From the Principal s Desk

Transcription

1 ST JOHNS PRIMARY SCHOOL NEWSLETTER 138 Sheraton Road P.O. Box 4914 Phone: Fax: Term 2, Week 9 23rd June, 2014 S C H O O L M A N A G E R F a t h e r M a r k M c G u i g a n S C H O O L C H A P L A I N F a t h e r G r e g B e l l a m y P R I N C I P A L - M r A n t h o n y O L e a r y A S S I S T A N T P R I N C I P A L M r A d a m F o l e y R E C M r D a v i d S c h w a g e r PRIMARY COORDINATOR Mrs Angela Benton TEACHING STAFF: KINDERGARTEN Mrs Katrina Isbester Mrs Karyn King / Miss Amber Ryan YEAR 1 Mrs Kim English Miss Louise Lindsay YEAR 2 Mr Michael Quade/Mrs Maria Brice Mrs Michelle Noonan YEAR 3 Mrs Amanda Shields/ Mrs Gabrielle Jones Mrs Angela Benton/Mrs Maria Brice YEAR 4 Mrs Carmen Gain Miss Carmel Reidy/Mrs Maria Brice YEAR 5 Miss Emma Bolton Mrs Kristy Crosby YEAR 6 Mrs Judy Gibson Miss Anna Veech TEACHER S AIDES: Bronwyn Harper, Maricon Amoranto, Lucy Sissian, Tracey Duncan, Trevor Thomas, Belinda Montague LIBRARIAN: Mrs Maree Williams SPECIAL EDUCATION: Mrs Patricia Toohey Mrs Deanna Swanson ABORIGINAL EDUCATION WORKER: Mrs Mylisa Smith CREATIVE ARTS: Mrs Maggie Dunn SCHOOL SECRETARY: Margo Green CANTEEN MANAGER: Cathy Dries GENERAL HAND : David Englert CLEANER: Kerry Iverach P&F MEETINGS: 3rd Tuesday every month PARENTS/GUARDIANS Please note that photographs of students may be used in this publication. Please advise the School if you do not approve of your child s photo being used. From the Principal s Desk Welcome to Week 9 and the final week of Term 2. As we finish Semester 1, we have much to give thanks for and celebrate the many achievements of our entire school community students (for the wonderful work and growth), teachers (for the dedicated work and care of our students) and our parent body who are always giving (P&F, reading mums, Canteen & athletics helpers to name a few). Of course bringing this all together is our Parish. Please keep Mrs Isbester and her family in your thoughts and prayers as her father recently passed away. May he rest in peace. Today we celebrated Mass with Father Greg. As you know Father Greg will be heading to Rome soon to commence studying. I would like to pass on my sincere gratitude to Father Greg for all he has done for our community. We wish you all the best and look forward to hearing how you are faring in Italy. Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ - Reading John 6: The Jews quarrelled among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? Jesus said to them, Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. VISION STATEMENT St John s Primary School strives to foster a community of faith that is centred on the teachings of Christ, where love and concern develops the whole child, empowering each individual to realize his/her potential.

2 By receiving the Eucharist at the weekly mass we are doing what Jesus has asked us to do. It is our promise as Christians to remember the events of the Last Supper and be nourished by the body and blood of Christ through participation in the Eucharist at Mass. Yesterday we celebrated with many of our students a very special occasion. First Holy Communion. Our Mass was Sunday evening, with Mrs Dunn leading our dedicated choir. I hope this was a very special day for our students and the sharing of the Eucharist becomes a regular part of your faith journey. This week we will have a wonderful focus on our Indigenous History, stories and culture as we celebrate NAIDOC Week. Mrs Smith has organised a number of very significant events, including sharing the stories and a visit from Indigenous soldiers who have served their nation with honour. The theme for 2014 is Serving Country: Centenary & Beyond. Congratulations to Harry Alfred Pitt, a Torres Strait Islander man, the winning artist whose artwork is featured on this year s poster. Mr Pitt s concept for the poster depicts three brothers with their land behind them and the horizon before them. Their Elders are reflected in the water, giving the brothers the strength to overcome the challenges that may lie over the horizon. Mr Pitt explains: My work acknowledges the young men and women of today who are across the sea doing their very best to protect their home and serve their country, empowered by their ancestors. Our soldiers are embracing their heritage and protecting their homes, just as their ancestors did before them, only now they do this beyond the shores of their homeland.

