PARISH SACRAMENTAL PROGRAM - FIRST HOLY COMMUNION (EUCHARIST)

Saturday 26th October – 10:30am

This week we remember and pray for the 59 children in our parish who will be receiving Jesus for the first time this coming Saturday.

 “The Eucharist is essential for us:
it is Christ who wishes to enter our lives and fill us with his grace.”

Pope Francis

A reminder for parents and carers of Communion candidates that all children are expected to attend their second practise today, Wednesday 23rd October (4pm - 5pm in the Church). All candidates will come to the library on Saturday at 10am.

OCTOBER - MONTH OF THE ROSARY

October is the month of the Rosary. Pope Benedict XVI in an address at the Basilica of St. Mary Major where he prayed the rosary with the faithful said:

Today, together we confirm that the Holy Rosary is not a pious practice banished to the past, like prayers of other times thought of with nostalgia. Instead, the Rosary is experiencing a new Springtime. Without a doubt, this is one of the most eloquent signs of love that the young generation nourish for Jesus and his Mother, Mary. In the current world, so dispersive, this prayer helps to put Christ at the centre, as the Virgin did, who meditated within all that was said about her Son, and also what he did and said. When reciting the Rosary, the important and meaningful moments of salvation history are relived. The various steps of Christ's mission are traced. With Mary the heart is oriented toward the mystery of Jesus. Christ is put at the centre of our life, of our time, of our city, through the contemplation and meditation of his holy mysteries of joy, light, sorrow and glory. May Mary help us to welcome within ourselves the grace emanating from these mysteries, so that through us we can "water" society, beginning with our daily relationships, and purifying them from so many negative forces, thus opening them to the newness of God. The Rosary, when it is prayed in an authentic way, not mechanical and superficial but profoundly, it brings, in fact, peace and reconciliation. It contains within itself the healing power of the Most Holy Name of Jesus, invoked with faith and love at the centre of each "Hail Mary".

CatholicCulture.org

OCTOBER - WORLD MISSION MONTH

On Sunday 20th October World Mission Sunday was celebrated and today, Wednesday, 23rd October, we celebrate Universal Children’s Day. World Mission Day is celebrated every year in every country wherever there are Christians committed to building a better world for all of God's people, a world where everyone has all they need to live a dignified and fulfilling life.

The month of October is dedicated “World Mission Month”. In 2019, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Pope Benedict XV's Apostolic Letter Maximum Illud (that momentous), Pope Francis announced that October will be an Extraordinary Missionary Month. The Holy Father has chosen the theme ‘Baptised and Sent: The Church of Christ on a Mission in the World’ with an emphasis on reinvigorating the responsibility of proclaiming the Gospel with new enthusiasm. "Missionary action is the paradigm of every work of the Church" (Evangelii Gaudium).

“Socktober” is an initiative of Catholic Mission and one way in which our school can fundraise and engage in advocacy and formation activities for Catholic Mission during World Mission Month. The ‘sock it to something’ concept is an Australian expression that means to strike out at. Through our fundraising efforts, we want to strike out at social issues, such as poverty, child labour, child trafficking, homelessness and lack of education.

As part of “SOCKTOBER”, we encourage all students to wear crazy socks on Wednesday 30th October. We also encourage all students to bring in some coins on Wednesday 30th October to help support Catholic Mission in their endeavour to help the poor. We will be seeing which class can make the longest line of coins and which class’s line raises the most amount of money! A great idea is to encourage your child/children to “earn” the money that would like to bring in on the day, perhaps by doing some extra chores around the house. This enables the children to feel that they are the ones who are helping Catholic Mission.

We will also be coming together at 11:15am in the Church on Wednesday 30th October for a Mission Liturgy, to be led by our Year 5 students. All families are invited to join us to pray for the needs of our world.

