Term 2, Week 10, 30 June 2022

Principal Message

Our last couple of weeks of term two and semester one have certainly been busy. On Monday we had our Inter house Athletics carnival down at the Cavanbah Centre. It was so great to see all the children participating, having fun and encouraging each other. The house spirit was well and truly alive and our Stage 3 leaders set such a great example for everyone else. Thank you to Miss McEvoy and Mr Flint who organised the carnival anf to the staff and parents to helped out on the day.

On Wednesday our amazing Parish School Forum held a silent disco for the children. It was a great night! Thank you to the forum members for their organisation and to all the parents for helping - including Matt Jackson (Spice it up Thai) who provided meals for the community. Miss McEvoy has put together a quick snippet of highlights from the night. To view please CLICK HERE. 

Today we will finish off the term with an end of semester Mass (11:30am), Celebration of Learning - Open Classrooms (12:30pm) and extended recess for the kids (1pm-2pm). What a fun way to end the semester.  Parents are welcome to take their children at 2pm after recess. 

Key Dates for Term 3

Please find below key dates for Term 3 at this stage. Any additional dates will be communicated as they arise during the term.

• Tuesday 19th July - First Day of Term 3
• 25th July-29th July - NAIDOC Week
  
• Monday 8th August - St Mary of the Cross MacKillop Feast Day Celebrations 
• Sunday 21st August - Sacrament of First Holy Communion
• Sunday 4th September - Father's Day (We will celebrate this on Friday 2nd September)

Ongoing items to be conscious of during term3:

• School Assembly is taking place every Monday at 2:15pm. Parents Welcome
• The School newsletter will go out on Thursday in Weeks 2, 4, 6, 8, 10.
• Family Connect Worker Lisa Wood is in every Monday.
• School Tuckshop will be open every Friday.

Semester One Reports

During Week 8 and 9 I had the privilege of reading through each student's report card and I was very impressed with the progress that each and every student has made this semester. They should all be very proud of what they have achieved this semester, as I'm sure that you are. 

Semester 1 report cards are now visible to you on Compass and you will notice that some greater detail has been added onto the Additional Information page. This provides greater clarity around certain components of the student reports. You will also notice that the design of the reports has been enhanced with more coloured graphics so that it is easier to see where your child sits on each continuum. 

If you have any questions or concerns about your child’s report card, please get in touch with the classroom teacher in the first instance. 

St John's After School Care & Vacation care

We recieved the great news last week that St John's will continue to host the Council run after school care and vacation care until the end of January 2023. There is the chance for this service to be extended into 2023 also. Please keep in mind that this service can be used at any time. see details below for information and/or to enrol your child. 

VACATION CARE 

Further information and bookings are available through the Byron Shire Council Website here: Vacation Care - Byron Shire Council (nsw.gov.au).

For bookings, please contact vacationcare@byron.nsw.gov.au

AFTER SCHOOL CARE

Permanent bookings can be made weekly or fortnightly and is their preferred booking option. The service offers casual bookings subject to availability.

Complete the Outside School Hours Care Enrolment Form(DOC, 114KB) and return to the OSHC coordinator via email at mullumoosh@byron.nsw.gov.au.

Jan Seymour - Learning social skills through art & craft

It was great to have Jan Seymour with us for 13 weeks this year. Jan ran great sessions with small groups of children to enrich their social skills through art & craft. Some of the feedback that I recieved from students who participated in this program is below:

• I like this group because I can make crazy stuff that I can play with. My favourite thing was the hacky sand sack.
• I like coming to art because we get to make creative stuff. My favourite thing was the emoji pillow.
• I like this group because I get to make all sorts of things. Pom-pom making was the best.
• I love this group because I get to do creative stuff with my friends. It is fun making craft with Mrs Seymour.
• I like our group because we make soft things that are nice arts and crafts.
• I like this group because we make things that use fluffy things.
• I come here to take a break and a breather. I can do something I love. It has helped me keep relaxed.
• I love coming here because I get a better experience of being calm doing art and crafts. It has helped me feel relaxed.
• I am so happy to have an experience of doing lots of art by doing sewing and fun crafts to help me get my stress out.
• When I come to art  it keeps me calm. I’m mad in the morning and this helps me. I like being in this group to be creative. I would like to be in this group in Year 5.
• I get to do my art with my friends and it is calming.
• I enjoy art. I like having a choice to be creative. I look forward to it every week.
• This group helps relieve stress. It allows the group to be creative. Being creative is so helpful to me. Here I can make things with materials I don’t have at home.
• I love this group and it really helps me relieve my anxiety.
• I have become more confident in this group. I am no longer a question queen.
• I can build relationships and have fun. I can spend time with people I don’t spend time with in class.
• I want to come again because it can reset me for the whole day and week.
• After learning, art calms me down and the craft stuff is so different.
• I want to come again because it helps me focus in the classroom. After doing a lot of learning I can get stressed and it’s a good break. It is great to have different materials that are different from home.

Jan is also running a holiday program - Please see flyer and form further down in the newsletter. 

