Dear St John the Apostle Families, 

We have had a very eventful week this week. 

Our Year Five students had their first camp on Monday and Tuesday. On Friday last week, we were made aware of the severe weather warning (damaging winds) that could possibly be in the ACT and surrounding areas. On Monday, when I was driving to school, I realised that it was in fact way too windy to take the students to Warrambui during the day. If we went they would have had to stay inside all day. When I got to school we decided that we would have to make some changes and it was really important that Year Five experience camp. So we put our heads together and managed to book a fun and exciting day for the Year Five’s. 

They went to Questacon for two hours in the morning, had a pizza lunch and then watched Despicable Me 4 at the Dendy Movie Theatre. The bus arrived back at school at 5.20pm. The kids had a quick snack, got their luggage, sleeping bags and pillows and we jumped back on the bus at 5.40pm and they were on their way to Warrambui. When they arrived at Warrambui, they ate dinner and then played Trivia. Dean the Centre Manager ran Trivia. At the end of the game, he let the staff know that the students were one of the best behaved groups of students he had ran Trivia with. On Tuesday, the students participated in a number of outdoor and team building activities. Overall, the students were wonderfully behaved and had a great first experience of camp. Thank you to the team of teachers (Bree Dess, Beth Fear, Emma Alcock, Ryan Spencer, Carly Sargent and Steph Stewart) as well as our Inclusion Staff (Jack White, Cath Elliot) who ensured the Year Five students experienced an exciting and engaging camp. 

Thank you to our Year Two students for the reverent and respectful Prayer Assembly on Thursday afternoon. Thank you to Mrs Kate MacDonald for organising a visit for all of our students by Japanese Manga Artist & Cartoonist, Kenny Chan today. The students in our school have had many opportunities recently to engage in different educational activities. 

Learning Journeys

A reminder that Learning Journeys will take place this Tuesday (10 September) from 8.20-8.50am and 3.00-4.00pm. 

A Learning Journey is when you visit your child's classroom and they share with you some pieces of work they have completed recently or are currently working on. They may even do a little activity with you. It will take 20-30 minutes.

Learning Journeys are a great opportunity to maintain a connection with your child's learning at school.

You can visit anytime during one of the following sessions before or after school. There is no need to book. We look forward to seeing you.

ThinkUKnow Parent and Carer Presentation

The Community Council will be hosting a ThinkUKnow presentation on Wednesday 11 September (6.30-8.00pm) and all parents and carers are encouraged to attend.

ThinkUKnow Australia is an evidence based education program delivered nationally to prevent online child sexual exploitation.

ThinkUKnow Australia is a partnership between the Australian Federal Police, Microsoft Australia, Datacom and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. The program is delivered in collaboration with policing partners New South Wales Police Force, Northern Territory Police, Queensland Police, South Australia Police, Tasmania Police, Western Australia Police, as well as Neighbourhood Watch Australasia.

The presentation will be delivered by a local law enforcement member and an industry volunteer. The presentation is pro-technology and addresses topics including self-generated child abuse material, online grooming, sexual extortion, and importantly encourages help seeking behaviour.

This is a fantastic opportunity for you to learn more about young people and the online environment, and how you can help them to be safe and responsible users of technology.

If you would like to attend please RSVP here

For more information, you can visit www.thinkuknow.org.au

Congratulations

Congratulations to all of the students who received ribbons for our Athletics events. Also, a big congratulations to Vincent Nott, Isabelle Jeffs and Allira Richardson who will be representing the Belconnen region at the ACT Athletics Carnival. 

Rebekah Brown

Principal (Acting)