Dear Parents and Carers,

Loving Father,

May we encounter Jesus Christ anew this day and live the Good News with joy.

Through the power of your Holy Spirit, help us to "go out to the whole world and proclaim" our faith with confidence.

Give us the courage to witness the Joy of the Gospel by our words and actions.

Help our parish to be welcoming and missionary, so that you may be known and loved by all people.

We make this prayer through Our Lord Jesus Christ Your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever

Amen.

Annual Parish Celebration

You are reminded that the parish is hosting an Annual Parish Celebration this Sunday 27 August. It will begin with Mass under the school COLA at 10.00am, followed by food stalls provided by the various cultural groups and entertainment. Some of our student are going to be involved in the Mass and the entertainment. Our school is a significant part of the parish and so all families are encouraged to join in this parish celebration.

Staffing Announcement

Following a recent recruitment process Mrs Kathryn Hampton has been appointed as the Religious Education Coordinator (REC) at Holy Family School, Ingleburn from the start of 2024. Kathryn began her work as REC at St John's in 2016 and felt the time was right to seek a new challenge in her career. During her time at our school, she has played a significant role in leading the faith development of our students. Through her meticulous attention to detail and her unwavering support of the parish, our community has a robust sacramental and religious education program which will serve us well into the future. Later in the year we will have an opportunity to acknowledge Kathryn and wish her well.

A recruitment process for a new Religious Education Coordinator for our school will now commence. We will keep you updated of its outcome.

Respectful Relationships

During this term we have been focusing on supporting the children with developing and maintaining respectful relationships. The whole-school approach has included lessons in the classroom, messages at assembly and visual signage around the school. Areas of focus have included:

• caring, sharing and taking turns
• using friendly behaviours
• respectfully standing up for ourselves
• showing empathy
• respectfully solving problems

It would be great if you were able to discuss some of these with your children at home.

Book Week

This week has been an opportunity to celebrate the wonders of reading and the joy and learning that children can experience through stories and the reading of facts. The 'Pre-Loved Book Sale' has been very popular and I would like to thank those families who donated books. I also acknowledge Mrs Burnett for this wonderful initiative, ensuring we are being more sustainable and acknowledging the current financial pressures that we are all experiencing. Giving the children a chance to get a new book (or two, three....!) without a significant cost still brings excitement to the joy of reading.

You are reminded that this Friday children can dress as their favourite book character. Following our morning assembly we will have a parade of each grade around our playground space.

Wishing you a great week,

Paul Moroney

Principal