PARENT COMMUNICATION SURVEY

Thank you to the parents/carers who have completed our ‘Parent Communication Survey’.

The Survey will close on Monday, 2 December.

Please click on the link to complete it. It could take as little as 30 seconds to complete- Parent Communication- Feedback Survey.

Thank you in anticipation for your time to reflect and share your feedback. The data we receive will be shared in next week’s newsletter.

FIRST RECONCILIATION

Many of our Year 2 students made their First Reconciliation yesterday evening on Tuesday, 26 November at 5:00pm & 6:30pm. 

We are grateful for Fr John Ho and Fr Richard Healy for their leadership in our parish. Thanks also to the families and students for the reverent manner in which they participated throughout the liturgy.

A special thank you to many of our staff members and the Parish Sacramental Team for their hard work in preparing the children at the workshops alongside their parents and carers.

YEAR 6 GRADUATION & CELEBRATIONS

The Year 6 Graduation Celebrations will begin soon. We look forward to celebrating this milestone of completing Primary Education with our Year 6 students, their parents and teachers.

Our Year 6 students will celebrate their graduation with dinner at the Campbelltown Catholic Club on Tuesday, 10 December. This evening will be a special occasion to celebrate the achievements of our graduating Year 6 students. It will be an opportunity for teachers and students to come together and reflect on the growth and accomplishments of the past academic year. We are looking forward to an enjoyable and memorable night for the children.

The Year 6 Rewards Day will take place on Thursday, 12 December. The students will enjoy a fun day together at the new Billabong Parklands. It will be one of the final opportunities to celebrate as a whole grade. 

On Friday, 13 December, we will gather together to celebrate a liturgy for our graduating students for 2024. We look forward to the presence of our school community at this joyous occasion as we congratulate our Year 6 students and wish them success in their future endeavours. They have taken on their role of student leaders with a high level of commitment and responsibility. They will leave behind a myriad of memories, laughs, cultural talents and academic achievements. We wish them all every success when they move onto high school in 2025.

THE FEAST OF CHRIST THE KING- SUNDAY, 24 NOVEMBER

At our Monday morning assembly, Year 2 led the school community in a special prayer commemorating the Feast of Christ the King. Congratulations to the students who read prayers and scripture passages so clearly. 

During the liturgy it was mentioned how Jesus shows us that you do not have to be rich or powerful to be important. He shows us that what is more important is how you treat others. What we do and say is much more important than whether we are rich or poor or where we come from. Thank you to the Year 2 teachers and students for sharing this important message.

THE SEASON OF ADVENT

The Season of Advent begins this Sunday, 1 December.

 Advent means “coming” – the coming of God among us; but the season of Advent is not merely a preparation to celebrate the historical birth of Jesus as a baby in Bethlehem. This is there, but only as a minor theme. 

Jesus is Emmanuel, God-with-us, in three ways; in the past, in the present and in the future. The Lord Jesus is with us now, but in another sense he is yet to come, in his fullness, as the God of power, truth, justice and peace for all people. He will come to judge our response, yet we look forward to his return in glory, the final manifestation of God’s covenant of love with his creation, with joy.

Our reflection and prayer during this season should be hopeful – concentrating more on the future than on the past, and on how we can make that future present now. For the Christian, thinking of the future involves not only hope but enthusiasm, looking forward eagerly to Christ’s return. It also means patience as we wait and watch. It implies readiness to change as needs be, preparing the way for the Lord, responding to his initiative of love.

UNIVERSITY STUDENTS- TEACHER PLACEMENT

Over the past few weeks we have supported university students from ACU and Curtin University with teacher placement. These students are currently completing their degree in Primary Education. They have just completed their time here at St John’s. The feedback from them all has been overwhelmingly positive. They all spoke very highly of our students and the teachers who were supervising them. 

We certainly need more young teachers in our system and hope that one day they may even return to our wonderful community. These students did a great job supporting the learning of our children throughout their placement. Their names and classes they were with are below. We wish them all the best in the future.

Damian Pelligrino- 5G

Mackenzie Quinn- KB

Emma Smith- 2G

Tavara Sofa- 1B

ANNUAL SWIMMING CARNIVAL

On Friday, 6 December, our Years 3-6 students will participate in our annual swimming carnival held at The Gordon Fetterplace Aquatic Centre, Bradbury. We look forward to a day filled with spirited competition and of course, lots of fun in the water! The annual swimming carnival is a fantastic opportunity for our students to showcase their swimming talents, build teamwork skills, and create lasting memories with their peers.  

YEAR 3 EXCURSION TO LIZARD LOG

Our Year 3 students attended a school excursion to Lizard Log, Western Sydney Parklands on Friday 22nd November 2024. This excursion supported the Geography program unit ‘Protection of Places’.  

The visit to the Lizard Log, Western Sydney Parklands provided an opportunity for the students to develop an understanding of the characteristics of different places and environments. Students participated in activities such as water and the effects of pollution, constructing bird houses, bug catching, bushwalking, creating a home for native animals, and investigating the ways people, places and the environment interact.

Thank you to the students and teachers in the way they engaged in their learning in the hot conditions.