibrance has brought so much joy to our school community this year. We will farewell some special families who are moving onto new countries, new states and new schools. And we will farewell some colleagues who have given so much passion, love and care throughout their time at St Paul.

“The Lord says, ‘I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.’” - Psalms 32:8

This is our comfort in any season of farewell. That our Lord God is always with us and that He has a plan for our lives. He will love us and take care of us, wherever we go. It may not make the moment easier, but it can bring us peace.

My prayer is that we can enjoy these special, final moments of the school year together. May we see these farewells as an opportunity to reflect on the blessings of the year and be thankful for the memories we have created. I pray that all our wonderful families, children and colleagues who are preparing to say goodbye to St Paul have hope and faith in God as they begin their next adventures.

“The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.” —Numbers 6:24–26

Submitted by Karly Bartlett

Upcoming Events

TERM FOUR, WEEK 8

WED 1 DECEMBER• Reception Christmas Concert

FRI 3 DECEMBER • Assembly General Presentations• School Reports Sent Home

WEEK 9

MON 6 DECEMBER• Magazine Distribution • Move Up Morning

TUES 7 DECEMBER • Class Parties (R-5) • Year 6 Celebration Day

WED 8 DECEMBER• Students’ Final Day of Term 4• Year 6 Graduation Event - Year 6 Families Only

INSPIRE photos featured this week:

• Year 2 Voigt

From the PrincipalST PAUL LUTHERAN SCHOOL BOARDThis year, we farewell three long-serving board members from St Paul Lutheran School.

Greg Ratsch steps down from the Chair role and the Board at the end of this year after seven years of service, including two years as chair. Tiffany Raethel steps down after 6 years of service on the board and Sally-Ann Bearman steps down after 5 years of service. Thank you to Greg, Sally and Tiffany for your service during a time of significant change and growth at the school.

Finally, I would like to thank the entire 2021 St Paul Lutheran School Board for their excellent governance of the school in purely voluntary capacities: Dennis Clarke, Tiffany Rathael, Sally Bearman, Caroline Nuske, Merryn Ruwoldt (who joined us from Alice Springs for meetings) and the three members who joined at the start of the year Kylie Karvelis, Tamra Fedojuk and Pastor Matt Bishop.

CHAPEL BIRTHDAYSEach Wednesday, we celebrate birthdays for the week after Chapel. This week, we have not celebrated birthdays on Wednesday because of the Reception Christmas Concert. Please note that all birthdays for the remainder of the year, including the school holidays, will be celebrated at the end of our Presentation Assembly this Friday. Please use our closed Facebook group to view both of these events online – parents and caregivers should please contact the school office if you need support to find and access this group.

END OF YEAR STUDENT WORKAs we near the end of the year, we begin to prepare for 2022. The final week will be a busy one, with final touches on student work, as well as packing up classrooms ready for the Christmas break. As with most

years at St Paul, there will be classroom and teacher changes, and many items to be moved and stored. You may notice that students are bringing home some completed books and other items so that they don’t have incredibly heavy bags in the final days of school. When your child brings home their work, I encourage you to spend some time with them exploring their work and asking questions about how they created it. If the items are too large to keep forever, a photograph can be a great way to create a memory of it. Your acknowledgement and discussion of your child’s learning is an invaluable part of their journey as a learner.

Leila Mattner |Principal

From the Deputy PrincipalASSESSMENT AND REPORTING Reports and 2022 Class lists will be made available via the School app/Portal on Friday. If you have any questions regarding your child’s report, please contact their class teacher next week. If you have any trouble accessing the app/portal, please speak to a member of our Admin team.

Teachers have prepared end of year reports which summarise the growth across a whole year. These Term 4 reports are a complete summary of a child’s achievement against year level specific achievement standards as set by the Australian Curriculum. It’s important to note that reports coming home can cause some anxiety for students and parents.

As adult learners and professionals, we forget how this isn’t always a natural or simple approach for children. None of us like to talk about our mistakes or having them acknowledged publicly. At report time, many children will become acutely aware that they have been assessed across the year and that some of their peers are at different levels to them. We need to be careful about how we discuss assessment and academic achievement. Most important is how we maintain a

child’s desire to learn for their own good, when they become more familiar with the notion of ‘reporting’.

When the report comes home later this week, don’t forget to celebrate growth and achievement, as well as where to next.

Jason Fay |Deputy Principal

From the Wellbeing LeaderJUNIOR AND SENIOR CHOIR PERFORMANCE- MONDAY 6 DECEMBER AT 2.30PMOur Junior and Senior Choir are excited to share the songs they have been learning with Mrs Janetzki this year. Please join us in the amphitheatre on Monday 6 December at 2.30pm. Our Senior Choir will be performing first, followed by our Junior Choir. If you’re planning to attend, we respectfully ask you to social distance and wear a mask. You will not have to book tickets but please email admin@stpaulba.sa.edu.au if you have any questions.

CHAPEL BAND A big thanks and congratulations to our Chapel Band (photo attached) who so confidently and proficiently led the Worship Music at the St Paul Lutheran Church service on 21st November. We are so thankful for Mrs Marlise Janetzki for preparing them so well throughout the year. They absolutely shone and we received wonderful feedback from the St Paul Lutheran Church congregation.

