From the Principal Issue No.50 - St Paul's Grammar School
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Revelations
The fortnightly newsletter for Pre-K to Year 12 families of St Paul’s
Issue No.50 11th February 2020
From the Principal
The start of the 2020 school year has been unusual.
The school closure yesterday due to the impact of extensive rainfall over the weekend was not a decision taken lightly and I
greatly appreciate the inconvenience this can cause. I am very pleased to welcome everyone back onto campus today.
Thank you to all those who have offered assistance to the school during this time - it is greatly appreciated. For those of our
community who have been directly impacted by the floods be assured of our thoughts and prayers.
Prior to this heavy rainfall, conversations around the school One great way to get involved in the life of the school is to be
have often been reflections on the intensity of the fire season part of our parent group, Friends of St Paul’s. The first meeting
that our state and country have experienced. Nearly everyone is the AGM and is coming up on Tuesday, 18th February at
seems to have been affected by the fires to some extent and 7.30pm in the Main Administration Building (North Gate). It
we are all very mindful of those who have lost loved ones and would be wonderful to see you there.
property. As a community, we stand in awe of the incredible
volunteers and emergency workers who have given so much of
themselves for such a long period of time. Our thoughts and
prayers are with all who have been part of this experience.
As we commence the year, it was wonderful to see so many
parents at school attending our welcome assemblies and at
the Sunset Social. I would particularly like to welcome all of the
new families to our school community. We also have some new
staff who we welcome to the school:
Junior School
• Mrs Smyth – Year 5
• Mrs Arthur – Pre Kindergarten Coordinator
We are of course very proud of our outgoing Year 12 students
• Mrs Gale – Year 6 who have achieved amazing results. We are currently about
to publish our annual results brochure and Mr Mayrhofer
Secondary School will provide his analysis of the results later in this edition of
Revelation.
• Mr Storm in the TAS faculty
Over the holidays our properties team has once again been
• Miss Bray in the PDHPE faculty
very busy ensuring the school is looking its best as the year
• Mrs Huston in the Language faculty commences.
• Mrs Taylor in the English faculty One of the main projects that has been completed is that every
light in the school (and there are a lot of them) have been
• Mrs Dunn as our new ESL teacher replaced with new LED lighting. This provides an excellent
quality light and uses much less energy resulting in a significant
Revelations - St Paul’s Fortnightly Newsletter. Issue No. 50 CRICOS 02267A 1
From the Principal Continues
reduction in electricity usage for the school.
2020 is shaping up to be an exciting year at St Paul’s. This year
we will be surveying all our stakeholders to get feedback that
will shape our new Strategic Plan. We will also be striving to
roll out our Master Plan, which aims to provide new learning
environments and facilities across the school. I am looking
forward to working with you on this exciting journey.
We pray for God’s blessing on our school as we commence the
year and look forward expectantly to all He will do in this place.
"For I know the plans I have for you,”
declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you
and not to harm you, plans to give you hope
and a future."
Ian Wake
Jeremiah 29: 11 Principal
Year 7, 2021 Information Evening
Tuesday, 3rd March at 7:00pm in the Junior School Hall.
This introductory session is offered to parents of students entering the Secondary School at St Paul's in 2021. The aim is to
familiarise families and give valuable insight into the transition from Junior to Secondary School. Students are encouraged
to attend.
The evening will feature a brief presentation by the Principal of St Paul’s, Mr Ian Wake, and an introduction to senior staff.
Dr Mary Robyn will give an overview of the IB and NESA curriculum at St Paul's, and current students will speak about their
experiences at the school. There will also be the opportunity to discuss Secondary School Learning at St Paul's with Heads
of Department, Heads of House and Academy Coordinators, and to ask any questions you may have.
Please contact the Office of Enrolments and Public Relations on (02) 4777 4888 if you have any queries.
Revelations - St Paul’s Fortnightly Newsletter. Issue No. 50 2
From the Head
of Junior School
A New School Year Parent Information
I would like to welcome you all back to a new school All parents are able to access ‘Seesaw’ and find out
year and hope you had a relaxing time over the break. about their child’s class routines and keep up to date
A special welcome to all the following new students in the with their learning.
Junior School: Teachers will begin posting in the next week and will
also provide a helpful link to my.stpauls where additional
information for parents can be found.
