Week 4 Term 2 2021
Principal's Message
Mother's Day
I sincerely hope all our mothers were spoilt and taken care of for the day for Mother's Day. I had the joy of spending time with my Mum and my three boys. In their younger years my boys made cute little gifts often with a simple "I love you, Mum" message. These were just adorable and I enjoyed them very much but now that my boys are in high school the messages have evolved into much more heartfelt and expressive messages on top of the "I love you, Mum". They bring a tear to the eye and I cherish these moments. I hope you got to share the love of your child on Sunday too.
My apologies for my inattendance to the Mother's Day breakfast and liturgy. I was atteding the funeral of a very generous spirited woman. I wish to thank all the staff for their assistance and especially Miss Wells for organising the liturgy. And a big thank you to all those who were able to join us, we certainly love having you visit.
Staff Proclaim
Last Wednesday, staff attended Proclaim. This day included listening to guest speakers Fr Richard Leonard, Fr Frank Brennan and Br David Hall. They focused on the challenges presented for Catholic Education in a largely secularised society. We were also fortunate that Fr David could join us and it was an insightful day sharing our thoughts, wonderings and ideas going forward. These new learnings and discussions will direct our thinking when developing our Mission goal.
We are very thankful for families for supporting the Pupil Free Day and finding alternative arrangements for the day.
School Photos
Do not forget that we have school photos next Monday. Please ensure your child is in full school uniform (they will not need their sport uniform on this day). This means navy socks and black school shoes. Could year 6 please bring their Year 6 shirt for photos too. Thanks in advance for your support to be ready for photos.
WE'RE TAKING IT IN OUR STRIDE ON FRIDAY, 14 MAY 2021
Walk Safely to School Day asks that we all consider our transport habits and try to incorporate more walking as part of a healthy, active way to get around. And although walking all the way to school isn't realistic for many of us, you can build a walk into your family's daily routine.
Regular exercise like walking with your child not only helps them (and you!) beat chronic problems like obesity, heart disease, behavioural and mental health issues and diabetes. It also gives you a great opportunity to teach your child safe ways to behave around roads and traffic. To help children develop vital road crossing skills children up to the age of 10 years should hold an adult's hand when crossing the road.
Remember, Active Kids are Healthy Kids so get planning your own Walk Safely to School Day journey for Friday 14 May 2021!
For more information, visit www.walk.com.au
Principals' Meeting
Next week, I head to Coffs Harbour for a three day Principal Meeting with all the Lismore Diocesan School Principals. This meeting will cover topics such as Student Attributes, Voices from the Field, Strategic Planning and School Improvement. This is the first time in over a year that we are coming together as our earlier meeting was cancelled due to the floods in the Coffs area. I look forward to hearing the exciting news from around the Diocese with my colleagues.
Principal Awards Week 2
Assistant Principal's Message
Change to playtime trial underway!
After much great work from our fabulous SRC team, gathering student voice and opinions, we are trialling a new playtime schedule this week. Wherein the children now play first and eat later. They still get the same amount of dedicated playtime and eating time however playing is now the first priority when the students leave their class.
So far according to Tanesa Browning our school captain, the feedback is very mixed with many children struggling to embrace the change. We are however going to continue the trial and have the SRC members get more formal feedback next week in class meetings.
Great to see our School Vice Captains Nina Haslam and Max Nugent getting into their leadership roles. The school recently received book vouchers form the local RSL club to commemorate ANZAC day. The books were duly purchased right here in Mullumbimby at our fabulous book shop. Please enjoy the wonderful book reviews by Nina and Max below.
Book Reviews
All Of Us
A History Of Southeast Asia Join two children as they trek through the history of Southeast Asia and the interesting lands linked to each other. Share with them the discovery of a world filled with adventures, conquerors and the struggles for independence they witness, and the exciting arrival of the new millennium with its hopes and challenges. All Of Us is a Fascinating Non-Fiction Book I would recommend to anyone interested in the history of Asia and the religious cultures within it. By Max Nugent School Vice Captain
Landing With Wings By Trace Bella Landing With Wings is a story about belonging, community and country. It follows the adventures of Miri Blossom as she discovers new plants, animals and people in her new neighbourhood. The author uses local Dja Dja Wurrung language to name the flora and fauna. It has lots of illustrations on every page and there are plenty of interesting facts about the native animals and plants. It is a fun and heart warming book and it is now available at the St Johns library. By Nina Haslam School Vice Captain.
Teaching & Learning
Professional Learning in Mathematics for St John’s Staff
This week as a staff we reviewed our whole school beliefs about Mathematics. As a professional learning community we identified corresponding teaching practices that will improve students outcomes in mathematics. Here are some of the agreed practices we discussed.
Teachers will:-
1. Engage in professional learning about current practices to improve outcomes for students
2. Follow a consistent routine which includes warm-ups; rich tasks and reflection ( providing opportunities for explicit teaching at the point of need and where strategies are shared)
3. Promote the use of maths equipment (concrete materials and maths tools for learning) so children have lots of tools to formulate and represent their thinking
4. Teachers will use questioning to promote independent thinking and to extend or support students
5. Use student data to plan for explicit teaching; monitor student growth, assess our impact as teachers and decide what students need for further growth.
This final point was identified as a major focus for us. During our Professional Learning meetings we will continually gather evidence of student’s learning and explore what is happening for them as learners. From here we reflect on what each student needs in order to move forward and how we can best support them to achieve that.
