Season of Easter 

We are still in the season of Easter, celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is a time for us to reflect on the themes of renewal, hope and new life. Let's keep these values at the forefront as we near the end of the Easter season.

Stage 2 Weekend Mass — Saturday 4th May

Last Saturday evening, many of our families joined Father Francis for a beautiful celebration of the Eucharist. Special thanks again to Andrew Chinn for providing our music and to St John’s Parish for supplying the BBQ. Thank you also to the children involved in reading and the offertory, as well as all children for their singing and actions.

The Feast of the Ascension — Sunday 12th May

The Feast of the Ascension, which occurs 40 days after Easter, is a significant event in the Catholic Church. It marks the day when Jesus ascended into heaven in the presence of His disciples. This feast not only highlights Jesus' divine nature but also serves as a reminder of His promise to send the Holy Spirit to guide and empower us. As a Catholic primary school, we use this feast day to emphasise the themes of hope, faith and the anticipation of Jesus' return. We encourage our students and their families to take a moment to reflect on this pivotal event and its importance in our spiritual lives. May this feast day inspire us all to live with greater faith and purpose, knowing that Jesus is with us in spirit as we continue our journey of learning and growing together.

The Feast of Pentecost — Sunday 19th May

The Feast of Pentecost, which occurs 50 days after Easter, is one of the most significant celebrations in the Christian calendar, often referred to as the "birthday of the Church." It commemorates the moment when the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles, empowering them to spread the message of Jesus and marking the beginning of the Christian Church's mission to the world. Here at St John’s, we recognise Pentecost as a time to celebrate the gifts of the Holy Spirit and reflect on how they guide our lives. It's a call to embrace unity, love and the courage to share our faith with others. As we approach this feast, let us open our hearts to the Holy Spirit's inspiration and to find ways to live out its message in our school community.

 
The Feast of Mary, Mother of the Church — Monday 20th May

The Feast of Mary, Mother of the Church, is a beautiful addition to the Catholic liturgical calendar, celebrated on the Monday following Pentecost. Established by Pope Francis in 2018, this feast day honours the unique role of Mary in the life and mission of the Church. As the Mother of Jesus, she is also our spiritual mother, guiding and nurturing us in faith. At our Catholic primary school, we take this opportunity to reflect on Mary's profound faith, obedience, and love, encouraging our students to follow her example. The feast invites us to contemplate Mary's maternal care for the Church and to seek her intercession as we grow in our journey as a faith community. We encourage families to join us in celebrating this special day through prayer, reflection, and acts of kindness inspired by Mary's compassionate heart.

2024 — The Year of the Prayer, in preparation for the 2025 Jubilee Year 'Pilgrims of Hope'

We remember that it is The Year of Pray and focus on the words of Pope Francis - “a Year of Prayer starting on January 21 would be a year dedicated to rediscovering the great value and absolute need for prayer in one’s personal life, in the life of the Church, and in the world… I ask you to intensify your prayer to prepare us to live this event of grace well and to experience the power of God’s hope.”

The Jubilee Prayer

Father in heaven,
May the faith you have given us in your son, Jesus Christ, our brother,
and the flame of charity enkindled in our hearts by the Holy Spirit,
reawaken in us the blessed hope for the coming of your Kingdom.

May your grace transform us into tireless cultivators
of the seeds of the Gospel.
May those seeds transform from within both humanity and the whole cosmos
in the sure expectation of a new heaven and a new earth,
when, with the powers of Evil vanquished, your glory will shine eternally.

May the grace of the Jubilee reawaken in us, Pilgrims of Hope,
a yearning for the treasures of heaven.
May that same grace spread the joy and peace of our Redeemer
throughout the earth.
To you our God, eternally blessed, be glory and praise for ever.
Amen

Sacrament of Confirmation — 2024

We pray for all children in our parish that have commenced their preparations to make the Sacrament of Confirmation. As they learn more about this important sacrament, we pray…

Holy Spirit,
Strengthen our children with your gifts of
Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety and Fear of the Lord.
Grant that they may grow into the fullness of the stature of Christ.
Fill them with the joy of your presence.
Increase in them the fruit of your Spirit.
Help them to experience and trust your dwelling within
so that they can count on your guidance today and every day.
Show them the way to help one another become better disciples of Jesus Christ,
sharing your love with our world and with each person they meet.
Come, Holy Spirit! Come!