Pre-K: Jacob, Chelsea, Luca, Lawrence, Rosey, Aubrey,
New families have also been notified about ‘Seesaw’ and I am
Adelaide, Imogen, Thomas, Mila, Arya, Joseph, Chase, sure will enjoy connecting with their child’s learning in this way.
Mrs Kerry McCaffery is the ICT integrator and is available to
Amelia, Ivy, Briar, Patrick, Annabelle, Allen, Chase,
talk with any families needing help with ‘Seesaw’.
Zaynab, Jack, Oliver, Alexander, Zara, Mee Mee, Van, Parents can always contact their child’s teacher via email or by
Harper, Ridhi, Max, Edi, Spencer, Eliza, Zachary, Chase, contacting the Junior School Office by phone on 4777 4888 or
via email juniorschool@stpauls.nsw.edu.au. Teachers are always
Harrison, Xavier, Delilah, Valentino, Robert willing to make a meeting time if parents have questions or
concerns.
Kindergarten: Jacob, Ryan, Mason, Rayan, Zara,
Kaylee, Ryan, Jayden, Cooper
Year 2: Chris, Joshua Induction Assembly
Year 3: Luella, Isaac, Yuri
On Monday, 17th February we will be holding our
Year 4: Charlie, Jacob, Jade, Arush, Jay, Emma Junior School Induction Assembly.
At this assembly we will present badges to our Junior School
Year 5: Eunnu, Annika, Mason, Matthew, Nalini Captains, Prefects, House Captains, Student Representative
Council, Sport Monitors, Flag Monitors, Library Monitors and
Year 6: Adam, Ethan, Charlotte, Nihal, Ashton Class Captains. The ceremony will be followed by morning tea.
The Junior School gathers every Monday morning in the
Junior School Hall at 8.40am for our assembly. All parents are Kiss N Drop
welcome to attend.
As we are settling into the new school year may I ask
all families using Kiss N Drop to please write their
surname, child’s name and class on paper to place on
the dashboard of their car.
This will help things flow smoothly in Kiss N Drop for all
families. If you wish to park and pick up your child/ren please
use the car park adjacent to the Kiss N Drop area.
Ian Brooker
Head of Junior School
Revelations - St Paul’s Fortnightly Newsletter. Issue No. 50 3
From the Director of
Learning Services
Congratulations to Year 12, 2019 for their Outstanding
Academic Achievement
It is with great pleasure that we can begin the academic year celebrating the success of Year 12, 2019.
From our graduating class of 2019 the Dux is Kirsty Lavender, achieving an ATAR of 98.70. Kirsty has been accepted to study a
Bachelor of Engineering (honours), majoring in Biomedical Engineering with a Diploma of Professional Engineering Practice
under a Women in IT and Engineering faculty scholarship at the University of Technology.
Combining HSC and IB scores, 14 students achieved ATARs above 90 (19%) and 37 students achieved ATARs above 80 (48%)!
University and private college course offers are still being made, but feedback so far is that, as in previous years, most students
were 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!
Some parents have asked about the information from the school regarding HSC results release and are unaware that NESA
only releases subject results to schools. Information regarding HSC scaling and ATARs is not provided to schools. To access
this information St Paul’s employs a statistician who recently met with senior executive staff to confirm that 2019 results were
consistent with previous years. A full outline of the HSC and IB Diploma results will be published in the annual school report later
this year.
I would also like to welcome new and continuing students back to a new academic year. 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 and IB MYP middle year’s 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.
Secondary School Appointments
A number of appointments have been made in the Secondary School this year.
Mrs Julie McDonough’s role has recently changed regarding International students. In addition to looking after homestay, her role
now also includes greater responsibility for the provision of International Student pastoral and academic support.
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
throughout. These teachers have all had significant teaching and/or other experience at their previous schools. Mrs Casey Taylor
joins the Language and Literature faculty, Mr Nicholas Storm joins the Design faculty, Mrs Valerie Huston joins the Language
Revelations - St Paul’s Fortnightly Newsletter. Issue No. 50 4
From the Director of
Learning Services Continued
Acquisition faculty, Mrs Ruth Dunn joins the Inclusion faculty as an English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher, Mrs Amanda
Brotherton joins the Sciences faculty and Miss Heather Bray joins the Physical and Health Education faculty whilst Mr Anthony
Kelshaw remains on leave. Miss Kate Ridge continues a maternity leave position in this faculty whilst Mrs Patten remains on leave.
