Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome to Term 2. I hope that the holidays provided a break from the routine of school and an opportunity for families to have some quality time together.

It has been a very settled start to the new term. Thank you for ensuring that your children return to school in the correct uniform, your effort in this regard is always appreciated. If at any time you require clarification about school uniform, our School Uniform Policy is available from the school website and contains all relevant information, including suppliers. The official winter uniform change-over date is Monday 20 May, although we remain in a period of transition and depending on the weather, either may be worn.

Our building project remains on schedule and is rapidly progressing towards completion. It is pleasing to see the new building, which will be occupied by students in Years 4 – 6, taking shape. The new learning spaces will provide students with a flexible environment in which to learn. Importantly too, is that temperature, light, and acoustics have been carefully planned for, so as to optimise conditions for learning. It is an exciting time for our school and once complete, work will commence on stage 2, the upgrading and refurbishment of the K - 3 building before stage 3, the administration area of the school.

This Sunday we celebrate Mother’s Day, a special time of recognition and celebration for the gift of our mothers. I would like to take this opportunity to wish all mothers a wonderful day.

A reminder, all parents and carers are invited to our special Mother’s Day Mass this Friday at 9:30 am. The P&F Mother’s Day stall will take place in the time either side of Mass and as always, there will be a range of gifts on offer for purchase.

Thank again once again to the P&F for providing this opportunity for the students.

A Prayer for Mothers

All-loving God, we give you thanks and praise for mothers young and old.

We pray for young mothers, who give life and count toes and tend to our every need; May they be blessed with patience and tenderness to care for their families and themselves with great joy.

We pray for our own mothers who have nurtured and cared for us; May they continue to guide us in strong and gentle ways.

We remember mothers who are separated from their children because of war, poverty, or conflict; May they feel the loving embrace of our God who wipes every tear away.

We pray for women who are not mothers but still love and shape us with motherly care and compassion.

We remember mothers, grandmothers, and great-grandmothers who are no longer with us but who live forever in our memory and nourish us with their love.

Today as we honor, celebrate, or simply reflect on the woman who raised us we thank You, Lord, for Life and for our mothers!

Amen

Easter Season

Thank you to Kindergarten and their teachers for the beautiful liturgy that we celebrated last Tuesday. This was a reminder that during the holidays we celebrated the greatest feast of the Church calendar - the resurrection of Jesus - and now we are in the season of Easter. The season of Easter lasts for 50 days - from Easter Sunday until Pentecost. 

May – Month of Mary

May is the month of Mary. This is aspecial time for us pay homage to and to honour our Blessed Mother Mary. The Rosary is one way that we can do this. Mary herself once said that "when you say your Rosary, the angels rejoice, the Blessed Trinity delights in it, my Son finds joy in it too, and I myself am happier than you can possibly guess. After the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, there is nothing in the Church that I love as much as the Rosary." Perhaps as a family, some time could be spent praying the rosary throughout May.

Parish Sacramental Program

Preparations have begun for children who are to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation this year. This coming weekend is the last weekend that enrolments will be taken. Please attend any of the weekend masses to take an enrolment form and put down your child’s name.

A parent information evening will be held on Thursday 16 May at 6 pm in the Church. One parent must attend.

Change of date - A workshop day was to be held on Thursday 30 May but will now be held on Wednesday 29 May.

Please see Sacramental roster for other dates (attached).

Coming Events

• Friday 10 May, 9:30 am - PARISH MASS - Years K-6 attending - celebrating Mothers’ Day
• Saturday 11, Sunday 12 May - Final weekend for ENROLMENT in the SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION
• Thursday 16 May, 6:00 pm, Confirmation Parent Information Night in Church - one parent must attend
• Friday 17 May, 9:30 am PARISH MASS - Year 4 attending
• Friday 17 May 11:15am - RECONCILIATION - 5B attending

STAGE WEEKEND MASSES (WITH ANDREW CHINN) - PLEASE JOIN US TO CELEBRATE THE EUCHARIST

A reminder of our stage Mass with Andrew Chinn, a well-known singer and musician:

• Term 2 – Sunday, June 16, 6 pm - STAGE 3 (but all families warmly invited) - PLEASE NOTE CHANGE OF DATE (it was originally on Saturday 18th May)
• Term 3 – Saturday 7 September, 5 pm - STAGE 2 (but all families warmly invited)
• Term 4 – to be advised
• Saturday 18, Sunday, 19 May – CONFIRMATION COMMITMENT WEEKEND – all candidates must attend one of the weekend Masses

Celebration of Grandparents 

This year are Grandparents Day will be held on Thursday 25th July. Further details to come, but save the date!

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

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

Dates for Term 2

• Primary Netball Gala Day 25 June (Back Up 2 July)
• Primary Soccer Gala Day 2 August (Back Up 8 August)
• St John’s Athletics Carnival Friday 26 July
• South Coast Athletics Carnival Tuesday 13 August

School Cross Country

The St John’s school community had a wonderful day with favourable weather Friday 5th April at The Kembla Jogger’s cross country park.

All students competed very well and showed excellent sporting spirit.

