Catholic Mission — Congratulations St John's

As a school, we raised an amazing $8,251 to help support Catholic Mission and the work they do. Last Friday, Mark Raue and Angus Rowan from Catholic Mission came and spoke at our afternoon assembly. They congratulated and thanked us for our efforts. They also informed us that out of 500 schools across Australia, St John’s was the top fundraiser. Thank you St John’s for your generosity and kindness. Special thanks to our St John's Mini Vinnies team for assisting with our fundraiser.

Catholic Mission — Congratulations KB and KR

A special congratulations to our top fundraising classes, KB and KR! To celebrate their fantastic efforts, last Friday, they enjoyed a well-deserved pizza party.

We continue to hold Catholic Mission and all those they support in our prayers, especially the people of Mongolia, asking that they may find hope, strength, and peace.

Sacrament of the Eucharist (First Holy Communion) 

First Holy Communion is on Friday 22nd November at 6pm. We pray for the children in our parish who are making this important step in their faith journey.

Loving God,
We pray for these children as they prepare to receive the Sacrament of the Eucharist. May their hearts be open to Your grace,
and may they grow in faith, love, and understanding of Your presence in their lives. Guide them on this journey,
and bless their families, teachers and catechists who support them along the way.
Through Christ our Lord,
Amen.

Last Thursday, the Year 3 students engaged in a special day of activities designed to deepen their understanding of the Sacrament of the Eucharist. As part of their Religious Education program, they explored various elements of the Mass, gaining insights into its different parts and meanings. The students were engaged, and their thoughtful reflections demonstrated a growing appreciation for the significance of this important sacrament. Through guided discussions, they not only learned about the Eucharist but also strengthened their connection to their faith community.

Remembrance Day — 11th November

Last week on November 11th, St John’s staff and students stopped at 11am to reflect on the courage, dedication and selflessness of men and women who have given their lives in the line of duty. To mark this important occasion, students took part in a special class liturgy, where they prayed, reflected and remembered the significance of the day. It was a meaningful time for everyone to show their respect and gratitude for those who have fought for our freedoms.

The Ode
They shall not grow old as we that are left grow old,                  
Age shall not weary them nor the years condemn,
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.
Lest we forget.


 

2025 Mini Vinnies Team Nominations

At St  John’s we are committed to fostering personal growth and community involvement within a supportive, faith-filled environment. Our Mini Vinnies team provides senior students with a unique opportunity to engage in service by embodying the Catholic values of compassion, charity and service to others. By participating in Mini Vinnies, students develop responsible behaviours, contribute to a positive school environment and serve as role models of our school’s values. Student involvement in Mini Vinnies is inclusive and encourages active participation from all.

This week students in Years 4 and 5 were spoken to regarding the possibility of joining the St John’s Mini Vinnies team in 2025. Students in Years 4 or 5 wishing to nominate themselves for a position on the team need to complete this Google survey by Friday 29th November 2024.

St Vincent de Paul Annual Christmas Appeal

Over the course of the next couple of weeks, we are encouraging students in each class to bring in items to support the ‘St Vincent De Paul Annual Christmas Appeal’ (see attached for items). The Dapto St Vincent De Paul Society provides over one hundred hampers to families experiencing difficulties in our local area. The generosity of our school community helps allow this to happen. For St Vincent de Paul members to have enough time to put together the hampers, we are asking that all items are brought into school by Wednesday 11th December 2024.

Thank you in advance for supporting St Vincent de Paul and the wonderful work that they do. 

As we continue through the Year of Prayer, our school community remains focused on deepening our relationship with God. This year invites us to pause, reflect, and pray—both individually and together. Let us keep supporting one another in prayer, trusting in its power to guide and strengthen us.

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

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

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.

During next week, we will be having our Student Wellbeing Afternoons for Term 4. The dates for these afternoons are as follows:

• Monday 25 November – Kindergarten, Year 1 & Year 2
• Tuesday 26 November – Year 3 & Year 4
• Wednesday 27 November – Year 5 & Year 6
  
  

As with previous Student Wellbeing Afternoons, students can choose and participate in fun and engaging activities that promote their wellbeing. As part of these Wellbeing Afternoons, the students will be provided with a sausage sizzle for lunch. All sausages will be gluten free and gluten free bread will be provided for students with a gluten intolerance. If your child does not eat sausage sizzles or requires more food for lunch than this, please ensure that you pack extra food in their lunchbox.

