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Please go to our school calendar on the website or COMPASS for more details.
Please note that the last day of Term 4 (17 December) is a pupil free days for professional learning for staff. Students do not attend school on this day. OSHClub will be available.
Term 3 Week 4-9
- Yr 3 Excursion Canberra Glassworks (week 4)
- Author visit - Sue Whiting (week 4)
- Feast of the Assumption Mass (week 4)
- Book Week - Reading is Magic (week 5)
- Book Week Parade (week 5)
- Yr 4 Excusrion - GEOScience Australia (week 5)
- Belconnen Region Athletics Carnival AIS (week 5)
- Class Mass 4B (week 5)
- Kinder Assembly (week 5)
- Aura Parker - Author visit (week 6)
- 4M Class Mass (week 6)
- Kinder Health Checks (week 7)
- Class Mass 3B (week 7)
- Year 2 Assembly (week 7)
- Year 5 Camp (week 7)
- Maths games (week 7)
- Incursion - Japanese Manga Artist & Cartoonist Kenny Chan (week 7)
- 3M Class Mass (week 8)
- ACT Athletics Championships
- Choir Floriade Performance (week 9)
- Class Mass 6B (week 9)
- Yr 4 Assembly (week 9)
School Focus and Positive Behaviour
The school positive behaviour focus this week was:
Right place, right time, right task.
Ngunnawal word of the week:
Mani (means 'run')
Dear St John the Apostle families,
It has been a very busy week this week so I will keep this week's column very short.
Last night we had a wonderful Trivia Night! It was a fabulous community event. Thank you to Stephanie Juskevics (mother of Ivy in Kindergarten) for organising the everything. Thank you to the Raiders club at Belconnen for providing a venue and to Mercure hotel Belconnen for their generous prize of an overnight stay for two people. There were many laughs and cheers as we tested our knowledge about the 90's. Let's do it again next year!
Congratulations to all of our Year 3 to 6 boys and girls who participated in the Oz Tag Gala days earlier this week. We had 7 teams participate! While no teams made it into the finals, every team had a great time playing together. Thank you to Mr Ryan Spencer, who organised the whole opportunity, and to the parents who helped with managing and coaching. The opportunity wouldn't have been possible without you.
Taking Leave
During Weeks 6-10 of this term I will be taking some Long Service Leave. I look forward to travelling with my wife and enjoying an adventure before returning in Term 4. During that time Ms Rebekah Brown will be Acting Principal and Ms Stephanie Stewart will be Acting Assistant Principal. Further details about temporary staff changes in that time will be communicated in the coming weeks.
This weekend, enjoy the sunny weather that promises of the coming spring days ahead of us.
Kind regards,
Matthew Garton
Principal
Teaching, Learning and Inclusion
100 Days of Kindergarten
On Monday, our Kindergarten students celebrated 100 days of Kindergarten. Miss Kennelly and Mr Doepel organised a wonderful day for our Kindergarten students.
They participated in a variety of 100 based activities. Some of these included creating a portrait of themselves as 100 years old, they created crowns, completed a 100 day activity booklet and tried to write their names as many times as they could in 100 seconds.
The Kindergartens also had a disco in the hall and paraded their wonderful costumes through the school. Thank you so much to Miss Kennelly and Mr Doepel for making this such a fun and exciting day for our Kindergarten students.
OzTag Gala Days
On Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, some students from Year 3-6 attended OzTag Gala Days. Thank you to Mr Spencer and Mrs Dess for organising this opportunity for our Year 3-6 students.
"Tuesday was the perfect Winter weather for the boys OzTag Gala Day. We had two, Year 5/6 teams and two, Year 3/4 teams representing St Johns, with every team having at least one win! The boys showed great skill and teamwork, often encouraging each other and supporting the other St Johns teams when they were having a break. Well done to all of the boys who attended on Tuesday." ~ Mrs Dess
"Even Though we only won our first game, it was a great day and an amazing experience. We all enjoyed spending time together, getting to know each other better, forming stronger bonds and doing what we love together. We want to thank all the teachers for the great OzTag day they planned for us." ~ Hayley Greenhalgh, Penelope Posantzis and Allira Richarson (Year 5)
"We won two out of our five games. It was an amazing day. Our teams and referees were very nice and all encouraged each other and shared the ball equally around each other. We also created a stronger bond, and learnt new team skills. Overall, we think it was very fun!" ~ Emma Duke and Alex Lowther (Year 6)
A "Bluey" Perspective
Join families from schools across the Archdiocese to hear Joe Brumm, the creator of Bluey, discuss his success with the children's show Bluey and his perspective on developing and maintaining positive relationships with our children (and their school) and the important role parents play in their child's learning and development.
