Filter Content
The school positive behaviour focus this week was:
Be ready to learn.
The school "Didge ya know?" fact this week was:
Yuma - meaning 'Hello' in Ngunnawal language.
Dear St John the Apostle community,
Thank you to the Kindergarten, Year One and Year Two teachers for organising a very successful Cross Country Carnival today. Thank you to all of the parent volunteers who supported the students around the Cross Country course and to our Community Council for organising the Special Lunch.
Term Overviews
The Term Overviews for each year level are now available on our website.
The Term Overviews outline what the students will learn in each learning area this term. It also outlines some important dates for the term and information pertinent to each year level.
Please don't hesitate to contact the classroom teachers if you have any questions.
Enrolment Period
2024 Catholic Schools Enrolment Period started this week and will finish at the end of Week 5. We have already had one successful session of school tours on Wednesday. Our Year 6 Peer Leaders and School Captains did a wonderful job of leading these tours.
We still have the following opportunities for existing and prospective families:
- Information night - Tuesday 9 May, 5 - 6pm in the School Library
- School Tours - Tuesday 9 May, 4 - 5pm (prior to Information Night) and Thursday 18 May, 4 - 5pm
- 1 to 1 tours with Mr Matthew Garton (Principal) - by appointment 22 to 26 May
If you know any families interested in enrolling their child at St John the Apostle please refer them to our website for how to enrol. If you have a child who is due to start in Kindergarten in 2024 we are currently accepting enrolments.
Update from Mr Garton
Mr Matthew Garton finished the Holy Land pilgrimage on Friday. In the last few days of the pilgrimage, Mr Garton visited the Garden of Gethsemane, the base of the Mount of Olives and he had the chance to visit the Cenacle room where Jesus celebrated the Last Supper. He also had the opportunity to retrace the steps of Jesus as he carried his cross through Jerusalem.
Mr Garton is currently with a small group of Principals in Egypt. They are visiting the place where the Israelites stayed before Moses called them to begin their great Exodus and where Mary and Joseph took Jesus, soon after he was born, to escape a very unsafe situation back in their own land.
We are excited to have Mr Garton return to school on Monday.
Mother’s Day
The St John the Apostle staff will hold a breakfast to celebrate Mother’s Day on Friday 12 May from 7.30-9.00am in the hall. We will send out more information and an RSVP on Monday.
Just a reminder that the Community Council have organised a Mother's Day gift for children to give to their Mother, Grandmother, Carer or Mother figure in their life for Mother's Day on Sunday, 14 May 2023. The Mother's Day gift must be pre-ordered via the Qkr! App. It can be found under the Community Council Events tab. The Mother's Day gift is $5 per gift and will be sent home with children on Thursday, 11 May 2023 or Friday, 12 May 2023.
Orders must be made on the Qkr! App no later than 4pm Wednesday, 10 May 2023.
Canteen
Some of our wonderful Year 6 students have started to open up the canteen on Tuesdays and Fridays at recess and lunch. They have a small menu that includes Jumpys, Harvest Snaps, Cheese and Biscuits, Quelch Bars and Fruit Filled Bars. The prices of the items vary from $1 to $2.50.
I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.
Rebekah Brown
Principal (Acting)
Cross Country
Week 2 has been another busy week here at St Johns.
The Cross Country went well today, with the sun shining just in time for the students to start their races. There were lots of smiles and red faces, but a lot of fun was had.
Thank you to the volunteers for helping today, it was greatly appreciated.
Ribbons for the first three place getters in each race will be handed out at an assembly in the coming weeks. Students who have qualified for Regionals will be notified and a note sent home next week.
On Tuesday, Year 2 went on an excursion to the Hall Heritage Centre. After a short bus ride the students got the opportunity to experience a classroom from the 'olden days'. There were many items on display that the students could use such as a telephone, typewriter and children's games.
Year 2 Excursion - Hall Museum
Here are some of the students favourite parts about the excursion:
- Getting to see a typewriter in real life and getting to use it (Lachie F).
- We got to use chalk and a chalkboard to write on (Mariam H).
- Seeing and using an old telephone, it even had a handle and big circles you had to use to make it work (Mackenzie K).
Bree Dess
Assistant Principal (Acting)
What Students Are Learning About
This week, students across the school learnt about the appearances of Jesus. The Resurrection of Jesus is the most incredible and amazing thing that has ever happened! But Jesus still had a lot of work to do before he returned to his Father in Heaven. He had to prepare the disciples for the coming of the Holy Spirit. There were still so many things the disciples had to learn. The disciples did not fully understand what had happened to Jesus. They did not know why Jesus had suffered and died. The disciples needed to understand why he had risen from the dead. They had to be ready for the big job ahead of them. So, Jesus appeared to the disciples over a period of forty days.
Jesus opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, 'This is what is written: the Messiah must suffer and must rise from death three days later, and in his name the message about repentance and the forgiveness of sins must be preached to all nations, beginning in Jerusalem.'- Luke 24:45-47
Catholic Life and Reflection
I was helping a new student choose a book to read from the class library, pointing out the many series that we have to offer. The student surprised me by asking “Why do you have so many copies of those green books?” I replied: “They’re bibles”. He curiously asked: “What is a bible?” There are many answers to that question. It is something that we teach students from the beginning of their Catholic education. It is one of my most favourite topics to teach!
We teach your children that:
The Bible is a very old book, a very special book, a very sacred book. The Bible is the most important book in the world. It has many stories in it. The Bible is not just one book. It is a collection of 73 books! The stories are about God and His people. It is like God's family album in words instead of pictures. These books have been put into two different sections.
The books of the Old Testament were written before Jesus was born. They prepare us for Jesus. They are about God and His people. There are many great stories in the Old Testament. We read about the things that happened to God's people. We learn about the journeys they made.
In the Old Testament we find out how people learnt about God. We discover that people loved God. And we also discover that people disobeyed God. We read about how much God loved people. And we learn that God forgave people when they disobeyed Him.
We learn stories of the Jewish people, the Ancient Israelites whose stories appear in the Old Testament of the Bible, are stories that describe God's special relationship with them. These were the stories that Jesus would have known because he was also a Jew.
The New Testament was written after Jesus died. It has many stories about Jesus. We learn what Jesus taught his friends. We read the stories Jesus told. And we discover how Jesus helped his friends.
In the New Testament we read that Jesus died on the cross for all people. That was God's way of showing how much He loves us.
Jesus came back to life. This is called the Resurrection. He went home to his Father in heaven. This is known as the Ascension. Because of these things we are friends with God again.
We learn what happened to Jesus' friends after he went home to his Father.
In the New Testament we read about how we can be good and holy. As Christians we are called to care for and respect others and all of creation, to be faithful to God, to trust in God’s plans for us, and to be happy and live life to the full.
Rebecca Stevenson
Religious Education Coordinator (Acting)
Happy birthday to Aiden S, Sophie P, James S, Amelia S, Bianca L, Tom A, Troy K, Caleb Q and Lilianan G who all celebrated a birthday over the last week.
The Uniform Shop will open on:
Friday 12 May - 8.30-9.30
If you have any questions or concerns please email the uniform shop on stjohnsclothingpool@gmail.com
