Welcome to Term 4

I am very pleased to be joining the St John the Apostle community for Term 4. It is a special time in both our school year and our Church year, and I feel blessed to be sharing it with you.

During the holidays, the Chapel received a small refresh. You are warmly invited to use this space before or after school for personal or family prayer. Rosary beads and Bibles have been placed in the Chapel for your use. It is also simply a peaceful space to pause for quiet reflection or meditation. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if there are any additional resources that would help you make use of this space.

What the Children Are Learning

Throughout October, our focus will be on the Rosary. The Church dedicates this month to the Rosary, beginning with the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. We will be exploring how meditative prayer helps us grow in faith and supports our sense of calm and wellbeing.

Students will learn about the history of the Rosary and the meaning behind each of its prayers.

Staff and Parent Reflection: The Rosary and Our Wellbeing

The Rosary has deep roots in the life of the Church. Before it became the structured prayer we know today, people recited simple prayers as they worked, helping them stay close to God and grounded in gratitude. For us as educators, parents, and carers, this tradition reminds us that prayer can be woven into the ordinary rhythm of life.

Its gentle, meditative nature offers calm and steadiness amid the busyness of school and family life. When we make time for prayer and reflection, we nurture our own wellbeing and faith, and we model for our children the peace that comes from stillness and gratitude.

Mary, the Mother of God, shows us how to live with courage, compassion, and openness to God’s call. Her example encourages us to respond with patience and love in our daily work and family life.

The Rosary invites both adults and children to draw strength from this rhythm of peace—to breathe more deeply in God’s love and to share that love through kindness, hope, and gentle presence.

Children’s Week 18 October – 26 October 2025. 

Next week we will be celebrating Children’s Week. Children’s Week is a national celebration of children’s rights, held each year across Australia around the fourth Wednesday in October. It highlights the rights of children to thrive, learn, play and be heard, as set out in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).

Children's Week Theme 2025

The Children’s Week National Theme for 2025 is based on UNCRC Article 42:

Everyone should know about Children’s Rights!

We will be celebrating Children’s Week with class prayers and a Teddy Bears’ Picnic on Thursday. Children are invited to bring a teddy bear or snuggle toy to join in the fun. Please ensure that this is not one of your child’s favourite or most special toys, as accidents can sometimes happen at school and we would hate for anything to happen to a treasured item.

Happy Birthday to Muhammad Hani, Edith Brdbury, Rohanika Khattri, Tia McNamara, Kiri Foster, Rylee Terron, Lachlan Frankcom, Annika Nilsson, April Malcolm, Lilijana Tundulin, Maxwell Wheatley, Corbin O'Mahony, Diyana Weerarathna, Natasha Speehley, Sky Ho, Henry Ton-That, Grace Whitfield, Chloe Han, Madelyn Borscz, Henry Pieterse, Nutjari Bowler, Nathan Adimonye, Amara Melpa, Martin Howes, Sean Ojo, Austin Matthews, Jigme Wangmo, Penelope Ayton and Prit Brahmbhatt who all celebrate a birthday in October.

The Mango Fundraiser

Do you or family members love mangoes? Here’s your chance to indulge in fresh juicy Kensington Pride mangoes direct from the North Queensland farm to you! 

For term 4, we will be running The Mango Fundraiser. 

Mangoes are $30 per tray (7kg, approximately 12-23 mangoes) with money raised to be used toward school shading. 

Orders are open via the Qkr! App under 'Community Council Events' and close Thursday 30 October. 

Mangoes will be picked at the optimal time with delivery to the school (and pick up) anticipated late November/early December. Pick up details will be advised closer to this time. 

Grill'd Belconnen Local Matters

 Following the opportunity in July where we received $100 for our school, we have been chosen again to have a jar at Grill'd Belconnen for the month of October! 

Grill'd gives back to its local communities, right around Australia, through its Local Matters program.  

How it works: 

When customers purchase a burger at the Belconnen Grill'd restaurant, they will receive a token to place in 1 of 3 jars. Online orders also receive virtual tokens.  

