Term 3, Week 4, 11 August 2022

Principal Message

I felt very blessed last Friday as the school staff and students celebrated Australian Primary Principals Day. I was taken by surprise by a beautiful morning tea, with hot lunch, a card signed by the whole school, a lovely present and a special assembly with video made by the students. What a lovely community we are at St John's. 

Last week we also celebrated Pyjama day to raise funds for Lismore Diocese Flood Appeal. A big thank you to Jack and Chase in Stage 2 who created the event. You two are definitely showing the Spirit of Jesus! We were able to raise $155.70.

On Monday 8th August we celebrated the Feast of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop - thank you to Miss Wells and the Stage 2 children for leading us in that celebration. The Josephite charism is an important part of our school Catholic Identity, so when this particular feast day is celebrated, it is important for us to reflect as a community on the history of the school.

Next week we welcome the Book Fair with Book Week taking place in the following week. Please keep your eye out for events in Book Week - it would be great to have parents involved where possible. The Parade will be Monday 22nd August @ 9:00am. 

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.

• Monday 15th August - Book Week Fair arrives (wish lists done by the Friday 19th). 
• Sunday 21st August - Sacrament of First Holy Communion
• Monday 22nd-26th August -Book Week
• Monday 22nd August @ 9am - Book Week Parade
• Sunday 4th September - Father's Day (We will celebrate this on Friday 2nd September)
  
• Friday 9th September - Junior Johnnies program begins

Ongoing items to be conscious of during term 3:

• 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.

Parish School Forum

The Forum met on Tuesday 2nd August. Please view the minutes for the meeting HERE.

One very important event that was discussed was the 'Day on the Green'. This event will take place on the school oval where there will be food, entertainment, auctions and raffles etc. It is a social event for adults only and will be held on 22nd October from 2 pm - 7 pm. Book your babysitter now. 

This will be such a fun day and is in line with the forum's goal this year which is to focus on building community. 

We are seeking donations of items to Auction or Raffle. If you are able to donate any big ticket items or have contacts, please let me know. 

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®. 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. 

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. 

I invite all parents to fill out this survey which is active for the month of August - please find the link below!

http://tellthemfromme.com/5t5vn

Kind Regards, 

Dave Bermingham

Principal Awards week 3

Principal Awards week 4

TEACHING & LEARNING

What's Happening in Writing at St John’s.

This Semester teachers continue their ongoing professional learning about writing and what matters most to improve learning for our students. A lot of time and thought is spent on planning and supporting students in this. 

In ES1, students looked at different pieces of writing and decided what was good about the writing and what could be improved. They ordered the samples on their “Bump it Up Wall” so they can see how their own writing could be ‘bumped up’,  At the start of the week, the students create a text together which shows what great writing looks like and Mrs Bailey puts this up on the wall. This is where they  aspire to get their writing however, the focus is always on growth. Students are really proud when they can see their writing has improved and it is always celebrated and shared. Giving each other feedback has created a team of learners who are continually growing. 

Eearly Stage1

S1 are writing texts which inform the reader. At the moment they are focusing on explaining what objects are and how we use them. They brainstorm their ideas as a class and are learning to organise these ideas using headings. This information is recorded on chart paper and the students continually refer back to these sheets to build their vocabulary and develop greater detail in their writing. S1 are currently on a research mission into Pop It Bubble Toys for me. They are writing a report so I can decide which pop it is the best to buy. I can’t wait to read what they have discovered. 

Stage 1

Narratives are the focus in S2 and they are spending time reading about narratives during Guided Reading. In each session, they examine what good authors do to hook you into the text. S2 then use this information to create a sizzling start and are exploring what this looks like, sounds like and give each other feedback throughout the writing process. Alot of discussion goes into deeveloping their success criteria together and recording ideas about the effectiveness of different writing samples. From here they can identify their own goals for writing. Students are taking ownership of their learning and how they can improve their writing. 

Stage 2

Goal setting is also a focus in S3. Students are investigating natural disasters in Science and Geography so their informative writing will link to this. They are continuing to use the Bump It Up wall but have recreated it this term. The students play a big role in deciding what makes a good piece of informative writing and add these features to the wall. Students have developed a goal setting card and identified their personal focus areas for improving their writing. 

The images below are from around the walls of each classroom. They become the ‘third teacher’ in the room which simply is another tool students can refer towhen they are writing. In every classroom, the students are the co-constructors of these walls. Stay tuned to see some great samples of writing by the end of this term. I can see there will be a lot to celebrate!

Stage 3

RE NEWS

Feast of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop 

On Monday the 8th of August the whole school celebrated the Feast of St Mary MacKillop who is Australia's patron Saint. This year marks 150 years since Mary MacKillop and Father Julian Tenison Woods founded the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart. The Sisters went on to open St John’s Primary School (St Joseph’s Convent School) in 1910. 

Mary MacKillop, along with her sisters shared the life of the poor, offering care to women and children. She is remembered for her eagerness to discover God’s will in all things, her charity and for her abiding trust in God. 

Her legacy continues today in countless ways. Education in its many facets is still a strong ministry for the Sisters of Saint Joseph. Mary inspires us to be courageous and hopeful and to have a deep faith in our God who provides.

Mary MacKillop has shown us how to forgive and how to be compassionate; she teaches us to never see a need without doing something about it. 

The students in Stage Two were responsible for preparing the Mass and they did a wonderful job in leading the school through the Liturgy of the Word, Prayer of the Faithful and the entrance and recessional Hymns. 

