Dear Parents and Carers,

As we commence the second week of students returning to school full time, I would like to acknowledge with appreciation your continued support as we strive to keep our school COVID safe. We remain in Phase 3 of our Return to School Plan and as such, there are no changes to the newly implemented procedures and practices that have been enacted to keep students, staff and parent/carers safe.

While for many, it may seem that school is back to normal, this is certainly not the case. Last week, the question of cakes, lolly bags, etc; for birthday celebrations arose. In keeping with our Phase 3 plan, such items must not be brought to school until further notice. Birthdays will continue to be featured in the fortnightly newsletter and ‘Happy Birthday’ can be sung in class to celebrate. Therefore cakes and any other food items MUST not be brought from home to school to be shared.

On Monday, I communicated with families important information about the school's response in the event that there is a positive case of COVID-19 among students or staff at St John's, as well as the COVID-19 Fee Concession Program. If you haven't had the opportunity to review the information contained in both letters, I would encourage you to do so at your earliest convenience. If you are unable to access the letters via the Compass Portal, please contact the school office. Regarding the COVID-19 Fee Concession Program, a frequently asked questions document was also included in an attempt to clarify many of the initial questions that may arise.

On a personal note, I would like to share with the school community that my father passed away on Monday. While his passing is a time of great sadness for my family, it is in many ways a blessing. At 86 years of age, he had been unwell for some time, in pain and his quality of life had diminished significantly.

Eternal rest grant unto to him O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace. Amen.

Yours sincerely
Andrew Heffernan (Principal)

On behalf of St John's Catholic Parish Primary School, staff, students and community we would like to express our condolences to Mr Heffernan and family members for the loss of his father.

A simple and practical way that we as a school community can show our love and support for Mr Heffernan at this difficult time, is through our prayers.

We ask that you please keep Mr Heffernan and his family in your thoughts and prayers at this very difficult time. 

May they know the peace and strength of God’s compassionate and consoling presence at this time of loss and sadness. 
Eternal rest grant to him O’Lord, may he rest in peace.
Amen.

In these unprecedented times in education, classroom instruction as we have previously known has been altered due to the Coronavirus outbreak. Determining levels of academic achievement has been a challenge in remote learning environments as conversations, observations, and assessments are limited. Therefore an Interim Semester 1 Report has been developed to reflect student engagement in learning undertaken, during both classroom and remote learning, over the course of Term 1 and up to the middle of Term 2, 2020. The Key Learning Areas (KLAs) of Religious Education, English, and Mathematics have been the key focus for classroom and remote learning experiences delivered during Terms 1 and 2. 

Previously, schools have reported to parents/carers twice per year, reporting on student progress and achievement levels (A-E) of the Common Grade Scale for each Key Learning Area (KLA). Due to the need for schools to teach remotely, valid assessment of student learning has been challenging. Therefore in semester one, teachers will report to parents/carers on each child's 'effort' level and 'engagement' for Religious Education, English and Mathematics only and include five comments for each KLA. Please note, there will be no general comment or record of student attendance on the report.

The Interim Semester 1 Report will be available on the Compass Portal from Friday 19 June for students in Year 1-6. Kindergarten students only receive a Semester 2 Report.

Parent/teacher Conversations will be made available for all parents Kindergarten to Year 6 (22 June - 2 July). Parent/carers will be notified when bookings become available online.

IMPORTANT DATES

• Interim Semester 1 Reports available on the Compass Portal for students in Year 1 to Year 6 on Friday 19 June.
• Parent/student/Teacher Conversations will take place between Monday 22 June (Week 9) to Thursday 2 July (Week 10).

Parish Anniversary – 120 Years – Sunday 31st May

Last weekend our parish celebrated its 120 years anniversary. Whilst our celebrations were changed due to Covid-19, this significant event should be commended and remembered. You might like to read the following attachment as to the history of our parish – a history filled with great vision, hard work and faith.

World Environment Day – Friday 5th June

On Friday it is World Environment Day, which is a United Nations-led event that is celebrated each year. Since it began in 1972, it has grown to become a global platform for public outreach that is widely celebrated across the globe. World Environment Day is a day for everyone around the world to take ownership of their environment and to actively engage in the protection of our earth. It is a day that strives to raise awareness and encourage action for the environment, offering an opportunity to reflect on accomplishments and renew our resolve in overcoming the environmental challenges facing the world today.