Prayer from St. Theresa of Avila Church, Grovetown, GA

Dates for your Diary

Friday 10th May
Liturgy 9:30am - K-6 attending to celebrate Mothers’ Day

Sat/Sun 11th/12th May
Confirmation candidates to attend one of the weekend Masses with Lesson 1 of their Booklet completed (Saturday 5pm, Sunday 7:30am, 9:30am or 6pm)

Friday 17th May
Parish Mass 9:30am - Year 1 attending

Friday 17th May
Reconciliation - Half of Year 6

Sat/Sun 18th/19th May
Confirmation candidates to attend one of the weekend Masses with Lesson 2 of their Booklet completed (Saturday 5pm, Sunday 7:30am, 9:30am or 6pm)

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

Dates for Term 2:

7 May (B/U 28 May) Diocesan Cross Country Carnival 
14 June The Catholic Legends Gala Day (Years 3-6)
25 June South Coast Netball Gala Day (Years 3-6)
2 July Athletics Carnival (K-6)

Dates for Term 3: 

13 August South Coast Athletics Carnival
20 August Diocesan Athletics Selection Trials
23 August South Coast Soccer Gala Day (Years 3-6)
19 September Basketball Junior Boys & Girls (Years 3&4)
20 September Basketball Senior Girls & Boys (Years 5&6)

Term 2 Athletics

This term students will be participating in a range of athletics events. Students will practise and demonstrate proficiency in the fundamental movement skills of sprint, jump, leap & throw. Students will apply these skills in a range of challenging physical activity contexts in a range of Athletics events such as long jump, high jump, shot put and discus. 

These events will take place during PE lessons and Friday sport. Kindergarten and Year 1 will participate and develop their athletics fundamental movement skills. Years 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 students will have an opportunity to participate in the ‘competitive’ or ‘ non competitive’ events during these lessons. All field events for Juniors, 11 Years and Seniors will be completed at school. All 80m, 100m, 200m and 800m races will be held at our Athletics Carnival held at Beaton Park. A Compass permission event will be put out in the coming weeks and we look forward to you joining us on this day.

Our 5, 6, 7, 8 , 9, 10, 11 & 12 Years students will compete in age groups for their sprint races and the top 4 place getters in each age group will receive a 1st, 2nd, 3rd & 4th place ribbon.

For field events, long jump, high jump, shot put and discus, students will compete in Junior (8, 9 10 years), 11 Years and Senior (12, 13 years) categories and the top 4 place getters from each category will receive a 1st, 2nd, 3rd & 4th place ribbon.

Age Champion Medallions will be given for Junior (8, 9 10 years), 11 Years and Senior (12, 13 years) categories as they will be competing in both field and track events.

On Thursday, 2 May, the St John’s community participated in an ANZAC Day liturgy of remembrance and gratitude. We remembered those Australian men and women who have died or suffered in the great tragedy of war, those who served and those currently serving.  The liturgy also assisted the students in understanding that on ANZAC Day we do not celebrate war, but rather we celebrate peace and freedom.

During the liturgy, a HARS Dakota and a Caribou aircraft were flying around our school and this enhanced our commemorations of this special day, probably Australia’s most important national occasion.

HARS (Historical Aircraft Restoration Society, based at Albion Park Airport) is a non-profit organisation that is very dependent on local patronage. HARS is proud of being a family museum and provides guided tours, has a children's playground, café and of course the greatest display of airworthy historic aircraft in Australia.

Thanks again to all who attended our liturgy, our Year 6 students who led the liturgy so reverently and the Year 5 & 6 students who shared wartime artefacts with the school community after the liturgy. Thank you also to their families for sharing these special items with us.

