Dear St John the Apostle families,

We had a great turn out last night at our Christmas Family Picnic. Thank you everyone for such a wonderful evening. Thank you Mrs Macdonald for preparing the students for their performances. Thank you to all the staff who assisted with costumes and organising the children.

I'd like to offer a big thank you to our Community Council for providing a BBQ and lolly bags for everyone. Thank you to Nat Nicholson and Mary-Ann Fraser who coordinated the BBQ and Kellie Bradbury and Belinda Clifford for preparing all of the lolly bags.

It was a happy, relaxed and inclusive way to spend time together. Thank you all for entering into the spirit of the night. While each student's education is the core reason we all come together, this happens most succesfully in a community of positive relationships, where every student feels like they belong. Last night was a great example of this.

Student Semester Reports

This week the end of semester student reports will be distributed. Parents had the opportunity to have a Parent-Teacher Interview this week and teachers sought interviews with any parents they would like to have a final conversation with. Thank you for working in partnership with your teachers to support your child's learning this year.

The reports will include a general comment for the first time. Staff worked together to design a general comment that was informative for parents, fitting in as much detail as they could in the limited space provided. You will see that the comments have a list of dot points that describe examples of your child's achievements in Religious Education, English, Mathematics and various other curriculum areas. We hope these are helpful in understanding a little of what your child has learnt this year.

Students on Personal Plans, of which there are approximately 110 in our school, will be emailed an additional Personal Plan report. Prepared by their teacher, this report provides an additional comment by the teacher against each of their Personal Plan goals and recommends whether the goals remain in place or are adjusted for the beginning of 2024.

Thank you to our teachers who have spent many weeks preparing these semester reports and to Rebekah Brown, who has supported teachers in preparing all of the Personal Plan reports. I have the joy of reading every report that is sent home. While it is a lot of work, I do love seeing how much the students have grown. There is a great sense of satisfaction in seeing a years worth of growth for every student.

Classes 2024

Classes have been finalised for 2024 and teachers have been meeting this week to engage in 'handover' conversations. These involve the teachers seeing their class list for next year and then meeting with the current teacher to go through the needs of each student they will have in their class. Again, this is another important task at the end of each year that takes considerable time and organisation, but it is worth it for our students and teachers alike. Of course teachers will meet with families early on in 2024 but to go into the year with some knowledge about each student already gives everyone a head start.

On Wednesday we will have 'One Up Day'. After lunch on Wednesday students will visit the classroom they will be in for 2024 and meet their teacher. Every student was asked to name three people they would like to be in the same class as next year. We have ensured that they will be in the same class as at least one of these students.

Have an enjoyable weekend as we prepare for our last week of school for 2024.

Matthew Garton

Principal

Code Camp in 2024

At the end of this Newsletter you will see a flyer for Code Camp. We have partnered with Code Camp to provide an after school activity each week for those students interested in this part of digital technologies. The flyer outlines the details for how to register. We're excited to be able to offer this opportunity.

Reading over the Holidays

As we approach the festive season, we want to emphasise the importance of practicing reading. In the hustle and bustle of holiday preparations, taking a moment to dive into the world of books can create lasting memories and foster a love for learning in your child.

The Gift of Imagination

Reading opens the door to a world of imagination, where children can explore new realms, meet fascinating characters, and embark on incredible adventures—all from the comfort of their favourite reading spot. Encouraging your child to read during the holidays not only enhances their imagination but also helps develop crucial cognitive skills.

Academic Continuity

The holiday break is an excellent opportunity for students to reinforce and build upon the skills they've acquired in school. Reading regularly over the holidays helps maintain and even enhance their literacy skills, ensuring a smooth transition back to the academic routine in the new year. We find that if students do not practice their reading in the holidays, they can start the year behind in reading compared to the end of the previous year. It is also essential for our upper primary students to continue reading practice over the holidays.

Quality Family Time

What better way to spend quality time with your child than by sharing a good book together? Whether it's a classic tale or a new release, reading as a family fosters bonds, sparks conversations, and creates memories.

Escape and Relaxation

The holiday season can sometimes be overwhelming for both children and adults. Reading provides a healthy escape, allowing your child to unwind and relax. It's a peaceful and enjoyable way for them to take a break from the hustle and bustle, promoting emotional well-being.

Building a Lifelong Habit

By incorporating reading into the holiday routine, you're not just providing a seasonal activity; you're instilling a habit that can last a lifetime. Cultivating a love for reading early on sets the stage for continuous learning and growth.

Tips for Fostering Holiday Reading

1. Create a Cozy Reading Nook: Set up a comfortable space with pillows and blankets where your child can escape into the world of books.