At the end of the month, the community group with the most tokens receives $300 and the remaining two groups receive $100 each.  

So make Grill'd Belconnen your dinner or takeaway choice this October! 

Community Council Chairperson Role

The Community Council Chair Role will be up for election at the term 4, week 3 Community Council meeting. To be elected you will need to be present and be prepared to say a few words to the council. 

The Chair provides leadership and direction for the Council by working cooperatively and collaboratively with the Principal to assist the Council to fulfill its role and: 

1. Work with the Principal and the Council Executive to develop and approve the annual School Community Council Plan and coordinates the Council to deliver the events and activities contained therein. 
2. Work with the Principal and Secretary to develop the agenda for each Council meeting. 
3. Preside at meetings of the Council Executive and Council as Chairperson, and if absent, nominates another Council Executive Member to preside. 
4. Ensure the efficient running of meetings. 
5. Ensure that minutes of the previous meeting are endorsed as being an accurate record of what took place, and 
6. Ensure that the Council Executive provides regular reports to Council meetings and otherwise keeps the school community up to date on the activities of Council. 

If you are interested in this role or have questions about it, please contact the current chair Max Rixe at max@rixegroup.com.au. Thanks! 

The Uniform Shop

Opening Hours 

Fridays 8:30- 9:30

If you have any questions please email the uniform shop at stjohnsclothingpool@gmail.com 

Upcoming events

That’s all from us for this week, happy school holidays!

Kelly Wooden (parent from 1B/3M)

SJAPS Community Council member

We will be holding a professional family portrait fundraiser on the weekend of the 15th and 16th November 2025. 

St John the Apostle Primary School Tickets, Western Foreshore Park, Belconnen | TryBooking Australia"

School Uniform

Term 4 sees the return of our summer uniform. Our usual change over from winter to summer is 2 weeks. 

Please make sure that your child/children are by week 3 wearing their summer school uniform. Clothing and hats are available from our Uniform shop.

Black leather school shoes are to be worn on non school sport days as a friendly reminder. Children may bring their joggers to school to change into on non sports days.

Please refer to the policy on school uniforms. School Uniform

Families Leaving St John the Apostle

As we begin preparations for 2026, it is important for the school to have accurate enrolment projections. If you haven't already, we ask you to contact the front office if your family will be moving interstate, or has made the decision to choose another school for your child in 

We are seeing an increasing amount of issues coming to school from the inappropriate use of ICT at home.  This seems to be centered around Roblox and children’s messenger.

As we guide our children to grow in wisdom and faith, it’s also important to help them stay safe online. Please take time this week to:

• Remind your child never to share personal information (name, address, school, passwords) online.
• Encourage open conversations about what they see and do on devices.
• Set healthy screen time limits and ensure devices are used in shared family spaces.
• Remind children to treat others with kindness online, just as they would face-to-face.

Did you know that most social media platforms—including Instagram, TikTok, Roblox, Snapchat and Facebook—have a minimum age requirement of 13 years old? This rule is in place to help protect children from risks such as:

• Inappropriate or harmful content
• Online bullying or peer pressure
• Sharing personal information too early
• Contact with strangers

We encourage families to be aware of these age limits and to talk with their children about safe and positive ways to use technology. Children under 13 are best supported by using age-appropriate apps, educational tools, and supervised communication platforms. Together, as family and school, we can nurture safe and respectful digital citizens. 

Education for Life

You may notice a big van parked in our car park in early November. All of our students will be thrilled to attend a 60 or 90 minute interactive lesson delivered by Healthy Harold and specialist Health Educators. The face-to-face lessons will be accompanied by a range of pre and post visit lessons to reinforce and extend the learning. The lessons will cover a range of topics across the three core areas of: physical health, safety and social and emotional wellbeing.

