Please go to our school calendar on the website or COMPASS for more details.

Term 3

Foot Steps Dance Lessons (K-6) (week 7)
School Disco (week 7)
Yr 5 Assembly (week 7)
Yr 6 Assembly (week 9)

2023 Theme

'Walking Together'

The school positive behaviour focus this week was:

Invite others to play.

The school "Yerrabi" fact this week was:

La - means: 'look'.

Dear St John the Apostle community,

I have been unwell and home sick for Thursday and Friday this week. There are a few cases of COVID-19 in the school and nasty colds going around and I wanted to ensure that I didn't pass anything on to anyone else....particularly to teachers, who are very hard to replace at the moment. I'm also joining the Year 5 camp on Monday and wanted to be recovered and well to support them.

Thank you to those families who are equally conscious Free Sick Smiley Cliparts, Download Free Sick Smiley Cliparts png images, Free ClipArts on Clipart Library of ensuring that their unwell child stays home to recover quickly and to ensure the they don't pass on any sickness to fellow students and staff. We really appreciate your thoughtfulness and understanding.

CENSUS

Today was one of two annual census days. The census that occurs in August in every Australian school has many purposes. One is to determine the funding each school requires to educate and support students for the following year. Some information from our census data that you might be interested in includes:

We have 351 students currently enrolled in our school belonging to 259 families
There are 174 girls and 177 boys
2% of students identify as Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander ATSI)
15% of students identify as having English as a Second Language or Dialect EAL/D)
110 students (31%) identify with a disability and have a Personal Plan
Families reside in 40 different suburbs, the largest groups coming from Florey, Dunlop, Holt, Higgins, MacGregor and Strathnairn.

January School Census Selected Time Period

Our school is a diverse community. We work very hard to be welcoming and inclusive of all students, particularly those with more complex needs. As a result our staff continually grow in their skills and knowledge at being effective educators and our students grow in their undertanding that 'difference is the norm'. Most importantly, we hope that every child feels like they belong in our St John the Apostle community.

Relational Aggression Parent Forum Slides

Due to my absence this week the Relational Aggression slides will be available next week.

I hope everyone has a healthy and restful weekend.

MatthewGartonn

Principal

National Science Week 2023

National Science Week is Australia’s annual celebration of science and technology. It starts tomorrow and runs until the 20th of August. This years theme is Innovation: Powering Future Industries. The theme incorporates the advancement in technology in all industries, especially using artificial intelligence (AI).

There are some great DIY Science experiments that can be found at the following link.

Boorowa Touch and Netball Carnival - Year 5 and 6

Year 5 – Year 6 have been invited to BOOROWA for the COMBINED PRIMARY SCHOOLS TOUCH AND NETBALL CARNIVAL on Friday 20 October. This year before we commit to attending the Boorowa Carnival we are asking Year 5 – Year 6 students and their parents to fill in an expression of interest. This is not a compulsory school event.

There will be a cost for buses and a team entrance fee. The final cost will depend on the final numbers we receive from the expression of interest. Permission notes will be sent on Compass when we have confirmed whether or not we are attending the Boorowa Carnival. If you (or someone you know) are able to umpire/ referee/ manage a team on the day we would also appreciate it if you put in an expression of interest, as we cannot commit to Boorowa without sufficient volunteers. Please submit the below expression of interest by Tuesday 15 August.

Expression of Interest - Boorowa Touch and Netball Carnival

Spelling Mastery and Maths Mastery Awards

Congratulations to all of our students who recieved Spelling Mastery and Maths Mastery Awards today!

Rebekah Brown

Assistant Principal and Inclusion Coordinator

What Students are Learning About

Class Mass

This week Year 6 celebrated Mass with Fr Chung. They celebrated the Feast of St Lawrence. He is the patron Saint for the poor. It is said that Lawrence gave the church’s treasures to the poor and the sick before his arrest.

Kindergarten Singing

Kindergarten have been practising songs for The Feast of the Assumption Mass next week. They invited me to their classrom to hear them sing. It was so beautiful. You can hear a little bit of their practice here in this video!

Kinder singing

Catholic Life and Reflection

Part One

Recently, my mum was visiting a friend. Usually, while she waits in the car, she prays the Rosary, but she forgot her beads. A car pulled up next to her and there was a Rosary hanging from the rear-view mirror, mum wound down her window and commented that she had forgotten hers. The lady, a stranger, dug around and pulled out a beautiful set of Rosary beads she had made and gave them to mum. Mum felt very blessed by the chance meeting and special gift. They later bumped into each other at Mass, Rosary beads in hand.

