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- Pupil Free Day (Term 2, Week 1)
- Pupil Free Day (Term 3, Week 1)
Please remember that the term dates are different across the ACT this year. Our first term is only 9 weeks long. The middle terms are 10 weeks long and the last term is 11 weeks long. The first day of Terms 2 and 3 are both pupil free days for professional learning for staff. OSHClub will be available on these days.
Please go to our school calendar on the website or SZapp for more details.
Since Wednesday I have been at the annual retreat held for principals in our Archdiocese. It's an opportunity to reflect on one's role as a leader of a Catholic school and the values that underpin the actions and decisions we make. It's always nourishing. I'm also thankful to have such a caring and capable staff, enabling me to have this opportunity.
Parent Information Night recordings
For those who missed our Parent Information Nights at the beginning of the year we have placed the recordings of them on our school website. The packs that went home with students earlier this term will have much of the information. We also know how it is helpful for parents to see and hear their child's teacher as well. They will be available for two weeks.
Please follow the link to listen to your child's teachers talk about their focus for this beginning of the year.
Respect for the environment in action
I would like to thank Ms Rebecca Neiberding and Ms Allison Lock, our sustainability teachers, for organising our Clean Up Australia School's Day today.
Our students often hear about the first two school expectations: Respect Others and Respect Self. This has been a tangible way to display our third expectation Respect the Environment.
Children are naturally egocentric. Over time, with healthy parenting and in being part of a community, they learn to be less and less centred on themselves and more able to empathise with others, see their needs and act selflessly.
Teaching about the value of Creation and it's delicate balance is a very safe and fruitful way of growing out of one's childhood egocentricity. It is an opportunity to take small, selfless actions that have a significant positive impact on someone or something other than ourselves.
Today has been a great step forward in raising our students' awareness and capacity to impact the world they will one day lead.
Supporting mental health
Also today our Years 5 and 6 boys attended a Menslink session called Silence is Deadly.We're having a kitchen garden working bee!
We'd like to get the kitchen garden ready for winter planting and it needs a little tidy up that really only adults can do. Our Working Bee will be held on Sunday morning 21st March, 9.00am to 11.00 am. We'd love to have as many people as possible. If you can make it please register below. Children are welcome to come with parents or grandparents to either help or play nearby. Refreshments will be provided.
After a very busy start to the school year I sincerely hope that everyone enjoys a
restful long weekend with family and friends.
God Bless,
Matthew Garton
Principal
Kitchen Garden Working Bee 21st March 2021
Three Way Conferences
Just a reminder that bookings are now open for Three Way Conferences. Three Way Conferences will be held from Tuesday – Friday of Week 6 (next week). Some teachers will also have Monday and Tuesday of Week 7 available.
Click here to book your Three Way Conference
Three Way Conferences will be held on the school premises. When you get here, please make sure you sign in at the front office and hand sanitise before entering the building.
As I mentioned in the school newsletter last week, Three Way Conferences are an opportunity to look at student learning and for students to talk about and share their learning growth with their teacher and parents. They also strengthen the connection between home and school and allow students to see their teacher and parents working together.
Cognitive Load Theory
As part of our Catalyst journey (System-wide approach to Teaching and Learning), teachers at St John's have been learning about Cognitive Load Theory.
Cognitive Load Theory (CLT) was recently described by British educationalist Dylan Wiliam as 'the single most important thing for teachers to know' (Wiliam, 2017).
CLT is built upon two commonly accepted ideas. The first is that there is a limit to how much new information the human brain can process at one time. The second is that there are no known limits to how much stored information can be processed at one time.
"There are three key resources that we all draw upon in order to think: the environment, working memory, and long-term memory.
The environment represents everything outside of our minds, it is the internet, books, magazines, knowledge readily shared by others, and more. The key thing to know about environment is that it is an unlimited external store of information.