Thank you to all of the parent helpers who played an important role in the running of the day. Thank you to parents/carer’s/grandparents who came along and supported the children during the day.

Diocesan Cross Country Carnival

The following 24 students represented St John’s at the Diocesan Cross Country yesterday in Nowra. Congratulations to all students who competed with determination and sportsmanship and were great ambassadors for St John’s. Our school team came 12th out of 31 schools, great team effort. A special thank you to Mr Grant, Mrs Wilton and Mrs Amadio for being course officials on the day.

Addison B, Riley McD, Lilah B, Mikayla G, Charli SC, Laura F, Ruby C, Alexia F, Matilda P, Emily A, Heidi C, Charlotte R, Ashton B, Dean P, Levi E, Roman F, Cooper T, Nash M, Riley W, Jacob P, Aiden McE, Jack G, Aiden M, Dean M

Congratulations to the following students who came in the top 20 out of 90 competitors: Ruby C 18th, Emily A 15th; Ashton B 12th and Jack G 18th.

Mrs Michelle Atkins
Sports Coordinator

From Monday 14 May to Friday 24 May, Year 3 and Year 5 will participate in NAPLAN Online. The assessment window for NAPLAN Online is extended from three days provided for the paper test to give schools more flexibility in scheduling and to accommodate schools that may have fewer devices.

The Information Brochure for Parents and Carers addresses common questions about NAPLAN Online testing. One of the main features of the NAPLAN Online format is that it is a tailored (or adaptive) test. The tailored test provides a more precise assessment of your child’s performance in the areas of reading, language conventions (grammar, spelling and punctuation) and numeracy by adapting to responses. As your child progresses through the test, questions may be easier or more difficult, to better assess his or her ability. Your child should not be concerned if he or she finds the questions more difficult than expected – the pathway may be more challenging. Many of the same questions appear in both paper and online tests, but not every student doing the online test will be answering the same questions in the same order. Your child’s NAPLAN results and scores are based on the number and complexity of questions he or she has answered correctly.

If you have any questions about NAPLAN Online, please contact your child’s teacher.

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:

Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong (CEDoW) launched its Social Media Policy on 2 April 2019. The policy values the use of social media to help create vibrant Catholic school communities of faith and learning and references any form of online presence.

Users of social media are required to manage their digital footprint by interacting responsibly and ethically, respecting the dignity of all involved. Therefore the policy clearly sets out expectations for teachers, students, and parents in our Diocesan school communities.

Please take the time to read the attached information for parents and carers. Further information is available from the CEDoW website.

The next P & F Meeting will be held at a new time — Friday 10 May at 7:30am in the Mini Hall. 

Pastries and coffee provided and children can come with their parents before school starts. All parents, grandparents and carers are welcomed.

Please support the hardworking P & F committee.

The official date for the children to change over to the winter uniform is Monday 20 May (Term 2 Week 4). The winter uniform may be worn prior to this date if the weather becomes cooler. Children must not wear a combination of both; rather it is either one or the other (summer or winter).

A reminder that it is an expectation that all children wear the correct uniform daily, it is not optional. From Term 2, children wearing the incorrect uniform, after a reminder will be given an 'Out of Uniform' notice to signed and returned to their Stage Leader.

Please refer to the Uniform Policy if you require clarification about the school uniform. You are encouraged not to leave the ordering of any new uniform items to the last minute!

Book Club - Issue 3  has been handed out to students. Please have your order in by Tuesday 14 May 2019. Don't forget, you can order online at scholastic.com.au/LOOP or by using the LOOP app, which can be downloaded from the App Store or Google Play. There are great rewards and promotions exclusive to ordering through LOOP. 

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

Help is required in the canteen on the following days.

Wednesday 15th May: MacKillop
Monday 20th May: MacKillop
Monday 27th May:  MacKillop
Tuesday 28th May: Mackillop
Thursday 30th May: MacKillop

Your help will be greatly appreciated, please complete the online form or phone the office 4261 4611 or phone Dana 0411 706 625.

Strengthening Relationships 

CatholicCare Wollongong has released its course dates for 2019, offering education and group work courses for adults, parents and carers, children and couples. We offer a range of courses to strengthen relationships and build resilience within a supportive environment alongside others who share similar life experiences.

The NRL’s New Program League Stars is HERE and it’s coming near you.

The League Stars program appeals to the true nature of kids, in all their messy, high energy, love of fun and play. This before or after school non-contact program is geared towards providing the perfect introduction to Rugby League for Primary School aged children. The skill-based program is suitable for all abilities.

Every participant will receive a cool League Stars pack which will include a backpack, ball, ball pump, shirt and stickers.
 
Start 13/5/2019
Time: Monday’s 3:30pm
Length: 6 weeks
Age: 5-12 years Old
Cost: 75$
 
Where: Dandaloo, Oval, Kanahooka Road, Kanahooka, 2530
 
Click the link below to Register NOW
https://membership.sportstg.com/regoform.cgi?formID=86321&programID=45841

or for more information please contact

Kyle Williams
0400 977 517
kwilliams@nrl.com.au