Dear St John the Apostle families,

We have some exciting news to share today!

Firstly, last Friday's Year 6 Fun Day and Sleepover was a big success. It involved activities outside and inside of school. It ran for 24hrs, they slept very well and culminated with a bacon and egg breakfast. It was a unique and special day that no other Year 6 students have had or likely will experience. Thank you to all of the staff who organised the day and attended, particularly Stephanie Stewart, Serae Love, Sean O'Neill and Ashleigh Van Kemenade for all staying overnight with the students. I know that some special family celebrations were missed to do this and their commitment to our Year 6 students was very much appreciated.

I would also like to inform you that Ms Leticia Young and Ms Ruth Blackwell will be finishing their time at St John the Apostle at the end of this year.

Ms Young Young has dedicated over 30 years of her career to the community of St John the Apostle. She has taught many, many students in that time who remember her well. My own children included. Ms Young has always been an extremely hard working teacher, she has mentored others and helped provide exciting opportunities for students, most recently in the Kitchen Garden. She has always been one of the quiet achievers that held up the school while others shone. Her work and impact will be appreciated for many more years to come.

Ms Blackwell has been one of the newest members of our community. She is another quiet achiever who works away in her classroom for all her students as well as lends her creativity to our school through beautiful pieces of art and design. Ms Blackwell's first year of teaching her own class was accompanied with great challenges in COVID and she created some wonderful digital learning opportunities for Year 2 students. We wish Ms Blackwell the very best in her next role and thank her for her contributions to our school.

New Programs for 2021!

We're learning a language!

For many, many years we have not taught a language at St John the Apostle. For the past few years we have sought to resource one without success. All ACT Primary Schools must provide a language from one of 8 languages determined by the ACT Education Directorate and so we have been asked to begin teaching a language from 2021.

Our preference would have been AUSLAN. It is included in the Australian Curriculum, however the ACT Education Directorate does not recognise this. After a lot of discussion at Community Council we have succeeded in employing Mrs Kirsty Vera to teach Spanish at St John the Apostle.

Having not had a language for many years we want to begin it gradually. We will teach Spanish to Years 3 to 6 with one lesson a week that will include their own classroom teacher as well. When we have this program working well we will consider moving it to K-2.

Why Spanish?

We know that SFX offers Japanese and Italian. We also know that there are other languages that students can learn. At Primary School, language learning is also about broadening students' knowledge of the world, seeing different perspectives and cultures and learning the skills of how to learn a language, making picking up any language in high school much easier.

Our students will learn Spanish because it:

• is the second most widely spoken language in the world.
• is latin based and will easily translate to Italian in Year 7 at SFX.
• is easy to learn for English speakers and success will occur quickly.
• increases children's understanding of the English language and how different languages evolve.

Supporting students to care for their future world

Ms Leticia Young will be finishing her time at St John the Apostle at the end of this year after more than thirty years of service to the school. With the need to introduce a language, and Ms Young's departure, we are reshaping Kitchen Garden to focus on developing our students to be actively sustainable citizens of our world.

Sustainability is one of three Cross-Curriculum Perspectives in the Australian Curriculum, meaning that it should be embedded through every curriculum area. It is considered that important.

To imbue our students with the values and knowledge about sustainability that will guide them to build a positive future for the planet they inherit we must prepare them well. We have a moral obligation to do this for them and for the planet. We must set them up for success both at school and at home. We must make a difference now as they will inherit what we leave behind. They must develop the capacity to continue building a sustainable world for all.

If we are 'to be on earth the heart of God' and Respect the Environment as one of our three positive behaviour focuses, sustainability must be an inherent part of what we do.

Our students will continue to work in the food garden throughout the year and they will also learn about and implement sustainable practices across the school. Partnering with Actsmart schools program students will explore the needs and the great achievements already around water, waste, energy and biodiversity. They will be designers and problem solvers that will help shape the world in the future.

We're not saying goodbye to the Kitchen. The Kitchen will remain in place and will be available for classes to use in 2021 as part of Maths Science and other learning opportunities. We look forward to the opportunity to reinstate its regular use very soon.

Inclusion: a school where 'difference is the norm'

We work very hard on being inclusive and developing the supports and opportunities for every child to access and participate in every aspect of school. It's hard work and we have more that we want to achieve. Our student achievement data in reading and spelling very positively reflects the growth our students have had. The overall growth of our students who have complex and challenging needs has been excellent.

Next year we will expand our capacity to support our students by providing more time, expertise and hands-on know how to work collaboratively with parents, teachers and students in everyday opportunities and support for students. We will also focus more greatly in the area of developing increasingly challenging opportunities for our very capable students, enabling them to continue to grow to their capacity.

Ms Rebekah Brown will continue to oversee our Inclusion Program and will be ably supported by Mrs Rebecca Neiberding who will assist both teachers and students in day to day inclusive practices.

Class Teachers 2021

There is so much more to share but that will be enough for now. Below are the teaching staff arrangements for 2021. Students will find out their classes this coming Wednesday when they will attend a 'One-Up' afternoon in their new classroom with their new teacher. Teachers who are new to the school will attend and meet their students.

Students have been told today the names of teachers in each year level next year. They will naturally experience a little curiosity, or even anxiety, wondering who they will be with. Please be sure to tell them that this little bit of nervousness is perfectly normal and that no matter the teacher, it is exciting to be ready for the next year level, thinking of all of the wonderful new things they will learn and do!

God Bless,