This presentation is made possible by the support of Catholic Education Canberra and Goulburn and Catholic School Parents Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn.
Register here: https://events.humanitix.com/a-bluey-perspective
Rebekah Brown
Assistant Principal and Inclusion Coordinator
What Teachers are Learning About
Yesterday I attended an REC network day. An opportunity for all REC leaders across the archdiocese to receive input from our curriculum leaders. Yesterday, we went through the process of registration. Every four years we are required to show that we are meeting the targets for the government on how we teach, what we teach and how long we teach each subject area for. We need to be able to show that there is a clear connection between what is in the curriculum, including Religious Education, and what is happening in each classroom. It is an opportunity for us as a school to ensure we are on track and if not to make the necessary adjustments. Our turn will come next year. Yesterday helped me to plan out what I am going to do support teachers in the coming weeks and months to ensure we are compliant for Religion.
What Students are Learning About
Year 2 have begun a new unit in Religious Education. They have begun by brainstorming what they know about Jesus. I was very impressed with 2M’s responses. I can’t wait to see what they know at the end of the unit!
Catholic Life and Reflection
I have spent a lot of time with family over the past few weeks. What I have loved about this time is seeing people I have not seen for many years and feeling that instant connection. My cousins with whom, I spent endless days at my Oma’s house climbing trees, building cubbies, stealing fruit. This was quite a feat as I lived in Brisbane until I was 14 but we still had a very strong connection.
As we reminisced over those long, lovely days we all come to the conclusion that we are so blessed, even with the complications that a large family brings, to have had this basic understanding of family that we show up. We just show up for each other. Maybe it is because our parents and grandparents had to build a new life in this luckiest of countries and family was all they had.
Speaking to Father Riosa, who joined us for afternoon tea with the family, he said that really all you have to do is be present. Maybe you don’t have the right words but just being there is all people need sometimes. Hard to argue with that.
John 14:16-17
New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate,[a] to be with you forever. 17 This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in[b] you.
God bless,
Stephanie Stewart
Religious Education Coordinator
Notices from the Parish
Last Tuesday St John’s were very lucky to have Mitch Tambo visit our school. It is always fun to host a Performing Arts Incursion here at St John’s and we have had many amazing performers over the years.
Mitch Tambo is an Australian World Music Star and is touring Australia with his “Walanbaa Youth Tour.”
He has sung in Australia’s Got Talent, entered his own original song for Eurovision, and performed with John Farnham, Olivia Newton John and Brian May from Queen at the 2020 Australian Firefight Relief Concert.
Mitch raised the St John’s hall roof, providing a pumping First Nations cultural presentation for our school. The music, interaction with our students and singing was vibrant, engaging and fun! Many students have reported back that they have been on his website links, listening to and sharing his music and talent with family and friends.
Below are some photos and video’s of Mitches performance, including a QR code with links to his websites.
Please have a look and listen if you get the chance!
We were blessed with a gorgeous day for our Mini Olympics last Friday. There are 39 different nationalities of students at St John the Apostle Primary School. It was great to see the pride students had in carrying the flag for their particular country, or seeing their flag represented.
The Mini Olympics student committee did a fantastic job helping to come up with ideas, organize and run events, carry flags and help make the gold medals which were given to all students. Events included breaking, number hockey, equestrian, egg and spoon, running races and European handball. The Year Ones did a wonderful job with their Prayer assembly and singing ‘Hello to all the Children of the World’.
Thank you to our student committee, all the students in the school that helped to colour the flags, carry the flags and those that went in our ‘Design a Medal’ competition. Seven students’ designs were chosen for our Olympic Gold Medals for 2024. Well done Eli Bronar (4M), Ethan Campbell (6B), Allira Richardson (5B), Zara Thorpe (6B), James Thurbon (5M), Lillah Johnson (2M) and Diyana Weerarathna (KM).
Thank you to teachers for your support of this event. The Olympic team spirit was alive and well and we hope we can continue this pride of self and country throughout our time ahead and always try to do our best in whatever we undertake in the future.
The Mini Olympic Committee
Mary-Ann Fraser, Olivia Etzrodt, Kate MacDonald, Bree Dess
Happy Birthday to Emily Thexton, Shanaya Siraj, William Watman, Allegra cockburn, Charlotte McCabe, Ava King, Charlie Jopling, Hiba Irfan and Brenda Gao who all celebrated a birthday over the last week.
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.
