Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome to Term 2. I hope everyone had a holy and enjoyable holiday break. It was with great joy that I checked in with each class last week, hearing many wonderful stories of holiday experiences.

Last week we commenced the term with our Easter liturgy, celebrating the hope and joy that comes with the Easter Season. There is a reason this period is the high point of the Liturgical Year as we recall the life, death and resurrection of Jesus and we look to the joy, new life and possibilities faith in the risen Lord brings.

Our ANZAC liturgy last Thursday was both a reflective and moving experience for all who attended. I would like to acknowledge and sincerely thank Mr De Battista for his meticulous planning and organisation. The children were absolutely outstanding in the respectful and reverent way that they engaged in the liturgy. Many of the invited guests commented on the children and their respectful presence throughout the liturgy.  I would like to personally thank representatives from Dapto RSL, service men and women from our parent community, guest speakers, Brigadier Philip McNamara (OAM) and Vietnam Veteran Mike De La Hunty, and the Army Cadets for their active participation in supporting this most important school event. At the conclusion of the liturgy, all children attended the wartime artifacts museum that was organised by the Stage 3 staff and students. Thank you to the Stage 3 families who shared their personal wartime artifacts with the school community.

I would like to formally welcome Tory Wilson to our school community. Tory commenced this term as the Senior School Support Officer in the front office and will be a great asset to the SJD community.

School Cyclic Inquiry – Parent Feedback

In the coming weeks we will be inviting students (Year 4 -6), teachers and parents to provide feedback on their experience of our school using an online survey. The surveys are an essential part of our School's Cyclic Inquiry.
 
We would like to invite you to complete the Tell Them From Me (TTFM) Partners in Learning survey. As we value the role of parents and carers within our school community, we would greatly appreciate your feedback. The information you provide will be used to maintain our commitment to working together in partnership to further improve student learning and well-being.
 
The survey is anonymous and will take approximately 20 minutes to complete. You are able to access the parent survey on your computer or mobile device by using the URL below:

Kindergarten 2024 Enrolment

Enrolment meetings for Kindergarten 2024 will take place commencing on Saturday, 20 May. Letters were sent on Monday to all families who have submitted an application, asking that they book a meeting time. Members of the school leadership team will meet with families to discuss the enrolment process, exchange information and answer any questions about the enrolment process and the school. Importantly, if you haven’t submitted an application for kindergarten next year, please do so as a matter of urgency. We have limited places available and demand for placement is high. Offers will be made at the end of Term 2.

Arrival and Dismissal

Our school hours are 8:30 am to 2:40 pm. It is important that all children arrive on time each day. Being consistently late can have a significant impact on the learning outcomes for those students over time. Morning supervision begins each day at 8:00 am, please don’t leave your children unsupervised at the front gate prior to this time. 

I have received a number of complaints from local residents about the traffic congestion at morning drop-off, particularly Werowi Street. Please do not queue or park across driveways, preventing residents from accessing their houses. Your support in creating a safe and respectful environment is greatly appreciated.

School Production – Aladdin Jr

It is with great excitement that rehearsals for our school production commence next week. Last week the production team were able to announce the cast following an extensive audition process. All children who auditioned need to be commended for their attitudes, commitment and for having a go. Congratulations to all the children who have made the commitment to be part of the cast or crew. It will be a very rewarding experience.

Thank you

Special thanks to Jodie Maloney and Julia Najjar for organising the Mother’s Day Stall for next Friday, 12 May. If you are available to assist, can you please complete the P & F Mother’s Day Stall – Parent / Carer Helper Form.  Please view the P & F section below for further information about other events, including the Billy G Cookie fundraiser.
 
Kind regards
Mr Matt Downes
Acting Principal

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

Season of Easter

In the holidays, we celebrated Easter – the day Jesus rose from the dead so that we can have eternal life. We acclaim confidently and with certainty that Christ is risen. We take up the challenge to announce this message of joy, hope and peace, not only with the celebrating church, but to all whom we serve – families, colleagues, neighbours and all in our world. The bigger challenge is for us to maintain our call to be Easter people of peace and hope who radiate the risen Christ during the Easter season but throughout our lives.

The Easter season is fifty days from the Sunday of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ to Pentecost Sunday. During the Easter season the Paschal Candle, a symbol of the presence of the Risen Christ among the people of God, remains in the sanctuary near the Altar or Ambo until Pentecost Sunday.

Easter is represented by the liturgical colour white — the colour of light, a symbol of joy, purity and innocence (absolute or restored).

Month of Mary

The month of May (Overview - Calendar) is the "month which the piety of the faithful has especially dedicated to Our Blessed Lady," and it is the occasion for a "moving tribute of faith and love which Catholics in every part of the world [pay] to the Queen of Heaven. During this month Christians, both in church and in the privacy of the home, offer up to Mary from their hearts an especially fervent and loving homage of prayer and veneration. In this month, too, the benefits of God's mercy come down to us from her throne in greater abundance"

(Paul VI: Encyclical on the Month of May, no. 1).
 

Mother’s Day Mass and Morning Tea – 12th May

We warmly invite all mothers and grandmothers to the Mother’s Day Mass on the 12th of May at 9:30. After the mass, you are welcome to share morning tea (BYO morning tea), on the playground, with your child/ren and grandchildren, during recess.

Confirmation

Students in Year 6 and other members from the Parish are preparing for Confirmation on the 1st of June. Please keep the candidates in your prayers.

Help needed

Volunteers needed to sew hems around 1m cloths for classroom prayer tables. Please email maguirer02@dow.catholic.edu.au if you are available.

