Dear St John's families,

Today we held our school Walkathon to help raise funds for school improvements to our playground and outdoor facilities. Rebekah Brown writes more about the event in her section below. I would simply like to thank all of the students and families for their amazing support and a fabulous result! Thank you for asking family and friends to sponsor your child and thank you to the members of our Community Council who cooked and distributed sausages and juice poppers to students as a show of their appreciation. It's wonderful to be holding such fun evewnts together again.

Congratulations to Emily Anderson who delivered her Rostrum Grand Final speech on Monday evening. It was a very entertaining speech with the topic 'Not My Style'. SHe talked about getting old and we all laughed. Emily won the Randall Falkiner Trophy for Research. She also had a beautiful group of peers present to support her. Well done Emily!

Community Council News

At our Community Council meeting on Wednesday evening we discussed a number of exciting projects coming up that can involve our families.

Firstly, we discussed the School Fete we look forward to holding early in 2023. Our fete conveners have been working behind the scenes in the the early planning phase. We're looking to have those stalls and experiences that we have all grown to love such as barbecues, cake stalls, face painting, rides, etc as well as experiences that are new and different. We're really looking forward to the event and next term you will hear about how you might be able to join in on the day.

We also discussed ways to support parent engagement in school. One way is to look at building the capacity to hold meetings both in person and virtually so that more parents and carers have the opportunity to participate in Community Council Meetings and other parent information evenings. We hope to have this capacity available in the new year.

Thank you to our Community Council, who are enthusiastic and generous in their support for the school and the families in our community.

NAPLAN Results

Years 3 and 5 parents will have received their child's NAPLAN results earlier this week. The National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy is a series of tests of basic skills that are administered nationally.

All students are required to participate in NAPLAN unless their parents withdraw them. The assessments are mostly completed online through multiple choice and short answer questions (except writing which involves producing a narrative response to a picture). The assessments cover basic skills in English and Mathematics but not all of the curriculum. There is much more to learn than what is assessed in NAPLAN. Students with complex needs can receive some support to access and participate in the assessments.

At the same time that parents receive their child's individual data, we receive data about all of the students (including those who are now in Year 7 but attended our school in Year 5). The data we receive allows us to look at patterns of knowledge and skills among our students, the growth of students between their experiences of NAPLAN (e.g. between Year 3 and 5) and the needs of groups such as that of boys, girls, students with English as an Additional Dialect (EAL/D) and students with complex needs. It adds an additional layer of data to our own, helping us to build a bigger picture of the achievements of each of our students and plan for their continued growth in literacy and numeracy.

If parents and carers have any questions about their child's results, please do contact your child's teacher to talk these through. They would be more than happy to assist.

Thank you all for a wonderful week. We finished on a high. Have a restful weekend in this increasingly beautiful spring weather.

Matthew Garton

Principal

Walkathon

Today was an absolutely wonderful day. All of the students were excited and participated with enthusiasm. Thank you to each family who donated money to the Walkathon. 

We are absolutely astounded at the students' efforts to raise money and participate in the Walkathon this year. 

As a school we raised a total of $19,554.20. This is well above our goal of $10,000 and means that we will hold a fun day for all students next Term. We are excited to use this money towards our playground upgrade by the end of this year. Students were excited to see the photos today.

Zak Sutherland in 1B won the Nintendo Switch Lite for the most money raised. He raised a total of $1,010. 

Allegra Cockburn in KB won the Nintendo Switch Lite out of the draw. 

Kindergarten Blue will receive a pizza lunch and movie afternoon for raising the most money as a class. They raised a total of $2,184.40.

Thank you also to Bean Origin, a local business owned by the Singh family (Alaina in 5M and Aarzah in KB) who generously donated $1000 to the Walkathon. 

A big, big thank you to our Community Council for organising a Sausage Sizzle for all of our students. It was definitely needed after all of the walking the students did today!

Again, thank you so much to all of the contributions. We haven't had the opportunity to do an event like this for a long time and it was so lovely to come together as a school and have such a wonderful day together. 

More photos to come next week on our Facebook page. 

Catholic Life and Reflection

This week during staff prayer Ms Kennelly and Ms Brown have been focusing on gratitude. It has provided us the opportunity to focus on what is important to us.  The following poem was one that staff reflected on.

I Am Thankful For

by Nancy J Carmody

I am thankful for

…..the mess to clean up after a party

because it means I have been surrounded by friends.

​…..the taxes that I pay

because it means that I’m employed.

…..the clothes that fit a little too snug

because it means I have enough to eat.

​…..my shadow who watches me work

because it means I am out in the sunshine.

​…..the spot I find at the far end of the parking lot

because it means I am capable of walking.

​…..all the complaining I hear about our Government

because it means we have freedom of speech.

​…..that lady behind me in church who sings offkey

​because it means that I can hear.

​…..lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning, and gutters that need fixing

because it means I have a home.

…..my huge heating bill

because it means that I am warm.

​…..weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day

because it means that I have been productive.

…..the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours

because it means that I am alive.

I am sure we can all relate to something in this poem.  Several teachers spoke to the students about gratitude this week too. Students were asked why they are grateful for their teachers.  The overwhelming response was “they care for me.” 

As we strive to be on earth the heart of God, I am glad this was the standout response!

What are you grateful for?

1 Thessalonians 5:18

"Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."

Happy birthday to Bailey C, Ky M, Lewis B, Dante L, Liam D, Sophie N, Isabella D and Ebuka I 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.

FEES

A reminder that school fees are past due and prompt payment would be appreciated before the end of the term.

To the families that have paid your fees thank you for your ongoing support to the school and meeting your commitments.

Payment of fees helps us as a school meet our commitments.

If you need to discuss your fees please contact Debbie Milne either by phoning the school or via email finance.sjaps@cg.catholic.edu.au

Year 5 technology payments

A reminder to Yr 5 parents/carers that payment for Chromebooks is past due and payment can be made via the QKR app.

To those families that have paid thank you for your commitment to paying for the device.

Please note that The Uniform Shop will be open on the following day:

Friday 22 September 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.