Dear St John's families,

Early Wednesday morning I had the privilege of travelling with the Year 6 students to camp at Cooba Sport & Education Centre, 2 hours from Canberra, a little past Cooma.

I stayed with them all day at the Dalgety river, participting in canoeing (thank you to Rose H and Anabelle T who were the dream team to share a canoe with), raft building (where students worked together to make a raft they could float down the river with) and team games. I then stayed overnight, helping them to settle and sleep.

What I love about our Year 6 camp is watching the students learn about themselves and each other. Throughout camp they are involved in very collaborative, outdoor problem soving challenges that can only be completed as a team. It is amazing to see which children step forward to lead and more importantly, how they lead. Sometimes the more 'popular' students are less likely to take the lead for fear of getting things wrong in front of their peers. Sometimes the quieter, logical students come to the fore, confident in their own capacity to understand what is needed. Sometimes we are really surprised to see the stamina of students for challenging physical effort, but also surprised in who finds it difficult to persist when the challenge requires hard work.

In short, we learn a lot about ourselves and each other at Year 6 camp. Students are almost always pleasantly surprised by their own achievements, building their confidence. Having seen each other in a new context they have a new understanding of each other's strengths and, I like to think, a new level of respect for each other.

Thank you to the staff who attended the camp and supported students in gaining the most from the experience, including Mrs Stewart, Mrs Fear, Miss Eastman, Mr Biilmann and Mrs Ronneberg. I would particularly like to thank Mr Seaman (6 Maroon teacher) who planned and coordianted the entire event.

Early Thursday morning I drove to school to be there in time to watch students receive the first Mastery Awards for the year. What a lovely way to start the day as a community. Thank you to Ms Brown who then travelled to Cooba to spend the second night and final day with the students. We both like to have an opportunity to spend time with Year 6 on camp.

Community Council 2024

Are you interested in being part of our Community Council in 2024? It's a fantastic group who help to build our community and shape the direction of our school.

Next Wednesday 28 February at 6.00pm we will hold our Community Council AGM in the school library. It is an open meeting and all community members and friends are welcome to attend.

The Community Council is an excellent way to be involved and connected to what is happening in the school. We meet on a Wednesday evening twice each term. If you are interested and would like to know more you can read about our Community Council on our school website or talk to one of the Community Council members listed there. You are also welcome to reach out to me and I will happily answer any questions or connect you with a current Community Council member to speak with.

God Bless,

Matthew Garton

Principal

Clean Up Australia Day

Next Friday is Clean up Australia Day for Schools.

At St John’s we will work as a community to 'respect our environment' by removing as much unwanted waste as we can.

During the day, each year group will be "Stepping Up and Stepping Out" to clean a designated area of our school or the school surrounds (Years 5 and 6).

We ask that all students bring gardening gloves and/or tongs to help with the safe removal of any rubbish.

HOW WILL YOU STEP UP?

Will you make a pledge to improve the environment?

There are so many ways to Step Up. And remember, you don’t have to be perfect to be amazing! 

Thousands of small steps make a big difference - together we can all be part of the solution.

Could you Step Up by saying no to straws? Taking your empty bottles and cans to a Container Refund Scheme? To bringing your own water bottle? To composting? To buying recycled, to choosing not to buy fast fashion, rinsing your recyclables or minimising single-use plastics in your home?

Rebekah Brown

What Teachers are Learning About

Over the next two years myself, Ms Rebecca Stevenson and Ms Alison Ewyk will participate in professional development on the new Religious Education Scope and Sequence. It is in conjunction with the Catholic Education Office and CIT and called “Communities of Collaboration.”  We will participate in online sessions once a term that involve teachers from across the archdiocese.

Catholic Education Canberra and Goulburn has a shared vision and focus on empowering leaders and teachers to build a culture of excellence in Religious Education. Achieving this requires targeted professional learning and formation opportunities which develop understanding, knowledge and skill in teaching Religious Education, alongside possibilities of encounter.

We are excited to be part of this project and look forward to sharing our journey with you.

Catholic Life and Reflection

Mrs Watson and Mr Dopel are leading staff prayer this week. They chose to focus on last Sunday’s reading of Jesus in the wilderness.

The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to him. Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel.”

This was their reflection:

The Pope has announced that this year’s Lent will focus on the theme of the trials in the wilderness, drawing links between the Exodus of God’s people from Egypt and Jesus exodus to the desert prior to his torture and execution. 

The wilderness is the place of destruction and danger, of being tempted off one's path and of meeting God. Jesus finds God's path for him in the wilderness. Prayer is a wilderness time. It can be dangerous for it brings us in touch with the evil as well as with the good in ourselves. With practice, it introduces us to the peace of God in Christ - the harmony of the desert of Jesus. It is also the place of rededication to God and of finding the strength of God.

Last week I wrote about how I was thinking about prayer for Lent. Wild prayer…what a lovely concept. So that is my focus for Lent wild prayer.  Prayer that is from the heart and in the moment. Prayer that helps me to grapple with the good and the challenging. Prayer in the wilderness.

God bless.

Stephanie Stewart

Religious Education Coordinator

Notices from the Parish

Happy birthday to Jack R, Jiva J, Addison I, Lucius H, Desmond W, Timothy M, Zachary W and Samuel O who all celebrated a birthday over the last week.

This year we will be presenting a number of awards to students. Please see below the scedule for this term. Most awards will be handed out on a Thursday morning.

At St John the Apostle we teach a number of programs that focus on mastering particular knowledge and skills in literacy and numeracy. Students are taught based on their individual, current level of mastery. Two of the programs we teach are Spelling Mastery and Rocket Maths. We regularly collect data from students in both of these programs so we can track that they are having continous progress. Students work hard to achieve mastery in these programs, so we celebrate the students who show mastery in these programs by giving them awards.