Part Two

For the past few weeks Year 5 have been learning about the Rosary: how to pray with beads, the Mysteries associated with each decade and the long tradition we have, as Catholics, in praying the Rosary. They will also take time at Camp next week to pray the Rosary.

Part Three

On Monday morning I popped into Mass before a meeting with Fr Chung and the Rosary was being said by parishioners. I sat and listened as their voices filled the church with quiet, song like, repetition. I always have Rosary beads with me too, so I held mine and enjoyed the litany.

Finale

I think God is sending me a message, I must not be paying attention because God is being quite persistent! The message I am getting is that prayer connects us. In car parks, classrooms, and at Mass. Prayer connects us to God but also to each other.

How lucky are we to have prayer as a way to connect. Find some time this week to say a prayer and let me know if the location ends up taking you by surprise.

God bless,

Stephanie Stewart

Religious Education Coordinator

Notices from the Parish

Latest Parish Compact - 13 August 2023

Happy birthday to Liam M, Shanaya S, Allegra C, Charlotte M, Charlie J, Brenda G, Lilly V and Anna T who all celebrated a birthday over the last week.

There is a buzz of excitement in the library this term!

As CBCA Book Week approaches, students have been discussing what character they would like to dress up as for the Book Character Parade on Friday 25^th August at 9.15am. Parents and carers are welcome to come and watch! The theme for this year is “Read, Grow, Inspire”, however children are welcome to come dressed up as any book character.

We also have a colouring competition in the library next week, colouring some of Sami Bayly’s illustrations, with the winner chosen by Sami herself on Wednesday 23^rd August.

This term we have started finger knitting in the library at lunch times. If you have any odd bits of yarn hanging around, we welcome donations!

Happy Reading!

Ms Alcock
Librarian

The Uniform Shop Opening Hours

Friday 18 August - 8.30-9.30

If you have any questions or concerns please email the uniform shop on stjohnsclothingpool@gmail.com

Did you know that The Athlete’s Foot Belconnen has a school rewards program for St John the Apostle Primary? The Athlete’s Foot Belconnen will donate $5 from every pair of shoes purchased in store to the fundraising efforts of St John the Apostle Primary School.

The Belconnen store is a locally owned store that takes pride in supporting local schools and the local community.

Head in store and see the friendly and experienced team to get the best fit today. Don’t forget to mention St John the Apostle to ensure the donation is registered.

The Community Council has organised a School Disco for Thursday 31 August.

A music request sheet will be available in classrooms for the children to request their favourite songs prior to the disco.

Please click on the link below if you are able to volunteer at one of the sessions.

Parent Volunteer Form

Payment is open on QKR and can be found under 'Community Council Events'.

Great Entertainment book promotion

ORDER HERE

https://subscribe.entertainment.com.au/fundraiser/2323z3

12-month Multi City Membership purchases:
When you purchase a 12-month Multi City Membership between 6.00 pm, Monday 31st July and 11.59 am, Wednesday 23rd August 2023, you will receive $20 AUD off the original price of your selected Membership.

24-month Multi City Membership purchases:
When you purchase a 24-month Multi City Membership between 6.00 pm, Monday 31st July and 11.59 am, Wednesday 23rd August 2023, you will receive $50 AUD off the original price of your selected Membership.

Book Week

For over 75 years, the Children’s Book Council of Australia has promoted Children’s Book Week®. Book week isn’t just about finding a costume for the parade (and hoping that this year your child doesn’t want to dress up as Captain Underpants again), it’s about celebrating books. Australian authors and illustrators are particularly celebrated, as classroom teachers and librarians in schools and public libraries create displays, run activities, and tell stories relating to each year’s theme. This year, Book Week is this week (Aug 19-25), and the theme is Read, Grow, Inspire.

This article isn’t about Book Week though. It’s about why books and reading are so important for our kids that we should be celebrating books every day, not just one week a year. In this article I’ll also describe how you can help your child to get more out of their reading. And lastly, I’ll give you some tips on what to do when your kids don’t seem to want to read.

