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Please go to our school calendar on the website or COMPASS for more details.
Please note that the last day of Term 4 (17 December) is a pupil free days for professional learning for staff. Students do not attend school on this day. OSHClub will be available.
Term 4 Week - 10
- Last day of school for all students Monday 16 December
Term 1 Weeks 1-3
- First day for all students - 4 February
- Kinder rest day 12, 19 & 26 February
- Years 2-6 Swimming Carnival
The school positive behaviour focus this week was:
Cooperate and share with others.
Ngunnawal word of the week:
Marangga (means 'hand')
Dear St John the Apostle families,
Today we had our Colour Run. At the time of distribution we are in the middle of the fun so you will simply need to see the results on your child's clothing when they come home today.
Thank you to Ms Brown who organised the Colour Run. Thank you to all of the staff for getting into the spirit of the day. Thank you to the Community Council who provided every student with a sausage sizzle lunch today.
Congratulations everyone! We've raised approximately $8000. These funds will contribute to the installation of interactive screens in every classroom that will enhance the teaching and learning experience for both teachers and students. These begin to be installed next week.
Congratulations Year 6
We celebrated the graduation of our beautiful Year 6 students on Wednesday evening. Thank you to Mrs Stewart and Mr Seaman who organised the celebration. We heard two beautiful speeches from students Sarah and Maggie. The insights in their reflections were thoughtful and wise. We watched images that reminded us of how much they have grown since Kindergarten. We celebrated Eucharist ('thanksgiving') and at the end handed our awards to the following students:
- Academic Excellence - Lorenzo and Olivia
- Outstanding Effort - Angus and Jacob
- Leadership - Liliana
- Citizenship -Olivia
- Discipleship - Sofia and Tessa
- Rotary Ward - Olivia
Year 6 also celebrated together yesterday in a fun day at the Gungahlin Leisure Centre.
School Student Leaders 2025
This morning Year 6 handed over their students leadership roles to Year 5 students in our cornerstone ceremony. This ceremony reminds students of the important role they play in building the culture of the school.
At this ceremony we announced our school captains for 2025 Sophie, Paul and Evie. These three students were chosen by their peers following speeches by all the Year 5 students about what it means to be a leader at St John the Apostle. Peer Leaders will be announced in 2025.
Thank you & Farewell
This will be our last Newsletter for this year.
I would like to reiterate once again my thanks for the last eight years being Principal of St John the Apostle. It has been such a privilege to serve our community in this role and to help the school grow and become the community we all experience today.
I have loved working with every staff member, student and family. It has been one of the most joyful and nourishing experiences in my professional life and I will take forward the charism 'be on earth the heart of God'. If ever you see me. Please say hello!
God bless you all. Have a safe and restful Christmas and New Years break.
Matthew Garton
Principal
What Students are Learning About
Across the school students are learning about Advent. Year One created a beautiful display.
Catholic Life and Reflection
2024 has been filled with great personal sorrow and powerful wonderful joy. Well, that is life really, isn’t it? The highs and lows of being a human. As I end this difficult year, I find myself more deeply connected to the Eucharist. I certainly had a brief period when I couldn’t engage but now it is a salve.
As we travel through the season of Advent the focus for the third Sunday is traditionally known as "Gaudete Sunday," a day of rejoicing. The word "Gaudete" means "rejoice" in Latin, reflecting the joyful anticipation of Christmas. On this day, the pink (or rose) candle on the Advent wreath is lit, symbolizing joy. You will also see that priests and deacons dress in rose-coloured vestments.
May joy fill your heart with gladness,
as we rejoice in the nearness
of our Saviour, Jesus Christ.
May your days be bright with hope,
your spirit lifted in thanksgiving,
and your life shine as
a witness to Jesus’ love.
As we prepare for His coming,
may you find peace in His promise,
and may His joy dwell within
you always. Amen
(borrowed from the Parish Bulletin)
It has been a pleasure and delight to work with all of you throughout the year and I look forward to 2025.
May you find time in the Christmas season to rejoice, rest and spend time with God. May the joy of the season fill your hearts.
God bless you all,
Stephanie Stewart
Religious Education Coordinator
St Vincent de Paul Christmas 2024
As always we are asked to donate non-perishable food items to our local chapter of St Vincent de Paul. Please send the items to your child's classroom. These donations have a signficant impact on those familes that struggle during this time of the year. Thank you in advance for your generosity.
Non-perishable food donation suggestions
- Jar of Jam/peanut butter/honey
- Jar of coffee/packet of teabags
- Large packet of chips
- Packet of shortbread biscuits
- Jar of pasta sauce or similar
- Packet of Pasta or Rice
- Packet of Savoury Biscuits
- Box of Christmas Bon Bons
- Packet of Lollies
- Cans of Spaghetti or baked beans
- Small Christmas pudding
- Carton of custard (long life)
- Nuts (jar or packet)
- Tin of Milo
- Bottle of Cordial or Fruit Juice
- Tomato or BBQ sauce
- Chocolates (bar, bag or jar)
- Can of Fruit
- Box of Breakfast Cereal
- Packet of sweet biscuits
God bless,
Stephanie Stewart
Notices from the Parish
2025 Sacramental Program Registration - Please note that registration closes on 13 December 2024.
Register your interest for your child/children for the 2025 Sacramental Program.
Use the QR Code below to register.
Registration Night details will be advised soon
For students in Year 3 for the Sacraments of Penance and Eucharist and Year 6 for the Sacrament of Confirmation at St John the Apostle Primary School.