Mary Mackillop Mass

First Holy Communion 

Please keep in your prayers the following students;  Isaac Armstrong, Ryder Butchers and Jack Heares, who are preparing this Term to receive the Sacrament of First Holy Communion on Sunday the 21st of August. We would also like to warmly invite all families to join in the celebration in the Church at 8 am. There will be a morning tea after the Mass. 

Pyjama Day Fundraiser 

On Friday the 5th of August students and staff dressed in pyjamas to raise funds for the Diocese of Lismore Flood appeal. We were able to raise $155.70 which will be distributed to families in the Lismore Diocese who were affected earlier in the year. Thank you to all those families who were able to donate! 

PJ Day

Masses Term 3 

St Vincent de Paul Winter Appeal 

St Vincent de Paul retail team are in need of high quality winter garments to be sold in shops throughout the region. They would love quality over quantity! 

The Mini Vinnies Team are asking for each student to bring in one item of clothing from home. 

The following items would be fantastic

• men’s and women's jackets
• men’s and ladies Jumpers
• men’s and ladies coats
• winter boots or shoes
• ladies winter knitwear

These items can be handed to your classroom teacher or there is a collection box in the office. 

Could you please bring in donations no later than August 29th (week 7) 

AROUND THE STAGES

100 DAYS IN KINDY

On Wednesday the 3rd of August in Kinder we celebrated 100 days of being at school. Each morning we have been using a 100 number chart to cross off the days until we reached 100. It was a terrific day of learning with the terrific ten Kinders!! We kicked off the celebrations with a cake at lunch time then we did 4 twenty minute Investigations. The Investigations were:

-Can you build a tower 100cm tall?                                                                                                                                   -making crowns                                                                                                                                                                           -making funny sunglasses                                                                                                                                                  -board games.

We concluded the session with learning how to make fairy bread. At the end of the day we had a surprise visit from Mrs Gordon (who looked suspiciously like Mrs O). Mrs Gordon awarded a special 100 days smarter certificate to each of the Kinder’s.  

Kinder 100 Days

ZONE ATHLETICS

On Friday the 29th of July, a group of Stage 2 and Stage 3 students headed off to Cudgen to compete in the Zone Athletics Carnival. On the day, the children competed in a variety of track and field events, and did a fantastic job of representing our school. It was fantastic to see the encouragement, teamwork and sportsmanship among the St John’s team. Thank you to Felicity who assisted in marshalling the students for their events, and to the parents and carers who attended and supported on the day. Well done, everyone! Laura McEvoy. 

Zone Athletics Carnival

Finger Limes - Myocum Farm 

During NAIDOC week St John’s had a donation of finger limes from Nyhree and Allan who own the Myocum Farm. 

Finger limes have over 200 varieties. The fingers limes that were used during the bushtucker lunch are known as ‘red champagne’. They fruit predominantly from November to June. They grow in the understory of the rainforest and love mulch, leaf litter and decomposing plant matter. Even though they are an understorey plant they still love sunlight, water and nutrients given by other seedless fruit. 

The finger limes grown at the Myocum farm are for commercial production and they have 750 trees which is small. Many farms have over 10, 000. 

Finger limes are good for the environment and Myocum farm uses them as an income stream because diversification is the way for a small farm (110 acres) to be commercially viable. They are picked by hand because they can get the ripe ones without disturbing the blossoms. Many birds can be found nesting in the trees. 

Fingers limes are great on ice cream and in chocolate. People also use them on seafood and in salads. 

If I ever get stung by green ants or wasps the finger lime takes away the pain and helps it heal. 

School Info

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU"

Our birthday people

Luke, Quinn & Shanti-Rose

BOOK FAIR 2022

Our Annual Book Fair will be held in the library in Book Week, from Monday 22rd to Friday 25th August. Save the date. Teachers will take students to the school library during class time early that week so the children can browse and fill in a wish list to take home. If allowed, they can then purchase books with cash or credit card throughout the week. Details must be written on the back of the wish list for a credit card payment. The school receives a commission on all purchases.  

School Refusal

School refusal is when children get very upset about going to school, and they won’t or can’t go. Children might refuse to go to school because of worries about leaving home, learning difficulties, social problems or other reasons and the best way to get children back to school is by working as a team with the school.

If school refusal is related to issues like anxiety or depression, children might need mental health support.It’s good to acknowledge children’s feelings about school, but let them know that you expect them to go back to school.

To read more about this, please click on the link below

https://raisingchildren.net.au/school-age/school-learning/school-refusal/school-refusal

Piano Lessons

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

FAMILY CONNECT - The Lunch Box: snack sized tips with Lisa 

Movie Night

Are you ever uncertain whether that movie your child wants to watch is suitable for them? The fabulous team at the Australian Parenting website, Raising Children, have done all the hard yards for you.  Simply go to: https://raisingchildren.net.au/guides/movie-reviews where you can find around 1200 movie reviews from recent releases such as Lightyear to the 1971 classic Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Information provided includes the movie’s rating, age suitability, things to watch out for and whether the movie contains violence, content that may disturb children, alcohol and drug references, coarse language, product placement and so forth. They even provide some suggested topics for discussion. For instance, in Minions: The Rise of Gru, suggested themes to discuss are, to follow your dreams and to remember that even the smallest of us are capable of great things. Along with this, they suggest values that you could reinforce with your children include helpfulness, teamwork, creativity, persistence, and love. Why don't you check it out, it’s a great resource?

Lisa is at St John’s each Monday. You can contact Lisa on 0429 441 518 or email her lisa.wood@socialfutures.org.au

COMMUNITY NEWS