Dear Parents and Carers,

As this is the last newsletter for the year, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued support and involvement. It has been another very successful year and it is hard to believe that it is almost over! I wish all families a holy Christmas, an enjoyable and safe holiday break.

All Students (Year 1 – 6) return to school on Wednesday 29 January 2020. Kindergarten's first full day at school is Thursday 6 February 2020.

Please ensure that your child/ren return to school wearing the correct summer uniform and note that sports shoes MUST be predominately white, not fluorescent in colour. For your convenience, the school uniform policy is attached below.

2020 Student Leaders

It is with much pleasure that I announce to the school community our student leaders for 2020. In congratulating the following children, I would also like to acknowledge and commend all the Year 5 students who nominated themselves for positions of leadership.

 School Captains

• Evie Green
• Elijah Burns

Vice Captains

• Sienna Watt
• Rocco Boiano

Student Representative Council (SRC)

• Mia Tarlinton, Jessica Keys, Lara Topic, Chelsea Whalan & Chelsea Van der Kooi, Austin Russell, Ian Haines, Aiden McEwan, Declan Lane & Michael Sharkey

MacKillop House (Green)

• Charli St Clair
• Jett Silva

 McCabe House (Red)

• Brigitte de Luca
• Zac Neilsen

Joseph House (Yellow)

• Ellie Bicknell
• Noah Daminato

Ward House (Blue)

• Ruby Corrie
• Blake Clarke

Yours sincerely
Andrew Heffernan (Principal)

CHRISTMAS: THE NATIVITY OF JESUS - Wednesday 25th December

For people surrounded by department store decorations, commercials, Christmas carols, special foods, and the like, believing that today’s Christmas celebration actually evolved from the humble story of a young woman giving birth in the straw is a stretch.

The Christmas story is full of symbols. Jesus, who becomes our bread and wine – our nourishment – is laid in a manger, the feeding trough for the animals. Jesus, who is the champion of poor people, is born into a homeless family. Poor shepherds were the first to welcome the Messiah that the Jewish people had been waiting for generations. The symbol of angels singing, praising God, and flying madly all over the sky was a good clue that something out of the ordinary was happening.

Modern Christmas stories use different symbols to make the same points: Rudolph, the ‘poorest’ reindeer, becomes the champion; and Frosty, a snowman, transforms children’s lives.

Perhaps you have your own personal Christmas experience that has special meaning or symbolism.

Reflection by Lisa-Marie Calderone-Stewart

PRAYER FOR RAIN

Please continue to pray for rain for our country.

PARISH CELEBRATION - Sunday 24 November

On Sunday 24th November, the Parish had its annual celebration day. It was a wonderful day of liturgy, community and multicultural food!

Thank you to the children in Years 4 and 5 who came and were part of the Gospel Procession.

SVDP Annual Christmas Appeal

Thank you to many families that brought in one or more items for the annual SVDP Christmas Appeal, helping those who perhaps have much less than we do throughout the Christmas season. St Vincent de Paul were extremely appreciative of our school’s generosity.

One of our Year 1 students, Lewis, has been collecting cans and bottles to take to the return and earn machines. With the money that he has made doing this he has bought all of the items that you can see in the picture below to donate to SVDP. What an amazing effort and desire to help others.

CHRISTMAS CONCERT (with Andrew Chinn) - Friday 13th December

On Friday 13th December, Australian religious songwriter and singer, Andrew Chinn, led our Advent/Christmas Concert. Thank you to the many families who were able to join us. For those families who were interested in buying Andrew’s music, you can find it on iTunes.

STAGE 1 WEEKEND MASS (with Andrew Chinn) - Sunday 15 December

Thank you also to the families and staff who were able to join with us for Mass on Sunday. A special thank you to Evie, Mia and Dhyllen for their beautiful singing.

