Dear Parents and Carers,

Last Friday, World Teachers Day was celebrated Australia wide, in recognition of the significant contribution that teachers make each and every day in the lives of our students. We are so incredibly blessed at St John’s with teachers who are deeply committed and passionate educators. On Friday, the Parents and Friends Association acknowledged our teachers, with morning tea and coffee to acknowledge and thank our teachers on this special day.

The ‘Colour Run’ was a hugely successful and fun day for our school community. Thank you for your support in raising $10,425.60 for Catholic Missions during mission month. It is an incredible amount of money that will be used to support education, sustainable farming and community health to assist in building brighter futures for Ethiopian families.

‘Missions are carried out together, not individually'
Pope Francis
World Mission Day Message (2022)

New School Bag

Through the Parent and Friends Association, it has been decided that from next year an optional school bag will be available for families to purchase. The bag will cost $65.00, comes with a lifetime warranty and can be purchased from Poppets School Wear only. It will be navy blue in colour, with light blue piping and feature the school crest. Manufactured by Spartan, it is a high-quality, lightweight school bag that will last for the duration of a student’s primary school years. Sample bags will be available in the coming weeks and will be on display in the school office, online and at Kindergarten Orientation.

Family Food and Ride Night

As you are aware, the planned Family Food and Ride Night was postponed due to the weather. While an alternative date in early December was arranged, the availability of food trucks and rides was very limited, making the rescheduled event no longer viable. Therefore, the P&F executive committee have decided to explore available dates early in the new school year.

Thank you for your continued support.

Andrew Heffernan
Principal

Be a gift of love and compassion for one another.
Mary MacKillop

Painting by D’arcy Doyle

Mission Month Colour Run Fundraiser

Congratulations on your generosity in raising $10,425.60 (a combination of online and cash donations) for Catholic Mission, particularly communities in Ethiopia. This is an outstanding accomplishment and goes hand in hand with our school motto ‘Love one another’ and being a witness of Jesus Christ, with these donations making a life-changing difference for families in need. The Colour Run was a celebration of World Mission Month, where throughout October students engaged the heads, hearts, and hands in the global work of mission. Students were invited to learn about, pray, advocate for, and financially support children and communities in need in Ethiopia.

The class that raised the most money, who won the pizza party, will be announced at Friday’s assembly.

All Soul’s Day — 2nd November

November 2 is the Commemoration of All of the Faithful Departed, or All Souls. On this day, we pray that all those who have died— our loved ones, and also those people around the world who we will never meet— through the mercy of God, will rest in peace.

All Souls Day Prayer

Merciful Father,
On this day, we are called to remember those who have died.
We pray for their joyful reunion with you, their loving creator.
As your son taught us to call the stranger neighbor,
our fallen are many—
Names we will never know,
Voices we have never heard,
In lands we may never visit,
Yet brothers and sisters all.
 
And so we pray.
For victims of war, caught in the crossfires of conflicts we could not quell, for soldiers and civilians, adults and children, we pray …
Grant eternal rest, O Lord.
For those migrants who have died seeking a haven where they hoped to find safety and opportunity for themselves and for their families, we pray …
Grant eternal rest, O Lord.
For victims of hunger, denied their share in the bounty you have placed before us, we pray …
Grant eternal rest, O Lord.
For those refugees seeking asylum from war, who died in a land that
was not their home, we pray …
Grant eternal rest, O Lord.
For victims of emergencies and calamities everywhere, who died amid
chaos and confusion, we pray …
Grant eternal rest, O Lord.
Lord, as you command, we reach out to the fallen. We call on you on
behalf of those we could not reach this year. You raised your son from
the dead that all may share in his joyful resurrection.
In Jesus' name,
Amen

Dates for your diary

• Wed 2nd Nov – All Souls Day
• Fri 4th Nov - Year 2 Mass 9:30
• Fr 4th Nov - Reconciliation (Half of Year 5)
• Sun 6th Nov - 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
• Friday 11th November - Year 3 Mass 9:30am
• Fr 11th Nov - Reconciliation (Half of Year 5)
• Sun 13th November - Stage 1 (Years 1&2) Mass with Andrew Chinn 6pm
  
  

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.