To help make these afternoons even more enjoyable, students are once again encouraged to wear mufti clothes to school on the day their grade has their wellbeing afternoon.

On behalf of the school community, we would like to thank the Parents and Friends Association for their support of this initiative by again funding the cost of the sausage sizzle for the students.

We look forward to fun and enjoyable afternoons, promoting and supporting student wellbeing across the school.

Save the Date! — 6 December 2024

Join us for St. John's Farewell Mass on Friday 6th December at 9:30am for staff who are leaving at the end of the 2024 school Year. This will be a special occasion to give thanks and farewell cherished members of our school community.

We will acknowledge and express our gratitude to:

• Mr Matthew Downes
• Mrs Kate Thomas
• Mrs Janet Burgess
• Mrs Loretta Tuccia
• Mrs Bernadette Baker
• Mrs Bree Henderson

Let’s come together to celebrate their contributions and wish them well in their future endeavours and travels. 

Year 6 students from St John's, under the guidance of Mrs Boyd Skinner, have recently achieved the milestone of having their poems published on the Red Room Poetry website.

On Friday, 13 December (Week 9), your child’s Semester 2 report will be accessible via the Parent Portal in Compass.
 
These reports for Kindergarten to Year 6 are standards-referenced. This means they reflect what students are expected to learn and how well they have achieved that learning, as outlined in the NSW syllabuses. By the end of each stage, students are assessed against the intended learning outcomes, and the Common Grade Scale is used to describe the quality of achievement for each grade.
 
Teachers use a professional on-balance judgement to decide which grade best represents each student’s performance at this point in time. This judgement is based on evidence of student achievement gathered throughout the teaching and learning process.

What is the Common Grade Scale?

The Common Grade Scale, used for Years 1-6, provides a summary of achievement standards. It describes:

• Depth of knowledge and understanding, and
• Range of skills demonstrated by students working at each grade level.

Grades are awarded for individual achievement, with students receiving the grade that best matches the quality of their achievement.

This standards-based approach ensures that each grade reflects a consistent level of understanding and skill. We encourage parents to review these reports to recognise their child’s learning gains and identify areas for further growth.

Understanding the Three-Point Scale for Kindergarten

Kindergarten Semester 2 reports use a three-point scale to describe student performance. This scale represents achievement across three levels, helping to communicate your child's progress in a clear and accessible way. Each level reflects the student's understanding, skills, and knowledge development in key learning areas.

Next week Year 5 students will begin the leadership selection process for the 2025 School Captains, School-Vice Captains, Student Representative Council (SRC) and House Captains.

Mrs Rodwell will be coming to speak with the Year 5 students this week about what leadership entails and the expectation for the school’s student leaders to be role models of positive behaviours and the school core values. 

Year 5 students will then have the opportunity to nominate themselves for leadership roles and in Week 8 all students in Year 5 will take part in a preferential voting process to elect the 2025 Student Leaders. 

The 2025 School Captains, School-Vice Captains, Student Representative Council (SRC) and House Captains will be formally announced at the End of Year Mass on Friday 13th December. 

We wish Year 5 students the best of luck and clear discernment as they undertake this process.

During 2024 St John’s has been focused on the Annual Improvement Goal, "All students are appropriately challenged and demonstrate growth in Mathematics." Throughout the year, teachers have been working through a process of interrogating data, planning and implementing targeted teaching and monitoring and tracking student progress.

On Monday and Tuesday of last week, teachers met in grade teams with the Instructional Coach, to analyse and discuss student Mathematics data. Their aim was to ascertain growth in learning and plan for continued targeted teaching for the remainder of the term. Teachers participated in professional dialogue to investigate areas of strength and opportunities for growth, as well as evaluate how successful we had been in achieving our goal.    

Overall, growth in the Place Value Assessment Tool and the Progressive Achievement Test in Mathematics was either as expected or above expectations which was considered cause for celebration.