Tell Them From Me Survey

As part of our focus on school effectiveness and ongoing school improvement, St John's will be participating in an online survey for students, parents and staff – Tell Them From Me® (TTFM®) in Term 3. The survey will provide us with valuable feedback on what our students think about school life, how engaged they are with school and the different ways that teachers interact with them. Schools in Australia and around the world have used the Tell Them From Me survey to help them improve. 

During the month of August, all students will be given the opportunity and time to participate in this survey during regular school hours. Students who agree to complete the survey will be given a random username and password to access and complete the survey online. Students’ names cannot be linked to their responses which allows it to be completely anonymous. Results will show all student scores combined together – it is not possible to single out individual students in the results.

The survey takes approximately 15-20 minutes to complete. The survey measures include such topics as emotional and social well-being, physical health, and behaviours and attitudes linked to student success. The survey also allows students to give their thoughts and feedback in open-ended question responses.

For Parents, the 'Partners in Learning' Parent Survey is based on a comprehensive questionnaire covering several aspects of parents' perceptions of their children's experiences at home and school. It is based primarily on Joyce Epstein's framework for fostering positive relations between the school and the community. The survey provides feedback to schools about the extent to which parents feel the school supports learning and positive behaviour and promotes a safe and inclusive environment. 

More info to come next term!

Kind Regards, 

Dave Bermingham

Assistant Principal Message

St John’s Celebrate NAIDOC week two- term three

St John’s will celebrate NAIDOC Week in week two next term. As usual we will have an opening ceremony on the MOnday morning and a range of activities will occur for the children and families across the week.

Our celebrations are part of a bigger picture of celebrations around the country. National NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia in the first week of July each year (Sunday to Sunday), to celebrate and recognise the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. NAIDOC Week is an opportunity for all Australians to learn about First Nations cultures and histories and participate in celebrations of the oldest, continuous living cultures on earth. You can support and get to know your local Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander communities through activities and events held across the country. Keep an eye out for the St John’s NAIDOC week activities coming out in week one next term

NAIDOC events in our area during the holidays:

Ballina Annual NAIDOC Celebration Walk

The Ballina Shire Council are inviting the community to “walk with us in a movement of the Australian people for a better future” in the annual NAIDOC Celebration Walk on Monday 4 July 2022. Starting at the Ballina RSL Club the walk will proceed along River Street and Cherry Street to the Ballina Indoor Sports Centre (BiSC) for the official ceremony. Refreshments, BBQ, stalls and games will be at the BiSC.

 15th Arakwal NAIDOC Week Short Films Screening Byron Bay

The 15th Byron Arakwal NAIDOC Week Short Films Screening is being held from 6:30pm on Tuesday 5 July at the Byron Theatre. Presented by the Arakwal Corporation, Flickerfest & iQ Inc the program promises an inspiring evening of aboriginal storytelling celebrating NAIDOC Week 2022 and this years theme ‘Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up!’. Full event details are available from the iQ Inc website with ticket purchases from the Byron Theatre.

I wish everyone a safe, restful and happy holiday. The children have worked so hard this term they really have earned a break. Make the most of it and I’ll look forwrad to seeing each and every one of them in term three.

Best regards, Greg

Around the Stages

ES1-Stage 1 

K - 2 Investigations

“It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge”

Albert Einstein

Our play based learning program has been implemented at St John’s since the beginning of 2020 and is referred to by both staff and students as the “Investigations”. Below is a brief outline of the program for those wanting a quick refresher on what Investigations look like at St John’s. Investigations run for 1 hour from 8:50am to 9:50am Monday to Thursday. The Investigations run in two week learning cycles to promote engagement and interest for all students.

Tune In 10 mins

The teacher welcomes the focus children, reporter and photographer and revises the literacy and numeracy intentions. The teacher honours the authentic interest of the focus child and uses these interests as the platform for learning. The reporter and photographer are teacher directed roles.

During Investigations 40mins

There are eight Investigations: Science Table, Writing Corner, Reading/Small Worlds, Collage, Construction, Sensory, Dramatic Play and Special Interest Table. Each Investigation has a provocation (problem solving question) which is carefully planned using the NSW syllabus outcomes and by using the five domains of social, emotion, language, physical and cognitive development. Religion and Indigenous learnings are embedded creatively and thoughtfully throughout the Investigations.

Reflection 10mins

At reflection time the reporter and photographer report back and share their learning task. For e.g the task might be collecting data on what type of pet students have, this then links to the Maths lesson later in the day where the learning will go deeper into learning about data. This creates an opportunity for the students to become the teacher.The focus child shares their learning and the other students ask questions and the teacher highlights specific examples of learning, skills, behaviour and values that are worth drawing attention to.

The Investigations are the heart and soul of the k - 2 classrooms and make the learning authentic, purposeful and engaging. We love planning these experiences for your children and welcome parent/carer input if you have resources or time to share.

Myree Loane, Laura McEvoy, Ellie Bailey

Kinder Investigations

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU"

Our birthday people

Joey & Cody, Isaac, Kodi, Savannah G, 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY  

Cynthia, Vander, Charlie, Hudson, Avahlia, Jack and Miss Wells

who celebrate during the winter Holildays

Piano Lessons

Piano lessons are available at St John’s, during school hours and after school.
For further enquiries please call Daniel Holland 0401 071 667