2022: Week 8, Term 2

Principal's Message

Dear JB Parents & Carers

Our Church celebrates the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ this weekend. 

There is an old saying; ‘you are what you eat!' Perhaps you have had the depressing experience of looking into a mirror and discovering that there is more to you that there has ever been. This weekend's Feast challenges us to become what we eat at Eucharist, 'The Body of Christ’. Amen.

Are we becoming more and more the living flesh and blood of Christ in a spiritually starving world? Our Parish is currently celebrating First Holy Communion for many of our students. It is truly a wonderful time for children and their families. But, try  to remember  OUR OWN First Holy Communion. How sincere we were, how reverent, how faith filled, and how we always wanted to receive Jesus in Holy Communion.  Perhaps it is a time for all of us to consider: When was the last time I visited the Church to pray before the Blessed Sacrament? Or took my children to Church? Or made a Holy Hour before the Blessed Sacrament? The Feast of “ Corpus Christi” (Body and Blood of Christ) is perhaps a time to ask ourselves a few questions.

Kindergarten Welcome Mass

In today's newsletter you will see a special invitiation to all Kinder families to celebrate the Eucharist as a faith community:

The date is SUNDAY JUNE 26 at our 10am Mass. Make sure you put it in your diaries!

With my best wishes for the week ahead,

       Brendan O'Connor  Principal

Assistant Principal News

Dear Parents, 

A reminder that bookings are now open for parents for our Semester 1 Parent-Teacher-Student connect meetings. Please ensure that you have booked in a time to meet with your child’s classroom teacher via the ‘Conferences’ section of Compass. 

We need your help…

If you attended our Parent Volunteer Induction Program and are available to assist in our school Library each Thursday afternoon or Friday morning, we’d love to hear from you. 

You would need to commit to helping out every Thursday afternoon OR Friday morning for roughly an hour to assist with shelving and returning books that come in. 

If this sounds like the job for you, please register your interest on this form and we will be in touch.

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

Lisa (Our Family Support Worker) 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. 

Natali Tomic  Assistant Principal

Family Educator News

Parent Cuppa and Cards Of Hope- 

Parents welcome to come along and make a Card

Next Monday 20th June, as well as the cuppa and short reflection in the gallery at 8.50am, we will also spend a short time making “Cards of Hope”, an initiative of Vinnies. Along with our donations, these cards which offer an anonymous message of support and affirmation, will be given and distributed to families. All are welcome- even just for the cuppa if you like!

All materials provided.

JB Juniors- FUN FOR PRESCHOOLERS!

Last Date for this term  28th June.

This Playtime group begins at 8.50am on Tuesday Morning in the demountable classroom on the top playground. We share a prayer, a story/craft and playtime.

It is open to children aged 0-5 years. Parents are responsible for the supervision of their children at all times. We finish approximately 10am. 

Please let gate staff know you are attending this event when entering the grounds.

FREE DAY OUT FOR FAMILIES!

The World Meeting of Families is held every three years. In light of the global pandemic, this year it will be run in each individual diocese around the world.

WMOF will be held in Sydney on the weekend of the 24th-26th June along with a family activities in Hyde Park that is open to all! 

You are most welcome to attend the 10.30am Mass on Sunday 26th June at St Mary's Cathedral  and then have some fun at the festival in HYDE PARK  and enjoy the afternoon. 

PARENTING FOR CHARACTER with the renowned Dr Andy Mullins- 

Don’t miss this ZOOM event-

 TUESDAY 21st June 12pm  Join HERE  Passcode: 193495

Parenting for Character is a practical talk to help parents develop in their children qualities necessary for a happy and fulfilling adult life. These include sound judgement, responsibility, self-control, integrity, perseverance, courage and more. 

Not only will we have the opportunity to hear an inspiring and practical talk, but there will also be opportunities for Q&A. DON'T MISS THIS!

Tina Dunn  Family Educator

PARISH MATTERS:

Jb Men’s Group

Calling all Dad’s! Calling all men!! 

You are invited to join our John the Baptist Men’s Group. We catch up monthly each 3rd Friday. This month at 7.30pm on the 17th, we will meet in the hall to listen to Jesus in the Gospel, chat in small groups and hear a testimony and talk about “Defining moments”. What brief moments in your life fundamentally made you who you are?  

For more information please call or text, Odeh Haddad on 0434 417 628 or Daniel Araneda on 0411 254 520

Newman News

Sydney Catholic Schools Eisteddfod

Congratulations to Trinity En in 4 Emerald who was awarded 2nd place in the Intermediate Piano Solo category at the Sydney Catholic Schools Eisteddfod on Saturday. This is a highly competitive category and Trinity has demonstrated her exceptional ability in piano! 

