In Parishes throughout the Diocese of Wollongong, we celebrate the 1st Sunday of Lent Year B. Last Sunday's Gospel marks the beginning of Jesus’ battle with Satan; the ultimate test will be in Jesus’ final hours on the cross. Fr Francis, in his homily on Sunday, reminded us that in a similar way, our Lenten observances are only a beginning, a preparation for and a reinforcement of our ongoing struggle to resist the temptations we face in our lives. During Lent, we are led by the Holy Spirit to remember the vows of Baptism in which we promised to reject sin and to follow Jesus. Just as Jesus was ministered to by the angels, God also supports us in our struggle against sin and temptation. We succeed because Jesus conquered sin once and for all in his saving death on the cross.

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome to the Week 4 school newsletter and the 4th week of learning at St John’s. Last week we began the season of Lent with Ash Wednesday liturgies as a way of celebrating the most important season of our church year and the basis of our faith. We believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the only son of God, and we use this event as a way of living out our own lives.  We are all called to be bearers of Christ’s love and light as we go about our daily lives, especially during the seasons of Lent and Easter.  

Fr. Francis reminded us in his homily on Ash Wednesday the actions required by all of us in bringing us closer to God during our journey in Lent and leading up to Easter. During this time, we are called to deal with the practice of three kinds of religious acts: charitable giving, praying and fasting.

On Tuesday, 13 February 2024, Australia commemorated the 16th anniversary of the National Apology to the Stolen Generations. In 2008, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd presented this apology in the Australian Parliament which was a momentous occasion of recognition and reconciliation in our nation's history. 

At St John's, we are committed to walking together with our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander sisters and brothers in a spirit of true reconciliation. One way of expressing this commitment is to acknowledge this apology in our school community. Thank you to Ms Peta Idstein, who planned a special prayer ceremony that students engaged in on Tuesday morning.

Caritas Project Compassion Launch

The season of Lent begins with Ash Wednesday, which also marks the beginning of the annual Caritas Australia Project Compassion Appeal. On Tuesday, 13 February 2024, Sr Narelle and I accompanied our school captains, Raine and Henry, at the Project Compassion launch. This significant event was held at John Therry Catholic College and was attended by representatives from all Catholic Schools in the Diocese of Wollongong. Donations to Project Compassion allows Caritas Australia, the Catholic Agency for International Aid and Development, to work with local communities around the world to end poverty, promote justice and uphold dignity.

Whole School Liturgy and School Leaders Induction

On Friday 16 February, we celebrated a very prayerful and reverent Mass with the whole school community, parents and carers and the St John's Parish to celebrate and give thanks for the 2024 school year and to commission our Year 6 Leaders. At this celebration of the Eucharist our student leaders were officially inducted to their significant student leadership roles for 2024. 

School Captains
Henry I
Raine P

School Representative Council
Nicola L
Kyah A
Caydence L
Ruby SC
JayK
Emily Z
Nina J
Jaxon W
Elden B
Joel M

Sports Captains
Ward House
Bronte B and Ash G

McCabe House
Isabelle N and Caitlyn W

MacKillop House
Aria B and Izaiah N

Joseph House
Daniel P and Presten T

Parents and Friends Executive Team for 2024

On Tuesday, 13 February, a number of parents and carers were able to join together for the St John’s Parents and Friends Committee’s Annual General Meeting and Term 1 meeting. I would like to acknowledge and thank the Parents and Friends Committee for their ongoing support. I would like to thank the outgoing Parents and Friends Executive Team on behalf of our staff and students and thank them for their years of support and dedication, especially with Fund-raising. It is through their initiatives that our students continue to access the curriculum through the provision of many resources, including Library Resources and Well-being Days.

A special thanks to Jodie Maloney for her leadership as the St John’s Parents and Friends Association President for the past year.  Jodie has been instrumental in her role as the Parents and Friends President and I would like to personally thank Jodie for her support, care and amazing collaboration.

Congratulations to the following parents and carers who were appointed positions at the Annual General Meeting.

