Filter Content
- Recent School Calendar Updates
- School Focus & Positive Behaviour
- Principal's Corner
- Teaching, Learning & Inclusion
- Catholic Life and Reflection
- Happy Birthday
- 2022 Census Privacy Notice
- Finance Matters
- Canteen - Thank you
- School Photo Day - 28 July 2022
- The Uniform Shop
- OSHClub Holiday Program
- Parenting Ideas
- Community Notices
Please go to our school calendar on the website or COMPASS for more details.
Please note that the last two days of Term 2 (30 June and 1 July) and the first day of Term 3 (18 July) are pupil free days for professional learning for staff. Students do not attend school on these days. OSHClub will be available.
Term 3
- Yr 2 - Dental Health & Nutrition Incursion - (Week 3)
- Belconnen Region Athletics Carnival - (Week 5)
- Chief Ministers Reading Challenge ends (Week 5)
- Fathers Day Breakfast (Week 7)
- Yr 5 Camp - Birrigai (Week 8)
Dear St John the Apostle families,
It's nearly the end of term and we always talk about finishing strong!
This week we have had some wonderful moments.
Visit by a Winter Olympian
On Thursday we were visited by Seve de Campo, who represented Australia in the cross country skiing at the Beijing Winter Olympics
Seve spoke as part of the Olympics Unleashed program. He shared stories from his earliest age to most recent experiences, lead him to represent Australia. One of the most important messages he shared was that he was just an ordinary Year 6 student, not the best in the school at anything, when he took a chance at trying out cross country skiing in an inter-school competition. While he didn't win, he loved it.
From there he achieved his success through:
- setting simple goals to achieve along the way
- persistent, hard work and practice
- having strategies to overcome challenges
He was inspiring for staff and students. What's more, he visited us on World Olympics Day!
Celebration of Student Success
This week we held Parent-Teacher Interviews following the distribution of Student Reports. The feedback from both teachers and parents is that they have thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to come into the school, talk face to face and celebrate their child's achievements.
Parents have enjoyed coming to sit in the space their child uses each day and to see examples of their work. Teachers have enjoyed showing great work and getting to know the parents who support the children they see each day.
It has been an overwhelmingly positive experience.
Enrolment Interviews - Current Families
I have held enrolment interviews for all new families for 2023. Early next term I will hold enrolment interviews for all current families that have a younger sibling starting in Kindergarten in 2023. Our Office Manager will be in touch next week to book in a time. Today these families will receive an offer of a place for Kindergarten.
Canteen News
As we transition to new arrangements for running our own school canteen I would like to thank St Francis Xavier College who will cease running our canteen at the end of this term. St Francis Xavier College have provided us with a wonderful canteen service over many years. We will miss the staff who have served our students, particularly Maria and then Kelly and Cheryl who have stepped in for her.
Beginning next term we will return to providing lunch orders. These will be provided
by a local Belconnen provider called The Merchant's Feast. The Merchant's Feast are a local gourmet digital deli who have branched out to provide delicious school lunch orders. They have been highly recommended by a number of other schools and we look forward to partnering with them from the beginning of Term 3.
Information about the menu and how to order will be sent to families through Compass prior to the start of term.
Feast of the Sacred Heart
If you say the words 'May the Sacred Heart of Jesus...' to your children what do they say? Try it and see. My children, the youngest being 17, went to this school. When I say these words to them, they still instantly respond with '...be everywhere loved'.
Today we celebrated the Feast of the Sacred Heart. It's our day. It's the day we celebrate our school, its members, its values and and its charism. We celebrate our unique community identity.
One of the warmest realisations of the day is that we belong to a wonderful community where we truly try our best to 'be on earth the heart of God'. I have a very, very soft spot for everyone who has been a part of our school story. Thank you for choosing to be part or this extraordinary community. Happy Feast of the Sacred Heart day.
Reminder: Pupil Free Days Coming Up
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.
Have a lovely weekend.
Matthew Garton
Culture Club
Last week, our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and peers engaged in Culture Club!
Culture Club will be held each term to help our students deepen their knowledge about the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Isalander culture. This week for Culture Club, Larry Brandy a local Wiradjuri man, told the students dreaming stories, showed them traditional artefacts and spoke to the students about how his people lived in traditional times.
The students got to act out Australian animals such as Kangaroos, Emus, and Hunters from traditional times.
Year 6 Communication Group Interview with Mr Garton
NCCD
The National Consistent Collection of Data of School Students with Disability (NCCD) is a collection of data of the number of school students receiving adjustments (or support) because of a disability. At the end of Week 10, all of our data will be collected by Catholic Education. Today's newsletter is a reminder of the data that will be collected. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me.
The national data collection helps governments and schools plan for the needs of students with a disability. The aim of the data collection is to make sure that students with a disability have access to the same quality education as the others in their class.
Who is included in the NCCD?
To include a student in the NCCD, all schools are required to consider the following key questions:
- Is the student receiving adjustments to assist them with their ability to participate in schooling on the same basis as their peers?
- Does the student meet the NCCD's broad definition of disability?
- Has the school discussed the adjustments with the students and/or parent/carer?
- Does the school have documentation (assessments, medical reports or other paperwork) about the students functional needs, the adjustments (help) that they provided and how the student progressed over time?