Long-term memory is where all memories are kept. This includes memories of life events, factual information such as country names and memories of processes. As far as researchers are aware, there is no limit to long-term memory that can be reached within a human lifetime. Therefore, long-term memory is an unlimited internal store of information.
In addition to the environment and long-term memory, we also have working memory. Working memory is the site of consciousness, the part of memory where all thinking takes place. Unlike the environment and long-term memory, the capacity of working memory is limited to somewhere in the vicinity of four to seven 'elements' of information. In effect, there are only so many elements of information that you can juggle in your mind at one time. Thus, working memory is our limited thinking system.
These three memory components are related within the process of learning, remembering, and forgetting. The following diagram represents some of the key interactions between the environment, working memory, and long-term memory." (Lovell, 2020, p.18-19)
Lastly, in Cognitive Load Theory, the words cognitive load represent anything that takes up working memory capacity.
Sounds~Write, Daily 5 and Maths Daily 3 at St John's are all used to limit the cognitive load on students so that there is more opportunity for students to move their learning into their long term memory.
Rebekah Brown
Assistant Principal and Inclusion Coordinator
What are the teachers learning about?
Year 2 have continued the inquiry journey by mapping out the RE curriculum and making strong connections to HASS, Science and Visual Art. They have some exciting plans to introduce their classes to concepts such as story and stewardship.
Planning together ensures that students get conceptual inquiry units that are well throughout and engaging. The discussion of content and concepts is essential for great units to be created. Providing our teachers with time to work together shows how much we value inquiry learning at St John’s.
What are the students are learning about?
Year 5 led a wonderful assembly on Thursday that reminded us about the Lenten journey. They focussed on Jesus being the light and to follow Him through the darkness.
They read the scripture from John 12:35
So Jesus said to them, "For a little while longer the Light is among you walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you; he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes.
And gave examples of what they have decided to focus on.
Lilly
I promise to raise a happy and healthy puppy.
To make my sister something for her birthday.
To help my mum around the house.
To stop fighting with my sister.
To pull out my sweet tooth.
Renee
To be grateful for what I have.
To stop fighting with my brother and sister.
To pick up rubbish even it is not mine.
Vuyo
To help my mum around the house.
To hug her every morning.
Clean when she tells me too.
Frankie
I am giving up ice cream.
Lent is not always about giving up, it is about giving like giving your parents a hug everyday.
Finally, they sang this beautiful song.
Catholic Life and Reflection
When kids are distressed it is really hard to watch. Sometimes you don’t know how to help them manage big emotions. They have made a mistake, hit someone or sworn, and they feel awful. Often they say they are bad.
I take this opportunity to remind them that it is not possible for them to be bad because they are made in the image and likeness of God, and God is love.
And then I remind them that even Jesus, in humanness, had a moment of anger when he cleared the temple. He didn’t follow his parents instructions and stayed at the temple instead of going home.
Let’s remember during this time of Lent that we are human, full of joy, glory and sometimes error and God loves us through it all. We are clearly reminded of his unfailing love in this scripture.
May God continue to bless all of our students and families.
Stephanie Stewart
Religious Education Coordinator
Notices from the Parish
Happy birthday to Lachlan A, Tobias P, Mackenzie K, Theodore P, Spencer C, Abbey R and Koby M who all celebrated a birthday over the past week.
Please note that we ask students to not bring home made cupcakes to share with the class for their birthdays. This is a precautionary measure for health and hygiene. The Canteen offers a number of options to share with the class. Purchases can be made through the QKR app.
Congratulations to the following students who received an award for the fortnightly Positive Behaviour Focus.
| Class | ||
| KB | Logan C | Anna T |
| KM | Lachlan F | Andrew S |
| 1B | Henry J | Matthew H |
| 1M | Logan M | Henry K |
| 2B | Henry T | Amelia S |
| 2M | Alyssa S | Lincoln A |
| 3B | Abbey W | Lorenzo S |
| 3M | Nate S | Olive G |
| 4B | Jessie A | Ryan L |
| 4M | Ajay B | Mason W |
| 5B | Matthew H | Lucas M |
| 5M | Lachlan A | Amy S |
| 6B | Ronan H | Emily K |
| 6M | Scarlett M | Hayden S |
Dear Parents and Carers,
It’s been a great couple of weeks in the Library as students have continued to improve their search skills using iPads and Chrome books. Most of them are now able to search for a book in our Library using the Oliver system and check if it is available. With the supervision of Mrs Hudson or Mrs Vera they are also learning how to scan books out under their own names.