Our students will cover the following units:
* Online safety education including strategies for recognising, reacting and reporting predatory or unsafe situation
* Strategies to deal with bullying and cyberbullying
* Resilience, self-awareness, self-management and social awareness
* Respectful relationships and consent
* Decisions, peer pressure, responsibility and consequences
* Drug education in age- appropriate contexts
* Ways to keep safe at home, school and in the community

Healthy Harold merchandise is able to be purchased through the online Healthy Harold store. Simply select 'Parent/carer ordering for child', choose the desired items, add them to the cart, and complete the checkout process. Online orders will close on Monday 3^rd November. All items will be delivered by the Life Ed educator during Healthy Harold 's visit to St John the Apostle.

https://lifeed.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/UPDATED-Online-store-parent-flyer.pdf

To reinforce key learning at home and support ongoing conversations about health and wellbeing the following information can be viewed by all parents and carers. https://lifeed.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Life-Ed-NSWACT-Parent-Flyers-2025.pdf 

Dyslexia

This week marks Dyslexia Awareness Week, a special opportunity to shine a spotlight on dyslexia and raise understanding across our community.

What is Dyslexia?

Dyslexia is a language-based reading disorder. It affects how a person learns to read, spell, and write accurately and fluently, despite having the desire to do so.
People with Dyslexia often:

• struggle with letter–sound relationships
• read more slowly or with more effort than peers
• make errors in spelling (sometimes guessing or substituting words)
• avoid reading or writing tasks because they feel hard Reading and Writing Disorders External link

Dyslexia does not reflect intelligence. Many children with dyslexia are very bright, curious and capable; they simply learn and see the world differently.

In every classroom, 5-10% of students will have Dyslexia. At SJA we take pride in early identification and the right supports make a real difference to these students' long term academic and social-emotional outcomes. This October, watch new videos on the Reading and Writing Disorders website to learn more and raise awareness to help kids find their voice. 

https://youtu.be/JZF1xZxBihc

Exclusive to St John the Apostle Primary School Students

Little Coders After-School (Years Kinder flyer_2025_AS_Little_Coders_Discount_St_John_the_Apostle_Primary_School_After_School_Term_4_2025_18063791657249274090.pdf– 2)

Your child will love the fun and interactive way we teach kids to code at Little Coders. In fact, it’s so much fun, they won’t realise they’re learning! Throughout the term, our students discover the basics of coding and take their first steps to becoming a coding superstar via fun, age-appropriate explanations, real-world scenario demos, games and group activities. Each week they will learn a new coding concept and apply this knowledge to code different games using drag and drop coding blocks within Code Camp World (our purpose-built coding platform).

SECURE YOUR SPOT: https://my.codecamp.com.au/course/5961

There are limited spots for this class. Register today!

Starting Mon, 20 Oct 2025

Families can leave a voicemail for Code Camp on 1300 263 322 or hello@codecamp.com.au for any other info.

Morning!

I hope that week 1 is off to a great start! I just wanted to send across the details for the remaining Netball ACT school gala days this year.  

Boy Division:

I also wanted to share that thanks to enough expressions of interest we are able to confirm that the boy's division will be running at the Year 5/6 South Gala Day on the 13th of November. This is in addition to the standard mixed division. Teams from Northside are also welcome to enter this competition given that there is not currently a boy's division on offer at the remaining Northside Gala Days. 

South Year 3/4 - 6^th of November @South Canberra Netball Association

Registration closes on Thursday the 30th of October 

South Year 5/6 - 13^th of November @South Canberra Netball Association

• Addition of the boy's division to this gala day!

Registration closes on Thursday the 6^th of October 

North Year 3/4 - 18^th of November @Solarhub Netball ACT

Registration closes on Tuesday the 11^th of November

North Year 5/6 - 11^th of November @Solarhub Netball ACT

Registration closes on Tuesday the 4^th of November

To complete your teams registration please follow the link to PlayHQ: https://www.playhq.com/netball-australia/register/30d55c

I look forward to see your teams there!