FEAST OF ALL SAINTS DAY - Friday 1st November

Saints are sometimes regarded as ‘Catholic superheroes’. Stories of miraculous and remarkable deeds abound, though more in the vein of conversions and cures than speeding bullets and tall buildings. But to get caught up on the Saints of the stained glass windows is to overlook the vast majority of saints. You see, a saint is anybody whose soul is in heaven. The Church celebrates a certain number of Saints whose lives provide a glimpse of God for the rest of the Church. But there are many, many more saints whose glimpse of God was only ever experienced by their family, friends and those with whom they worked. The feast of ALL Saints is an opportunity to remember and reflect on the lives of those saints who’ve been known and loved by just a few and whose sphere of influence was such that they will never be recognised as Saints by the universal Church. Greg Sunter

FEAST OF ALL SOULS DAY - Saturday 2nd November

All Souls Day is a holy day set aside to honour the dead. The feast of All Souls is not a feast of sadness, but one of great hope and confidence. It invites us to entrust our dead to God, because we know that they are really God’s dead. We know that if we have loved them, God has loved them more. They are in God’s care, and like a good shepherd God will lead them to peace.

Dianne Bergant

Eternal rest grant unto them o Lord
and let perpetual light shine upon them.
May they rest in peace.
Amen.

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

• Wednesday 23rd October - Communion Practise for all Communion candidates - 4-5pm in Church
• Friday 25th October - 9:30am Parish Mass - Year 4 attending
• Friday 25th October - 11:00am - Reconciliation - Year 3 attending
• Saturday 26th October - Sacrament First Holy Communion - 10:30am
• Wednesday 30th October - SOCKTOBER Day - students to wear mufti socks and bring a coin donation, liturgy in Church led by Year 5 - 11:15am
• Friday 1st November - ALL SAINTS DAY, 9:30am Parish Mass - Years 4, 5, & 6 attending
• Friday 1st November - 11:00am - Reconciliation - 5B attending
• Saturday 2nd November - ALL SOULS DAY
• Friday 13 December - Whole School Christmas Concert with Andrew Chinn - 1pm - all families are welcome to attend (more details to come)
• Sunday 15 December, 6pm - STAGE 1 (Years 1 and 2) - Stage Weekend Mass with Andrew Chinn

Of course, all families are always very welcome to join Father Francis for the celebration of the Mass.

PARISH CELEBRATION OF THE EUCHARIST

A reminder of weekend Parish Mass times for St John the Evangelist, Dapto. Fr Francis loves to see our families there.

• Saturday Vigil 5.00pm
• Sunday 7.30am
• Sunday 9.30am
• Sunday 6.00pm

PRAYER INTENTIONS

We pray for all families in our school community who are in need of our prayers.
St Mary of the Cross MacKillop, pray for us.
St John the Evangelist, pray for us.

Kylie Crowe
Religious Education Coordinator

The annual Parish Celebration Day will take place on Sunday 24 November. All families are warmly invited to join the celebrations which will have a multicultural theme. 

Celebrations will commence at 10:00 am with an outdoor Mass, at the rear of the church, facing the new school building. Families are encouraged to wear national dress and asked to bring fold-up chairs or picnic rugs to sit on.

Following Mass, there will be food and entertainment including live music, a jumping castle and face painting 

Please note, if you have a food allergy please bring your own food just to be safe.

Stephen Leonard
Parish Pastoral Council

SPB4L 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 that are:

A reminder that First Holy Communion is this coming Saturday at 10:30am and we would like a school choir to sing at the Mass. Any child in Years 4, 5 and 6 as well as any children in Year 3 who are not making their First Holy Communion are welcome to join. It would be greatly appreciated if notes could be returned tomorrow as Ms Boyd-Skinner would like to have a practise in the morning.

A huge congratulations to the 121 students who presented the ever so delightful production of  Disney’s The Little Mermaid Jr. at the Roo Theatre, Shellharbour last weekend. The shows were an incredible success and a rich and rewarding experience for all those involved. 