Select students participating in an extension writing program will receive a Writing Mastery Award, when they achieve 85% on an allocated writing task.
This year we will also be presenting Brag Tag Awards. These will be handed out each time a student receives 20 brag tags.
Week |
Award |
Week Three |
Next weeks award recipients in Newsletter |
Week Four |
Brag Tag Awards Spelling Mastery Awards Rocket Maths Awards presented |
Week Five |
Next weeks award recipients in Newsletter |
Week Six |
Spelling Mastery Awards presented Brag Tag Awards presented |
Week Seven |
Next week award recipients in Newsletter |
Week Eight |
Rocket Maths Awards presented Spelling Mastery Awards presented Brag Tag Awards Notify end of term award families. |
Week Nine |
Next week award recipients in Newsletter |
Week Ten |
Spelling Mastery Awards presented Brag Tag Awards presented Rocket Maths Awards presented |
Brag Tag Awards - presented on Friday 16th August, 8.50am (Week 4)
Charlotte Speehley | Oliver Wilson | Heidi Pearson |
Tia McNamara | Ethellyna Balthazar | Henry Bradbury |
Desmond Walsh | Rigzang Tshewang | Bailee Kisgeorge |
Abel White | Jackson Loricchiella | Asher Mutinhima |
Clyde Lomax | George Ackerman | Lilijana Tundulin |
Amelia Peisker | Ebube Iloelunachi | Bettina Morris |
Allira Richardson | Penelope Posantzis | Ethan Zaretzky |
Evelina Nilsson | Rose Holding | Isabelle Jeffs |
Zara Thorpe | Charlotte Pieterse | Timothy Masterman |
Zachary Williams | Diyana Weerarthna | Ella Butler |
William Huskisson | Allegra Cockburn | Toby Blackford |
Olive Glowrey | Benjamin Bevan | Sophie Clifford |
Charlie Jopling | Arzoi Sehgal | Victor Lomax |
Kinley Tshultrim | Alexandra Lowther | Hugo Mullins |
Aarzah Singh |
Spelling Mastery Awards - presented on Friday 16th August, 8.50am (Week 4)
Kindergarten
Arlen Cole
Bailey Da Silva
Ariella Grebowski
Zane Guidloin
Wells Lomax
Harper Ollevou
Penelope OG
Oscar Pardy
Amelia Rize
Evelyn Wijnberg
Jordan Wills
Jordan Brabec
Grace Garang
William Huskisson
Adaline Jozwiak
Timothy Masterman
Jacob Wooden
Year 3
Solomon Azzam
Mackenzie Knight
Oskar El-Geddes
Lewys Candy
Dodrul Thukten
Ruby Shean
Logan Campbell
Kudrat Kaur
Year 4
Ashley Clifford
Lilijana Tundulin
Sophie Peisker
Isabella Speechley
Ryan Richardson
Theodore Cockburn
Vincent Nolan
Year 5
Austin Patrzalek
Xavier Gyles
Year 6
Emma Duke
Kelvin Nguyen
Alexa Chilley
Bailee Kisgeorge
Ben Bevan
Writing Mastery Awards - presented on Friday 16th August, 8.50am (Week 4)
Year 5
Xavier Bonny
Gauri Dwivedi
Vincent Nott
Maths Mastery Awards - presented on Friday 16th August, 8.50am (Week 4)
Year 1
Ethellyna Balthazar
Henry Bradbury
Edie Brennan
Ava Kraljevic
Sian Kim
Roscoe Moulds
Kingsley Onyekaike
James Stephensen
Troy KHALUE-REINDL
Tia MCNAMARA
Daniel QUINN
Zoi SEHGAL
Year 2
Allegra COCKBURN
Patrick GLENN-DOWNEY
Bevan HILHORST
Charlie JOPLIING
Jackson LORICCHIELLA
Casper NOLAN
Amelia PEISKER
Aarzah SINGH
Abel WHITE
Cameron Broadhurst
Beau Carr
Tommy Cole
Ryan Dixon
Grace Guidolin
Sky Ho
Addison Irvine
Henry Larkin
Camille McDOnald
Nate Purcell
Rihaan Salhotra
Rylee Terron
Evelyn Wedd
Grace Whitfield
Emma Wooden
Liam Zaretzky
Year 3
Thomas Anderson
Solomon Azzam
Sonam Drolma
Lachlan Frankom
Pia Gallana
Mariam Hameed
Martin Howes
Nicolas Lester
Reedhee Pandey
Anna Tilija
Jigme Wangmo
Tymon Amrado
Kyler Ascence
Chloe Han
Victor Lomax
Austin Matthews
Year 4
Jayden Amrado
Penelope Ayton
Jessica Gao
Henry Jopling
Chloe Larkings
Samuel O’Donnell
Liam Rix
Lachlan Stephens
Riley Stockman
Elspeth Stone
Katie Neiberding
Aluel Ajang
Ashley Clifford
Theodore Cockburn
Hugo Gabellone
Matthew Hall
Hiba Irfan
Harvey Irvine
Saba Khoram
Marian Le
Fiesta Maka
Jackson Moulds
Steven Pham
Rylan Richardson
Alex Sandrai
Isabella Speechely
Year 5
Chelsea Badenhorst
Xavier Bonny
Gauri Dwivedi
Sophie Khadka
Clyde Lomax
James Maddox
Grace Payne
Illeana Rozario
Alana Stonham
Roman Dulgerov
Evie Matthews
Evelina Nilsson
Vincent Nolan
Henry Ton-That
Thayoee Norbu
Opening Hours
The Uniform Shop will be open during the following:
Friday 16 August - 8.30am-9.30am
If you have any questions or concerns please email the uniform shop on stjohnsclothingpool@gmail.com