President: Jodie Maloney

Vice President: Ashleigh Balliana

Secretary: Renee Whiteside

Treasurer: Ashlee Luis

Assistant Treasurer: Elton Coltheart

St John's is very fortunate to have a culture of collaboration with parents and carers, and we will continue this collaboration in 2024, especially through the Parents and Friends Association.

School and Parent and Carer Collaboration

In 2023 St John's Catholic Parish Primary School engaged in a School Cyclic Inquiry process. Feedback from parents and carers as part of the school cyclic inquiry process outlined that parents and carers would like to know more about their child's learning. A continued priority for St John’s is Parent and Carer Engagement in their child’s learning, well-being, spiritual growth and attainment. Outlined below are a number of processes that the school community have put in place this term to engage parents and carers in their child’s learning, well-being, spiritual growth and attainment. These processes include:

Parent Input Forms were distributed to parents and carers in Week 3 on Tuesday, 13 February. This provided an opportunity for parents and carers to share information with the classroom teacher highlighting your child’s strengths and other relevant information. Thank you to those parents and carers who have returned the input forms.  

Parent and Carer Grade Information Power points were shared with parents and carers at the end of Week 3 Friday 16 February. The Parent and Carer Grade Information Power points are an opportunity to further understand the content of the  learning for each grade and the expectations and key dates and information pertinent to learning. 

Individual Parent and Carer and Teacher Learning Conversations will be facilitated in weeks 10 and 11 of Term 1. The learning conversations are an opportunity for parents and carers to engage in the learning that has occurred in classrooms and understand further the learning attainment and growth of their child. Parents and carers are encouraged to provide feedback to the school about their child's educational experience.

At St John's we certainly value the relationship and partnership we have with our parents and carers. In this partnership, the responsibility for student’s learning, well-being and faith development is shared between parents and carers as the first and primary educator of their child, and the school community. Thank you to our parents and carers for this wonderful partnership.

St John’s Swimming Carnival 2024

On Thursday, 15 February, students in Years 3 to 6 participated in the St John's Annual Swimming Carnival. Our students were very excited to participate in a planned community event. It was a fabulous day whereby our students exhibited the St John’s spirit and sportsmanship, encouraging each other to try their best. 

Thank you to Mrs Michelle Atkins for her tireless work and excellent organisation of the event and to the amazing staff and parent helpers who supported Mrs Atkins.

I look forward to joining Fr. Francis, the St John's staff and school community at the 9:30 am Mass on Sunday to commission the Parish Catechists, St John's staff and the blessing of the backpacks for our kindergarten students. 

Yours in Faith and Learning,

Mrs Michelle Rodwell 
Principal

Acknowledgement to Country

St John’s Dapto acknowledges and pays respect to the Dharawal people, past and present, the traditional custodians of the land on which our school is built.

Season of Lent

We are now in the Season of Lent - a time of reflection and renewal as we prepare for Easter.

"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me." - Psalm 51:10

This year, Project Compassion brings us the stories of three resilient women from three different corners of the world. They are facing vastly different challenges, but are all united by one dream: to create a better tomorrow for all future generations.​

Ronita from the Philippines. Ronita lives with her husband and two children in a barangay (local district) in Quezon City, which is situated in Metro Manila in the Philippines. She went back to school to finish her education so that she could earn income to support her children.

Leaia from Samoa. Not having access to a reliable source of clean water was very difficult for Leaia and her family. But, with the support of Caritas Australia, a water tank was installed at their home, improving their health and living conditions.

This Lenten season, we at St John’s will be supporting the work of Caritas Australia through donations into class mission boxes as well as our annual Easter raffle (more details to come shortly). Together, we can help vulnerable communities face their challenges today and build a better tomorrow for all future generations.

Parish Mass Sunday 25th February — 9:30 am

Commissioning of Staff and Catechists
Blessing of Kinder Children and their Backpacks

We warmly invite all families to attend the 9:30 am Sunday Parish Mass this weekend.

Father Francis will be commissioning all St John’s School Staff and Parish Catechists.