Online Classes, my.stpauls 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 throughout 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.
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 or learning enquiries.
Mr Antony Mayrhofer
Director of Learning Services
E: antony.mayrhofer@stpauls.nsw.edu.au
P: +61 2 4776 4705
Revelations - St Paul’s Fortnightly Newsletter. Issue No. 50 5
From the Director of
Students and Family Services
Welcome Back However, one area that does need improvement is compliance
with the school uniform.
The areas of most concern are the wearing of jewellery and
coloured nail polish/false nails amongst our girls and not
Welcome back to the 2020 academic year to all our wearing shirts appropriately (i.e not having them tucked in) and
students and their Families. the associated problem of not wearing a school belt for our
boys.
Our year commenced with our annual assembly that both
welcomes our new Year 7 students and inducts the Middle Much of this is no doubt due to the fact that students get
Years Prefects who were announced at the end of 2019. This used to not having the restrictions of school uniform over
assembly is a significant one as our prefects make public the extended summer break. This is something that needs to
declarations in the form of oaths, about what they will do in be rectified immediately for all areas of uniform except the
service to St Paul’s over the next 12 months and perhaps even wearing of false fingernails.
more importantly, the manner in which they will go about their I understand there is a lead time required for the removal of
service. I would like to congratulate the following students on the nails therefore please ensure that all false fingernails are
their appointments: removed by the commencement of Week 5 (Monday, 24th
February).
CONGRATULATIONS I hope all students have a great year at St Paul’s in 2020.
Castlereagh House Captains
Alice Wake and Holly Jayakody Philip Heath
Director of Students and Family Services
Claremont House Captains
Helen Adams and Janita Khun
Cornwallis House Captains
Summer Robins and Carissa Monteleone
Melville House Captains
Amaya Polutele and Ameya Deshpande
Strathdon House Captains
Sophia Lusk and Alana Muller
Wilberforce House Captains
Gracie Hasler and Hamish Fellowes
Vice Captains
Daniel Tioukavkin and Gwendolyn Agahari
Captains
Luis Harmata and Elliene Smith
Our new team of prefects will soon be helping our Junior
School staff run the Swimming Carnival on Monday, 24th
February. Our prefects always do an exceptional job of
instilling plenty of enthusiasm and house spirit into the day as
well as providing invaluable help in running activities such as
the novelty events. The Secondary School Swimming Carnival
takes place this Friday, 14th February at Oasis Swimming
centre in South Windsor.
All our students have settled into the school year well from an
academic perspective, with Year 7 coping particularly well to
the changes associated with starting Secondary School.
Revelations - St Paul’s Fortnightly Newsletter. Issue No. 50 6
From the Dance Academy
Welcome to 2020!
Royal Academy of
We are looking forward to another great year in the
Dance Academy with more classes and students than
Dance (RAD) Ballet
ever before.
Programme
In 2020, we will be running 27 class from Pre-K through to
Year 12. To cater for the additional enrolments in the Dance This year we will run three RAD Ballet classes. The RAD
programme we will be running extra Secondary School classes programme will be led by Yasmin Sayah, an ex-student of
in Jazz, Hip Hop and Contemporary as well as new Teen the St Paul’s Dance Programme.
classes in Ballet, Jazz and Lyrical for Junior students in Years 6.
Yasmin has
For your convenience, the 2020 Dance Academy Timetable is experience in
included on the following two pages. coaching students
in ballet and the
I am also pleased to announce that we will have a third dance RAD syllabus
studio operating to facilitate the additional classes. Over the from Pre-Primary
Christmas break our grounds team worked extremely hard to through to
transform the space. This studio is located in the Secondary Advanced 2, whilst
School, close to The Hall. currently being
enrolled in the
RAD Certificate
of Ballet Teaching
Studies and
a Bachelor
of Business-
Human Resource
Management.
After completing all of her RAD exams with distinctions,
she moved to Melbourne where she attended full-time
training at the Melbourne City Ballet in 2016 and was
offered a Pre-professional position in their company.