3 This year s NAIDOC theme honours all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men and women who have fought in defence of country. From our warriors in the Frontier Wars to our warriors who have served with honour and pride in Australia s military conflicts and engagements across the globe. We proudly highlight and recognise the role they have played in shaping our identity and pause to reflect on their sacrifice. We celebrate and honour their priceless contribution to our nation. Congratulations to Kristy & Josh Crosby on the recent arrival of their baby boy, Edward Lex Crosby. We are very excited for the family and wish them all the best. Term 2 concludes this Friday June 27th. Semester One reports will go home with students on Thursday June 26th. I hope everyone has a great holiday. If you are travelling please take it steady and I look forward to seeing you at the start of Term 3 on Monday, 14 th of July. God Bless and have a great week Anthony O Leary COMBINED CATHOLIC SCHOOLS FEES & FAMILY SUPPORT OFFICE Term 2 statements Term 2 statements will be posted by this Friday 06 June Due date for payment of Term 2 statements is 17 June This due date only applies to you if you have elected to pay by the term. If you are on an agreed payment plan, such as Direct Debit, Direct Deposit or monthly Credit Card you do not need to adhere to the due date. When you receive your statement please open it, read it carefully and if you have any questions or concerns please contact this office immediately. As always, it is also a good idea to check against your bank statement. If you have a child doing Electives, ie Yrs 9, 10, 11 & 12 St Johns College; Yrs 9 & 10 St Mary s Wellington or Yrs 8, 9 & 10 St Matthew s Mudgee, these have all been invoiced in Term 2. This is to ensure you are invoiced correctly for your child s electives as these often change during Term 1. Please check these carefully also and let me know if any are incorrect. If you haven t adjusted your payment plan, it is not ideal, but not too late to do so. Also, if you have extra items added to your account outside the Tuition, Class Charges and CWL, you should adjust your payment plan to ensure your account still clears within the agreed timeframe. Please also be aware that if you are on a payment plan that direct debits and direct deposits have only been receipted up to 16 May 2014, ie any payments scheduled after this date will not show on your statement. This also relates to end of month Credit Card payers. Please be advised that the School Fees Committee as a Whole Term 2 meeting will be held on Wednesday 18 June Reminder re Exit Procedure One week s notice is required if your child is intending to Exit the system. This means that you must notify the school at least one week in advance of the impending exit, complete the relevant Student Exit form or Clearance form, contact this office to confirm the impact that the exit will have on your school fees account. Karen Meredith Manager k.meredith@bth.catholic.edu.au

4 Grazie e Arrivederci. Recently Bishop McKenna asked me to undertake further studies in Rome until mid So, I will be leaving Dubbo for bella Roma early July. Fr Reynold Jaboneta will then be moving from Mudgee to Dubbo to take up the role of assistant priest. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr O Leary and the community at St John s Primary for the warm welcome I have received and the support I have enjoyed over the last 18 months. I have enjoyed working together with Mr Schwager and the teachers to help strengthen the spiritual life of our school. Most of all I have enjoyed the time I have spent with our students. May God continue to bless our school throughout the remainder of Prayers and best wishes, Fr Greg Bellamy School Chaplain FIRST ROUND OF THE DUBBO CATHOLIC PRIMARY SCHOOLS DEBATING COMPETITION St John s held their first round of the Dubbo Catholic Primary Schools Debating Competition on Thursday of last week against St Laurence s. The topic of the debate was Chooks are better than Cats. Both teams worked well and produced some great arguments and rebuts. The team of Brenton Bealing, Thomas Busch, Jack Isbester and Isobel Pearson narrowly lost out to the strong St Laurence s team. Our second team made up to Denim Peisley, Brianna Foster, Georgia Goodman & Maddie Gibson came away with a hard fought win. Maddi Burden and Sarah Bush both did excellent jobs in their Chairperson positions. Many thanks to Mrs Camilla Ward for adjudicating. Well done to all the students involved! Mrs Gabrielle Jones Debating Coordinator