Father Francis will also be giving a special blessing to all of our Kinder children, as they begin their St John’s School and Parish journey. We hope that many of our Kinder families can join us and we ask the children to bring their school backpack with them to the Mass as this will be part of the blessing.

World Day of Prayer — Friday 1st March

The World Day of Prayer is an international ecumenical Christian laywomen’s initiative. It is run under the motto “Informed Prayer and Prayerful Action,” and is celebrated annually in over 170 countries on the first Friday in March. The movement aims to bring together women of various races, cultures and traditions in a yearly common Day of Prayer, as well as in closer fellowship, understanding and action throughout the year. 

This year’s theme is Bear With One Another In Love” - Ephesians 4:1-3

We invite all students, staff, and families to join in prayer on Friday 1st March, as we strive to make a positive difference in the world around us.

https://www.worlddayofprayeraustralia.org/

Holy Week Events

Holy Week is in Week 9 of this term. Events that are planned include:

WEDNESDAY 27th March - Easter hat parade (mufti clothes may be worn) - more details to follow.

WEDNESDAY 27th March - Easter Raffle prizes drawn (all proceeds going to Caritas Australia)

THURSDAY 28th March - Holy Week Liturgy in the Church at 12:00 - families are very welcome to attend.

Stage Masses

Each term grades are specifically invited to attend one Mass with the Parish at the Saturday evening vigil Mass - 5pm. Well known composer and musician, Andrew Chinn, will be with us providing the music. Children will be invited to come forward to sing with Andrew for parts of the Mass. 

The dates for this year’s Stage Masses are:

Term 1 - Kinder and Year 6 - March 9th

Term 2 - Stage 2 (Years 3 and 4) - May 4th

Term 3 - Stage 1 (Years 1 and 2) - August 3rd

Term 4 - Stage 3 (Years 5 and 6 - although Kinder are very welcome to attend again with their buddies) - September 21st

Friday Grade Masses

Each week a Compass alert will go out to the families of the grade that is attending Friday Mass with the Parish inviting you to attend Mass with your child and the Parish. Families attending Mass are then invited to come for a cuppa in the St Joseph's room after Mass.

Dates for your diary

Prayer Intentions

We pray for all families in our school community who are in need of our prayers. We pray for the needs of our country and our world.

St Mary of the Cross MacKillop, pray for us.
St John the Evangelist, pray for us.

Kylie Stephens
Religious Education Coordinator

Dear Parents/Carers

You may be aware of recent media reports regarding health concerns related to asbestos contaminated mulch found at a number of playgrounds and schools across Greater Sydney.

To ensure that mulched areas of our grounds are safe, we have undertaken an audit of our landscape suppliers. This audit found NO record of any mulch being supplied to our school by companies connected to the contaminated mulch. 

The Catholic Education Office has also arranged for proactive testing of mulched areas across all Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong schools and parishes, to provide families with greater assurance. This testing is precautionary only. 

It is important to state again that after completing our audit, there is no reason to expect that any of the mulched areas on our grounds will be contaminated. Regardless, the safety of students, families and staff is always our highest priority, and given the serious nature of this situation we are choosing to take a cautious approach.

We will provide you with an update when the results of the testing are available.

Michelle Rodwell
Principal

This year, one of our Annual Improvement Plan goals is that 'All students are appropriately challenged and demonstrate growth in Mathematics'.

During Term One, teaching staff from Kindergarten to Year 6 will engage in Professional Learning through the Collaborative Inquiry Process. This term's focus is on developing engaging assessment tasks that allow the diverse range of students in the class to demonstrate their thinking in a variety of ways.

Throughout the year, students will continue to engage in targeted teaching sessions focusing on the Six Aspects of Place Value: Count, Name/Record, Make/Represent, Calculate, Rename and Compare/Order. 

The Collaborative Inquiry process will allow teachers professional planning time to analyse student data, engage in new learning and collaboratively develop learning sequences to best support the students in their class.