Have a great remainder of your week,

Keira O'Connor | Participation Coordinator and Competitions Administrator| Netball ACT 

Southwell Park, Northbourne Avenue, Lyneham ACT 2602 | PO Box 423, Dickson ACT 2602 

Phone: 02 6241 4088 | Mobile: 0488 947 850  

Web: act. netball.com.au

Time Is Love: Why Being Present Matters More Than Ever

In the whirlwind of school runs, work meetings, laundry piles, and life’s endless to-do lists, it’s easy for family time to fall to the bottom of our priorities. We’re “there” with our children, but are we truly with them?

One powerful truth from our family’s journey—and from years of research and real-world parenting—is this: To our kids, love is spelled T-I-M-E.

The Surprising Thing Our Kids Told Us

In our home, we’ve developed a simple but powerful tradition we call PPIs—Personal Parenting Interviews. It began with a parenting checklist that challenged us to see ourselves through our children’s eyes. Questions like:

• Do my parents listen to me with genuine interest?
• Do they spend time with me just because they want to?
• Do I feel like they care about what’s important to me?

Wanting honest answers, my wife, Kylie, nervously sat down with our kids and asked them directly what we were doing well as parents, what wasn’t working, and how we could improve. It was raw and real. Sometimes confronting. But it brought deep connection—and clarity.

Their answers? What mattered most wasn’t perfection. It wasn’t expensive holidays, big birthday parties, or how much we earned.

What they cherished most was simple: time.

Time to talk. Time to play. Time to cry, laugh, or walk together. Time where they felt seen and heard—not rushed or “fit in” between everything else.

The Challenge for All of Us

It can feel overwhelming to add “spending more time with the kids” to an already overloaded schedule. But this isn’t about adding more pressure. It’s about recognising what actually makes the biggest difference.

Your children want your presence. They want you. YOU. Because you’re that big and important in their lives!.

Even teenagers—those fiercely independent, eye-rolling, door-slamming teens—still crave connection. One of our older daughters recently asked for a walk along the beach after a long day. I was exhausted. I almost said no. But I got up and went. Five kilometres and one heart-to-heart later, she was all smiles—and so was I.

What Can You Do Right Now?

Here are a few simple ways you can start prioritising time and connection in your family, even in small, meaningful doses:

1. Create Moments, Not Events

You don’t need hours—sometimes just 10–15 minutes of undivided attention means the world. A bedtime chat. A shared joke. A walk around the block. A spontaneous milkshake run. A choice to ignore your phone, the red notifications, the emails, and the addictive algorithm for five minutes so you can spend it with your child.

2. Ask These 3 Questions

Start your own version of the “PPI” with your kids:

• What’s going well?
• What’s not?
• How can we do better?

You might be surprised by what they say—and how seen they feel just by being asked.

3. Be Interruptible

Sometimes connection comes at inconvenient times—like when you’re falling into bed or reading a book. If they’re reaching out, consider pausing the task and tuning in. These moments matter. (Note – they are often unlikely to interrupt you on a device. And you are unlikely to budge when you’re on one. Be careful with how screens make you appear to your child.)

4. Make Time Their Way

Each child connects differently. One might want to chat. Another prefers side-by-side activities like cooking or gaming. Follow their lead.

5. Remember: It’s Not Forever

The days can feel long, but the years are short. Before we know it, they’ll be grown. And what they’ll remember most isn’t how clean the house was, but whether we were there—really there.

Just like dollars are the currency of our economy, connection (feeling seen, heard, and valued) is the currency of our relationships.

Parenting isn’t about being perfect. It’s about being present. In a world full of distractions and pressures, choosing to give our children our time is one of the most powerful ways we say “I love you.”

So tonight, even if you’re tired, pause for a moment. Ask a question. Play that card game. Sit on the edge of their bed and just listen.

Because in your child’s eyes, love is spelled T-I-M-E—and that’s what they’ll remember.

Written by Dr Justin Coulson

A friendly reminder that St John the Apostle is a nut free school. Thank you.