Registrations Yasmin has also competed in RAD’s most prestigious
international competition, the Genée International Ballet
The SPGS Dance Academy online registration has now Competition, in 2016 as a semi-finalist. Since then, Yasmin
closed. If you have any queries about the Academy or are has taught many students in different styles, focussing
still interested in registering, then please contact Mrs Lauren on classical ballet, and looks forward to coaching
Cullimore, Coordinator of Dance at lauren.cullimore@stpauls. the students throughout the RAD grades at St Paul’s
nsw.edu.au. Grammar School.
Please note: many classes are full, however, we have some
limited places in Secondary School and Junior School classes.
Lauren Cullimore
Coordinator of Dance
Revelations - St Paul’s Fortnightly Newsletter. Issue No. 50 7
From the Dance Academy
Continued
Page 1 of 2
2020 REVISED Dance Academy Timetable:
Please note: Timetable is subject to change depending on registration numbers.
AM Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
PA3 7:30- SPGS SPGS Momentum SPGS Junior SPGS
High 8:30 Jazz Company Senior Ensemble Company Intermediate
School (Years 7-12) Contemporary (Years 7-12) (Years 3-6) Contemporary
Dance AUDITION Company AUDITION AUDITION Company
Room ONLY (Years 10-12) ONLY ONLY (Years 7-9)
AUDITION AUDITION
ONLY ONLY
PM Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
PA3 3:30-
High 4:30pm High School Musical High School Pre Junior High School
School Jazz Rehearsals Ballet Hip Hop Contemporary
Dance
Room (Years 7-12) (Years 7-12) (Years 7-12) (K – 2) (Years 7-12)
4:30- High School Jazz
5:30pm High School
Hip Hop (Years 7-12)
(Years 7-12)
5:30- High School Hip
6:30pm High School Hop
Contemporary
(Years 7-12)
(Years 7-12)
AM Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
Junior 7:30- RAD Junior RAD Beginner
School 8:30 Ballet Ballet
Dance (Years 5-6) (Pre K – Year 4)
Room
PM Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
Junior 3:30- Petites Junior Pre-Junior Ballet Junior Pre-Teen Jazz &
School 4:30pm (Pre-K –K) Hip hop (Years 1-2) Ballet Lyrical
Dance (Years 3-6) (Years 3-4) (Years 5)
Room
4:30- Pre-Junior Junior Jazz Pre-Teen
5:30pm Jazz & Lyrical & Ballet
(Years 1-2) Lyrical (Years 5)
(Years 3-4)
Revelations - St Paul’s Fortnightly Newsletter. Issue No. 50 8
From the Dance Academy
Continued
Page 2 of 2
2020 DRAFT Dance Academy Timetable:
Please note: Timetable is subject to change depending on registration numbers.
AM Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
S8 7:30- Studio Studio Studio SPGS Ballet Studio
High 8:30 Unavailable Unavailable Unavailable Company Unavailable
School (Curriculum (Curriculum (Curriculum (Years 7-12) (Curriculum
Dance Dance) Dance) Dance) AUDITION Dance)
Room ONLY
PM Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
S8 3:30- Teen Jazz &
High 4:30pm RAD Drama Lyrical
School Intermediate Academy (Year 6)
Dance Ballet
Room (High School)
4:30- Teen
5:30pm Ballet
(Year 6)
Revelations - St Paul’s Fortnightly Newsletter. Issue No. 50 9
From the Music Academy
Welcome to 2020 at Ensembles Programme
St Paul's Congratulations to the 7-12 String Ensemble, The
Secondary School Chamber Ensemble and The Céilí
The Music Academy offers positive, rigorous and Band who performed at the Sunset Social on Friday,
contemporary instruction and experiences in a range 31st January.
of instruments, musical styles, musical ensembles and Congratulations also to the various soloists who also
speech and drama. performed. It was fantastic to see and hear such excellent
music so early in the school term. Well done!
The Music Academy has two strands – The Conservatorium
Programme and The Ensembles Programme. Music ensembles are commencing rehearsals at various times
over the coming weeks. Please check the Music Academy Page
The Conservatorium Programme offers individual tuition to on my.stpauls (Ensembles link) for more details.
the St Paul’s community. Lessons are available on a range of
instruments and voice as well as music theory, composition and
speech and drama. Lessons are available for students as well as
family members.
The Ensembles Programme 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.
To find out more about the Music Academy please visit the
Music Academy my.stpauls page. Here you can register for the
Conservatorium Programme or the Ensembles Programme, or
find out more information about our Tutors, as well as the types
of ensembles available.