On the 15th of November, Peta Idstein and Paula Huckstepp attended a Mathematics Professional Learning Day at the Catholic Education Office, Wollongong.

During the day, there was a focus on the working mathematically syllabus outcome where children develop understanding and fluency in Mathematics through exploring and connecting mathematical concepts, choosing and applying mathematical techniques to solve problems, and communicating their thinking and reasoning coherently and clearly.

Teachers worked in groups to discuss and reinforce the importance of communicating, understanding & fluency, problem-solving, reasoning and the interconnectedness of working mathematically.

The teachers analysed a "Draft Working Mathematically for Assessing & Reporting" sample and discussed the changes that should be made. Teachers also worked on developing units of work for the K-6 Mathematics Syllabus as well as looking at the CEDoW position paper on the use of AI in education. 

We warmly invite all families and friends to join us for our annual Christmas Concert, which will be held on Tuesday, 17th December at 1pm. Come and enjoy an afternoon filled with festive cheer as our students present a wonderful selection of Christmas songs to celebrate this joyous season. It’s a special event for our school community and we look forward to sharing the spirit of Christmas with you all. Mark your calendars— we hope to see you there!

Thank you to all those families that have finalised their fees for 2024.

• Please ensure all school fees are paid in full before the end of the 2024 school year. If you are having genuine financial stress please make contact with the Principal as a matter of urgency to discuss your school fee situation or alternatively email Mr Rodwell at rodwellm01@dow.catholic.edu.au
  
  
• Families that currently pay school fees by instalment do not need to complete another 'Request to Pay by Instalment' form, as your current form carries over from year to year unless you wish to amend the frequency of your payments, e.g. Weekly to fortnightly.  
  
  
• If your child is commencing Year 7 at one of our Diocesan Catholic Colleges, your secondary school fees frequency for payment will be the same as the primary school unless you complete the 'Request to pay by Instalment' form to alter this.
  
  
• Families that do not currently pay school fees by instalment or are new to the school and would like to take up the option to pay their school fees by instalment, please ensure that you complete a 'Request to pay by Instalment' form and either return this to the school office or submit it directly to instalments@dow.catholic.edu.au before the conclusion of the 2024 school year.  

Further information is available at: https://www.sjddow.catholic.edu.au/parents-and-carers/school-fees-information/

Car Lines & School Zone Parking

The car lines on Jerematta and Werowi Streets provide a convenient and safe option for families to drop off and pick up their children. To ensure this system operates efficiently, it is essential for all parents and carers to follow road rules and the school’s established practices, which prioritise safety. Families using the car lines are encouraged to do so responsibly and with safety in mind.

Student reminders:

• Students should enter and exit from the kerbside when possible. If using the driver’s side, they must be accompanied by a parent or staff member. Drivers may assist students but must remain within 3 metres of their car and limit their time to 2 minutes.
• Listen for their name and walk immediately when called.
• Students to wait until their car comes to a complete stop.
• Enter their cars quickly.

Parent reminders:

• Students should enter and exit from the kerbside when possible. If using the driver’s side, they must be accompanied by a parent or staff member. Drivers may assist students but must remain within 3 metres of their car and limit their time to 2 minutes.
• Drive forward completely without leaving gaps and advance forward when directed by staff.
• Display your family nameplate upon approach for afternoon pickup.
• Not queue, blocking traffic flow in surrounding streets and roundabouts.
• Parents are encouraged to comply with legal requirements at all times.

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 and council 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

Road Safety and Management Plan

Please refer to our updated Roadmap Safety Management Plan, which includes important information regarding car lines

Road Safety and Management Plan

We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to the St John’s school community for providing valuable feedback on the schoolbag. We are pleased to share that the overall response was overwhelmingly positive. Your input is greatly appreciated and helps us ensure the best outcomes for our students and families. Thank you for your ongoing support and engagement!

If you know that your child will not be returning to St John’s in 2025 (not applicable to Year 6), would you please notify the school, in writing, as we require this information to assist with our planning for the new school year. 

Transport for NSW — 2025 school travel applications are now open

Students who need a new or replacement School Opal card or travel pass for 2025 can apply now. A new application will need to be submitted if they are applying for the first time, or if they are requesting an additional travel entitlement because of a new shared parental arrangement (e.g. joint custody).

