2022: Week 8, Term 1

Principal's Message

Dear JB Parents & Carers

It was wonderful to catch up with those parents who were able to attend our Q & A / Information Session this morning. A reminder that there will be another session tonight at 6.30pm in the Library. If you are attending, we suggest you use the Gloucester St gates. 

There were a number of topics addressed at the meeting, including:

• Overview of the school's Annual Improvement Plan
• What learning looks like for our students 'post-COVID'
• School Uniforms
• New Drop-off and Pick-up procedures
• Canteen
• Upcoming events and school communication

We hope to continue to host more sessions like this to inform parents of our 2022 directions throughout the year. 

STAFF DEVELOPMENT DAY

A Professional Learning Day for teaching staff will take place on TUESDAY APRIL 26 (Week 1 Term 2). This is the beginning of the school term. A Public Holiday will take place on Monday April 25. Therefore the first day of school for Term 2 will be WEDNESDAY APRIL 27. Thank you for your support and flexibility. 

UPCOMING EVENTS

A reminder that all of our school-based events are placed in the 'Dates to Remember' section of the newsletter each fortnight. These dates are also included in the JB Parent Calendar. Please contact the office if you require support in accessing these forms of communication. 

SIBLING KINDER ENROLMENTS 2023

A reminder that sibling enrolments for Kinder in 2023 are also due on the closing date of APRIL 8 2022. Thank you for your assistance. 

Assistant Principal News

Dear Parents, 

We are excited to share that we will have our first Open Day for Parents on Friday 6th May. Parents will be invited to join us for our Mothers Day Liturgy, followed by a Picnic Lunch and then into our classrooms to see the wonderful work taking place. This day is open to all parents and grandparents to attend. 

The day will run as follows: Friday 6th May, 2022

11:20am - Liturgy

12 noon - Picnic Lunch (stay tuned for more details about this)

12:45pm - Open Classrooms 

1:45pm - Showcase of extra curricular programs 

               (students will be out at recess during this time)

COVID Reminders 

A reminder that if your child tests positive for COVID, they must not attend school for a period of at least 7 days or until they are no longer displaying symptoms. We ask that if your child tests positive, that you contact the school to notify us of this as soon as possible. 

If your child is a household contact, they must mirror the isolation of the positive case - however, there are some exceptions to this rule, please see the decision tree below which outlines the new rules in place for household contacts. If you are unsure, please let me know and I can assist you in making the right decision. We ask that if your child is isolating as a close contact that you contact the school to notify us of this as soon as possible.

Parent Volunteer Induction

A huge thank you to the many parents who were able to join us for our Parent Volunteer Induction Program. Please contact me if you were unable to join us but are now able to be a parent volunteer. 

Mount Street Carpark

A reminder that parents should not be accessing Mount Street Carpark unless they have applied for a parking pass through the office. 

We have also had reports of parents parking in the disabled parking without permits. It is important that we are leaving these spaces available for parents in our community and parishioners who require access to disabled parking. Thank you for your cooperation with this matter. 

Facebook

Be sure to like our school Facebook Page - we will be regularly posting some of the exciting things taking place at JB. 

https://www.facebook.com/jbbonnyrigg

Reminder: Family Support Worker

We are very excited to share that we now have a dedicated Family Support Worker for our community here at JB. We welcome Lisa Harris from Catholic Care as a part of our team. 

Lisa is able to offer free confidential support for families going through challenging times. She can help you and your family with issues you may be facing, including some of the following:

• Child behaviour concerns
• Domestic and family violence
• Advocacy and referrals
• Financial hardship
• NDIS
• Traumatic events
• Housing stress

Lisa is available every Friday and can be contacted directly on - 0419 223 677 or via email - lisa.harris@catholiccare.org. 

Please feel free to contact Lisa directly for further information or to make an appointment. 

Once again, thank you for your continued support and partnership. 

Mrs Natali Tomic - Assistant Principal

2023 Kindergarten Enrolments

Kindergarten 2023 enrolments are now open!

Sydney Catholic Schools invites new and existing families seeking enrolment for their Kindergarten child or other grade, to submit an application online via our school website: https://www.jbbonnyrigg.catholic.edu.au/  You may do this by selecting the 'Enrol Now' button. Alternatively, you can scan the QR code on the flyer below which will take you to the SCS Enrolment Information page, including a 'How to enrol' video. For our existing families wishing to enrol a sibling, you will be taken to your child/ren's Compass dashboard where you will find 'Family & Enrolments' under your settings options.  Your screen will appear as per the example below and you begin by selecting 'Create a new student profile' button on the left of screen. After completing this section and your review, you must continue to finalise your application by selecting the 'Create an application' to enter your child's enrolment grade, commencement year, your Declaraton & Agreements and finally, conclude with 'Submit application'.

