Pastoral Care at St Paul's
As a Catholic school the Pastoral Care for all members of our community is a priority at St. Paul's. We do not believe that we can adequately 'teach' the student unless we know each student personally, what motivates him and the important aspects of his life. When starting at St Paul’s each student is appointed a Pastoral Care (PC) teacher who becomes that student’s primary contact at the College. The PC teacher is also the primary contact for parents should any issues arise. The PC teacher will oversee the student’s holistic development whilst at the College monitoring attendance, academic progress, spiritual development, co-curricular involvement and general growth and development as a teenage boy. The PC teacher works closely with the Year Coordinator who, in conjunction with the PC teacher oversees the welfare of all boy’s within that particular year group. Boys meet in their pastoral care (PC) group every morning for 20 minutes. The usual administration is completed regarding absences, daily notices etc. This time is also used for activities that help to build good connections/relationships between the boys in the group and allow the PC teacher to get to know the boys in depth. Whilst practicalities will always need to be addressed, the principle of PC teachers taking the same group over each stage is an important one in that it allows for strong connections between staff, students and families to be nurtured. These strong connections help to provide a safety net for boys in difficult times. This continuity of care also acts as a protective factor against the sense of alienation that can develop in boys in school communities. With the same underlying value, boys will remain under the care of the same Year Coordinator for at two years. An important part of the Pastoral Care program at St Paul’s is the camp program. School Camps are held for most years in 
various forms. Year 7 have a Ski camp to Thredbo each Year in Term 3. Year 8 goes to the Colo River for four days, where they are physically challenged, doing without all the comforts of home. Year 9 head to Wombaroo adventure centre near Mittagong for a retreat/camp and Year 10 have an end of Year camp at Challenge Ranch. Year 12 have a three day retreat at the beginning of the school year also at Challenge ranch. It is not uncommon for Year 12 students to list this retreat as the highlight of their time at St Paul’s.
Bullying is an issue at all schools in Australia and indeed the world. St Paul’s does not tolerate bullying in any form and looks to be proactive constantly educating our students about Bullying. We also ask them to sign contracts at the beginning of the year pledging not to engage in such behaviour whilst at St Paul’s. If bullying does occur then it is dealt with as per our Bullying policy which is available on this site. To fulfil our mission to ensure justice and equity for all students the school has a basic list of expectations and a student welfare policy based on a level system. All student rules and the student welfare/ discipline policy are also available in this section under ‘Student Welfare Policy’ and ‘Expectations and Rules’.