Special thank you to:

• Members of the Dapto RSL Sub Branch: Mrs Mary Johnston and Mr Tony Cox
• Brigadier (retired) Philip McNamara
• Lieutenant Shelly Van Moolenbroek
• Leading Seaman Adrian Van Moolenbroek
• Mr Brendan Gornall
• Mr Neil Johnstone

It has come to our attention that a number of families with siblings already enrolled may not have yet submitted an application for Kindergarten. If this is the case, please attend to this as a matter of priority, as we do have limited places available. 

There have been a few changes made to our Mother’s Day celebrations at St John’s this Friday 10th May as a result of the Solemn Pontifical Mass of Christian Burial for Bishop Peter Ingham which will be held on Friday the 10th May at 10:30am and will be live streamed from our Church for all parishioners.

Please see below amended details for our Mother’s Day celebrations that were communicated to parents and carers via Compass on Monday 6th May.

9:30am — Liturgy of the Word in the Church.

10:00am —  Open classrooms where mothers and grandmothers will have an opportunity to look through student workbooks read a favourite book with their child.

10:30am —Mother's Day Morning Tea in the hall for mothers and grandmothers only. You are welcome to join the students in the playgrounds for your own morning tea or come to the hall for tea and coffee, scones and sweets. Please note that students will not be permitted into the hall due to the hot beverages that will be served. 

11:00am —Choir to perform for mothers and grandmothers.

11:20am — The Parents and Friends association will be drawing the Mother’s Day Raffle prizes.

We are looking forward to seeing our mothers and grandmothers on Friday and expressing our gratitude to all the wonderful gifts you share with our students and our school.

Year 6 Reflection of the day

On Tuesday, 9th April 2024, eight Year 6 students attended the da Vinci Decathlon at Illawarra Christian School, Cordeaux Heights.  Emily, Millicent, Evie, Jasmine, Riya, Levi, Shreya, and Sebastian represented St Johns at the event.  We arrived at 7:30 am, the day started with an Orientation and Welcome from the Principal.  We did English, Maths, Cartography, and Science tasks in the first session.  We had 15 minutes for recess and then went back to the hall to do Art and Poetry, Creative Producers, Engineering, and Ideation.  Once we finished these subjects we had lunch, where we started a massive, amazing handball tournament with all the schools.  After lunch, we did Legacy and Code Breaking, once these papers were finished all 40 teams did some trivia questions. 

At the end of the day, prizes were awarded. We came third in English and third in Creative Producers—we couldn’t believe it! We loved going to the Da Vinci Decathlon. We made a lot of new friends from different schools and had amazing fun. Go, Da Vinci Decathlon!!!

By Team Year 6

Year 5 Reflection of the day

On 9th April 2024, the Illawarra da Vinci Decathlon was held at the Illawarra Christian School.  There were approximately 18 groups of Year 5 students from different schools.  We sat in school groups of 8 and were competing in English, Maths, Creative Producers, Art and Poetry, Ideology, Engineering, Science, Cartography, Legacy, and Code Breaking.  The subjects were split into three sessions and we had two breaks, both quite short.  We had a lot of pressure and little rest, so it was quite a struggle.  The work was very hard, but we tried our best and did well.  The day was full of challenges, we had an amazing day, and thank you Mrs Di Leo and Mrs Baker for making it such a wonderful day.  We came 2nd place in the Art and Poetry subject.

By Team Year 5

Prizes Awarded

Year 5
2nd Prize Arts and Poetry

Year 6
3rd Prize English
3rd Prize Creative Producers

Important

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 any type of surgery and all fractures/broken bones.

The conversation 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 prior to your child attending school. 

Important

Car lines in both Jerematta and Werowi Street offer a convenient and safe drop-off and pick-up for families. For the efficient operation of this arrangement, there is a need for all parents/carers to adhere to road rules and our school practices, which have been developed with safety at the forefront of our planning. It is important that families accessing the convenience of car lines do so responsibly and in a safe manner.

Therefore, parents and carers are requested to;

• Drivers are to remain in their cars while children exit/enter from the curbside.
• Display your family nameplate upon approach for afternoon pickup.
• Follow the directions of staff at all times.
• Always move to the furthestmost point in the designated drop-off and pick-up zone.
• Not queue, blocking traffic flow in surrounding streets and roundabouts.
  