Kate Thomas and Chris Garrett 

PB4L is an evidence-based framework that emphasises school-wide systems of support for all students and staff. These include proactive strategies for defining, teaching and supporting appropriate student behaviours. Positive behaviour supports are implemented for all students, across all school settings, by all staff, at all times. This continuum of support ensures students’ academic and social outcomes.

All student behaviour expectations are founded on our three school rules – Be Respectful, Be Responsible, Be Safe.

2025 Kinder Enrolment Applications now open!

Enrolment applications are now completed online via the following link https://enrol.sjddow.catholic.edu.au/enrolment-form/start. You can also find this link on our school website here.

The timeline for the Kindergarten 2025 enrolment application process is as follows:

Term 1 - 30/1/2024 - 28/4/2024.- Online enrolment applications should be submitted by the end of Term 1.  You will receive an acknowledgement email and invitation to attend our Open Day

Term 2 - Interviews are held during Term 2 - you will receive an invitation to interview in the second half of Term 1.

Term 2 - week commencing 24/6/2024 Enrolment Offer of Place letters are sent to successful applicants.

Should you have any questions about the Kindergarten application process, please contact the school office.  

We would be most grateful if you could please share this information with other friends or family who might be interested in applying for a kindergarten place in 2025.

2024 Open Day

We will be holding an open afternoon on Saturday 6th April from 1pm - 3.30pm.  Bookings are required and can be made using the following link:

This is your opportunity to have a tour of the school and have any questions you may have answered.

School Fees - reminder

A reminder of the Catholic Education Office's school fee policy, that if you do not have an installment plan or fee agreement in place on your account, payment of your full outstanding balance of school fees is due by Wednesday 28th February.  
If you are unsure as to whether you have a plan set up, please contact Tory Wilson at the school office.

Please remember that should you be facing financial challenges at this time you are able to apply for a school fee concession.  If you would like to discuss this as an option please email Tory at wilsonv02@dow.catholic.edu.au for a confidential conversation.

Compass Insights - Reminder for Parent Action

Thank you to those parents who have already completed this via Compass Insights.

The following permissions need to be completed as soon as possible please

• 2024 Consent for the use of student/s image and/or work
• 2024 Acceptable Use of Technology
• 2024 Consent for Walking Excursions

Please contact the office should you have any questions.

School Office Procedures - communication reminders

With over 600 students at the school, I am sure you can imagine the office is an extremely busy place!  In order to be as efficient as possible, we would greatly appreciate your support in following these simple procedures.

Change to pick up arrangements - If your child needs to travel home a different way from what was communicated in the morning, please email or phone the school office before 2pm.

Absence - If your child is sick, please respond to the Compass message that is sent out on the day of the absence.  You do not need to call the office, unless your child is going to be absent for more than 3 days or you are going on a holiday. 
If your child is going to be absent for more than 10 school days, please contact the office for an Application for Extended Leave form.

Late Arrivals/Early Leavers - if your child is being picked up early or arriving late to school, please do not enter this partial absence onto Compass.  We will do this when you come into the office. 

Early Leavers on a Friday afternoon - please note that assembly commences at 1.50pm.  If you are collecting your child early on a Friday please endeavour to let us know prior to  1.45pm so we can arrange for them to come and wait at the office.  We have no way to get hold of staff during assembly to send children up to the office.  
Similarly if you are collecting your child during the school day, please be mindful of recess and lunch times as it can be a challenge to locate children on the playground.  Recess is 10:30am - 11:00am and lunch is 1.10pm - 140pm. 

Medical - if there have been any changes to your child's medical condition please email the school office as soon as possible.
If you have received an email or call about medication that has expired, please provide the new medication as soon as possible or email the office to advise if it is no longer required. 

Change of details - if any of your contact details change eg email, phone numbers or postal address, please update this in Compass or email the school office.

Emergency Contacts - If your child needs to be picked up during school hours, the person collecting your child must be on the emergency contact list on Compass.  If they are not on the list we will need your written permission for your child to go home with that person.

