From the Principal
Dear St John the Apostle Primary School Community,
Reclaiming my love of reading
With the celebration of Book Week next week I was reflecting on the place of reading in my life.
I used to love reading, particularly books about learning, psychology and research on teaching. Having four children and being Principal at a busy school has definitely slowed that down.
I don't read enough books. I love stories and characters but I really love the visual medium and so prefer movies and high quality television shows.
Recently I decided to read more but I find it hard to sit down for too long to read. My wife suggested I try audiobooks....and now I am hooked. I can move around the house and the garden, drive in the car or sit for a little longer in bed with a cup of tea listening to a book read by a fabulous voice (often the author themselves). I started in the school holidays and am now up to my third book. Through the Audible app I have read 'The Colour Purple' and am now reading 'Far From the Tree' as well as 'Boy Swallows Universe'. Audiobooks have opened up a whole new world to me. I would thoroughly encourage anyone who is time poor but interested in reading to have look into audiobooks.
SORA
Students in Years 3-6 already have access to a lot of ebooks and audoibooks through the SORA app. This has been provided by the Australian Catholic Education Network (ACEN). If you click on the following link you will find details on how your child can connect with the thousands of books available to them on their own device or a computer.
Athletics Team
We have approximately 30 students who have qualified to represent the school at the Belconnen Zone Athletics Carnival on Monday. It is a great opportunity for these students to compete against other students from other schools. I wish them all the best in their competition and look forward to hearing of their achievements. Thank you to Mr Jack Gibson for coordinating this opportunity and sharing his love of athletics.
Year 5 Camp: Gold!
Good luck to our Year 5 students who are attending the annual Year 5 Camp to Mogo and surrounding areas next week. The students will participate in a program that supports their learning about Australian History and the Gold Rush times. They have been thoroughly engaged in the learning so far and this will provide a very tangible experience to help them remember much more.
Bunnings Frog Pond
I met with the Activities Organiser from Belconnen Bunnings yesterday. Bunnings have a 'sustainability' focus at the moment and are offering to install frog ponds to local schools and centres. We chose a fantastic site and when the weather warms up Bunnings team members and some of our students will work together to create this great resource for our students.
School Fees
I wanted to remind everyone that if School Fee payments are becoming very difficult to meet along with other necessary financial demands we have the capacity to have reduced fees for 12 months. If you think you might like to apply for these then please email our Finance Officer Debbie Milne (Finance.sjaps@cg.catholic.edu.au) to obtain a copy of the application form.
Kind regards,
Matthew Garton (Principal)