If you prefer to accompany your child to the school gate, please park in the designated car parking areas and not the drop-off zone.

Regular police patrols ensure the safety of all in and around school zones. If you operate contrary to the signage, you risk a substantial fine.

To request a family nameplate, parents and carers are invited to complete the online form, by accessing the following link https://goo.gl/forms/L1KuKhqKB9Kj49wq1

On Monday 29 April, the St John’s staff engaged in Professional Learning linked to our Annual Improvement plan to ensure that ‘All students are appropriately challenged and demonstrate growth in Mathematics.’

Staff reviewed the school improvement documents that drive professional learning and identified current areas of strength and areas for growth in Mathematics planning, teaching and assessing. 

They engaged in collaborative discussions to develop a deeper understanding of the continuum of learning in the Reformed K-10 NSW Mathematics Syllabus and looked at outcomes from Early Stage one to Stage four in order to determine a path to appropriately plan and assess to meet the learning needs of all students. 

The day provided valuable opportunities for staff to build content knowledge and collaborate with knowledgeable others with student learning goals at the centre of planning. 

Throughout the year teachers have access to a variety of quality professional development opportunities. Casual teachers are employed to cover classes with the teacher ensuring the teaching program and routines are followed. 

“Those who dare to teach, never cease to learn”
John Cotton-Dana

Please join us the the St John's P&F Meeting on Tuesday 14 May at 7pm.

Parish and School Mass with Andrew Chinn

It was great to see our families join together with the Parish to celebrate the Saturday Vigil Mass with musician Andrew Chinn.

Thank you to the Parish Pastoral Council for organising the sausage sizzle and ice cones after the Eucharistic celebration. 

On Saturday 18th May Catholic Care will be hosting a family fun day on the Parish grounds. All families are warmly invited to attend for an afternoon of fun!!! See the flyer below.  

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

Catholic Care FREE Family Fun Day — Saturday 18th May 2pm - 4.30pm at St John the Evangelist Catholic Church Dapto. Entry is FREE — come along!!

Technology has the potential to be enjoyable, informative, and practical. Many children utilise phones and computers for academic assistance, music downloads, gaming, and socialising with peers. However, engaging online can occasionally result in negative encounters, either due to the actions of others or children's own errors or misjudgments.

Teaching kids how to stay safe online

The internet can be a great educational resource or just a good source of entertainment for kids. But it is also a place where they can get caught up in mistakes or misbehaviour. Talk to your child about how to act safely and responsibly online:

Help kids think ahead

It can be difficult for kids to understand that anything they post can be easily shared and could hang around the internet for decades to come. The general rule is that you should only post something if you are happy for anyone and everyone to see it.

Teach kids to value privacy

Tell them never to share their full name, home address, current location or phone number. Explain that reputable people and businesses won’t request that information, so if someone is asking for it, they should let you know. Let them know their safety is important to you and that’s why you want to check the privacy settings of anything they download or sign up for. Choose strict privacy settings and make sure location sharing is turned off.

Consider parental control software

You can get software that limits what sort of content your child can see or the times when they can use their device. If you decide to use parental control software, let your child know so that they don’t feel tricked or mistrusted.

In the early years, be very actively involved when your child is online. Talk about how to use the internet safely, insist that devices are used in public areas of the house, and perhaps consider using settings or software that limit what your child can do online.

As your child gets older, pull back a bit. Keep up the conversations about what they’re doing online, but don’t undermine your older teen’s privacy by demanding passwords, logging on to their devices or using software to track their activity unless you have real concerns for their safety. It’s better to make it clear what your values and expectations are and ensure that your teen knows them.

Explain that people often say things online they would never say in person and that they may be exposed to what’s called ‘cyber-bullying’ either from friends or strangers. Tell them the easiest way to discourage a cyber-bully is to ignore them. You can also delete or block bullies so you no longer see their messages. Lawstuff is a website run by the National Children’s and Youth Law Centre, has some great information about cyber-bullying presented in a way that kids and young people can understand.

