Dear St John the Apostle families,

This week I began interviewing new families for Kindergarten and other year levels for 2023. It's one of the most enjoyable activities in my role. I love it.

I get to meet a lot of new children and their parents. The most common aspiration among the parents I meet is the desire for their child to be happy, feel safe and to learn.

When I ask parents to tell me about their child they always speak with such love and pride, describing them with a sense of joyful wonder. I still experience that same amazement in my own children though they are now young adults. It's a feeling that one never expects prior to becoming a parent and continues to catch you by surprise throughout their lives.

I still remember when each of my children began school and the excitement and pride I felt in them being able to go a little further into the world to create their own future. I hope that starting school at St John the Apostle is also one of those joyful moments punctuating the lives of all the families in our community.

Confirmation Congratulations

Congratulations to our students who celebrated the Sacrament of Confirmation last night. This sacrament is celebrated once in a lifetime. Part of the faith journey of every Catholic, it is often a memorable moment. As one student described, they have become an 'adult' in the life of the church.

Thank you to the parish team of Frs Kimi and Michael as well as Marian and Sharon who organised the beautiful liturgy and provided resources for families to support their child in preparing.

Thank you also to the Year 6 teachers, REC Mrs Stewart and Youth Minister Lachlan Bull for supporting all of our Year 6 students as they learnt about the sacrament.

Our newly confirmed students will remain in our prayers as they continue their lifelong faith journey.

Reminder: Pupil Free Days Coming Up

All schools are having pupil free days this term to allow teachers and schools to catch up on the many planning, professional learning and compliance requirements that have been impacted by significant staff absences and shortages related to COVID and sickness.

We chose to have both of our allocated, extra pupil free days at the end of term to enable families to have slightly extended holidays. Our last day of term will be Wednesday June 29 and our teachers will be at school undertaking training and planning requirements on June 30 and July 1.

If you require support for supervision of children OSHClub is available on these days. Please register at the SJAPS OSHClub website.

Enjoy the last long weekend that marks the beginning on winter. May it be warm and restful.

Matthew Garton