Should you encounter issues, you may call 9568-8601 or the school office. Paper applications are also available from the office and any existing family wishing to request an enrolment pack may do so by emailing info@jbbonnyrigg.catholic.edu.au with your eldest child’s name and class and this will be sent home to you.

Please note, KINDERGARTEN ENROLMENT APPLICATIONS CLOSE 8th APRIL, 2022 and applications are to be submitted by this date.

Family Educator News

ZOOM- SPaR- A chance each week this term to meet virtually via ZOOM on Monday mornings at 9.30am, to STOP Pray and REFLECT. ALL are welcome to come online and share some catch up time afterwards too! The actual reflection will last no more than 15 minutes- it’s the conversation afterwards that is up to YOU. So make a CUPPA and join us by registering on THIS LINK

JB Juniors PLAYGROUP- at this time we can not run a face to face preschooler playgroup, but we hope to resume in Term 2 in some way. You can find some activities HERE

TONGAN APPEAL

Do you have any new or good quality stationery items you have no need for?? We are looking for pens, pencils, exercise books, glue etc?? Due to the tsumani earlier this year, Tongan schools remain closed until they are rebuilt and the children are at home with almost no basic supplies to continue any kind of learning or occupy their minds. If you have any of these items, please send them into school no later than Monday 4th April and I will ensure they are taken to our Sydney Catholic Schools office where they will be shipped directly to the Tongan community.

CHURCH WORKING BEE SATURDAY 2ND APRIL 8AM -1PM

 FAMILIES WELCOME  

 It is time for us to work together to prepare the Church and grounds for Easter. We need as many people as possible to clean the church and assist with gardening etc. Please come along with any equipment that you have available. We will be here from 8am-1pm and would appreciate any support you can give whether it is for the whole morning or just an hour of your day. If you can assist in any way please contact Grant Dunn on 0409 958 744 (morning tea will be provided to thank all of our volunteers)   

LENT

We are just past the half- way point in Lent. Are you having a good Lent? Sticking to your resolutions on self improvement? Renewing your faith at all?

Like Father Dominic said a few weeks ago- a gym membership alone does not make you fit and healthy! It takes commitment and work and even just TURNING UP! 

Think about coming along to Mass or Reconciliation- GET YOUR SOUL into SHAPE!

"You see that a man is justified by works, not by faith alone." James 2:24

KEEP UP your Lenten practices- pray, fast and give...

Tina Dunn - Family Educator 

Literacy News

“When parents get involved in their children’s learning, they have a positive influence on their children’s success throughout the school years” (PEI Literacy Alliance). There are many types of readers and every child learns at his or her own pace.  Children need plenty of attention and support as they move through the different stages of reading.

 As parents it is important to understand where your child is in their reading journey and how you can best support them.  Young children learn that printed words tell a story.  They begin to see relationships between sounds and letters.  As children become more confident, they learn ways to identify words.  They can read different kinds of materials and predict events in a story.  Children can also relate the meaning of books to what they know and do.

Every week our children borrow books from the library that are at their appropriate level.  When they are reading books that are at their level (not too hard, not too easy), they develop the necessary skills in order to keep improving.  Sharing these books at home can help foster a love of reading and learning.

Here are a few tips for you to try at home:

• Talk about reading with your child.  Before reading a book, look at the pictures with your child and ask him or her to predict what the story might be about.  Talk about your child’s favourite books or characters.
• Ask your child to picture the story while you are reading.
• Use the ‘Pause, Prompt,Praise’ approach when listening to your child. Pause if your child stops at a difficult word and give them time to try to figure it out using different strategies. Prompt if your child cannot read the word or reads it incorrectly, ask him or her to ‘Try again’ or ask ‘What word would make sense?’.  If your child still cannot say the word then tell them the word, allow them to repeat it twice, then continue with the reading. Praise your child for every reading effort and every attempt they make to read even the most difficult words.

Happy reading everyone!

READ! READ! READ!

