Term 3, Week 4, 10 August 2023
Principal Message
Dear Parents, carers and members of the St John's community,
What a fantastic last two weeks we have had with the colour fun run, Byron Writers Festival, Zone Athletics, 100 Days of Kinder and plenty of great learning experiences.
Recently we celebrated the St Mary of the Cross MacKillop Feast Day which is of significance for our community as it reminds us of the incredible legacy of compassion and service left behind by St Mary of the Cross MacKillop, Australia's first Saint.
On Tuesday, we came together as a vibrant and close-knit community to honor the life and teachings of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop. As we reflected on her remarkable journey, we were reminded of her unwavering dedication to education, her profound love for those in need, and her unshakeable faith in the face of adversity.
Throughout the day, we enjoyed a series of engaging activities and events that allowed our students to connect with the core values that St Mary of the Cross MacKillop held dear to her heart. These activities included learning about Mary and her life, interactive quizzes to test knowledge, watercolour painting, games and each group completed a portrait puzzle. There was a beautiful Liturgy at the start and end of the day and rich classroom discussions throughout the day. It was really nice to come together in prayer and reflection, seeking inspiration from the life of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop as we renewed our commitment to serving others with compassion and kindness.
Thank you to Mrs Bailey for organising such great spiritual and theological formation for our staff and students.
Upcoming Dates
Please find below a list of dates savers below of events that are occuring this term.
- 21st August - 25th August - Science & Book Week Extravaganza!
- Monday 21st August - Book Week Parade 9am
- Thursday 24th August - Wear Orange for Story Dogs (gold coin donation)
- Friday 25th August - Stage 3 Gala Day
- Wednesday 30th August - Cyber Safety event for Stage 3 @ 2pm
- Wednesday 30th August - Cyber Safety event for Parents @ 6pm
- Friday 1st September - Father's Day Breakfast @ 8am
- Monday 4th September - Pupil Free Day
- Sunday 10th September - First Holy Communion Sacrament Mass @ 5pm
- Friday 15th September - School Silent Disco @ 6pm
- Saturday 16th September - Chinny Charge (St John's Team)
- Friday 22nd September - Last Day of Term 3
Family Connect Service in Catholic Schools
The Catholic Schools in our region are lucky enough to have access to a FREE service - Family Connect in Schools (FCIS).
The FCIS Program provides an early intervention response to the needs of families, children, and young people as well as providing a case coordination approach to supporting families within our community by being a link between the school and the supports and services which may be required.
Please find below a flyer which outlines some of the supports that the Family COnnect worker can help with, as well as the contact details of our Family Connect Worker Jessie, who is happy to have a phone conversation with you at any time if you would like to discuss any of your needs.
St John's FREE Cyber Safety Workshop - AUGUST 30TH
Please find below a flyer with information about a FREE Cyber Safety Parent Workshop with Brett Lee from Internet Safe Education.
Child Minding is available! To Register please CLICK HERE.
Brett will conduct a session with our Stage 3 Students in the afternoon and the Parent session will take place in our Hall from 6pm that evening.
I have personally attended a number of Brett's sessions as a parent and educator and found them extremely practical. Brett Lee founded internet safe education in 2008 and has been working tirelessly in schools to educate parents and students about technology. Brett has worked as a Queensland police Officer for 22 years, 16 of those as a Detective in the field of Child Exploitation. In the 5 years prior to his retirement from the QPS, he was a specialist in the field of internet child exploitation investigations. This experience gives him great insight into how to keep kids safe online.
Kind Regards,
Dave Bermingham
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL
Byron Writer's Festival- Wild Imagination
S2 and S3 students travelled to Bangalow Showgrounds to participate in the Byron Writer’s Festival. S3 student’s first session was with Oliver Phommavanh. He is an author, comedian and primary school teacher and the students enjoyed listening to him.Oliver’s festival appearance was definitely high on energy and humour so the students had a lot of fun. His latest book is What About Thao and Quinn will be letting us know his thoughts on this book after he has finished reading it. The S3 students found his presentation hilarious. Vander purchased, Thai-riffic and Ms. Chartres is hoping to share this one with all of S3.
Both classes had sessions with North Coast author Zanni Louise who has written 35 books for children. She mentors aspiring writers and visits schools around Australia to teach writing. Her recent book Queenie In Seven Moves is about a girl who loses her home in the rental crisis and finds herself in the process.
