Filter Content
Please go to our school calendar on the website or COMPASS for more details.
Please note that Friday 9 September is a pupil free day for professional learning for staff. Students do not attend school on this day. OSHClub will be available.
Term 3
- Talk about Money - Yr 5 and Yr 6 (Week 9)
Term 4
- Choir Performance - Floriade (Week 1)
- Boorowa Touch/Netball Carnival (Week 2)
Dear St John's families,
Yesterday a small number of our students participated in the Belconnen
Region Athletics Carnival at Bruce.
Congratulations to Olive, Abbey, Sophie, Charlotte, Harvey and Vincent. Thank you to their parents for supporting them to participate in such a fun day. I'm glad they had the opportunity to compete despite our own carnival being rained out.
Rostrum Finals
Congratulations to Emily (6B) who competed in the Rostrum Semi Finals and won.
Emily is one of our school captains and a wonderful representative for our school. We're very proud of her achievements and wish her the very best in the ACT Rostrum Finals.
Playground Update
It's been a long time coming but we're about to see some big changes in our playground. After a successful tender process, we have signed off on the replacement of our two playground areas. Below are a few photos of what they will look like. I'll keep everyone up to date of the expected launch date as we get closer to that time.
Fathers Day Breakfast
We're very pleased to invite our families to a Fathers Day Breakfast from 7.30am on Wednesday 31 August. We have a Coffee Van coming and our wonderful Merchant's Feast partners will be providing fresh donuts. To help us ensure we have enough food we ask you to RSVP at the link below:
School Board and Community Council Review
The Catholic Education Commission established a Working Group to review various aspects of Archdiocesan School Board and Community Council models.
The Working Group has engaged in targeted consultation with internal stakeholders and has had some preliminary discussions with a narrow group of external stakeholders, including representatives from the Catholic School Parents Archdiocese of Canberra & Goulburn.
They are now now seeking to draw on the experiences, expertise and perspectives of parents and carers, school staff and members of school communities through a process of general consultation. An Issues Paper has been drafted outlining the key issues that the Working Group has identified to date and posing a number of discussion questions that the Working Group is seeking responses to.
The following link will outline further information from Mr Ross Fox, Director of Catholic Education. https://cg.catholic.edu.au/school-board-and-community-council-review/foreword/
The closing date for submissions is 2 September 2022.
Learning Journeys
Today we're very pleased to share with you your child's Learning Journey. Learning Journeys are
typically when parents could visit classrooms and their child would show them samples of their work, telling them about their achievements to date and goals for future learning.
To be COVID safe we've opted to provide families with an at-home Learning Journey. Teachers have prepared a set of slides containing examples of their child's learning at school. K - 2 teachers have distributed these through Seesaw. Years 3 to 6 students can access these through Google Classrooms. (Due to a technological hiccup Year 6 will share theirs on Monday).
Children have been asked to sit with their parents and carers and talk them through the slides, explaining what they have been doing in class.
Where possible, parents and carers have the opportunity to write a comment to their child, responding to their work and achievements. We encourage you to sit with your child as soon as possible and eshow them how proud you are of their learning.
Thank you for your wonderful partnership with us. It is a privilege and and pleasure to teach your children.
Matthew Garton
National Science Week
National Science Week is Australia's annual celebration of science and technology. Every August there are more than 1000 events around Australia. We have celebrated National Science Week by participating in the Governor-General's Design Challenge through Questacon. A big thank you to Mrs Serae Love for organising this. The Governer-General's Design Challenge this year is called liquid lens.
"Glass and its special properties are pervasive in the world around us.... Glass allows people to see the world differently, manipulating light for use in telescopes, magnifying glasses, kaleidoscopes and optical fibres" (Questacon, 2022).
In this challenge students explored magnification, refraction and reflection through building their own liquid lens.
The survey for young people on racism in the ACT
The ACT Children and Young People Commissioner is talking to children and young people about racism in the ACT. If you are between 5 and 24 years old, you can have your say. To answer the survey online, scan the QR code below. You can also contact them in the following ways:
Fundraising
Over the next 6 months, St John's will be holding a number of fundraising and community events. These include the Walkathon, a raffle and the St John the Apostle Multicultural Fete. If there are any families in our community who own local businesses and would like to support the above fundraising events, we would appreciate any donations including products, gift cards and vouchers.
Our school would be extremely grateful for your support and in return we would list and regularly mention our generous contributors in the school newsletter, in our social media platforms and on our school website https://www.sjaps.act.edu.au/.
Rebekah Brown
Assistant Principal and Inclusion Coordinator
What students are learning about
This week we began with Mass for the Feast of the Assumption. Students spent time in class reflecting on this special feast day.
K – 2 learnt that Mary is the mother of Jesus and that she went to heaven body and soul because she was so special.
3 – 6 focused on some of the trickier vocabulary like dogma, ascension, assumption, and Ark of the Covenant. They used a comprehension strategy “Sentence Summary” from The Writing Revolution to write about the Feast of the Assumption.
What staff are learning about
Of course, staff have also been reflecting on the importance of Mary.
Rebecca Stevenson was kind enough to share her thoughts.
What does The Assumption mean to me? An ‘assumption’ is something that is accepted as true or as certain to happen, without proof. The Assumption of Mary is one of our core Catholic beliefs – that Mary ascended into Heaven, body and soul. Mary said “Yes” to God and took on an unimaginably difficult and challenging role. She lived a selfless and giving life. The best way I can express who Mary is to me is by sharing the beautiful song ‘Hail Mary, Gentle Woman’ written by Carey Landry, an MSC priest. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=OUey6ytEXqY&feature=emb_logo
Catholic Life and Reflection
In an email conversation with a parent this week we were reflecting on the Feast of the Assumption and the challenges of motherhood. We both agreed that Mary had a tough job! Raising the Son of God must have come with its own set of pressures.
Meanwhile, last night, whilst driving my eldest son to his flat, I realised that I was driving 10ks under the speed limit to make the ride last longer. The things we do!
Many blessing on all those who are the Mary’s in our lives.
God bless,
Stephanie Stewart
Religous Education Coordinator
Notices from the Parish
Happy birthday to Jacob O, Lewis B, Atharva P, Lincoln A, Rachael N, Harry P, Xavier G, Bettina M and Zachary G 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.
We are looking forward to celebrating Book Week next week! If you are stuck for dress up ideas, here are some great books with easy costumes.
Please note that The Uniform Shop will be open on the following day:
Friday 26 August 8:30am-9:30am
Hats can be purchased at the Front Office but must be paid for via QKR or by cash only.
Parents are able to attend in person.
If you have any questions or concerns please email the uniform shop on stjohnsclothingpool@gmail.com.