2. Holiday-Themed Reading: Find books with holiday themes to make the reading experience even more festive and relevant to the season.

3. Book Exchange: Consider organising a book exchange with other families to introduce new titles and encourage a sense of community.

4. Set Reading Goals: Encourage your child to set achievable reading goals for the holiday break, making it a fun and rewarding challenge.

Below is a benchmark of how many words your child should be able to read in a minute. You could do some speed reading over the holidays to support your child's reading fluency development. 

Kindergarten: Between 34 and 75 words per minute

Year One: Between 34 and 75 words per minute

Year Two: Between 84 to 128 words per minute

Year Three: Between 104 and 136 words per minute

Year Four: Between 130 and 158 words per minute

Year Five: Between 138 and 160 words per minute

Year Six: 150+ words per minute 

If you would like your child to have some books over the holidays, please contact your child's classroom teachers and we can organise for some age appropriate readers to be sent home. 

Catholic Life and Reflection

Whole school Mass, with 300+ kids, was a blessing. They knelt, they sang, they responded. They understood what it meant to wait in silence, receive the blessing and Eucharist and watch Father’s rather amusing Homily video in a respectful way. They sang the Aboriginal Our Father with passion and conviction.

The gospel was the Emmaus story which we have been focused on this year.  At the end of the Mass, I was able to say to the children that the Emmaus story is who we are as a school. We walk together. We listen, as the disciples on the road did, we talk, we share meals.  I thanked the staff for their commitment to supporting and guiding the faith of each student. I thanked the leadership team for their constant support of my role and my growth.

So now, I thank you. Thank you for letting us grow the faith of each of your children. Thank you for trusting us to help them understand the importance of faith in their life.  Thank you for your continuing prayers and support.

What Students are Learning About

This is Harry from Kinder Blue. In preparation for Advent and Christmas Kinder has reflected on the birth of Jesus.  Harry drew this amazing picture. To me it shows an understanding of the importance of the life and death of Jesus and how they are intricately connected. Thank you Harry!

God bless and go gently.

Stephanie Stewart

Religious Education Coordinator

Notices from the Parish

Latest Parish Compact 10 December 2023

Happy birthday to Kelsey N, Kaylie C, Josie A, Jenson C, Leo J, Erick L, Jordi M, Blake W, Alaina S, Emry W, Bailee K, Ngawang C, Kyler A, and Matilda M who all celebrated a birthday over the last week.

Congratulations to the following students who received 20 brag tags during the term.

The Swimming Carnival for St John the Apostle Primary is held in Week 3, Term 1, 2024.

It is for students who will be in Years 2 - 6 next year. All students attend and participate to their level of competency. There will be novelty events for those who are not confident swimmers.

To be prepared for this event, and avoid a rush of alerts and notes for families at the beginning of next year, we ask families to fill out the attached form to indicate the swimming capacity of their child. We also need to know which events students will be swimming in so we can organise the races for the day.

Access the information sent via Compass and complete the 'Additional Questions' section. Please return via Compass by Friday, 1^st December 2023.

NOTE: All donations can start to be dropped off in the Front Office from now until the Fete.

Our school Fete will be on Friday 15 March 2024 from 4-8pm (Term 1, Week 7). We are already well on our way with preparations. Please see information below about requesting volunteers in the lead up to the Fete and requests for donations. We really rely on our school community working together to ensure the success of our school Fete. 

Store Conveners 

Thank you to all of the parents who have contacted me to help out as store conveners. Please contact Rebekah Brown rebekah.brown@cg.catholic.edu.au if you would like to take on one of these roles or if you have any questions. 

At times, we may need to ask the store convenor to purchase some of the items required for the store. However, this money will be reimbursed as quickly as possible. 

Donations 

The Fete Committee has decided to send out all of the requests for donations for the 2024 Fete at one time so that families don't feel like there are requests every week or two. We rely on our community to donate a couple of items per child. Please see below a list of the items we are requesting. All of these items can be sent to school with your child or delivered to the front office. Thank you in advance for your donations and support. 

Tombola

For the 2024 Fete, we are doing Tombola a little differently. We are asking that a full jar is donated. In the past, we have asked for empty jars and the Store Convenor has filled the jars. The items also don’t need to be in a jar. They could be in a zip lock bag, a plastic container or anything that is enclosed and we can stick a raffle ticket on. 

Items that can be put in the tombolar jars/containers:

• Lollies and chocolates 
• Jar of trinkets - small toys, erasers, stickers, hair accessories, craft supplies, stationary etc.