S2 also enjoyed the opportunity to see an illustrator at work. Their second session was with, Charmaine Ledden-Lewis a Bundjalung woman, artist, and award-winning illustrator of picture books such as Found, Born to Run and Charlie’s Swim. Ella had the chance to talk with Charmaine about their connection to country. Harper, Sybella and Billy enjoyed watching Charmaine draw a sunset picture in under five minutes and how she outlined the process to get a book published. Tiana purchased the book ‘Charlie’s Swim’ and got it signed by Charmaine.
Here are some further reflections from a few of our S3 students.
Aliza found the most enjoyable part was when Oliver Phommavanh was performing. He was really funny and intelligent. Marley learned to make his writing engaging and funny and to write about what he loves. Bray gained insight from Oliver’s perseverance and learnt that if you fail you try again.Overexaggerating and stretching the truth was a takeaway technique that Colt felt he could apply to his writing. Alana enjoyed Oliver’s speech and learned that you can base your writing on fake scenarios. Katie found Oliver’s sense of humour “out of this world”. Many students mentioned the secret five fingers trick so I’ll be interested to see them apply that to their writing. Quinn was lucky enough to get a photo with Oliver and S3 all rated him as their number one author for the day.
Byron Writers Festival
Leader of Pastoral Care and Wellbeing
NCCD (National Consistent Count of Disabilty)
As a parent, guardian or carer, what do I need to know?
The Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD) is a yearly count of students by all Australian schools across the country. The aim of the NCCD is to provide the Australian Government with information about the number of students with disability in Australian schools and the type of adjustments they need in order to access and participate in education on the same basis as other students. From 2018, the NCCD will be used by the Australian Government to inform funding for schools, known as the ‘student with disability loading’.
If you are a parent, guardian or carer of a child with disability who requires ongoing adjustments at school, a teacher or another school staff member will consult with you to understand your child’s needs. This collaborative approach ensures the most appropriate adjustments are chosen to support your child’s learning and participation at school. In some cases, an individual education plan (IEP) or personal learning plan (PLP) may be developed to document specific educational goals and to review your child’s progress over time.
Your child will be included in the NCCD if they require ongoing adjustments at school due to a disability as defined by the Disability Discrimination Act 1992
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(the DDA). This is a very broad definition of disability, which includes physical and intellectual disabilities, learning disorders such as dyslexia and dysgraphia, and mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression.
The Disability Standards for Education 2005 (the Standards) set out the obligations of schools towards students with disability. Information for parents, guardians and carers on the DDA and the Standards about how schools can work with students and their families is available at Disability Standards for Education: A practical guide for individuals, families and communities.
At St John’s the staff work hard to ensure that the NCCD is fully implemented and reviewed each year. Making sure all the requisite records are up to date during the course of the year.
If you have any questions about the NCCD, pls contact me at via email: greg.flint@lism.catholic.edu.au
Leader of Mission
Feast Day of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop Liturgy
On Tuesday the 8th of August we celebrated a wonderful, Mary of the Cross MacKillop Feast Day Liturgy.
After the opening prayer we gathered into five multi-aged groups, Penola, Woods, Tenison, MacKillop and Joseph. Our fantastic year 6 leaders did an amazing job leading some icebreakers and games. We then created some beautiful watercolour paintings and murals depicting the life St Mary MacKillop lived. We then concluded the day with a Liturgy where we displayed our art and prayers.
Thank you to Savannah, Marlo and Estelle for reading Scripture and Acknowledgment of Country.
Our Patron Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop inspires us to be doing, whatever we can, to help those in need.
The Feast of the Assumption Whole School Liturgy
The Feast of the Assumption is one of the most important feast days of the year and a Holy Day of Obligation on the official Roman Catholic Church calendar.
The holy day is observed every year on August 15th. According to Roman Catholic theology, Mary "assumed body and soul into heavenly glory" several years after her son, Jesus, ascended into heaven. The importance of this event in Mary's life is only surpassed by her role in the virgin birth of Jesus Christ.
All our St John’s families are warmly invited to attend the Assumption Liturgy this coming Monday the 14th of August in our assembly room at 2:10 pm. Stage 2 will be leading this Liturgy with some drama performances.
Many Blessings,
Ellie Bailey
Mary Mackillop Actvities
Drawings Mary Mackillop
SCHOOL INFORMATION
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU"
Our Birthday people:-
Quinn
BOOKFAIR
The theme this year is "Read, Grow, Inspire".
Our annual Book Fair parade will be held at 9am on Monday 21st August.
Colour Run Fun
CATHOLIC SCHOOLS PARENT ASSEMBLY