Dates for your diary

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 Joseph, Pray for us.
St John the Evangelist, pray for us.

Renee Maguire
Religious Education Coordinator

Dates for Term 2

Diocese of Wollongong Sports Twitter Account

This Twitter account has all sporting announcements for Diocesan events.

http://www.twitter.com/dowsport

Diocesan of Wollongong Sport Public Webpage

The sports web page is a comprehensive website for parents/carers. It contains information regarding;

• Sports calendars - DoW, Mackillop, NSW PSSA
• Representative sport information - dates, venues, equipment, covid safe policies, relevant contacts etc.
• Gala Days
• Representative carnivals - swimming, cross country, athletics
• LIVE sporting results

Congratulations Cooper

Cooper has been selected in the Wollongong Diocesan Rugby team. He will now compete in the MacKillop trials later in the term. Well done Cooper.

Michelle Atkins (Sports Coordinator)
Lauren Mitchell (PE teacher)

Billy G Cookie Dough! Yum!

Billy G is back! Orders open this Friday! Our mission is to raise funds to purchase new sunshades and other resources to develop our playground for our school! We are chasing our record sale target of $10,000 in 2023 to get there! Cookie orders are due by 28th May. Cookie dough will arrive mid-June! Just in time for school holidays!

How can you help? Order some dough and or respond to our call out for assistance with pre-packing and distributing our cookie dough in a future newsletter!

Mother's Day Stall

We are looking forward to celebrating Mother's Day by supporting our students in buying gifts for their parents and carers on 12th May. This year we are doing things a little differently ... we have a variety of gifts under $10. Gifts will range from $1, $2, $3, $4, $5, & $10. Small coins and notes are ideal to assist the stall efficiency on the day.

Students will be provided with a brown paper gift bag with their purchases (suitable to draw on to personalise their gift for mum!)

Keen to help? We are looking for helpers to assist in selling gifts to our children. We require helpers on Thursday, 11th May, from 2:30 pm onwards and Friday, 12th May, from 8:30 am onwards.

How is the P&F funding supporting our school?

The P&F thank you for your continued support of our fundraising initiatives. Testament to your support, we were able to endorse at last night’s P&F meeting a contribution to the school production of $5,000. The P&F is proud to sponsor the production and is very much looking forward to seeing the school musical Aladdin Jr come to life! We had a record number of students ‘dance the night away’ at our end of term 1 School Disco! We are proud to announce that we have successfully raised enough funds to support Student Wellbeing Afternoons for the entire year! Save the date! 30th June for our end of term 2 School Disco!
 
Next P&F Meeting is 7 pm on 25th July 2023. Are you interested in joining us? We are reviewing flexible attendance options. Look out for a survey in our next newsletter. Check out our minutes from last night's meeting to stay up to date!

After 3 weeks of recess and lunchtime rehearsals, we were delighted to announce the assigned roles for our school's production of  Disney — Aladdin Jr to the children.

The remarkable skills, passion, and optimistic outlook demonstrated by all the students in Years 4-6 greatly impressed and excited us. As we gear up for rehearsals commencing in Week 3, we eagerly anticipate sharing further updates with you.

ANZAC Day Commemorations

On Thursday, 27 April, the St John’s community participated in an ANZAC Day liturgy of remembrance and gratitude. We remembered those Australian men and women who have died or suffered in the great tragedy of war, those who served and those currently serving.  The liturgy also assisted the students in understanding that on ANZAC Day we do not celebrate war, but rather we celebrate peace and freedom.

During the liturgy, a HARS Dakota and a Caribou aircraft were flying around our school and this enhanced our commemorations of this special day, probably Australia’s most important national occasion.

HARS is a non-profit organisation that is very dependent on local patronage. HARS is proud of being a family and dog-friendly museum and provides escorted tours, has a childproof playground, café and of course the greatest display of airworthy historic aircraft in Australia.

Thanks again to all who attended our liturgy, our Year 6 students who led the liturgy so reverently and the Year 5 & 6 students who shared wartime artefacts with the school community after the liturgy. Thank you also to their families for sharing these special items with us.

Special thank you to:

• Members of the Dapto RSL Sub Branch: Mr Bob Winston and Mr and Mrs Mike and Mary Johnston,
• Brigadier (retired) Philip McNamara,
• Mr Mike De La Hunty,
• Lieutenant Brian McGrath, Lieutenant Jackson Brown (ex-student), Cadet Nicky Iliev (ex-student), Cadet Rocco Boiano (ex-student) and the members of the Wollongong Cadet Unit,
• Lieutenant Shelly Van Moolenbroek,
• Mr Brendan Gornall,
• Mr Shane Morrisey
• and our piper, Mr Bill Collins.
  
  

Book Club issue 3 brochures were delivered last week. All LOOP orders are to be in by Monday, 8th May.

Summer / Winter / Sport Uniform

The official change over to the winter uniform is Monday, 15 May (Week 4 Term 2). 

Term 2 sport uniform days remain the same as Term 1 for all students from Kindergarten to Year 6. These days are:

• Tuesday – Year 4, Year 5, 2 Green
• Wednesday – Year 6, Kindergarten, 2 Blue
• Thursday – Year 3, Year 1, 2 Red
• Friday – whole school
  
  

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.

Please note that there has been a price increase on some items.

FREE WEBINAR | On 29 March at 7:00pm, Council of Catholic School Parents are running a free 60 minute webinar for parents, carers, and staff of students at Catholic Education.