Renee Maguire
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.

Last week was World Space Week and in Gunyah we have been learning all about Space and our Solar System. We made balloon rockets, cooked up some alien sweets and made some aliens out of clay. We have amazed our teachers with our knowledge on the planets and have loved sharing our fun facts with our class!

Please see below important information regarding 2023 school fees.

EXISTING FAMILIES IN OUR SCHOOL WITH INSTALMENTS

If you are currently paying by instalments there is no need to complete another Request to Pay by Instalment as your request carries over from year to year unless you wish to amend the frequency of your payments e.g. weekly, fortnightly, monthly or quarterly.

IMPORTANT: Please ensure that you make payments based on your school fee schedule issued to you at the start of 2023 as this will avoid receiving overdue notices.

EXISTING FAMILIES IN OUR SCHOOL WITHOUT INSTALMENTS

If you would like to pay school fees by instalments in 2023 and have previously not taken up this option for payment, please complete a Request to Pay by Instalment Form and return completed form via email to instalments@dow.catholic.edu.au. Following receipt of the request, instalments will be generated on your school fee account during the process of invoicing 2023 school fees. Your school fee statement will provide a list of scheduled payments and their due date depending on the frequency you have chosen e.g. weekly, fortnightly, monthly or quarterly.

IMPORTANT: Please note that if you currently have a child or children at another school in the Diocese and you are paying by instalments at this location, you will not need to complete another Request to Pay by Instalment. The instalment request carries over from school to school with the same frequency of payment e.g. weekly, fortnightly, monthly or quarterly.

Please ensure that if you are electing to pay via instalments, that you make payments based on your school fee schedule issued to you at the start of 2023 as this will avoid receiving overdue notices.

If you know that your child will not be returning to St John’s in 2023 (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. 

The process for student class placement will commence early Term 4. If there are any special considerations or concerns that parents/carers feel the school should take into consideration, please put them in writing and send them to school no later than Friday 28 October. Letters should be addressed ‘Attention: Andrew Heffernan’ and marked ‘Confidential’.

Please note, that this is not the opportunity to request friendship groupings or specific teachers for your child. While all requests will be noted and discussed, final decisions on placements will be made following careful consultation with teachers. Requests received after Friday 28 October will not be considered.

A school 'Open Day' has been planned for Saturday 22 October from 1:00 pm - 3:30pm, involving a guided tour of the learning spaces and school facilities.

The 'Open Day' is aimed at prospective enrolments. It will provide an opportunity for families to learn more about our school and to experience the difference a Catholic education offers in the quality of partnerships between families and school and the strong sense of inclusivity and community.

St John’s Catholic Parish Primary School
Open Day
Saturday 22 October
1:00 pm - 3:30 pm

Please register your attendance at: https://bit.ly/openday-oct-22

Starting school is an important milestone in any child and family’s life. Research suggests that children who have a positive start to school are more likely to engage well in their learning and school life. Here at St John’s, we are hoping to nurture this positive start by offering a transition to school program that will include informal playgroup sessions as well as formal orientation opportunities.

Playgroup will take place from 9:00 - 10:00 am in the school hall (McCabe Hall) and COLA on the following dates.

Families are encouraged to have their child attend as many playgroup dates as possible to help them prepare for school. While the children play, parents/carers will have opportunities to gather information, ask questions and meet staff.

Information has been sent to all families with registration details.

Brochures for Book Club Issue 7 were handed out last week. This will be the last Book Club order for this year.

• Last order for 2022
• Closes on Monday 24th October

ALL ORDERS MUST BE SUBMITTED BY MONDAY 24TH OCTOBER 2022.

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

October