The science

It is never too early to start a habit of reading with your kids. A meta-analysis (a study that synthesises the results of lots of other studies, in this case 99 other studies) found that when children are exposed to book reading from an early age, it begins a ‘causal spiral’; being exposed to books stimulates language and reading development, and in turn children who are more proficient in comprehension and reading skills choose to read more. Significantly, this study looked at every age from preschool to university and found that the gap between readers and non-readers widened every year, culminating in greater academic success in university. There is also some evidence that people who read more live longer, and that reading fiction boosts social skills such as empathy.

Getting the most out of reading

Reading is good, regardless of how it’s done or what is read. But there are a few things we can do to help our children enjoy the benefits and satisfaction it offers. Here are three ideas:

Have your child read to you. Children don’t even need to be able to read to do this. Babies enjoy lifting up flaps and turning pages. Toddlers love pointing at the pictures in their favourite books. Preschoolers may even memorise the words to a well-repeated story. Then as our children learn to read independently, they tend to be really excited to read to us if we can find the time to slow down and turn reading into an activity to share.
Read to your child. In addition to bonding, reading to your child helps them to learn about expression, pacing, and the different ways we can experience books. Please remember, when you read to your child, to read slower than you think you should. And for younger children, pause and ask them questions about how they’d feel, what the characters are feeling, and what they’re thinking about the story. (It can be hard to stay awake, I know! But it’s worth it.)
Have FART time regularly. FART stands for Family All Reading Together. Perhaps once or twice a week, let everyone know it’s FART time. Grab some treats. Have everyone select a book. And sit together in the living room while you read those books together, either aloud or in silence.

What to do when your child doesn’t want to read

Not everyone loves reading. However, kids who lack motivation for reading are usually struggling with a small handful of challenges. They either (i) have a reading disorder such as dyslexia, (ii) feel disconnected and want connection with someone, (iii) don’t feel competent, or (iv) are feeling controlled and want more choice in what they read. Each of these will reduce intrinsic desire to read. Our role as parents is to help them overcome those boundaries. We can do this by:

Helping them find appropriate support. With time, patience, and the right structures in place, anyone can learn to enjoy reading. Being dyslexic doesn’t prevent that; in fact, one of the greatest writers of the 20th century, F. Scott Fitzgerald, is believed to have had dyslexia.
Reading together – them to us and us to them. There are few things cosier than snuggling up together with a good book
Finding books that are at a level that stretches them but not so much that it’s demotivating, and
Offering them as much choice as possible in terms of what they read… even if that means reading Captain Underpants again.

One more important point: never bribe your kids to read, unless the bribe for reading one book is the chance to choose another one!

Reading isn’t just about academics, just as Book Week isn’t just about winning the award for Best Dressed. Books provide a doorway to the world; through them our kids can climb mountains, experience new cultures, and travel through time and space. As Barack Obama once said…

Reading is important. If you know how to read, then the whole world opens up to you.

AUTHOR

Dr Justin Coulson

Dr Justin Coulson is a dad to 6 daughters. He is the parenting expert and co-host of Channel 9’s Parental Guidance, and he and his wife host Australia’s #1 podcast for parents and family: The Happy Families podcast. He has written 9 books about families and parenting. For further details visit www.happyfamilies.com.au.

18 Nov	Term 4, Week 6 18 Nov 2024 - 23 Nov 2024

21 Nov	2025 - New Students Transition Day (Yrs 1-6) 8:00 AM - 3:00 PM

25 Nov	Term 4, Week 7 25 Nov 2024 - 30 Nov 2024

2 Dec	Term 4, Week 8 02 Dec 2024 - 07 Dec 2024

2 Dec	Kinder Nativity 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

4 Dec	Yr 6 - SFX Orientation Day 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM

5 Dec	End of Term Awards 9:00 AM - 9:30 AM

5 Dec	Christmas Picnic 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM

6 Dec	End of Year Thanksgiving Mass - Whole School 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

9 Dec	Term 4, Week 9 09 Dec 2024 - 14 Dec 2024

11 Dec	Sue Ferguson Award 9:00 AM - 9:30 AM

11 Dec	One Up Afternoon 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

11 Dec	Graduation Mass 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM

13 Dec	Cornerstone Ceremony (Yr 5-6) 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM

13 Dec	Teachers v Students Netball 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM

13 Dec	Colour Run 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM

16 Dec	Term 4, Week 10 16 Dec 2024 - 17 Dec 2024

17 Dec	Pupil Free Day All day