We have been very fortunate to have had a whole team of creative directors and extended production crew involved throughout the entire process to ensure that St John’s production came to fruition. This opportunity would never have been possible without the involvement of the staff of St John’s, with their contributions of time, talent and patience. 

We have watched the students’ self-confidence grow, as they view themselves in new roles and challenging contexts. We have seen them work together as a team, learn, make new friends and demonstrate commitment and focus and, of course, have fun! The production has been an exciting, challenging and memorable experience for the students, something which they will carry with them for life. 

We congratulate our incredible cast and crew. We are so very proud of what you have achieved - the joy and happiness you bought to so many will never be forgotten!

Angela Boyd-Skinner 

Being part of the production has given me many memories and has helped me to gain friends from all grades. Thank you to the parents, staff, Mrs Sutton, Ms Boyd-Skinner and Mr Heffernan for making this all possible. Production is a memory that I will cherish forever. It was a truly great experience.

Sage Pierro 

Production for me was an amazing experience. We all as individuals grew upon our skills of acting and singing, we got to polish our talents and try our best. We developed teamwork and dedication, we were supportive of each other and learnt from our mistakes. We had to learn lines, dance movements, timing and confidence. Each and every one of us has grown from this experience and thoroughly enjoyed it. 

Prisha Angadi

First I would like to thank the teachers because without them we would not be able to have this amazing experience. The children and teachers together made pre-production what it was. I have done lots of shows in my life, however, none of them has been as fun and exciting as the Little Mermaid. Thank you to the teachers and parents.

Elijah Burns 

I loved the production because it helped me gain new skills and practice the skills I already had. I had so much fun, but it was so sad when it was over. Singing in front of an audience was definitely the highlight of the production for me. 

Austin Russell 

The production has been a massive highlight in my life and I will never forget the memories that I have created with the cast. I love the friendships that I have made during this experience and I know how everyone put so much effort in to make the production amazing. One of my favourite parts was the song 'Human Stuff' and when the curtains closed at the end when we all started to scream. I will never forget the experience, because I have loved the singing, acting and enjoying myself. I am so grateful for the character I played, as every single time we had to practice I was so excited and I couldn’t have asked for a better cast and experience. Thank you so much for the teachers for all the effort and hard work and the parent helpers for all that they did, thank you. 

Lara Topic

If you know that your child will not be returning to St John’s in 2020, would you please notify the school, in writing, as we require this information to assist with our planning for the new school year.

At St John’s there is an ongoing commitment to the professional development of staff. Throughout the school year, staff engage in professional learning aimed to further develop their knowledge, understanding and skills in providing quality learning experiences to support the needs of students in their class and the school.

Therefore, teachers across the school will attend professional learning opportunities as a requirement of their employment. Every attempt is made to ensure consistency with replacement teachers, but this is a daily challenge and at times the availability of casual teachers, across the system of schools, impacts on our efforts.

The following staff will be attending professional learning:

Happy World Teachers' Day – 25 October 2019

Every day, St John's Dapto teachers are making a positive difference – creating opportunities for our students, empowering minds of young people and proudly teaching our future leaders and innovators.

World Teachers' Day is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate and thank our teachers for the important role they play — inside our classrooms and out in the community.

Celebrated in more than 100 countries world-wide, World Teachers' Day was established by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in 1994 to recognise the role of teachers in society.

St John’ s P&F Family Food & Rides Night 2019

4pm- 8pm

Rides Bands

Unlimited rides bands will be available for pre-sale from the school office from Monday 28^th October. Bands will be $25 per person prior to the night, or $30 from the ticket booth on the night.

Bands will only be available from the office between 8.15am – 9.00am, and 2.15pm – 3.00pm. Payment is cash only, unfortunately, we cannot accept EFTPOS payment.

A ticket booth will be at the fair for purchases on the night. Unlimited bands will be available for $30 per person or individual tickets also available.

Unfortunately refunds are not provided if it is raining on the day. Our fingers are crossed for sunshine.