5 Merit Awards Congratulations to the following students who were presented with Merit Awards at last week s School Assembly: Kinder Gold Kinder Blue Year 1 Gold Year 1 Blue Year 2 Gold Year 2 Blue Year 3 Gold Year 3 Blue Year 4 Gold Year 4 Blue Year 5 Gold Vishaka Rupasinghe, Rhiley McCauley Lauren Scott, Jacob Lewington Connor Hallford, Preston Winters Mia Whalley, Zack Redden Hugo O Mally, Saxbii Shaw Makayla McKeown, Grace Lawrence Xanthe Mara, Jack Walsh Tyrone Smyth, Wilson Etcell Owen Blake, Nicola Hartley Paige Isbester, Billy Burden Monique Potts, Brooke Garland Year 5 Blue Year 6 Gold Year 6 Blue Grace Larkin, Makaylah Howey Chris Coggan, Aimee McArthur Well done to everyone!! Important Dates to Remember *25th June Team Colours or Pink Out of Uniform Day for Nathaniel Dries (gold coin donation) *26th June NAIDOC Celebration Day Remember to wear old clothes (painting activities) *26th June School reports go home *27th June The 13 Storey Tree House Yrs 3 & 4 DRTCC *27th June Term 2 Concludes *14th July Term 3 Commences *23rd July Book Week Parade & Book Fair *28th July Northern Region Athletics Carnival in Dubbo

6 The Premier s Commonwealth Games Challenge First Place Entry: OUR INSPIRATION The Commonwealth Games has had a few different names, With that lots of people got their fames. Nine countries have hosted this event, Athletes from 53 countries have been sent. It is hosted every 4 years, Athletes put in blood, sweat and tears. Since 1930 the Games have been held 20 times, Gold medals, the reward, Australia has led 11 times. The Commonwealth Games are also called the friendly games, Lots of Australian athletes people became house hold names. Cathy Freeman was a famous one, 4 Gold and 1 Silver is what she won. The first Australian aboriginal, Winning gold is what made her an original. The 200 and 400 metres were her races, Making her one of Australia s most famous faces. She came back from injury and never gave up, She relied on her practice and not her luck. She was great inspiration to all human kind, She never gave up on what she was assigned. In 2014 the games will be held in Glasgow, Scotland, Where Australians hope to have more gold medals at hand. Competing in events like bowls or cycling - My favourites are track and wrestling. What new athletes will become famous names, Once the closing ceremony has ended 2014 Commonwealth Games?

7 The Premier s Commonwealth Games Challenge Third Place Entry: DARREN CLARK An Inspiring Athlete Bang! The gun went for our 400 hundred metre race. My start is fast and strong but I am at the back of the pack. How could this be? I was going to need some major inspiration to draw me to the front of this quick field. With each pound of my feet on our little town track my heart began to quicken. I suddenly felt a bolt of sensation, enlightening a flame of desire to get me to the front. As my necklace thumped in time against my chest with each stride, I remember watching replays of Darren Clark, the winner of the 400 metre race in the 14 th Commonwealth Games, held in Auckland New Zealand in Darren Clark was a sprinter, who specialized in the 400 metres. His personal best time was seconds. He ran under 45 seconds 11 times. He began his international career in 1983 as a 17 year old. He held a world record for his age at 45.05seconds. What an awesome inspirational individual. With my heart, feet and chain all pounding in time, I raise my head and pump my arms harder. I start catching up. Faster and faster until I am coming first. I lunge over the line in first place. By Beth Clarke

8 Your Chance to win an ipad for just $2 ipad Raffle Reminder The ipad raffle will be drawn on Wednesday morning at the 9am assembly. Don t forget to have all your tickets (sold or unsold) back to the school office by Tuesday afternoon to ensure they are in the draw. Also, on Wednesday St John s Primary will also have an out of uniform day with the theme being Team Colours or the colour Pink, as the referees wear, (Nathaniel is a qualified Junior Rugby League Referee and still when he is able, gives up his time to do this for the kids). We ask that students bring in a gold coin donation for coming out of uniform on the day and this money will also be final tally of the ticket sales. added to the Your generous help, support and prayers are greatly appreciated at this time by both the school and the Dries family. Don t forget this Thursday is our Naidoc Pizza Day. For anyone who wishes to purchase an extra piece of Pizza on Thursday, the cost will be $2-00. Our Friday canteen helpers for this week are Kelee Winsley & Penny Smyth. Have a great week and enjoy your holiday break! Mrs Dries & Mrs Whiteley The Week Ahead at Western Plains Cultural Centre ANNE FRANK: A HISTORY FOR TODAY 14 JUNE 10 AUGUST Anne Frank s life story, told through poignant diary entries, has shaped a generation s understanding of the Holocaust. CUSP 11 MAY 3 AUGUST Designing into the Next Decade presents twelve visionary Australian designers who are working on the cusp of the future potential of design in our lives