Dear Parents and Carers,

This year National Child Protection Week will continue to champion the message ‘Every child in every community needs a fair go’. This message captures the essence of National Child Protection Week which aims to promote a safe and supported life for every child, now and into the future.

This week, as part of Child Protection Week, CatholicCare are hosting a number of parent information sessions throughout the Diocese of Wollongong. Tonight, Wednesday 6 September, all parents and carers are warmly invited to join our CatholicCare Counsellor (Vi Le) for a parent information session on 'Supporting your Child Develop Resilience'. The presentation will focus on:

• Proactive ways to support and develop resilience
• Increasing self-esteem, understanding emotions, goal setting, growth mindset
• Expanding worldviews and knowing how to scale problems.

To register, please click on the following link: http://forms.office.com/r/jxuWGTRLtc

Thank you to the many families who attended the Stage 1 Mass on Saturday night. It was a wonderful celebration led by Fr Francis and very well attended by the Stage 1 families. Thank you to Andrew Chin for sharing his expertise and time to engage the children through his music and to Mrs Maguire (REC) and the Parish Council for organising the barbeque.

Sincere thanks to Jodie Maloney and Julia Najjar for coordinating the P&F Father’s Day Stall. Thank you also to the many helpers who assisted with setting up on Thursday afternoon and with the sales on Friday morning. I’m sure all our fathers and father-like figures enjoyed the gifts, lovely and thoughtfully chosen, and had a lovely Father’s Day.

Preparations for the P & F Food and Rides Night are in full swing. Currently, the P & F are seeking prize donations for the Chocolate Wheel. If you are able to assist, please bring donations to the front office or email the P & F on pandf@sjddow.catholic.edu.au.

Term 3 concludes on Friday 22 September and Principal Awards will be presented at the conclusion of the end-of-term whole school Mass. Term 4 will commence on Monday, 9 October. All students are required to return to school next term in their full summer uniform. There are a number of warmer-than-expected days predicted over the final weeks of term; therefore, from tomorrow, your child may choose to wear their summer uniform on the warmer days. The only exception is School Photo Day – Tuesday 12 September; on this day all students are expected to wear their full winter uniform.

From Wednesday, 13 September to Friday, 15 September, I will be attending the Year 5 Camp. In my absence, Jeff De Battista will be the Acting Principal.

Kind regards,

Mr Matt Downes
Acting Principal

"Find happiness in making others happy.”
Mary MacKillop

The Nativity of Mary — 8th September

The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary refers to the birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary by her parents St. Anne and St. Joachim.  The Catholic Church celebrates Mary’s birthday on September 8th, nine months after the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, celebrated on December 8th. We, as Catholics, celebrate the birth of Mary, as this is truly the “Birth of Salvation”.  We know that Mary went on to give birth to Jesus, our Saviour.  The birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary is one of three liturgical feasts in which we celebrate a birth: Christmas, the Birth of Saint John the Baptist, and the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Feast of the Triumph of the Holy Cross — 14th September

On the Feast of the Triumph of the Cross we honour the Holy Cross by which Christ redeemed the world. The observance of the Feast of the Triumph of the Cross has been celebrated by Christians on September 14 is where Christians "exalt" the Cross of Christ as the instrument of our salvation. Adoration of the Cross is, thus, adoration of Jesus Christ, who suffered and died for our redemption from sin and death. The cross represents the One Sacrifice by which Jesus, obedient even unto death, accomplished our salvation. The cross is a symbolic summary of the Passion, Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ - all in one image.

It is the potent and universal symbol of the Christian faith. It has inspired both liturgical and private devotions; for example, the Sign of the Cross, which is an invocation of the Holy Trinity; the "little" Sign of the Cross on head, lips and heart at the reading of the Gospel; praying the Stations (or Way) of the Cross; and the Veneration of the Cross by the faithful on Good Friday by kissing the feet of the image of Our Saviour crucified.

Placing a crucifix (the cross with an image of Christ's body upon it) in churches and homes, in classrooms of Catholic schools and in other Catholic institutions, or wearing this image on our persons, is a constant reminder - and witness - of Christ's ultimate triumph, His victory over sin and death through His suffering and dying on the Cross.
[Pope John Paul II - Excerpts from the homily of September 14, 2003]

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

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.