Students will receive Spelling Mastery Awards once they reach mastery three times at their Spelling Mastery level. For some students this is 10/10 and for others it is 25/25. For Kindergarten students will receive Spelling Mastery Awards when they receive 10/10 for each unit they complete in Sounds~Write.

Students will receive Maths Mastery Awards each time they beat their Rocket Math Two Minute Goal.

This year we will also be presenting Brag Tag Awards. These will be handed out each time a student receives 20 brag tags. 

Brag Tag Awards

presented this Thursday 9th May, 8.50am (Week 2)

Award Schedule

School photography day is on Tuesday 26 March. Group and portrait photographs can be purchased by following the link below or by returning the order envelope with your payment to our photographer on school photo day.

2 easy ways to purchase:

1. Visa, MasterCard or PayPal
2. Cash – complete the envelope supplied and return it to our photographer on photo day

Or visit: www.advancedlife.com.au
And enter online order code: 21X CFH 6YT

School photography information:

• Online orders - do not require an envelope returned to your school
• Sibling Photos - Don’t forget to pre-order your sibling photos online up to 24 hours before photo day. We provide your school with a list of sibling orders right up to the day of photography, so no one misses out. If you miss the online order deadline, you can submit a completed sibling order envelope first thing in the morning of the day of photography, so your school is aware you want the photo taken and can bring your children together in time for it. Sibling photographs only apply to children enrolled at your school. Please note not all schools offer sibling photos
• Late fees - a late fee will be applied to each package purchased after photo day due to the additional cost of producing these packages separately
• Package delivery - School photographs will be returned approximately 6 weeks after the day of photography. Please note this delivery timeframe is dependent on proofing and additional photography days at your school.
• Previous Years’ photos - Past years’ photographs including sports, co-curricular and representative groups are also available to order under the “previous years or group photo” tabs at your school’s advancedorder site when you click on the “Order School Photos Here” button above. You can also order past packages, portrait images and gifts from your child’s unique, individual and secure advancedyou image archive site using the unique 9 digit image code found on packages you have ordered in the past

All students are required to wear their full summer school uniform on the day.

advancedlife would like to express our appreciation to St John The Apostle Primary School for placing your trust in us. Please remember we offer a 100% money back guarantee on our products to ensure your peace of mind. We would also love to receive your feedback or resolve any issues you may experience as fast as possible, to ensure your satisfaction. If you have any questions, comments or feedback relating to your advancedlife experience please contact us at: www.advancedlife.com.au/contact

Volunteers

Please sign up to volunteer at the below link:

https://www.signupgenius.com/tabs/13572DC02A2C2ECC4A18-fete1#/ 

Pre-sale/QKR payements

Performance Schedule

Every year, our studets do a dance performance at the Fete. The students have been learning dances during their Footsteps lessons each week. Please see the scheduled performance times. 

Kinder: 5:00 pm- 5:10 pm

Year 1: 5:10 pm - 5:20 pm

Year 2: 5:20 pm - 5:30 pm

Year 3: 5:30 pm - 5:40 pm

Year 4: 5:40 pm - 5:50 pm

Year 5: 5:50 pm - 6:00 pm

Year 6: 6:00 pm - 6:10 pm

Donations 

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.  If Kindergarten students would like to donate an item, they can choose any theme. Please see below images of past hampers. 

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

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

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

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

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

Year Six- 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 

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.

Thank you to the following businesses for sponsoring our school Fete!

Dice 4 Diversity

https://dice4diversity.com.au/

The Sewing Shoppe

https://www.sewingshoppe.com.au/fabric 

The Sewing Shoppe aims to inspire people by offering diverse patchwork and bag making courses to create that something special for yourself or others.  We have created a warm and friendly vintage inspired space to relax and create.  Please check our huge range of classes from bag making to patchwork.  We can supply all of your sewing essentials including haberdashery, thread, patterns, fabric and kits.  Come in and see us, we can't wait to meet you! 

Entice Travel

Entice Travel is a boutique travel agency that is passionately committed to creating captivating experiences and adventures that allow you to explore your world, your way, in your own time. 

Whether you are after a custom-designed indulgent holiday, a package deal or additional curated experiences, every travel detail is considered.

Personalised Service | 24/7 Availability | Bespoke Holidays & Experiences

https://www.enticetravel.com.au/  Ph: 6123 0567

Manuka Zambrero's 

We are located in MANUKA – Shop 10, 18 Flinders Way. We can’t wait to see you!

Balthees Cakes 

Award winning local business providing customised cakes, cupcakes, cookies and desserts for all occasions within the Canberra region (located in Belconnen)

Can be contacted through Facebook page and Instagram “Baltheescakes“ 

Phone number 0452184750 

Baltheescakes@gmail.com

Support our Fundraiser by purchasing a Membership to The Entertainment App & receive a bonus Membership extension of up to 4 months!

Great Entertainment book promotion
TO ORDER PLEASE CLICK HERE
 

We have proudly partnered with The Entertainment App to raise funds in 2024.
 
Please consider buying an Entertainment Membership today as 20% of the proceeds go directly to our Fundraiser.
 
Your Entertainment Membership not only unlocks exclusive access to unbeatable discounts at the best fine dining and family restaurants plus attractions and more, but also supports our community’s fundraising goals.  
 
And there’s no better time to buy a Membership – for a limited time only, you will score up to 4 Bonus Months on your Membership.  So, what are you waiting for?

Enjoy more time to savour the moments and create lasting memories whilst enjoying days out, dining, traveling, shopping and more at a discounted price.

TO ORDER PLEASE CLICK HERE

The Uniform Shop Opening Hours

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