Hampers

We are asking that each child in each year group, donates one or more items for the below hampers. Each year level has been allocated a theme. Year 6 has not been allocated a theme, as they will no longer be at St John’s in 2024. If Year 6 students would like to donate an item, they can choose any theme. Please see below images of past hampers. 

Kindergarten - Baby hamper (e.g. wraps, clothes, nappies, rattles, baby toys, wipes etc.)

Year 1 - Pet Hamper (eg. pet toys, treats, feeders, bowls etc.)

Year 2 - Kids Toy hamper (e.g. puzzles, fidget toys, board games, balls etc.)

Year 3 - Pamper hamper (eg. bath salts, candles, body products etc.)

Year 4 - Parents hamper (eg. wine, beer, chocolates, nuts etc.)

Year 5 - Home hamper (eg. tools, cleaning products, Bunnings gift card etc.)

Books

We will be having a book stall. We would love donations of books to sell at the Fete. These can be picture books, children and adult novels, recipe books etc.

Lucky Lock

We will be having a Lucky Lock competition again for the 2024 Fete. An esky is filled with wine and beer and locked with a padlock. We sell keys and one key opens the lock. This lucky person wins the esky and its contents. To run this competition, we would love donations of the following:

• Wine, beer etc.
• Old keys that are no longer useful 

Pre-loved Soft Toys

We are asking for clean and in good condition pre-loved soft toys to be donated. 

Thank you so much for all of your support in making out 2024 Fete a success.

Kind regards,

Fete Committee

Please see below a letter we are sending out to local businesses to support our upcoming 2024 Fete. If you have a business that would like to sponsor the Fete or you know of someone who would be interested in sponsoring our Fete, please see the below information. If you would like this letter to supply businesses with our letterhead, please email Rebekah Brown (rebekah.brown@cg.catholic.edu.au).

Supporting our school – Supporting our students

We hope this letter finds you well. We are writing to you to seek your support for our schools upcoming Fete.

We are hosting our highly anticipated Annual Fete on Friday, 15 March 2024 and we are extremely excited about creating a memorable experience for our students, families and the wider community. For over 40 years St John the Apostle Primary School has served a community that includes families from over 30 different locations in the ACT and NSW.

This event is not only a great opportunity to celebrate our school’s achievements, but also a chance to raise funds for various academic and extracurricular activities, including the continued upgrading our playground and kitchen garden space.

In order to make this event a resounding success, we are reaching out to businesses like yours, which have demonstrated a commitment to community and education. We would be grateful for any donation you can provide, whether it is in the form of monetary support or an in-kind contribution. Your contribution will go towards purchasing items for our stalls, including our BBQ, drinks, gelato, popcorn and fairy floss, chocolate toss, and many more!

As a sponsor, your business will receive significant exposure and recognition at our Fete. We plan to acknowledge our generous sponsors in our signage, social media platforms, school website and our school newsletter with a heartfelt thank you for your support.

We understand that businesses receive numerous sponsorship requests, and we truly appreciate your consideration of our request. Your support will have a direct impact on the educational opportunities we can provide to our students.

Please find enclosed a sponsorship form that outlines the various donation levels. We kindly request that you review the form and select a sponsorship level that aligns with your business’s objectives and budget. If you are able to support us, or have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Rebekah Brown our Assistant Principal on (02 6258 3592).

On behalf of the entire St John the Apostle Primary School community, we thank you for your time and consideration.

Yours sincerely,

Matthew Garton             Katie Matthews

Principal                        Community Council Chair

St John the Apostle Primary School Fete Sponsorship Form

Thank you for considering sponsoring our Annual School Fete, we truly value your support. Please review the sponsorship levels below and select the one that aligns with your business' goals and budget.

Gold Sponsorship - $1,000 or more:

• Prominent recognition as a Gold Sponsor on event signage
• Company logo featured on our school website and social media platforms with a link to your website
• Acknowledgment and thank you at the event
• Opportunity to place promotional materials at our event booths or information stands

Silver Sponsorship - $500:

• Recognition as a Silver Sponsor on event signage
• Company logo featured on our school website and social media platforms
• Acknowledgment and thank you at the event
• Opportunity to place promotional materials at our event booths or information stands

Bronze Sponsorship - $250:

• Recognition as a Bronze Sponsor on event banners, flyers, and signage
• Company name showcased on our school website and social media platforms
• Acknowledgment and thank you at the event

Please contact us using the details provided below to arrange payment of your sponsorship contribution. We will then reach out to discuss further promotion and recognition opportunities. We sincerely appreciate your generosity and support.