IMPORTANT - Students with a serious illness or Injury

If your child has had a serious illness or injury that has required medical treatment or hospitalisation, you will need to have a return to school meeting with a member of our Leadership Team prior to your child returning to school.  This includes all fractures/broken bones. The meeting is to plan any adjustments necessary for the safety and wellbeing of your child and to discuss the date of their return to school.  In certain circumstances, personnel from the Catholic Education Office may also be involved. Your child may also require a medical clearance certificate from the doctor.

Please contact the school office by phone or email to arrange a return to school meeting time. 
 

Rohan G from 5G was recently part of Arcadians Theatre Group's production of 'Big Fish'. Big Fish is a musical that explores families, love, and the power of story telling. Rohan shared the role of 'Young Will' and was incredibly excited to be a part of this amazing production, where he was on stage and learning from some of Illawarra's best-known musical theatre talents. It was an experience he will always remember, creating many new friendships and memories. Congratulations Rohan on your performances! 

Primary Swimming Carnival

Last Thursday, 15 February, we held our Primary Swimming Carnival, which brought together students from Year 3 to Year 6 for a day filled with exceptional sportsmanship. This was evident in the encouragement displayed by all participants throughout the event. Today, we gathered to celebrate all participants, present ribbons, announce the winning house, acknowledge the outstanding achievements of our age champions and congratulate our swimming squad for the South Coast Region Carnival. Please see the results below.

I would like to extend my thanks to each parent volunteer for their generosity of time and support to make this carnival a success. A carnival like this can not happen without your support. 

Parent Volunteers: Marlyn Soulakelles, Mariana Byrne, Amy Brushwood, Shelley Van Moolenbroek, Renee Whiteside, Michelle Garnero, Veronica Musson, Amy Davis, Julie Lyddiard, Amy Billett, Julie Mellor, Michelle Powell, Mackenzie Powell, Natalie Rachlewicz, Catherine Primmer, Nathan Musson and Catherine Alford.

House Winners

1st — McCabe

2nd — Ward

3rd — Mackillop

4th — Joseph

Age Champions

Congratulations to the students below who will be attending the South Coast Region Carnival on 5 March.

Bronte B, Larissa B, Imogen C, Marni L, Marli L, Billie L, Thalia L, Taylor P, Emily VM, Caitlyn W, Madison W, Ella W, Emily Z, Kendrix C, Blake C, Connor C, Ash G, Isaac J, Gianni O, Oscar P, Brody P, Bentley S, Ethan S, Dylan X.

Further photos are available through the Newsletter notification on Compass.

Personalised Planning Meetings for students with additional learning and support needs will take place during Week 9 of this term. Further details regarding the booking process will be provided to parents and carers as the meeting dates get closer.

FRIDAY 1 March

Clean Up Australia Day was born in 1990. Almost 300,000 volunteers turned out on the first Clean Up Australia Day in 1990 and that involvement has steadily increased ever since. At St John’s we will be participating in Clean Up Australia Day for Schools Campaign on Friday 1 March. This day will involve our students learning about the impact of rubbish on their local environment while playing an active role in our community. 

We ask for all students to bring in a pair of gardening gloves and / or tongs to pick up rubbish within and around our school environment. 

Bus Safety Week – 19 to 25 February 2024

Key messages for families

• Families have an important part to play in keeping children safe around roads.
• Never drop off or meet your child on the opposite side of the road to the bus stop or call them across the road.
• Always drop them off or meet them on the same side of the road as the bus stop.
• Remind your children to always wait until the bus has gone before choosing a safe place to cross the road
• Talk to your children about Stop! Look! Listen! Think! every time they cross the road:
  • Stop one step back from the kerb – Look continuously both ways
  • Listen for the sounds of approaching traffic
  • Think whether it is safe to cross and keep checking until safely across.

The students in Years 3 and 5 will sit the 2024 NAPLAN papers in Writing, Reading, Language Conventions and Numeracy from Wednesday 13 March to Thursday 21 March. 