Too often we forget what it’s like to be a child. We forget the anxieties and nervousness, and even the fear of getting things wrong or disappointing our parents. We forget what it’s like to not understand. We can try to understand our child’s perspective, but we consistently find it hard to see through their eyes.
This is something that our children themselves may not be able to do yet. Developmental researchers have identified an important capability called ‘Theory of Mind’. Studies suggest that from around age five, we develop the capacity to see the world through another’s eyes and to take their perspective. Prior to that, the brain is too immature and undeveloped to recognise that others might have an alternative perspective to their own. They are entirely egocentric. It’s all about them. They don’t care if we disagree. It’s irrelevant. Their view is the only one.
Once their perspective capability kicks in—that is, once they’ve developed Theory of Mind—our children understand that just because they can see things one way, it doesn’t mean others can also experience the same perspective—especially if they’re in another place.
Just because adults can see another perspective doesn’t mean we do. In fact, people with power (like parents) are less empathetic—less likely to look through another’s eyes—than those with less power. We become impatient and demanding. We seek compliance. We get absorbed in solving our problems rather than understanding theirs.
“You did what!?”
A few years ago I received an email from a mum who had a beautiful story to tell:
I walked downstairs into my lounge room and saw my 4 year-old son surrounded by clothes. Then it dawned on me. The clothes baskets that I had left on the floor – the ones that held 4 loads of washing and ironing I’d just completed – were now empty. He was standing in the middle of the clothes, picking each item up and throwing it into the air. As he threw the clothing, he burst out laughing. So did his 18 month-old brother, who was watching the destruction of my washing like it was entertainment.
I was just about to blast him. I knew all the things I wanted to say. And once I’d said it, he was going straight to time out.
But then… I remembered you saying I should try to see the world through his eyes. I paused. In my eyes he was being a brat, intent on demolishing all of my hard work. But in his eyes, perhaps he was something else.
Mustering all my self-control I quietly and calmly asked him, “What are you doing with all of that washing and ironing?”
He turned around when he heard my voice, smiled, and said, “Hi Mum.” It was like nothing had happened. I asked him again. Then he gave me this sweet explanation:
You were asleep upstairs, and Josh (his little brother) was getting upset and I was scared he would wake you up. I started throwing things and it made him happy so you could sleep.
Seeing Beyond Behaviour
If we are honest with ourselves, most of us will admit that we get things wrong from time to time when it comes to parenting and our children. We might get mad at a child for losing her shoes, and then realise we put them outside after we washed them. Or we might get cross at a child for not doing what we asked only to find out he was doing something for his dad, or his brother, or for someone else.
If our children were icebergs, their behaviour would be what we see above the water, but the larger part of the iceberg rests below the surface. This remains invisible unless we take the time to understand what is down there. Feelings, developmental progress, the broader context, and more all contribute to our children’s behaviour. Rather than getting mad at our children for being difficult or inconvenient we should try to see the world through their eyes.
It may be one of the hardest things for us to learn to do as a parent. We are always operating on our agenda and we expect our children to fall into line and step with us. While there are times when children do inexplicable, unexplainable things with nasty motives, those situations are typically rare. Even in those instances, a deep unmet need may be the driver of the challenging behaviour.
Dr Justin Coulson
Dr Justin Coulson is a dad to 6 daughters and grandfather to 1 granddaughter. 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.
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