Dear St John the Apostle families,

We finisheed this week on a very positive note! Many awards were handed out this morning to celebrate student achievement and positive student behaviour. Please see Rebekah B rown's section for the photos.

Term Overviews

Are you still wondering what your child is learning about this term? The Term Learning Overviews for each year level have all been posted on the school website. Please visit to learn more.

Help Our School Grow and Improve

In the coming week we are inviting students, teachers and parents to provide feedback on their experience of our school using an online survey. This survey is used by all Catholic schools in our Archdiocese. The surveys are an important part of our whole school evaluation and planning process.

We would like to invite you to complete the Tell Them From Me (TTFM) Partners in Learning survey. As we value the role of parents and carers within our school community we would greatly appreciate your feedback. The information you provide will be used to maintain our commitment to working together in partnership to further improve student learning and wellbeing at St John the Apostle.

The survey is anonymous and will take approximately 20 minutes to complete. It will be open until Friday 23rd August. You are able to access the parent survey on your computer or mobile device by using the link below:

Thank you for working together to help make St John the Apostle a great place for students to learn and grow.

Term Dates 2025

Catholic Education have informed schools of the Term Dates for all ACT Systemic Catholic Primary Schools for 2025. These are not determined by the school.

Catholic Education have determined additional pupil free days for staff professional learning, supporting the growth and development of excellent teachers in Catholic schools. This will involve the first Monday and the last Friday of each term.

Student attendance in 2025 will therefore include the following dates:

Term 1: Tuesday 4 February - Thursday 10 April

Term 2: Tuesday  29 April - Thursday  3 July

Term 2: Tuesday  22 July - Thursday 25 September

Term 4: Tuesday  14 October - Thursday 18 December

I hope this information assists with family planning for 2025. This information has been placed in our school calendar for easy reference. We will begin to populate the calendar with further event information as it is determined.

My Way+

MyWay+ is Transport Canberra’s next generation ticketing system which puts all public transport services in one place. It will offer more ways to pay for public transport and introduce new digital platforms for journey planning and accessing real-time information.

The switch over to MyWay+ will happen later this year. Until then, students should continue to use their current MyWay card or a paper ticket from a ticket vending machine to pay for travel on bus and light rail services.

Families should ensure their child’s MyWay card is registered to protect the balance, as Transport Canberra can only process refunds and transfer credits for registered MyWay cards. Please go to the following link to register your child's My Way balance:

Have a lovely weekend.

Matthew Garton

Principal

Awards all around!

Today we handed out the latest Spelling Mastery and Maths Mastery Awards to students. Congratulations to all of our students who have been working hard to achieve their best in Spelling Mastery and Rocket Maths.

We also handed out the Brag Tag Awards. So many students are displaying lots of examples of Respect Others, Respect Self and Respect the Environment!

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

What Staff are Learning About

I was lucky enough last week to attend an REC network day and a Key Leader Day. Both days were very insightful and interesting.

The Key Leader Day had an agenda that included presentations from Greg Sheridan (author and journalist) and Jacinta Collins (former Senator and current Executive Director of the National Catholic Education Commission for Australia). Both of these speakers brought a unique perspective on the challenges faced by Catholic, and in fact all, faith-based schools in the current climate. 

Managing our unique faith perspective and providing excellent academic education to all students in our schools is a continuing challenge. Being able to discuss this with colleagues, Principals and clergy provided an opportunity to hear wider points of view and a renewed passion for being proud of our Catholic worldview. We can continue to make Jesus known and loved, which is our mission as Catholic educators.

What Students are Learning About

This week across the school students have been learning about the Feast of the Assumption. The Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary every year on the 15^th August. On this Feast, Catholics traditionally celebrate Mary being assumed into heaven. The tradition is that ‘God took Mary, body and soul, to heaven after her life on earth had come to an end'.

The students were reverent and respectful during Mass.  They sang beautifully and responded clearly. Celebrating Mass with 350+ students and teachers is always a tad demanding but yesterday was pure joy and I found myself with time to pray and engage properly in the liturgy.  Well done St John's!

Catholic Life and Reflection

In this current climate teachers are very much sought after. Not my experience when I first started teaching as there was an excess and I didn’t find permanent work for 10 years after graduation. I took any job I could. 

Now I have a choice, and I choose to work in a Catholic school. Not just any Catholic school but this one. There are many reasons why St John’s is my place, but the overarching one is the MSC charism. The simple but profoundly complex notion of being on earth the heart of God.

I am both equally challenged and inspired by this mission. By always holding it in constant tension, I have been moved forward in my faith journey. I hope as a school community we have moved forward too.

The following is the prayer from MSC founder Jules Chevalier.

The Word,
Coming from the Heart of his Father,
made the world emerge from nothing;
and from the Heart of the Incarnate Word,
pierced on Calvary,

I see a new world emerging, the world of those he has chosen.
And this creation,
so fertile, full of grandeur, and inspired by love and mercy,
is the Church,
the mystical body of Christ
which makes this new creation
present on Earth
until the end of time.

(Le Sacre-Coeur de Jesus, Quatrieme ed. Paris 1900,  pg 145.)

Founder of the Missionaries of the Sacred Hert Jules Chevalier, 1824-1907

May the Sacred Heart of Jesus be everywhere loved...forever.

Stephanie Stewart

Religious Education Coordinator

Notices from the Parish

Latest Parish Compact 18th August 2024

What a wonderful week we've had in the library. In the lead up to Book Week, we had a visit from Sue Whiting. She inspired students and staff with insights into her writing process, as well as her wonderful stories.

On Wednesday, Mrs Levi and I took school captains Liliana and Olive to the National Library of Australia for the Chief Minister's Reading Challenge award ceremony. St John's won an award in the Years 3-4 category as 100% of students in those classes participated in the reading challenge. We are so proud of the students and the reading culture we have established at the school. 

Next week we are looking forward to the Book Character parade on Friday, and staff performing a play based on a classic Australian book for the students. Parents and carers are welcome to watch the parade on the rainbow top on Friday morning.

Emma Alcock

Teacher Librarian

Happy Birthday to Lilly Van Audenaerde, Jordan Brabec, Anna Tilija, Aria Wood, Drakzin Tshewang, Alexandra Lowther, Jacob O'Donnell, Lewis Bevan, Lincoln Abbott and Rachael Nguyen who all celebrated a birthday over the last week.

Opening Hours

It's Entertainment's 30th Birthday and we're teaming up with them to raise much-needed funds for our cause and give you a few goodies to celebrate too! 

For a limited time, buy any Single City Entertainment Membership and get a FREE upgrade to a Multi City Membership!
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All with a 12-month Entertainment Membership starting at just $70!

Grab this amazing offer now for your chance to win while saving up to 50% off restaurants, activities, shopping, and more.

Your membership also provide you access to discounted Woolworths gift cards to save money on your shopping and petrol each week
Thank you for your continued support!

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A friendly reminder that St Johns is a nut free school. Thank you.