Except for the Year 3 Writing assessment (pencil and paper), all other assessments will be completed online at school using iPads. In preparation for NAPLAN, students will complete practise assessments so that they can get used to working within a locked down browser and using technology to complete the assessments. 

At this stage, the timetable for the assessments at St John's, Dapto are:

Wednesday 13 March - Year 5 Writing
Thursday 14 March - Year 3 Writing
Monday 18 March - Years 3 and 5 Reading
Tuesday 19 March - Years 3 and 5 Language Conventions
Wednesday 20 March - Year 5 Numeracy
Thursday 21 March - Year 3 Numeracy

If students are absent for any of the assessments, there will be an opportunity for catch up days up until Monday 25 March. The teachers of Years 3 and 5 will take time to explain what NAPLAN involves, particularly to our Year 3 students who will be sitting the assessments for the first time. 

Opportunity For Feedback From Parents/Families/Staff Of Students With Disability

The NSW Legislative Council's Portfolio Committee is currently conducting an inquiry into children and young people with disability in New South Wales educational settings. The inquiry will help guide the NSW Government's response to the Disability Royal Commission and the NDIS review.

The media release is linked below for your information, and the Terms of Reference are provided here.

Education Offices from all dioceses will be contributing to the CSNSW response to the inquiry to ensure that the submission accurately reflects the support for students with disability in NSW Catholic schools.

CEDoW would also like to invite parents, families and staff of students with disability in diocesan schools to consider completing the online questionnaire on the Parliament of NSW website if they would like to express their views on education for children and young people with disability in NSW. Schools may include the link in an upcoming newsletter or may prefer to target particular students/ families/staff who would be best placed to complete the questionnaire.

Parent Input forms and Parent Information Videos were sent home via Compass at the end of week 3. Kindergarten Parent Input Forms were sent home on Tuesday of Week 4. If you haven't already done so, can you please complete the parent input form to provide valuable information about your child to your child's teacher. 
 
On Wednesday 13 to Friday 15th March (Week 7), Kindergarten teachers will be hosting parent / teacher meetings. The purpose of these meetings is to provide parents with an opportunity to meet their child’s classroom teacher and for teachers to provide feedback to parents following the Best Start Assessments.
 
On Monday 1 April to Friday 12 April (Weeks 10 and 11), teachers from Year 1 to Year 6 will be hosting learning conversations. These conversations will involve discussions between classroom teachers, parents and students on achievements, areas for growth and the formation of learning goals. 

Kindergarten Parent/teacher meetings and Yr 1 - 6 Learning Conversations will need to be booked via Compass. More information will be sent to parents in the coming weeks.
 
To communicate with your child’s teacher, parents/carers should:

• Email your child’s teacher directly. Teachers will reply within 2 working days, between 8:00 am and 5:00 pm only
• Alternatively, phone (42614611) or email (info@sjddow.catholic.edu.au) the school office regarding changes to afternoon pick-up arrangements or to request a meeting.
   

The Seesaw app will be used by classroom teachers to share and celebrate learning with parents and carers. The conversation feature is no longer an option for sending private messages to classroom teachers. If you need to communicate with your child’s teacher, please email the teacher directly or contact the school office.

At the beginning of every school year you are required to provide your consent for the following;

• walking permission — occasionally your child may leave the school with a staff member to walk to a local activity or excursion, for example the swimming carnival or Dapto library. 
• permission for the use of your child's image or work.
• acceptable use of technology agreement.

This year, rather than using paper forms, we have sent these requests out as a 'Compass Insight' for your action. Please see the attached document, which provides simple instructions for accessing these insights and provide your consent (or not).  I would be most grateful if I could ask you to give this your earliest attention.

Should you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact the school office.

Year 1 are seeking parent reading helpers for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons from 2:10 – 2:30 pm. If you are available to help, we ask that you first attend an information session, which will be held on Wednesday, 28 February, at 2:10 pm in the Joseph Room (opposite the library) and complete the Google Form below. Please sign in at the office before the information session.

If you have a Working with Children Check, please email it to the office. If you do not have one, there will be appropriate forms at the information session.