This Friday 17th June, two choirs from JB will travel to Marist College, Penshurst, to participate in the SCS Choir Eisteddfod. These students have been working through many of their break times in order to prepare for this exciting event. We are very proud of their achievements and wish them every success! We would like to thank Miss Valdez and Miss Mircevska for helping these students to prepare for the eisteddfod. 

UNSW Australian Schools Competition

ICAS Assessments will be taking place throughout the month of August. These assessments are designed to target students’ higher-order thinking and problem-solving skills in English, Mathematics, Science, Writing, Spelling Bee and Digital Technologies. These tests are for students in years 2 - 6.

This year, our school has registered for online payments where parents pay for ICAS directly online.

Permission notes and further information about ICAS and assessment dates will be distributed to students early next week.

Payments will not be accepted any later than Friday 22nd July, 2022.

Please contact Mrs Bushby if you have any questions.

Mrs Francine Bushby  Newman Facilitator/Gifted Coordinator

Literacy News

Literacy Corner Week 8 Term 2 2022

Research shows that reading with your child every night makes a difference to their progress.  Often parents listen to the reading, but are unsure of how to help.  It is important to remember that there are two main components of reading – decoding and comprehension. 

Decoding is where we work out what the words SAY, and comprehension is where we work out what they MEAN.  When a child correctly says the word in the text, this means they are decoding.  However, children need to go beyond just ‘saying’ the words correctly in order to understand a text.  Comprehension is when children are reading and they UNDERSTAND what they are reading about.   

Comprehension is all about thinking, good readers not only ‘read’ a text, they actually ‘think’ their way through the text.  To comprehend is to go beyond the word level to get to the big picture. There are lots of ways students can show us that they understand the text – recall information, give a response, answer questions, interpret pictures and make connections. Research has found that students, who are struggling to read, focus more on word accuracy than comprehension. Students are explicitly taught comprehension strategies in class. 

To reinforce student learning, parents are encouraged to utilise the following question prompts at home when reading with your child.

• Does this book remind you of something? eg This story reminds me of a holiday to my grandfather’s farm.
• What do you think will happen next?
• Why did the character do something?
  
• Can you describe a picture or image you made in your head when you read the text?
  
• If you were to tell another person about the text, how would you describe it in a few sentences?
  

Tell Them From Me Parent Survey

Tell Them From Me Parent Survey

We would also like to invite you to complete the Tell Them From Me (TTFM) Partners in Learning survey. As we value the role of parents and carers within our school community we would greatly appreciate your feedback. The information you provide will be used to maintain our commitment to working together in partnership to further improve student learning and wellbeing at John the Baptist Primary School. The survey is now live and will close on 17th June 2022. Parents do not require a username or password to complete the survey.

The survey is anonymous and will take approximately 20 minutes to complete. You are able to access the parent survey on your computer or mobile device by using the URL below:    http://tellthemfromme.com/pxvgx

Library News

Make a habit of visiting the local library with your children. This is an exciting adventure for many children, who may find books they enjoy which are not available in our school library. Take advantage of this time in the library to borrow a book you’d like to read also! 

Don’t forget to continue adding the books your child reads to his/her Premier’s Reading Challenge reading record (year 3-6 students). Encourage your children to attend lunchtime library if they would like help with reading extra books or adding these to their reading record. 

Natalie Fedrigo  Teacher/Librarian

Sport News

Primary Athletics Carnival

After a few false starts, we were finally able to host our Primary Athletics Carnival.  We congratulate all the students on their athleticism, enthusiasm and willingness to brave the cold. Congratulations to the mighty Blue house who were the overall champions of the carnival. We also acknowledge our amazing sports captains who showed fabulous leadership, enthusiasm and creativity. Well done sports captains!

Athletics Carnival Photos

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Cross Country News

We congratulate Chloe Davino who participated in the NSWCPS Cross Country selections last week.  Well done Chloe on a fabulous effort!

Notes from the Office

APPLICATIONS FOR EXTENDED LEAVE – TRAVEL

For those families who may be considering a holiday, whether locally or internationally, please be aware that any travel request for 10 school days or more must be applied for at least 4 weeks prior to your child/ren’s intended absence.

Please email the office for an application and we will be happy to send this home. Kindly note when returning the application, it must also be accompanied by evidence of travel destination such as flight tickets &/or itinerary. 

Of particular importance, any family intending to take leave from 27th June to 5th August must complete this process as a high priority.

Any holiday absence for 9 school days or less, please be sure to submit an attendance note via Compass, before your child/ren’s absence.

VISA FAMILIES          

For our families from overseas, it is important that the school has details of your current            residency status. Please provide us with your new visa grant notice or Australian citizenship documents, if:

•       there has been any change in your visa subclass or the expiry date, or
•       if you previously had a visa but have now become an Australian citizen

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.

Catholic Education Foundation

Dates to Remember