Students who change address, school, campus location, have repeated a year or received an expiry notification for their school travel entitlement should renew or update their details before the end of term 4. This will ensure that schools can endorse applications and travel passes remain valid for the start of the 2025 school year. School Opal card holders will have the changes applied to their existing card.

If a student’s distance eligibility has changed based on their grade (i.e. grade two to grade three), the system will automatically update their entitlement if they meet the new criteria. If they do not meet the new eligibility criteria, we will send an expiry notification via email.

Students who have an entitlement approved under a medical condition that is due to expire will receive a notification advising them to re-apply.

Term Bus Pass holders will receive a notification to re-apply.

Students in the Opal network applying for an Opal card (including a Term Bus Pass) for the first time will receive their Student Opal card at their nominated postal address. Cards will be mailed out from January 2025.

Students living in rural and regional (R&R) areas should receive their travel pass at the start of the new school year from their nominated transport operator. It may come via the school or be sent directly to them at home. Note: some R&R operators do not issue travel passes.

Students/parents should confirm with their nominated operator if they do not receive a pass.

Travel from Term 1 2025

We ask that parents plan ahead and make sure their child knows which service/s to use and has a valid ticket to travel; either a School Opal card or Child/Youth Opal card (within Greater Sydney) or a School Travel Pass (outside Greater Sydney), from the start of the school year.

Applications for 2025 School Student Transport Scheme (SSTS) travel open at the start of Term 4 2024, so parents/students can apply or update details early and be ready for the start of the new school year.

Most students using the Opal network will not need a new Opal card and can continue travelling on their existing card each year.

The start of the year is a busy period for local transport operators, and students travelling without a valid ticket make service planning and operations difficult.

We recognise that for some families, last minute changes to school enrolments mean they may not have a School Opal card or Travel Pass for the start of term. In the Opal network, we strongly encourage these families to have their children travel with a Child/Youth Opal card until they receive their valid School Opal card.

Bus operators are flexible and understanding, particularly at the start of the school year, and will ensure students can travel safely to and from school. But to best support our operators we encourage all students to have a valid ticket, as early as possible, from the start of the school year.

Students using School Opal cards are also reminded that they must tap on and tap off in line with the Student code of conduct and Opal terms of use.

Dr Justin Coulson is a dad to 6 daughters. He is the parenting expert and co-host of Channel Nine’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. In the article below Dr Justin Coulson outlines the importance of building hope. 

Parish News

On Friday, 22nd November, Year 3 students in the Parish will be joined by their families as they receive the Sacrament of Eucharist. Fr. Francis, Mrs Michelle Rodwell Principal and the Parish Sacramental Team warmly invite all parishioners and families of St John's Catholic Parish Primary School to bear witness as our students receive the Sacrament of Eucharist.

On the 24th of November, the St John’s Parish Celebrations are taking place in the Church and school grounds. The celebrations will begin at 10 am with a Mass and then lunch and games on the school grounds. Fr Francis and the Parish Pastoral Council warmly invite all staff and their families to the celebrations.

Fr Francis and the St John the Evangelist Parish Pastoral Council warmly invites all families to join in the celebration of the Eucharist. See below the times for Mass.

Saturday Vigil — 5pm

Sunday — 7:30am, 9:30am and 6pm.

Please see the Parish Bulletin below.

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Dear Parents and Students, 
 
PlaySpace Drama is held after school each Tuesday afternoon in the School Library. It is a fun-filled programme available to Yrs 1-6. Many games, activities and scripts see Drama students develop voice skills; stagecraft skills; expressive skills; co-operative skills; confidence, and empathy.
 
Now is the time to enrol for 2025, with classes commencing Tuesday, 4th February

• Yr 1–3 Drama: 2.45 – 3.45pm
• Yr 4–6 Drama: 3.45 – 4.45pm
  
  

Places fill very quickly, and all existing students have priority placement, subject to confirmation. There is often a waiting list, so get your child’s name down now to secure a spot!
 
See the flyer below for further details!

Contact the teacher directly via email: playspacemusicdramaed@yahoo.com.au

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