What about NCCD Data & Privacy?
All schools must complete the NCCD. Legislation requires that every year, each school must complete the following information for each student receiving an adjustment due to disability:
How is 'disability' defined for the NCCD?
The definition of disability used for the annual NCCD, is based on the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and there are four broad categories:
- sensory (eg. vision/hearing impairment);
- cognitive;
- social-emotional, and;
- physical
The definition of disability is very broad and many students that need help at school can be counted in the NCCD. Students with learning disorders, ADHD or auditory processing disorder, chronic health conditions, physical disabilities, vision/hearing impairment and social-emotional disorders may be included in the NCCD data count if they are receiving reasonable adjustments to help them access and engage in school on the same basis as their peers.
A formal diagnosis by a specialist may be very helpful for the school but is not the only piece of evidence schools can use for the NCCD. The NCCD count is based on professional teacher judgement. Schools can consider school based and external documents to decide if a students can be counted.
What is an 'adjustment' for NCCD?
Students need different types of help at school. Some students need a little help sometimes (minor adjustments) but other students need a lot of help nearly all the time (extensive adjustments). The type of help and support that a school provides is also very different depending on the needs of the student.
The adjustments can include:
- physical changes to the school buildings or grounds;
- extra teacher support in classes;
- special learning programs;
- changes to the way the curriculum is presented or delivered, or;
- extra adult assistance
If you have any questions about the NCCD please do not hesitate to contact me at rebekah.brown@cg.catholic.edu.au
Rebekah Brown
Assistant Principal and Inclusion Coordinator
What students are learning about
On Monday after Spelling Mastery Year 3 were invited to the chapel. They all processed in looking like angels! They were very reverent. They sat quietly in a circle and waited patiently. Muesli bars and juice boxes was not what they were expecting. As they ate, they chatted and laughed.
After a short while I asked them if they expected to be having a snack with their friends in the chapel. They were not!
Then I told them the story of Peter and some of the disciples after the crucifixion of Jesus.
The disciples were sad and disheartened. They didn’t know what to do so they did what they knew, they went fishing. They didn’t have much luck, a man on the beach told them to cast their nets on the other side of the boat. They did and the nets were full! John knew straight away that it was the Lord. So, he told Peter, who then jumped into the water and swam to him. The disciples were surprised and so happy to talk and eat with Jesus.
We talked more about what we do when we are sad, we do things that we know like play music or go fishing. Then we talked about how Jesus used food as a way to connect with people. People in Jesus' time had to work hard to get their food, sharing the little they had was a sign of spreading the love of God.
Finally, we read the last chapter of John’s gospel from the bible.
As they left the chapel the students were happy and laughing. Excited to have had an encounter with scripture that was wholly relevant to them.
This was the beginning of their preparation for the Sacrament of the Eucharist.
Catholic Life and Reflection
I am an exofficio member of the Parish Pastoral Council. Each month I attend a meeting on a Thursday night. The first 15 – 20mins are spent in prayer. This month Marian organised a reflection on the Eucharist. We read Luke 9:11-17, the Feeding of the 5000. A story I have read many times and remember from my childhood.
The reflections included this quote from Dorothy Day “We have all known the long loneliness and we have learned that the only solution is love and that love comes with community.” This really spoke to me.
Today I was reflecting with another staff member about some difficulties in life that threaten to overwhelm us. Her comment was ‘I don’t even have to get to the kids. I feel better as soon as I walk in the door because I know who is waiting for me. I know the support is just down the corridor.”
This Feast of the Sacred Heart Day we celebrated just that, community, and love. We are a community of love filled people. God’s love is ours to share.
May the Sacred Heart of Jesus be everywhere loved…forever!
God bless,
Stephanie Stewart
Religious Education Coordinator
Notices from the Parish
Happy birthday to Oskar E, Nikhil S, Ileana R and Alex S who all celebrated a birthday over the last 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.
A reminder that fees for term 2 are past due and prompt payment would be appreciated.
If you are paying by direct debit please ensure that the amount you are paying is going to cover your fees at the end of the school year.
For Year 4 families who pay by direct debit please ensure you adjust your direct debit to include the extra cost of your Chromebook, which is $57.00 per term.
Year 6
A reminder that camp fees for Warrambui are due and payable on QKR. Cost of the camp is $210.00.
Year 5
A reminder that Chromebook payments for term 2 are past due. Payments can be made on QKR. Non-payment of term levy will result in your child not being allowed to bring their device home from school.
If you need to discuss your fees or camp payment please contact Debbie Milne via email finance.sjaps@cg.catholic.edu.au or phone ph: 6258 3592.
I would like to thank Lily H, Otis H, Sally W, Arok G and Anna G for giving up their recess and lunch time to volunteer in the canteen. It was a great pleasure to have the Year 6's helping me and other students and leading by great example.
Thank you.
Cheryl Foster
SFX Canteen
Please note that The Uniform Shop will not be open next Friday 1 July.
We will be open on the following dates:
Monday 18 July 8:00am-9:00am
Tuesday 19 July 8:30am-9:30am
Parents are able to attend in person.
If you have any questions or concerns please email the uniform shop on stjohnsclothingpool@gmail.com.
