Term 4, Week 2, 14 October 2021

Principal's Message

Welcome back to Term 4, it is always a busy one! We return to school remaining on level 3 retrictions, which still does not allow parents on site or external visitors. However we were granted an easing in restrictions to allow our new Kinders for 2022 onsite. Unfortunately we were unable to allow their parents onsite to help settle them in, so I was a little worried how they might settle into a new environment. However, they were amazing! They were very confident coming into school and engaging in the activities planned for them. Well done to our new Kinders.

Last week an email was sent via compass to seek feedback from parents to assist with the process of the principal appointment for 2022. The survey closes on Monday 18th October. The link was included in the email. Please contact the office if you require the link to be resent.

As you may have read via communication at the end of last Term,  I have taken on a new position in 2022. I am returning to Queensland after living in New South Wales for the past 10 years and will hopefully get to spend more time with my family. I have very much loved my time at St John's and I will always have the memory of the beautiful staff, students and families.

School Fee Relief

Communication at the end of last Term outlined that there is access to school fee relief from the Catholic Schools Office. Full relief for Term 3 school fees for recipients of the COVID-19 Disaster Payment - New South Wales or COVID-19 Business Grant is available. The waiver may be pro-rated depending on the timing of loss of income and/or eligibility for these schemes. A refund
for Term 3 fees already paid can be made if requested and you meet the criteria. Please contact the school by email if this applies to you.

Swimming

Usually in Term 4 we undertake swimming lessons. At this stage restrictions have prohibited us from doing this and it is looking very unlikely. Swimming is a very important skill for children and especially when we live in area with beautiful creeks, rivers, dams, pools and the beach. I encourage all families to consider swimming lessons to ensure you child has strong swimming skills.

Renay Condon

TEACHING AND LEARNING

Professional Learning in writing for St John’s Staff- Keeping Student’s at the Centre.

Last week as a staff we reviewed our whole school beliefs about writing. The staff engaged in a robust discussion about what we believe will have the most impact on engaging students in writing and developing their skills. We discussed the importance of getting the balance right between valuing and developing their creativity and ideas whilst still focusing on the secretarial skills of writing. As a professional learning community, we identified corresponding teaching practices that will improve students outcomes in writing. We spent time investigating our NAPLAN data to identify student strengths, celebrate growth and identify where we need to target our teaching so students can continue to grow as writers.

 The process of learning is ongoing and as teachers, we will:-

• continue to  engage in professional learning about current practices to improve outcomes for students
• use student data from our current writing samples to plan for explicit teaching; monitor student growth, assess our impact as teachers and decide what students need for further growth.

We are committed to knowing our students and supporting them to grow and develop as learners. They are always at the centre of all our discussions and planning. 

CANTEEN

Hi everyone
It has been so lovely settling into my role as the canteen manager and getting to know the children. 

The canteen and sushi menus are now also available through the Compass app for those who are interested.   

Just a friendly reminder that if anyone would like a regular sushi order for Friday's canteen day, please could order by 2pm on Thursday. You can do this by ringing, emailing  or bringing your order into school.  

I will also be opening the canteen every fortnight on a Monday for a vegetarian nacho's day starting the 25th October. The dates will include;
Monday 25th October                                                                                                                                                  Monday 8th November                                                                                                                                                            Monday 22nd November                                                                                                                                          Monday 6th December
This menu will also uploaded on the Compass App. If you would like to order,  you can do so through the compass app or by ordering at the office by 3pm the THURSDAY before. On the Mondays I will make the nachos for lunch, and will also sell the other items, i.e. baked goods, chips etc..  at recess.
Best wishes,

Nicole

SCHOOL NEWS

SCHOOL FEES

Term 4 School Fees Statements have been sent out. Please arrange to finalise your account before the end of Term. If you have any concerns or queries please contact the school. 

IMPORTANT DATES

Monday 1st November will be a Pupil Free Day, staff will be participating in a Teaching and Learning day. 

Book Club

All book club Issue 7 orders need to be returned to school by                        Friday 15 October 2021

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU"

Our birthday people

Bella, Cloudy, Colt & Rose