Jayne Spratt (Reid 2 Voigt) is our St Paul Swoopers basketball coach. Although Jayne is new to the coaching role this semester she assists with training on each Friday afternoon and provides much encouragement at the games each week. Thank you Jayne for your passion and time throughout the year.

Jane has taught me how to assist and get to the ball first. Jane is a fun coach because at the start we sometimes do one on ones, but not all the time. Hugo

STATIONERY 2022Please note that this year there will not be individual stationery/booklists sent home for 2022. The teachers will order bulk stationery for the class which will be used next year.

2022 INFORMATIONThis week the following information will be emailed to all 2021 families:

• 2022 class allocations with information about Monday 7 December Move Up Morning

• An Eform for you to update any changes to your contact information (address, phone number etc)

RECEPTION CHRISTMAS CONCERTA big congratulations to our Reception children for their Christmas Concert performance this morning to the St Paul Lutheran School staff and student community. Tomorrow the Christmas Concert will be performed to the Reception parents and caregivers. A huge thanks to our teachers, support staff and parents for your

LOST PROPERTY

There is a significant amount of uniform, lunchboxes and drink bottles in our lost property at the moment. If you are missing items, please come by the front office before end of term. A reminder to please ensure you labelling all items bought into school.

support and encouragement. A special mention to Mrs Marlise Janetzki, Miss Erin Gracey and Mr Sheedy for their enthusiasm, dedication and coordination of this event.

WEDNESDAY CHAPELThis Term our focus is learning about Theophanies and the Advent prophecies fulfilled in Jesus.

Term 4 Chapels will be led by:

Week 9 (8/12) Pastor Matt- The baby Jesus is held by Simeon who is now ready to ‘depart’ in Peace**

**Please note, Closing Chapel will be on Wednesday 8/12 at 12.45pm**

Chapel will be livestreamed on our closed group on Facebook each week.

FRIDAY ASSEMBLYOur host classes for Term 4 are:

Week 8 (3/12) Presentation Assembly

Week 9 No Assembly

These Assemblies will be livestreamed on our closed group on Facebook each week.

Carly Bergen |Wellbeing Leader

General NewsBASKETBALL AND NETBALL UNIFORMSHi families of St Paul Basketballers and St Paul Netballers. Please wash and return your child’s uniform in a named bag to the school office by Friday 3 December in readiness for stocktake and preparation for 2022.

If you have any queries please contact me in the uniform shop on 8260 2655 or uniformshop@stpaulba.sa.edu.au.Thanking you in advance

Jane Sabel |Uniform Shop Manager

ST PAUL LUTHERAN APP

The app, will give easy access to parents to advise absences, receive communication, view the school calendar and access the quick links on mobile devices.

Click on My Portal to access absences, notifications and a link to the newsletter etc -

Click on Quick Links to access:

Canteen Menu

Qkr Login

Spider Parent Portal – to access student reports (see information below)

Lions Christmas Cakes and Puddings

1.5kg Traditional Christmas Cake

$17.00 1 kg Traditional Christmas Cake

$13.00 Traditional Christmas Pudding

$13.00

Available from the office…(Eftpos Available)

St Paul Lutheran School 44 Audrey Avenue Blair Athol SA 5084 Phone +61 8 8260 2655admin@stpaulba.sa.edu.au stpaulba.sa.edu.au

OUR VISION:

PROUD MEMBER OF:

OUR VALUES:

God’s Word2 Timothy 3:16-17

AcceptanceRomans 15:7

Excellence1 Corinthians 10:31

RespectLuke 6:31

Compassion1 John 3:18

HopeTitus 3:7

Community2 Corinthians 13:13

Love1 Corinthians 13:4-8a

Church NewsVERSE OF THE WEEKGet the road ready for the Lord! Make a straight path for him. Luke 3:4

WORSHIP @ ST PAULPlease feel welcome to join us for Sunday Worship at 8:30am Traditional and 10:00am Contemporary including Godly Play for Children. For more information feel free to contact us by email at office@stpaul-church.org.au or call us on 8262 4690.

CHRISTMAS WORSHIP SERVICE TIMES AT ST PAULChristmas Eve 7:00pm

Christmas Day 9:30 am

Please note that Sunday Worship from Christmas Day is at 9:00 am throughout January,

PLAYGROUP @ST PAUL Has finished for 2021 – We return for 2022 on Tuesday 8 February for more fun, games and songs.

SPY – LAST ONE FOR 2021Our last SPY is this Friday 3rd December – we are on an excursion. RSVP essential to Nicole 0412686342 to ensure we have enough leaders or to get the details a few places still left

GROWING FAITH AT HOME – SERVICESome brilliant service ideas for Advent in this week’s Growing Faith at Home.

- Look through your clothes/toys/books for ‘pre-loved’ items that are still in good condition. Bundle them up nicely and deliver them to a charity/thrift store.

- Bake biscuits as a family and give half away.

- Locate Israel and Bethlehem on a globe or world map and pray for peace in the country and region of Jesus’ birth.

- Write an encouraging note to a friend you haven’t heard from for a while.

Find the full Growing Faith at Home Resource here http://www.stpaul-church.org.au/news.html