What’s On

This year we are excited to host the whole event on the MacKillop Campus. Rides will be spread across the campus, from Father Ward playground all the way around towards the Parish.

There will be something for all ages.

Rides — All of our favourite rides will be returning again this year (weather permitting). Rides will be spread over Father Ward playground and the MacKillop playground outside the Parish.

Farmyard — our favourite farm animals will be back with a $5 unlimited entry available for all ages.

Photobooth — Grab a prop and strike a pose, for a gold coin donation per entry.

Hairbraiding — We welcome ‘Hair by Courtney Anne’ this year. Courtney offers some amazing braid options and we can’t wait to have her at the fair. See stall for braid costs.

 Henna — ‘Henna Cove’ will be back offering some more beautiful Henna tattoos for your choosing. See stall for tattoo costs.

Open Air Disco — We will have a DJ play the latest tunes to create an outdoor disco. So bring your dancing shoes!

Showbags — Come and visit the showbag stand to see what is on offer this year.

Entry & Access

All rides will be on the MacKillop Campus this year. To ensure safety for all visitors, there will only be two access points this year for foot traffic.

Access will be via Moombara Street, up the driveway past the new building or via Mulda Street onto Father Ward playground.

Feeling Pekish?

Make your way to food truck alley and grab a bite to eat. From fresh Turkish gozleme, Moe’s burgers, widefire pizza, the kids’ favourite twist potato’s, and more. Refresh with a kombucha, coffee, or treat yourself to mini doughnuts and icecream.

Helpers

If you can assist in selling ride bands before or after school next week (Monday 28^th Oct- Friday 1 Nov), please get in touch.

Help would also be appreciated on the night to guide traffic at the two access points. If you can assist for 30 mins or half an hour, again, please get in touch.

Assistance is also required at the end of the night to tidy up. The more hands, the quicker we all get to go home.

If you can assist with any of the above, please contact Therese Ly — 0405 200 819, or Jodie Maloney — 0404 846 106.

Congratulations and thank you for supporting the Footy Colours Day — St John's raised $677.90. Well done.

To the following students who are celebrating their birthday in October — we wish you a very happy birthday and hope you have a great day.

Applications for student travel in 2020 opened on Friday, 11 October 2019.

Students progressing to Year 3 and Year 7 no longer need to re-apply if they:

• are continuing at the same school
• are residing at the same address
• have not been sent an expiry notification from Transport for NSW.

Where a student meets the new distance eligibility, the system will automatically update their entitlement. If they do not meet the new eligibility, they will receive an expiry notification via email.

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

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

If students need to update their information or re-apply, they should go online to https://apps.transport.nsw.gov.au/ssts/updateDetails

Applications need to be submitted before 31 December 2019 to ensure student entitlements are updated and their current entitlement/card is not cancelled. If their application is submitted after 31 December 2019, the system will automatically cancel an entitlement/card and a new one will need to be issued.

Students in the Opal network applying for a SSTS or Term Bus Pass entitlement for the first time will receive their card at their nominated postal address. Cards will be mailed out from January 2020.

School Pickup Zones

Book Club - Issue 7 has been handed out to students. Please have your order in by Wednesday 30th October 2019. All book club orders MUST be placed online at scholastic.com.au/LOOP or by using the LOOP app, which can be downloaded from the App Store or Google Play. Cash orders for book club can no longer be accepted. There are great rewards and promotions exclusive to ordering through LOOP. 

St Mary's and Edmund Rice Colleges upcoming Try Year 7 for a Day which is open to Year 5 students from all Primary schools in the region.

The scheduled days are Thursday 7 November and Friday 8 November. Parents/carers can register their children for Try Year 7 for a Day via the Edmund Rice and St Mary’s College websites. Parents/carers are required to make their own private transport arrangements for their son/daughter on the day.

Please feel free to contact Marie Pulford 42286011 at St Mary’s College or Darren Jeffery  42284344 at Edmund Rice College if you require any further information.