Happy Birthday to Kaylie Cox, Josie Absolon, Jenson Chilley, Leo Jackson, Grace Sartor, Erick Leiva Lainez, Jordi Miller, Blake West, Bailee Kisgeorge, Kyler Asence, Aarzah Singh, William Huskisson, Anabelle-Louise Trevaskis, Alisher Mutinhima, Abbey Wailes, Harry Stone, William Rix, Logan McNamara, Grace Rebecca, Alexander Elston, Thomas Da Silva, Clyde Lomax, Bronson Dahler, Ayla Wood, Dodrul Thukten, Frederick Miles, Noah Dixon, Charlotte Pieterse, Aliya Hameed, Charles Hudson, Steven Pham and Armaanjot Dhaliwal who all celebrate a birthday in December.
The last of the brag tag awards this year are as follows. These will be handed out on Monday 16 December at 8:50am on the rainbow top.
Brag Tag Awards - presented on Monday 16 December, 8.50am (Week 10)
| Piper Abbott | Charlie Wise | Ava King |
| Spencer Cantwell | Mackenzie Knight | Charlotte Speechley |
| Cooper Dixon | Cassius Gorringe | Ikem Iloelunachi |
| Naveli Sachdeva | Jeremiah French | Henry Cameron |
| Logan Campbell | Denzil Whimpress | Rita Tran |
| Austin Patrzalek | Tia McNamara | Ebube Iloelunachi |
| Evelyn Wedd | Zoi Sehgal | Max Wheatley |
The Merchant's Feast who provide our school canteen services will no longer operate on Wednesdays. Canteen lunches will be provided on Thursdays and Fridays only. This arrangement will commence from 2025.
Opening Hours
The Uniform Shop will be open during the following:
Friday 31st January - 2pm - 4pm
Monday 3rd February - 8:30am - 9:30am
Tuesday 4th February - 8:30am - 9:30am
If you have any questions or concerns please email the uniform shop on stjohnsclothingpool@gmail.com
The Competitions for the 2025 Royal Canberra Show are now open for entries! This year, we are particularly excited to bring back our Art and Photography competition, and we’d love to see your school community represented.
Please spread the word amongst your talented teachers and students. Whether it’s art, photography, horticulture, produce, cooking, cake decorating, or crafts, there’s something for everyone to showcase their creativity and skills.
Here are the links with all the information you need to get started:
· Horticulture and Produce Competition (including Cooking and Cake Decorating): https://www.rncas.org.au/horticulture-produce.html
· Art and Photography Competition: https://www.rncas.org.au/art-and-photography.html
· Craft Expo: https://www.rncas.org.au/craft.html
We encourage you to explore these opportunities and inspire your students to participate. The Royal Canberra Show is a fantastic platform for young creatives to share their talents with a broader audience and celebrate their achievements.
If you have any questions or need additional information, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We can’t wait to see the incredible entries from your school!
As holidays approach, the role that screens and devices will play becomes an increasing concern for parents. Days when kids are usually tied up with school and activities make way for many an idle hour and, as such, parents fear those hours will be spent largely engaged with a screen or gaming console. While there is certainly no harm in some well-balanced screen time and developmentally appropriate online activities, we must remember that, as parents, we have an important role in helping our kids manage and balance that screen time. Here are a few things we can do:
Understand the battle
It is important parents know the beast they are dealing with. It is easy to shout from another room to get off a screen or whinge to our friends that ‘kids of today’ are all addicted to their phones, but we need to recognise the pull that many of these devices have. The social networks are designed to keep us liking, commenting and sharing. The games cajole us into having ‘just one more’ turn at being the last man standing. These technologies tempt us to reach just one more level, or to scroll for just a few minutes more. Our brains experience a dopamine release and a sense of insufficiency when we use a device. There is always something else to do or something else to scroll through, or one more YouTube video to watch. So our kids are up against it when trying to control their time on a device. We need to help them with that.
Get outside
We can complain that kids never go outside and play anymore, but sometimes we have to physically get out there with them or offer opportunities in which being outside and active play are appealing. We have to work a little harder at this today because we are competing with a device that answers many of our kids’ perceived needs. We need them to know that their needs are greater and more varied than what their screens can offer.
Have some rules
Despite their apparent dislike of rules around technology, kids will (one day) appreciate having boundaries to help them manage their screen time. Rules can be established regarding time limits, devices in bedrooms, device-free meal times, etc. Whatever you decide is important, be sure that you have those discussions with your kids. And any discussion around rules or consequences should happen away from the screens so they are clear on the expectations. (Talking about their screen-time habits while they are just about to be the last man standing on Fortnite is probably not going to make for engaging conversation.)
One console on one television…outside the bedroom
Having only one television that is connected to a gaming console or to Netflix is a good way of ensuring that the device gets shared and one child doesn’t monopolise the screen. And leave consoles out of bedrooms where the appeal of just one more quick game can very quickly rob them of important sleep time.
Role model
Make sure you are showing your kids how you want them to be. Have times when the devices are put away and you give full attention to the people around you. Don’t answer calls or emails at the dinner table. Don’t fall asleep with a device landing on your forehead. Take time to get outside and do things active and in nature. Don’t ever use a phone while driving. Use the Screen Time feature on iOS products to monitor just how you are using your technology and whether you could be making some changes. Kids learn more from what we do than what we say.
We know the technology isn’t going anywhere, and we know there are many wonderful benefits that screens provide. But ensure that holidays and downtime hours can be filled with many different experiences and in ways that leave your kids in control, even if you have to work a little harder to give them that.
