Our Community

St Paul Apostle North School

At St Paul Apostle North we believe that education begins at home and that the family is the first educator of children. We value the importance and impact of family engagement in learning and building strong school and community partnerships.

At St Paul Apostle North, we acknowledge that children are a precious gift and families honour us, as they entrust their children into our care to guide and support their learning and development. Evidence shows that when schools, families and community groups work together to support learning, children tend to progress further, stay longer in school and enjoy school more. We encourage parents to be involved in their children’s learning and also invite parents to join in a variety of celebrations that are held throughout the year. Parental engagement helps strengthen the bond between home and school. Children respond positively to seeing their families involved and the establishment and development of open lines of communication is greatly enhanced.

Parish Vision Statement

'With the grace of the Holy Spirit, we, the community of St Paul Apostle Parish, strive to live as 'One Family'.

Inspired by the Good News of Jesus we aim to be a welcoming community filled with joy and faith,

we are open to the challenges of our times and especially to seeing Christ in the people and communities whom we serve'

Parents as Partners/Family Engagement

“When parents choose a Catholic education for their child, they form a partnership with the Catholic school. The school staff have a professional knowledge and skill set that complements a parent's knowledge of their child. Together, through the formal years of schooling, this partnership provides a profound, faith-based platform for the child’s life-long learning, formation and flourishing.” (CEM, School Improvement Framework, Community)

At St Paul Apostle North we invite parents and families to be truly active and vocal members of our family. We use the online platform Seesaw to communicate and connect with families on a very regular basis, in addition to our school website, and social media platforms on Instagram and Facebook. We very much welcome the voices and opinions of our community and to continue the partnerships that are so vital to our students’ wellbeing and learning.

We welcome respectful feedback and suggestions for improvement at all times.

Partnerships

MACS (Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools)

Catholic Education Victoria Southern Office

St Paul Apostle Parish

St Paul apostle South School

St John’s Regional College

Local Kindergartens

Walker Learning Early Learning

Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden

Friends of Emera, East Timor

Beyond Educare

Premier’s Reading Challenge

Endeavour Hills Library

Endeavour Hills Men’s Shed

Music Bus

Big Fish, Little Fish

Klad Sport

Sporting Schools

Dandenong Basketball Stadium

Safeway, Endeavour Hills

Bakers Delight, Endeavour Hills

Young Engineers

The Alannah and Madeline Foundation

Be Fit 4 You

Realtime Learning

Parents & Friends Association (PFA)

The Parents & Friends Association (PFA) primarily seeks to foster active participation by the parents and friends of the children at the school. This participation may be in the form of social events, fundraising ventures and general involvement in special school events, such as helping with costumes, makeup or set design for our school concerts.

The PFA Committee meets each fortnight to discuss and plan for upcoming events, as well as formulate goals for the year.

The PFA is a vital part of our school. Over the years, the PFA has funded projects such as landscaping around the school buildings, Literacy resources, installing a shade cloth over the sandpit, computers in classrooms, interactive whiteboards, a new senior playground and air-conditioning in recent years.

We would like to take this opportunity to invite all new parents to join us for meetings. New faces and new ideas are always welcome.

School Advisory Council (SAC)

The Parish Education Board commits to operating under the following principles:

Respect
Diversity
Participation
Partnership
Consensus
Accountability

St Paul Apostle North Advisory Committee and Parish Education Board

St Paul Apostle North School is an integral part of the wider Parish Community. Within the overall Parish vision of faith education, we see our task as dealing specifically with primary school aged children attending our school. We are committed to developing policies and programs as well as providing resources which best reflect the needs of our individual school community and will assist the children to grow spiritually, emotionally, physically and intellectually to their fullest potential. Above all, we are committed to developing a strong sense of Parish identity through total support of Parish policies relating to the school and through involvement in Parish activities.

The North School Advisory Committee meets to discuss aspects of school life that affect St Paul Apostle North. The Parish Education Board addresses and actions matters that affect the Parish, and the two parish schools, St Paul Apostle North and St Paul Apostle South. Representative members from our North School Advisory Committee are elected to serve on the Parish Education Board.

The North School Advisory Committee meets each month at St Paul Apostle North School. The Parish Education Board also meet monthly at either the North school or South school on an alternating basis.

Be Involved

As part of our School Policy it is compulsory that all volunteers are required to have a Current ‘Working with Childrens’ Check. These can be obtained by visiting the Working With Childrens Website at: http://www.workingwithchildren.vic.gov.au/

Your participation and involvement in your child’s education could include the following:

Reading or helping in our classrooms
Assisting with the Perceptual Motor Program (PMP) or our sport days
Becoming a Class Representative
Helping with the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program
Reading to/with your child
Praying with your child at home
Celebrating your faith with your child in your faith tradition at your local place of celebration/worship
Participating in class/whole school liturgies/ Masses and Assemblies
Discussing the day’s events with your child
Becoming involved in our Parents and Friends Association (PFA) and/or North School Advisory Board (NSAB)
Helping with our school working bees
Participating and attending our Parent Information Evenings
Attending our Student Led Conferences
Participating in school surveys, consultation processes and Policy development