RE NEWS
Making Jesus Real - MJR
What is MJR? MJR is a way of life. Through MJR, the words, actions and teachings of Jesus Christ come alive for others. It is a practical way of bringing the Christian faith into our everyday lives. MJR provides a common language and approach that is accessible to students and staff.
Each fortnight our School focusses on an MJR theme. The themes for week 5 and 6 is ‘Having a Positive Attitude’
You are in charge of your attitude to life. Positive people are easy to be around and tend to be cheerful, friendly, helpful and forgiving. It can be as simple as smiling, saying hello and thank you. Surround yourself with positive people; people who think positively and speak positively. Did you know that attitudes are contagious? In fact a positive attitude can take you places and easily spread to members of your family, your class or even the whole school community.
Attitudes are contagious…. Is yours worth catching?
SPORT NEWS - Zone Cross Country
Tweed Zone Cross Country Report
On 30/4/2021 some talented St John's students were selected to go to Murwillumbah to participate in the Tweed Zone Cross Country event. The day was a bit cloudy but ended up being just right for the students to run in. The students were nervous and excited for their race to start. Kids went to catch up with friends from other schools and make new friends as well. Our school fought hard and everyone lived up to expectations and I daresay surpassed them for a small school. We would like to make an honorary mention to Hazel who just missed out on the chance to go to Grafton and participate at the Diocesan level. She came 9th and the cut off was sixth which was unfortunate, but a great effort.
Congratulations to everyone who came and participated Hazel, Tanesa, Lola, Tinks, Omar, Noah, Sam, Daniel, Luke, Antonia, Aliza, Marley, Jove, Xavier, Will, Rose, Daisy, Chase, Tommy, Emery, Isaac.
A huge thank you to our parents for getting us there on the day and thanks also to Mrs Bottle who was our team manager and Mr Flint who organised the team.
Omar and Tanesa School Captains
ATHLETICS CARNIVAL Save the date for your diary; Tuesday the 15th of June will see us holding our annual athletics carnival at the Cavanbah Sports Centre in Byron.
Stage 2 News
What has been happening in Stage 2?!
This Term in Religion we have been exploring the church lives the Good News in our parish community. We have been learning about the ways the parish community responds to the Gospel and how we respond to the Good News in our daily life. Students chose a gift that they were given by God that allows them to spread the Good News. See below their artworks that showcase their special gift.
Gifts from God
REMINDERS
Monday 17 May - School PHOTO Day Wednesday 2 June - Stage 2 Camp Wednesday 9 June - Stage 3 Camp Tuesday 15 June - Athletics Carnival
NEWS
School Photography Date: 17/05/2021
School photography day is coming up next Monday. Children to wear full school uniform on the day.
Group and portrait photographs can be purchased by online or by returning the order envelope with your payment to our photographer on school photo day.
NEW
advancedlife now offers Latitude Pay! To take advantage of LatitudePay and split the cost of your order into 10 small easy payments, simply order your school photos online as usual, set up a Latitude Pay account in just a few clicks and pay no interest or fees when you pay according to your payment schedule; it’s that easy.
3 easy ways to purchase:
- LatitudePay – set up an account during the online order process and split your payments across 10 weeks with no interest or fees, if you pay on time
- Visa, MasterCard or PayPal
- Cash – complete the envelope supplied and return it to our photographer on photo day
Or visit: www.advancedlife.com.au
And enter online order code: M18 RFW CN1School photography information:
- Online orders - do not require an envelope returned to your school
- Sibling Photos - Don’t forget to pre-order your sibling photos online up to 24 hours before photo day. We provide your school with a list of sibling orders right up to the day of photography, so no one misses out. If you miss the online order deadline, you can submit a completed sibling order envelope first thing in the morning of the day of photography, so your school is aware you want the photo taken and can bring your children together in time for it. Sibling photographs only apply to children enrolled at your school. Please note not all schools offer sibling photos
- Late fees - a late fee will be applied to each package purchased after photo day due to the additional cost of producing these packages separately
- Package delivery - photographic packages will be returned to your school for distribution approximately six weeks after photos are taken
- Previous Years’ photos - Past years’ photographs including sports, co-curricular and representative groups are also available to order under the “previous years or group photo” tabs at your school’s advancedorder site when you click on the “Order School Photos Here” button above. You can also order past packages, portrait images and gifts from your child’s unique, individual and secure advancedyou image archive site using the unique 9 digit image code found on packages you have ordered in the past
advancedlife would like to express our appreciation to St John's Primary School Mullumbimby for placing your trust in us. Please remember we offer a 100% money back guarantee on our products to ensure your peace of mind. We would also love to receive your feedback or resolve any issues you may experience as fast as possible, to ensure your satisfaction. If you have any questions, comments or feedback relating to your advancedlife experience please contact us at: www.advancedlife.com.au/contact
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Our birthday person
Daisy M
Lost Property
Please check that your child has their own jumper and hat and not someone else's. Lots of missing hats, jumpers drink bottles at the present time.
Please make sure that your child's property is clearly labelled with their name.
COMMUNITY INFORMATION
Mullum High School Information
Mullum High School is having a Careers Fun Fair at the School on Friday, 14th May 2021 from 9.30am to 2.30pm. all Year 5 & 6 students are invited to come along.
Another Walk through An additional MHS Saturday open tour of the school on Saturday 22 May 10:00am - 11:00am for any family who would like to take the opportunity on a Saturday to see our school facilities.
