Dear Parents and carers,

Merciful Father,
On this day, we are called to remember those who have died,
And pray for their joyful reunion with you, their loving creator.
We particularly call to mind those people who hold a special place in our hearts.
As your son taught us to call the stranger 
We also pray for those whose names we will never know,
Voices we have never heard,
In lands we may never visit,
Yet brothers and sisters all.
Amen

With the increasing popularity of Halloween, during this time of the year, the dead are often associated with spooky ghosts and scary poltergeists. The Catholic Church instead celebrates the Feasts of All Saints and All Souls, a time to reflect on those who have passed from this life to eternal life in Christ.

Yesterday, on All Saints Day, we honoured the Saints for their example of faithfulness in every time and place. Today, we offer our prayers for all those who have died. One of the oldest Christian traditions of our faith is to pray for the dead—we’ve always offered prayers and the Mass for them. All Saints Day and All Souls Day remind us that we are part of a family that is wider and deeper than our physical world. This family of faith is a reality by which we are connected with all of the faithful who have tried to walk in the way of Christ through the ages. This is our community of faith. In Christ, we all form one mystical body.

Let us take a moment during this week to offer a prayer for those who have died.

P & F School Disco

Thank you to the P & F for running the disco for the children last Friday night, the second for the year. A lot of planning and organisation goes into this event, and it relies on many parents and carers volunteering their time to be at the entry, supervise during the night, and sell food and drink. A huge thanks goes to all the parents who gave of their time to take on one of those roles to help the children have a great time.

Please continue to support the P & F in any future events that they organise. Any funds that they raise during the year goes towards providing resources for the children.

Wishing you a safe and rewarding week ahead.

Paul Moroney

Principal

ALL SAINTS/ALL SOULS DAY

In the calendar of the Catholic Church, every day has a saint’s Feast Day, often more than one. All Saints Day commemorates all the saints, as a sort of catch-up for any failures to properly worship any saint on his or her given day. Year 5 recognised this significant feast at a whole school liturgy held yesterday at the morning assembly on Tuesday, 1 November. We thank the Year 5 teachers and students for leading us in prayer to commemorate this special feast day.

On All Souls Day we keep alive the memories of all those people who have passed away. We celebrate this special feast today, 2 November.

TERM 4 CLASS CAPTAINS

Congratulations to our Term 4 Class Captains who received their badges and were acknowledged at our morning assembly on Monday, 24 October. We thank our Class Captains in anticipation of their leadership for the remainder of this year. There names are listed below:

CDF PUBLIC SPEAKING COMPETITION

On Thursday, 20 October, Anna Ouhan 5R and Nash Noche 6B were selected to represent St John’s, Campbelltown, at the North West CDF Regional Public Speaking Competition. The competition was held at St Paul’s, Camden. 

Both Anna and Nash represented our school extremely well. They delivered their speeches with great skill, demonstrating sound knowledge of their chosen topics. Anna presented with excellent eye contact with the audience and a clear voice. Nash was a crowd favourite with the use of humour that the audience easily related to.

Unfortunately they were not selected to progress to the CDF Diocesan Public Speaking Competition. However they certainly were not far from moving on to the next stage with their wonderful presentations. We hope that they continue to work on their gift of public speaking in the future.

 

  

YEAR 5 CAMP

On Thursday, 27 October and Friday, 28 October, our Year 5 students went to the Wedderburn Christian Camp. On the whole the students were excellent, participating in a range of experiences they would rarely have the opportunity to do. It was an opportunity to demonstrate their leadership skills and work collaboratively with others. There were lots of adventures to be had such as abseiling, rock wall climbing, the giant swing, water skirmish and the glider possum. It was challenge by choice and most children took the opportunity to overcome any concerns or worries that they had about the activity. We congratulate them on their achievements.

Thank you to the Year 5 Teachers for all the time planning and coordinating the camp for our students. Thanks also to Mrs Bishop, Miss Duncan, Mrs Noy and Mr Rolfe for their support in attending one or both days.

 

Happy Birthday to the following students and staff who are

celebrating their birthday this week  ,

 30th October - 5th November

Week 3 - Awards: INFANTS

The process of class formation for 2022 has now commenced. This process involves the current class teachers preparing draft lists for next year's classes. This process takes into consideration the academic, social, emotional and physical needs of each individual student. Decisions are made to establish balanced, equitable class groups with the potential to work well together. As the teachers know the students within the school environment exceptionally well, the best interests of each individual student is always considered during the discernment process.

Parents are invited annually to contribute to the process of class formation by informing us in writing of any needs that may impact on class placement. Written requests could be submitted either through the class teacher or via this link.

All requests need to be made by Friday 11th November 2022.

It is important to note that whilst parental requests are considered, there is never a guarantee that these requests will be granted. If parents make a request, particularly about their child being placed within a certain friendship group, please be aware that there may be circumstances surrounding such requests that may prevent it from being granted.

St John’s community is having a Koala Campaign which
started on Monday of Week 3.

The Year 2 children are looking at how we can care for
God’s Creation in their lessons. We are asking the
families in our school if they can help our koalas in
Campbeltown by donating any used, clean pillowcases,
towels and small blankets or sheets and bring them to
school.

The donations will be given to WIRES- people who look
after injured animals, to make little pouches. Many of
our native animals – especially koalas, get hit by cars at
this time of year and they need helpers to look after
them until they can be returned to the bush.

Your support is greatly appreciated

Just a reminder that there are only 2 more Aboriginal masses left this year at Holy Trinity church,Minto. All are welcome, please see below flyer for more information