Term 2, Week 6, 1 June 2023
Principal Message
Dear Parents, carers and members of the St John's community,
Everytime I walk into a classroom I feel inspired to teach and to learn. I see happy students who are:
- excited and engaged in their learning;
- monitoring their own improvement;
- in deep discussions with peers about how they can improve;
- synthesising learning tasks with teachers and support staff;
- recieving feedback from multiple sources to improve their work;
- setting goals and achieving them;
- proud of their work!
These are great learning behaviours and are a testiment to the amazing staff here at St John's who continue to evolve and grow with the needs of the students. Students are at the centre here!
Last Sunday the Catholic Church celebrated it's birthday! Yesterday we celebrated Pentecost with a Mass which was organised by our Stage 3 class. Thank you to Mrs Bottle and the Stage 3 students for leading the community in this celebration.
Pentecost is fifty days after Easter Sunday, our oldest Feast day and what is often referred to as as the birthday of the Church. Pentecost commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers of Jesus Christ while they were in Jerusalem. The moment the risen Christ, with pierced hands and all, appeared among them, breathed on them and allowed them to receive the Holy Spirit. It was from this encounter that the story and the journey of the Church as we know it today was born.
Thank you to those community members who were able to join us!
2023 School Annual Improvement Plan
It is my pleasure to share with you the 2023 St John's School Annual Improvement Plan (SAIP). Data collected through the Parent, student and staff Tell Them From Me (TTFM) Surveys in 2022, as well as student learning data, have informed our direction for this year. I welcome any feedback or questions that you may have.
To view the 2023 SAIP, please click on the link below.
Mary MacKillop Award - Aliza Mavay
At the end of 2022, staff discussed ways in which we can recognise students who help others. Due to St John's being a school that was established by the Sisters of St Joseph, it was decided to name this award the Mary MacKillop Award after St Mary of the Cross MacKillop who founded the Josephite Sisters. In 1866, Mary MacKillop adopted the religious name of 'Sister Mary of the Cross' and of course when she was canonised as Asutralia's first saint in 2010 she was given the name 'St Mary of the Cross'.
Mary has many amazing and beautiful quotes, but the most famous quote is 'Never see a need without doing something about it' which is quoted as saying in 1871. This quote fits exactly with what this award is all about.
Congratulations to Aliza Mavay who recieved this award recently. This is for Aliza's work in supporting the new Kindergarten students and showing fantasic leadership skills. This included Aliza frequently being at school early in the morning to ensure positive transitions for the new Kindy students throughout term 1; Aliza often giving up her own playtimes to support the kindy students in building positive friendships with their peers; Aliza modelling safe and respectful behaviours at all times.
Congratulations Aliza!
Upcoming Dates
Please find below a list of dates savers below of events that are occuring this term.
- Monday 5th June-Friday 9th June - St John’s Catholic Schools Week
- Friday 9th June - School Athletics Carnival
- Saturday 10th June - Old and Gold Festival @ Bruns
- Monday 12th June - King’s Birthday Public Holiday
- Tuesday 13th June - Parent-Teacher Interviews (3:30pm-7:30pm)
- Tuesday 14th June - Parent-Teacher Interviews (3:30pm-7:30pm)
- Tuesday 20th June - Thursday 22nd June - St John’s External Review
- Friday 23rd June - St John's Trivia Night (Please see flyer below)
- Tuesday 27th June - Student Report Cards released to Parents
- Thursday 29th June - Last Day of Term 2
- Friday 30th June - Pupil Free Day (Staff PD Day)
Parent Teacher Interviews and Student Reports
As per my previous communications on Compass to all Parents - After careful consideration and feedback from both parents and staff members, we have decided to make a change to our student report cards and Parent-Teacher meetings for semester one. The report cards for this semester will consist of limited written comments regarding student progress. Instead, we will be focusing on discussing your child's progress in detail during the Parent-Teacher Meetings which will occur in Week 8.
We believe that shifting our approach in this manner will allow for more personalised and meaningful conversations between you, as parents, and the teachers. By dedicating specific time to discuss your child's academic achievements, areas of improvement, and overall development, we aim to provide you with a comprehensive understanding of their progress. This shift will ensure that the parent-teacher meetings become the primary platform for in-depth discussions about your child's academic journey.
We understand that comments on the report cards have traditionally been a valuable source of information and feedback for parents. However, we believe that by redirecting the focus to the Parent-Teacher Meetings, we can provide a more holistic and interactive experience that addresses your specific concerns and questions.
We believe that this revised structure will enable us to foster stronger collaboration between parents and teachers, facilitating a better understanding of your child's educational journey and providing an opportunity to address any concerns or questions you may have. We also believe that the introduction of a discussion around the semester one draft student reports during the Parent-Teacher Interviews will greatly enhance the value and effectiveness of these meetings.
Please note that the Parent-Teacher Interviews for Term 2 will take place on 13th & 14th June (3:00pm-7:00pm). We kindly request you to mark these dates in your calendars and make arrangements to attend. Your active participation in these meetings is crucial in supporting your child's academic growth and development.
Before the end of the week, you will receive an email from our school administration with instructions on how to book your preferred time slot for the Parent-Teacher Interviews using our online scheduling system (Compass Conferences). This will allow you to select a convenient time that suits your schedule.
We greatly appreciate your understanding and flexibility as we make these adjustments to improve the parent-teacher engagement and provide a more comprehensive overview of your child's progress. We are confident that this change will lead to more fruitful discussions and ultimately contribute to your child's academic success.
If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to make contact.
St John's Trivia Night
TABLES ARE RUNNING OUT! Book a table and bring some friends for what will be a great night. Thank you to the Parent Forum who have organised the night for our community!
To book your table, please see Tundra in the office or book online using the link below. https://www.trybooking.com/CILBF
Kind Regards,
Dave Bermingham
Week 6 Awards
SCHOOL INFORMATION
ATHLETICS CARNIVAL Please see the Compass event to provide consent for your child/ren to attend the Athletics Carnival in Byron bay on the 9th of June. There will be a bake sale, pre-ordered sushi and poppers available for purchase on the day. If any families are able to help out on the day please contact Miss McEvoy via email - laura.mcevoy@lism.catholic.
Tuning into Kids Parent Workshops
Every Thursday for 3 more weeks we have Tuning into Kids Parent Workshops occuring from 1:15pm-2:45pm. Please find a flyer below.
Tuning in to Kids® is an emotion-focussed parenting program. It provides parents and carers with skills in emotion coaching, which is about recognising, understanding and managing their own and their children’s emotions.
When children develop these emotional skills they are better able to negotiate the ups and downs of life. To date over 100,000 parents have attended Tuning in to Kids® programs in Australia alone.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU"
Our Birthday people:-
Blake, Eva & Aliza H
Lost Property
It is getting colder, lots of jumpers being handed into the office with no names. Please make sure all clothing is labeled, so it can be returned. Second hand jumpers to purchase for $5.00
A Good News Story
Congratulations to Yr 6 student, Katie Bartz whose artwork titled "Abstract Art - artwork inspired by Wassily Kandinsky" has been named as a finalist in the University of New England School Acquisitive Art prize competition. This competition is open to a large population of regional school students in NSW. Only 60 finalists are chosen from hundreds of entries and these artworks will be on display in the New England Regional Art Gallery, Armidale, between July 28th and August 13th, 2023. Well done, Katie!