During the year, teachers at St John’s have engaged in professional learning opportunities that have allowed them to collaborate, plan and track student data, specifically in the area of Mathematics.

This professional learning has continued to develop in order to support student needs. This term, teachers from K-6 have continued to build their own knowledge of the Six Aspects of Place Value. Together, they have engaged in reflective practices, through collaboration to develop and plan engaging Mathematics lessons for our students.

Our teachers have begun to implement targeted teaching small group lessons (interventions) in Mathematics around the Six aspects of Place Value. The students across K-6 have been working with various-sized numbers and decimals to deepen their knowledge in reading, writing and representing numbers.

The six aspects of place value:

• Count
• Make and Represent
• Name and Record
• Compare and Order
• Calculate
• Rename

Goal

Teachers will have a deep understanding of the six aspects of place value and develop a shared understanding and language for so that they can implement evidence-based strategies for teaching, leading to student growth.

Students in Years 3, 4 and 5 have recently taken place in the annual Prime Minister’s Spelling Bee. They were given 30 random words from their reading level word list and then had 25 seconds to spell each word. Students may not have been familiar with all the words they were asked to spell. However, exposing students to new words and their definitions has helped expand their vocabularies and encouraged them to continue reading.
Congratulations to all students who participated as well as the following students who were either class or grade champions;
 
3B Class champions –Ethan S, Grace Z
3G Class Champions – Joseph K, Airlie R
3R Class Champion – Maverick W
Year 3 Grade Champion – Airlie R
 
4B Class champion – Thomas G
4G Class Champion – Ruby M
4R Class Champion – Nixon B
Year 4 Grade Champion – Thomas G
 
6B Class champions – Temperence A-P, Nicholas F, Aydan R, Michael W
6G Class Champion – Felix C
6R Class Champion – Ella P
Year 6 Grade Champion – Felix C
 
Thomas G also made it to the next level of the competition. Congratulations Thomas – State Finalist!!

Students in Years 5 and 6 have recently written and presented speeches to participate in the Annual Diocesan Public Speaking Competition. After judging at a class level and then grade level, the following students have been selected to represent St John’s on Monday, 11th September 2023, at Good Samaritan Catholic Primary School, Fairy Meadow, in the Regional Public Speaking Final.

Year 5 – Emily Z
Year 6 – Michael W

Congratulation to all students for their efforts and we wish Emily and Michael all the best for the finals.

We thank the Catholic Development Fund for sponsoring our Diocesan Public Speaking Competition. Thanks to their continued generosity, there is no entry fee incurred by schools to enter the competition.

Students in Year 6 have recently participated in the Wollongong City Council’s Creative Writing Competition. Their task was to write a narrative describing what happens to the contents of our Fogo Bins once they are collected. Their challenge, however, was to not write what actually happens, but instead, to imagine what could possibly happen – being as creative as possible. The Year 6 students did an amazing job with their narratives. The two winners picked by Wollongong City Council were Lucas F and Kahn G. Congratulations boys!

We would like to express our appreciation to all the families, especially the fathers, father-figures and grandfathers, who took part in the Father's Day Mass and relished a special morning tea with their children and grandchildren.

What can you expect?

• Pre-purchase ride bands are $35 (or on the night $40) or $8 per ride (on sale one week prior)
• Over 16 Market Stalls, Rides, Show bags, Farm Animals
• Market Stalls include hair braiding, pet products, airbrush tattoos, face painting, candles, toys, specialty nuts and much, much more!
• Food Trucks include: Burgers, Ice Cream Trucks, Twist Potatoes, Pizza, Doughnuts and Vietnamese and Coffee Van
• ATM will be available; however, bring your change!
• Chocolate Wheel from 6pm – 7pm
• BYO Chairs and Picnic Blankets

How can you help?

• We will be seeking volunteers to support on the night in the coming weeks.
• We are also seeking support for prizes for our chocolate wheel. Do you know someone that could donate a prize to support us? If so, please bring in donations to the office or email the P&F; pandf@sjddow.catholic.edu.au

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