Cathy Jarman
Coordinator of Music
Revelations - St Paul’s Fortnightly Newsletter. Issue No. 50 10From the Music Academy
Continued
Conservatorium Programme
Conservatorium Concerts
Annually, the Conservatorium holds four concerts to provide an opportunity for students to perform in front of a live audience.
The concerts are held in the Secondary School in our Performance Studio PA1. In 2020, the dates for these concerts will be:
Term 1 – Wednesday, 25th March (Instrumental and Speech and Drama focus)
Term 2 – Saturday, 16th May (Vocal focus)
Term 4 – Wednesday, 21st October (Instrumental and Speech and Drama focus)
Term 4 – Saturday, 7th November (Vocal focus)
Speech and Drama report by Music Academy Tutor Lyn Sibley
With great pleasure and pride I watched my students from St Pauls Grammar School participate in the Australian Speech
and Communication Assoc. (ASCA) Examinations on the 9th November at the Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre.
They all excelled. Geoffrey Norris topped the marks with 94% for Senior Grade 4. Mohammad Ahmed received a High
Distinction for a Senior Grade exam. Richard Norris and Daniel Schouten can now sign letters after their name now they
have been awarded the Certificate of Communication.
It is always gratifying to see all the hard work my students put in over the year be awarded excellent results. Their
confidence and self-esteem is always reinforced when they stand in front of an audience and give a well-presented speech
or story. Not only do they give the speech but have the opportunity to speak and answer questions spontaneously about
the speech and their ideas. The poetry section introduces everyone to new ideas, words and the creative thoughts of
others. It is always entertaining when they present a favourite novel - talking about it and reading part of it aloud.
Congratulations to you all. Here are the results:
Junior Grade exams
Piano Student
Diya Singh – Credit, Junior Preliminary Grade
Zayn Ahmed – High Distinction, Junior Introductory
Examination Results
Daksh Malik – Distinction, Junior Introductory by Music Academy Tutor Phyllis Huthnance
Miley Madfouni – High Distinction, Junior Grade Two
Freya Lock – Distinction, Junior Grade Two Congratulations to the following students for
Addy Lock – Distinction, Junior Grade Three impressive piano and musicianship examination
results:
Senior Grade Exams
Marvin Madfouni – Grade 8, A+, High Distinction
Saisha Nariani – Distinction, Senior Grade 1
Marvin Madfouni – Musicianship Grade 4, 92%
Martin Drayton – High Distinction, Senior Grade 2
Serena Madfouni – Grade 5, A+, High Distinction
Mohammad Ahmed – High Distinction, Senior Grade 2
Serena Madfouni – Musicianship Grade 2, 100%
Geoffrey Norris – High Distinction, Senior Grade 4
Joel Ong – Grade 6, A, Honours
Ammarah Ahmed – High Distinction, Senior Grade 5
Geoffrey Norris – Grade 5, A, Honours
Richard Norris – High Distinction, Certificate of Communication
Paige Hawkes – Grade 2, A, Honours
Daniel Schouten – High Distinction, Certificate of Communication.
Richard Norris – Grade 8, B+, Credit
Revelations - St Paul’s Fortnightly Newsletter. Issue No. 50 11From the Drama Academy
DRAMA
ACADEMY
IS LOOKING FOR SOMEONE JUST LIKE YOU….
If you love:
Playing
Friendships
Using your imagination
Being creative
Communicating
or
Just being yourself…
WE HAVE THE AFTER SCHOOL FUN ACTIVITY
FOR YOU. Classes start week 3.
Please find registrations forms in my.stpauls under Co-curricular –
Drama Academy and email to julie.mcelrea@stpauls.nsw.edu.au or
deliver to VAPA staff room
Drama Academy Tutor
Bronte McElrea
Junior Theatricals - Pre Set
Bronte is currently in her third year of a Western Sydney University
Bachelor degree. When she is not studying or at St Paul’s with
our Pre-K and Kindergarten Junior Theatrical class, Bronte can be
found working as a nanny or with children with special needs.
Bronte recently performed in the ensemble for Harvest Rain’s
production of “The Wizard of Oz” at Qudos Arena
Revelations - St Paul’s Fortnightly Newsletter. Issue No. 50 12You can also read