PARISH CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION OF THE EUCHARIST

A reminder that Fr Francis would love to see as many of our families at one of the Christmas Masses. The vigil on Tuesday night at 6pm is an outdoors Mass on the Evangelist campus, especially for families.

Any children in years 3-6 who would like to join the parish choir for the Mass are more than welcome to.

Please also at some stage visit the Church to see what Father Francis has created this year for our Christmas Sacred Space.

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.

Wishing all of our families a very holy and happy Christmas season.

Kylie Crowe
Religious Education Coordinator

Could all parents/carers please arrange to pick up any medication currently at the school by Wednesday 18th December as these cannot be held at the school during the school holidays.  This medication must be returned back to the school at the start of Term 1 with a new completed "Request for St John's to administer medication" form, which can be picked up at the school office or downloaded from our website. Thank you for your prompt cooperation.

CHRISTMAS 2nd RITE RECONCILIATION TIMES

• SHELLHARBOUR - Tues 17 December 7pm
• DAPTO - Wed 18 December 7pm
• KIAMA - Thur 19 December 6pm
• (Albion Park and Port Kembla 1st rite only) 

CHRISTMAS MASS TIMES

• CHRISTMAS VIGIL - 24 DECEMBER — 6pm & 9pm (6pm mass will be held outdoors at the back of the church, please BYO chair or picnic blanket as chairs will be limited)
• CHRISTMAS DAY - 25 DECEMBER — 7.30am & 9.30am

Over the holiday break all students, Kindergarten to Year 5, are invited to take part in the Holiday Reading Challenge. Reading is a very important and necessary skill that we use every day.  It is a skill that we use when reading books and magazines, watching TV, shopping and playing games. When children stop reading for extended periods of time they often take a few steps backwards. This school initiative is intended to help maintain student reading abilities and continue to foster their love of reading over the Christmas holidays.

By participating in the Reading Challenge your child will be practising the skill of reading on a regular basis, reinforcing good reading habits. Parents and carers are encouraged to help their children find fun and interesting books, fiction and non-fiction.  It is important for your child to read aloud to someone and just as important for them to listen and enjoy stories being read to them. 

Today, children in Kindergarten to Year 5, were provided with a Holiday Reading Log. Children are encouraged to record the time they spend reading during the holidays into the Holiday Reading Log. Early in 2020, Diamond, Gold, Silver and Bronze Awards will be presented based on the number of hours spent reading. 

We all know that reading is one of the most important fundamental skills children must master to succeed, almost everything we do involves reading of some form. Hopefully, this challenge will help motivate your child to continue reading on a regular basis during the holiday break.

Mrs Thomas (Acting Assistant Principal)

School Banking will start back on Tuesday 4 February 2020.

If you would like to assist in 2020, please complete the form below.

This is an extraordinary opportunity to get involved and make a real difference while having the adventure of a lifetime in Outback Australia. Together with a team of like-minded supporters, you’ll trek for five days on the Larapinta Trail to raise funds for CatholicCare’s SIBS program. The SIBS program helps siblings of children who have severe illness or disability. Without structured support programs, these siblings can often feel overwhelmed, unimportant or unacknowledged in their caring role and may face social isolation, depression and anxiety.

The Larapinta Challenge is your chance to make a difference by taking on an extraordinary adventure. By day, you’ll see highlights of the Larapinta Trail. By night, you’ll gather around the campfire with your teammates, and sleep under a blanket of stars.

This is a small-group experience and places are limited. To save your spot, click the Learn More button below for additional information and registration.

Dear St John's Families,

Just a reminder that should you wish to enrol in Drama for 2020, now is the time! 

The classes are already quite full with continuing and new enrolments, so be sure to get your child's name down asap to avoid disappointment at the top of 2020. You can complete and return the form attached, but at this stage of the school year (and with potential for a note to linger in a school bag), it is best to email: playspacemusicdramaed@yahoo.com.au

Christmas Wishes to all!

Fond Regards, 
Marianne Patton