We pray that we take seriously our call to be carers of our precious Earth, that we value the amazing gifts of our natural wonders and that we thank God for this great gift – our mighty Earth.

Feast of Most Holy Trinity – Sunday 7th June

Every time we bless ourselves or begin prayer with the sign of the cross, we reaffirm our belief in the Trinity. That seemingly simple prayer, ‘In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,’ is, in fact, a confirmation of our belief in a triune God – three in one. The earliest use of the sign of the cross only involved tracing a small cross with the thumb or finger on the forehead as it is still done in baptisms or blessings today. Later, describing the shape of the cross on forehead, abdomen and shoulders became the common practice.

Father, Son and Holy Spirit, animate our living.
Help us to forget ourselves, to get caught up in the mystery of your love and life.
Let us never forget the need to care for the good of others.
Never let us take for granted the mystery of life.

Feast of Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ – Sunday 14th June

The feast of the Body and Blood of Christ, also known as Corpus Christi, celebrates and commemorates the institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper. It provides a picture of a God who feeds us. In the past God provided food that enabled our ancestors to survive. God fed those who were needy, not those who were worthy. Jesus offered sustenance to the crowds that gathered around him. It was not manna from heaven that he offered but his own flesh and blood as food and drink. This food and drink are the pledge of eternal life. The God who comes to us at every Eucharist as real food is the same God that asks, ‘When I was hungry, did you feed me?’ This question says that just as God feeds us, so we too should and can feed each other.

May this feast of the Body and Blood of Christ give us the strength of our convictions. May the real food and drink we provide away from this sacred table prove to the world the power of the Eucharist to change us into a people that are good, unifying and loving. And may we not just share with the poor from our excesses but give them back the food that is rightly theirs.

At this time of Covid-19, where Masses in the diocese are limited to 10 people, we are prevented from receiving the Body and Blood of Christ. Members of the faithful are urged though to keep holy the Lord’s Day by making an act of Spiritual Communion, a well-established devotional practice of uniting one’s self in prayer with Christ’s sacrifice when circumstances prevent one from receiving holy Communion.

A Prayer for Spiritual Communion

My Jesus, I believe that you are present in the Most Holy Sacrament. I love you above all things and I desire to receive you in my soul. Since I cannot at this moment receive you sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace you as if you were already there and unite myself wholly to you. Never permit me to be separated from you. Amen

Remote Online Learning in Religious Education

As part of the Diocese’s support of Remote Learning in Religious Education, a weekly show called PRAY SCHOOL has been developed. PRAY SCHOOL is an engaging program, appealing to the spirituality of the child through storytelling, music, singing, listening and responding to Scripture. This program is aimed at children in Kinder through to Year 2 and many teachers are sharing this in their weekly activities. For those parents and carers who have also been sharing with pre-schoolers at home, here are the links to episodes 4, 5 and 6.

Episode 4 - EASTER MYSTERY: https://youtu.be/8Wk2GN-V4Wc

Episode 5 - ASCENSION: https://youtu.be/-Tb44QItZ0Q

Episode 6 - PENTECOST: https://youtu.be/BsmQ6rO04ws

Celebration of the Eucharist

A reminder that each Sunday, the Bishop is broadcasting Mass at 9am, we will be continuing to broadcast Sunday Mass online with Bishop Brian and other clergy from Lumen Christi Catholic Parishes Wollongong:

https://www.dow.org.au/covid-19/sunday-mass-online-with-bishop-brian/
 

Prayer Intentions

We pray for all families in our school community who are in need of our prayers, as well as our country and world.

St Mary of the Cross MacKillop, pray for us.

St John the Evangelist, pray for us.

Kylie Crowe
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 that are:

For the remainder of Term 2 please note the following:

On Wednesday 27th May we once again celebrated National Simultaneous Story Time at St John’s. This year's book is Whitney and Britney Chicken Divas by Lucinda Gifford. You can view a live reading via the following link

https://iview.abc.net.au/show/play-school-story-time/series/0/video/CK1908H022S00

Kindergarten had a wonderful time dancing like divas and reenacting the story through drama.

Alyssa and Macey said ‘It’s the best day ever because we got to dance like Divas’.

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

GROUP 2:  8th – 12th June

GROUP 3:  15th – 19th June

GROUP 4:  22nd – 26th June

GROUP 1: 29th June – 3rd July