Teresa Wojtowicz - Literacy Coordinator

Writing News

In Year 2 students have been learning how to write an informative text.  They have been learning and writing about lots of different sea creatures such as dolphins, sea turtles, seahorses and sharks! Information reports include a title, general statement and paragraphs about physical description, behaviour, habitat and diet. Hailey in 2 Emerald’s favourite paragraph to write is habitat because it is about where the sea creatures live.

Over the last two week students have focused on writing informative texts using determiners and comparative adjectives to make their texts more interesting. Below is an example of comparative sentences from Shannon in 2 Emerald.

Bottlenose Dolphins are different to the Pink River Dolphin because Bottlenose Dolphins grow up to 4 metres long while Pink River Dolphins grow up to 2 metres long. These two amazing sea creatures are similar because they both use echolocation to communicate and have fins.

Harmony Day News

Harmony Week Celebrations

This Friday, we are celebrating Harmony Week at our school. In order to help us celebrate the diversity of our school, you are invited to:

• Wear a splash of ORANGE with you sports uniform (This could be a t-shirt, socks, hair ties, jewellery etc)
• Bring food from their cultural background as their lunch for the day (please ensure there are no nuts and no sharing is permitted) 

A reminder that the harmony day poster competition closes this Friday, 25th March. Please note that no posters will be accepted after this date. We have had so many creative entries so far!

We can’t wait to celebrate with you all!
The EAL/D team

Library News

Library overdue notices are periodically sent home to all families. If your child receives a notice for overdue library books, please help your child to check your home and their school bag thoroughly for the book and return them ASAP. If you have any questions, please email me: natalie.fedrigo@syd.catholic.edu.au.

Be ‘caught in the act’... You are your child’s greatest role model! Build excitement for reading at home by allowing your child to catch you reading one of your favourite books… Yes, it could be a comic or newspaper!

Thank you for your support and happy reading!

Natalie Fedrigo - Teacher/Librarian

Pastoral Care Diverse Learning News

Hi John the Baptist families, 

As part of our school's commitment to educating the whole child we have engaged with an organisation called BE YOU. BE YOU aims to transform Australia’s approach to supporting children’s and young people’s mental health in early learning services and schools. Its' vision is that every learning community is positive, inclusive and resilient – a place where every child, young person, educator and family can achieve their best possible mental health.
To assist our school's planning with Social Emotional Learning for our community I invite parents to complete a survey from Be You. All responses areanonymous and it will only take 10 -15 mins. Please click on the link below to begin the survey.

https://beyou.syd1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8BrqyFHxHoJ4DXv?survey_id=11558399674

Thank you for your support of Wellbeing at John the Baptist.
Chris McInerney - Pastoral Care Coordinator

Sport News

Soccer News

We congratulate Lukas Curjak, Joshua Gabriel and  Kristian Komadina who were selected to represent John The Baptist at the Sydney Soccer Trials.  Good luck boys!

Primary Athletics Carnival

Our Primary Athletics Carnival will take place on Friday 1st April for students in years 3-6.  Students are to arrive at school at 8am and meet their teachers on the Top Playground.  Parents are invited to attend.

Infants Athletics Day

Our Infants Athletics Day will take place on Friday 8th April for the students in  grades kinder to Year 2.  Parents are invited to join in the fun on the day.

Frances Oliverio - Sports Coordinator

Notes from the Office

2022 SCHOOL FEES

Dear Parents,

As you are aware, your 2022 School Fee Statements have been emailed to you. It would be appreciated if your payments are made by the scheduled dates as listed on your statement.

Payments can be made by BPAY, Compass Parent Portal, Cash, Eftpos or Centrepay.

Please contact the office if you did not receive your statement, or have any queries in relation to your fees.

Your co-operation is greatly appreciated.

2022 ACARA STUDENT BACKGROUND DATA COLLECTION

Parents, please be aware the 2022 ACARA Student Background Data Collection is taking place during March.

ACARA (Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority collects student background data (SBD) for all Australian schools.

While you are not required to do anything for this collection, we ask you to ensure our school records are up-to-date and correct.  If you have any concerns or queries regarding the collection you may contact the Principal. More information on the collection of student background data is available on the ACARA website: https://www.acara.edu.au/reporting/student-background-data-collection-for-independent-schools. Please also refer to the ADGESE Collection Notice below and the following SCS Standard Collection Notice.

Awards

Congratulations to the following students on achieving their badges:

Good Samaritan Catholic College Open Day

Dates to Remember