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Reminders |
- Children from K-5 need to have a library bag when borrowing.
- Overdue notices will be sent out next week. Please return any that you know are overdue. Should a student have more than 2 books overdue, they will not be able to borrow again until they are returned. Please contact us if you think a book has already been returned. Books that have been lost will incur a fee.
- The Chief Minister’s Reading Challenge has begun - read on for more information.
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Chief Minister’s Reading Challenge |
Students have received their Reading Record in their classes. Kindergarten to Year 2 will be doing the Challenge as a class unless students have notified their teachers that they will be completing it individually. Year 3 have a paper copy of their Reading Record to fill in and Year 4-6 have access to an electronic copy via their Google Classroom.
This year the Reading Challenge has been broken down into categories which the students have all been familiarised with. If you would like to access this information then please follow the link to the Chief Minister’s Reading Challenge:
For helpful tips to encourage your child to read and participate in the challenge, please follow the link below:
All students that participate in the Challenge will receive a Certificate of Participation.
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Books on Sustainability |
As students at St John’s are learning about Sustainability and how to care for our planet, we are showcasing some lovely books we have in the Library on this topic.
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Tania McCartney - 
Nanette Heffernan - 
Tania - McCartney - 
Jacquie Wines - 
Lucy Bell -
If you have any queries about books that your child has borrowed or may have lost, please contact us - we are always happy to help.
Happy Reading,
Lauren Hudson (Teacher/Librarian) lauren.hudson@cg.catholic.edu.au
Kirsty Vera (Library Assistant) kirsty.vera@cg.catholic.edu.au
School fees for term 1 are due Friday 5th March unless paying by direct debit. If paying by direct debit please ensure the amount of your direct debit will cover your fees for the year. If you have any queries please contact Debbie Milne via email or phone finance.sjaps@cg.catholic.edu.au
Also:
Payment for Year 6 t-shirts is due. Sizing has been done. Payment is to be made on QKR. Cost of t-shirt is $42.00
Students will not receive their t-shirts until payment is made.
Debbie Milne
Finance Officer
St John the Apostle Primary School
Florey ACT 2615
This school has a membership with Parenting Ideas, one of Australia’s most trusted sources of parenting education and support. As part of this membership, all the parents in this school community can attend this webinar at no cost.
Watch an overview from Maggie Dent
About the Webinar
communication with teenage boys can better guide them across the bridge to healthy manhood to a place where they feel worthwhile and engaged in respectful relationships.
Key learning and discussion points include:
• communicating effectively
• giving feedback
• avoiding arguments
• helping teenage boys to problem solve
• letting our sons know we really hear them, and that they matter
The webinar will be held on 24 March 2021 at 8-9 PM AEDT.
Redeem your webinar - it's easy!
• Click ‘Add to cart’
• Click ‘View cart’
• Enter the voucher code COMMUNICATION and click ‘Apply’
• Enter your school’s name to verify your eligibility. The $39 discount will then be applied.
• Click ‘Proceed to checkout’
• Fill in your account details. These are the details you will use to login to your account and access your webinar and resources
• Click ‘Place Order’
This offer is valid until 24 June 2021. If you’re unable to make the broadcast time, just register anyway and you will get access to the recording.
Articles for parents
On the Parenting Ideas website you can also view and receive helpful articles to
support your parenting journey. Read up on topics such as resilience, siblings, bullying, digital and social media, friendships, confidence, behaviour, anxiety, girls, boys, learning and education.