The Year 1 students are looking forward to reading to you.

Dear Parents and Carers

Users of social media are required to manage their digital footprint by interacting responsibly and ethically, respecting the dignity of all involved. Therefore the CEDoW policy clearly sets out expectations for teachers, students, and parents/carers in our Diocesan school communities. The policy states that when using social media, it is expected that all users will:

• respect the dignity of self and others
• not publicly criticise CEDoW, schools, staff or students
• not promote perspectives contrary to the Catholic faith
• not bring the school into disrepute
• align with the intended educational purpose of the social media presence.
• parents and carers are expected not to post content on social media of other students without the express consent of their parents/carers.

In creating a positive experience and the maintenance of respectful relationships, the policy explicitly states that no material posted:

• includes any content that a reasonable person considers in any way is defamatory, discriminatory, rude, aggressive, abusive, harassing, intimidating, threatening, insulting, hurtful, hateful, offensive, obscene or indecent
• breaches or invades anyone’s privacy
• consists of any proprietary, confidential, sensitive or private information.

Our school has an authorised social media presence (Instagram and Facebook), managed by the school with regular updates to celebrate the wonderful happenings within our community. Only social media platforms authorised by the school can use the school name. Facebook and other social media plaftorms that have been established by parent groups and use the school name have no status in the school community. In the case that such sites can be linked to the school name and the use of inappropriate material, the enrolment of a student can be reviewed.

Please take the time to read the attached information for parents and carers. Further information is available from the CEDoW website.

For all calendars and event information please visit the CEDoW Sport webpage.

And don't forget to follow us on Instagram for all your sporting updates and information, postponements/cancellations and essential key/closing dates for sport opportunities.

Follow us on Instagram: @cedow.sport

The connection between the parish and the school fosters a supportive community where students, families, teachers, and parishioners come together to share common values, support one another, and build meaningful relationships. This sense of community enhances the overall educational experience and contributes to students' emotional well-being.

All families are welcome to join Fr. Francis and the St John the Evangelist Catholic Parish at Mass on the weekend. Mass times are below

Saturday Vigil — 5pm

Sunday — 7:30am, 9:30am and 6pm.

Please see the link below for the Parish Bulletin

All families are warmly invited to join Fr. Francis, Mrs Rodwell, the staff and parishioners to the commission mass for Catechists, staff and the blessing of the backpacks for Kindergarten students on Sunday 25 February.

Adventure and Veg

Are you looking for ideas to get your children away from their screens and to eat more veggies?

Sign up for free text messages for fun weekend ideas and simple health tips for you and your kids on:

• healthy eating
• physical activity
• screen time

For more information and to register, visit bit.ly/HPSpage

*You must live within Illawarra or Shoalhaven to receive these texts.

The series of text messages will provide fun weekend ideas for the Illawarra and Shoalhaven area and simple health tips for families such as bush walks, lunchbox tips, etc.

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Beginner Brass Band 2024 Flier

Beginner Brass Band 2024 Flier 2.26 MB

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With the warmer months upon us, it’s timely to remind students of the dangers of UV rays and the importance of sun safety.

Australia has one of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world, and statistics show that melanoma is the most common cancer affecting young Australians aged 15 – 24 years. The good news is that skin cancer is highly preventable.

The new Sun and UV at School skin cancer resources will assist primary and secondary school students in making healthy, safe, and proactive choices regarding sun protection to reduce their risk of skin cancer.

SunSmart

SunSmart 1.08 MB

 

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Health

Health 4.49 MB

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Looking for something different this year for your child/ren?

Give 1st Dapto Scouts a go! 90 years in Dapto.

Set your kids up for a life of adventure and adventurous friends for life!

If you'd love to know more, then just leave us a few details at the link below, and we'll reach out!

Weeknights kick off again in early Feb 2024 — 4-week free trial if you'd like to give it a go first!

REGISTER INTEREST FORM - https://forms.gle/gcLM1Yy7Xaxrcci28

Further information available at: https://www.daptoscoutgroup.com/

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