Don’t put up with cyber-bullies. If your child is “cyber-bullied” by friends or anonymous users, encourage them to ignore the bullying and report, delete or block the bullies so they no longer see their messages. If the cyber-bullying escalates, keep evidence of the cyber-bullying.

Safety and privacy online

Sharing images and information through websites, forums, online games and social networks such as Instagram, Facebook, Tumblr and Snapchat is a large part of what keeps young people connected to friends — but it can also jeopardise their privacy and safety is not done wisely.

Remember you can also give away too much by posting or publishing information such as your name, birth date and address. Without realising, you may also post identifying or personal information about the child. It’s hard to control access to information once it has been posted online. 

The ground rules

Children are vulnerable to many of the more serious risks of using the internet. These include:

• meeting predatory adults online posing as potential friends
• giving out personal information, such as their phone number and address
• visiting inappropriate sites that contain pornography, racism or depictions of violence
• staying up too late playing games and contacting friends
• spending too much time online, compromising friendships in the ‘real world’.

Make sure you talk to your child about the basic ground rules that will keep them safe online.

Let your child know their safety is important to you and for that reason, you want to check and set the privacy settings of every new app, online club or digital communication they download or sign up for.

Make the privacy rules clear

There are certain things kids should never share online including their full name, home address, current location or phone number. Explain that reputable people and businesses won’t request this sort of information, so if someone is asking for it, your child should let you know.

Remind them that if something online seems wrong, inappropriate or dangerous, they’ll probably feel it: maybe their heart will pound or their stomach will churn. If they’re feeling that way during any sort of online conversation, they should exit it straight away and let you know.

Make sure they realise that people can disguise their true identities when they’re communicating online and tell them to never meet up in the real world with someone you have met online – this can be risky.

If you know your child has had inappropriate contact online, report it to the police.

To the following students who will celebrate their birthday in May — we wish you a very happy birthday and hope you have a great day.

Feedback Open for Council’s draft Wollongong Integrated Transport Strategy

We have developed the draft Wollongong Integrated Transport Strategy (draft strategy) to lead transport planning and investment across the Wollongong Local Government Area over the next 10 years.

The draft strategy outlines Council’s vision, guiding principles, and goals to improve the way we move around our city into the future and the actions we’ll take to achieve them. Until now, we’ve considered transport planning and delivery in a site-specific or transport-specific way. This new draft strategy takes a more overarching view of the city and lays out what steps we, Transport for NSW, and our community can take to ensure sustainable, accessible, and affordable transport options are available for our growing and diverse community. We are now seeking feedback on the draft strategy to inform the final version. Please note the last day for feedback is Monday 27 May 2024.

Find out more and provide feedback:

Online: our.wollongong.nsw.gov.au/draft-wollongong-integrated-transport-strategy

Community Drop-in Info Sessions: Any time between 3 - 6pm at the following locations:

• Dapto on Tuesday 14 May 2024 - Scribbly Gum Room, Dapto Ribbonwood Centre, 93/109 Princes Hwy, Dapto.
• Wollongong on Thursday 16 May 2024 - Wollongong Library Theatrette, Ground Floor, 41 Burelli St, Wollongong.
• Thirroul on Thursday 23 May 2024 - Escarpment Room, Thirroul Community Centre, 352/358 Lawrence Hargrave Dr, Thirroul.

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If you receive the Family Tax Benefit you may be eligible for the 2023-24 Family Energy Rebate of up to $180 to help pay your electricity bills.

Applications close 11pm on Sunday 16 June 2024.

You could also receive a one-off National Energy Bill Relief Household Payment as a lump sum of up to $500 in the 2023-24 financial year.

Find out more about these and other rebates and assistance at energy.nsw.gov.au/rebates

Check you eligibility and apply

Get your flu vaccine before winter arrives 

Influenza (flu) is serious. But a flu vaccine offers you and your family the best protection from becoming really sick. 

Getting a flu vaccine is quick and easy to arrange with your local pharmacy, GP or Aboriginal Medical Service using the healthdirect online search tool.

Everyone 6 months and older should get a flu vaccine each year, especially in the lead up to winter when the virus is more common.

The flu vaccine is free for anyone with a higher risk of severe illness from the virus.

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