2022: Week 2, Term 3

Principal's Message

Welcome back to Term 3! It seems that as we move ahead, we also seem to be ‘stepping back in time’ as the impact of COVID and the flu season reaches once again into our school community. 

There are many issues that arise as a result of the current situation we face, however, we can assure you that we are well prepared for any situation that arises. We will continue to ask for your support and understanding as we monitor and assess the situation. 

We continue to encourage you to use Rapid Antigen Tests (RAT) when you identify that your child is displaying any symptoms. These were provided to you last week courtesy of the school. 

These reminders will assist you as we continue into the Term ahead

• Keep your child home if they are unwell
• A mask is recommended for all who are in a group
• Keep up to date with vaccines and boosters
• Be extra vigilant with hygiene
• Use the RAT tests provided
• Please be patient with our office staff who are doing a great job under challenging circumstances

Thank you for your continued support

REFLECTION- GOSPEL

What are the most important things in our life? Our Readings at Mass this upcoming weekend invite us to reflect on what things in life take priority for us. The Old Testament reading reminds us that many things are simply vanity and have no lasting value. Our Gospel has Jesus challenging us concerning material possessions. We live in a consumer society. Often we can feel pressured to acquire material things- and then we find they possess us and take control of our lives. There is real food for thought for all of us in these Sunday Mass Readings.

FAITH

Of your tasks will be many, and more than you think you can do. Often the road will be rugged and the hills insurmountable, too. But always remember the hills are never as steep as they seem, and with FAITH in your heart start upward and climb till you reach your dream, for nothing in life that is worthy is ever to hard to achieve if you have the courage to try it and have the FAITH to believe.

For FAITH is a force that is greater than knowledge, or power, or skill and many defeats turn to triumph if you trust in God’s wisdom and will. For FAITH is a mover of mountains, there’s nothing that God cannot do, so start out today with FAITH in your heart and climb till your dream comes true.

Late Father John Langtry

Science at John the Baptist!

It was certainly wonderful to begin our new Science program as part of our ‘SMILe Day’ structure last week. There was some great feedback from the students, and while demonstrating that learning should be hands-on and fun! Thanks to Miss Buedo and the SMILe Team for their efforts in preparing a wonderful learning program that will continue throughout the year.  

Science Week 2022 

This year at JB, we will celebrate Science week from the 13th-21st August. The school theme for National Science Week in 2022 is Glass: More than meets the eye. Stay tuned for more information on how you and your child can participate in Science week.

Year 6 Raffle

Yesterday you received tickets for our Year 6 Raffle! We will be holding a Father’s Day Raffle as part of our Year 6 Fundraising Event for 2022.

Major Prizes are:

1 st Prize - 58” Android TV

2 nd Prize - Signed Parramatta NRL Jersey

3 rd Prize - Signed Wanderers Jersey

4 th Prize - A-League Match Ball signed by Macarthur Bulls players

Plus:

$200 Voucher

Westfield vouchers valued at $100 each

$100 Petrol Voucher

$100 Restaurant Voucher

Juicer valued at $130

Plus many more consolation prize packs up for grabs!!

-Each child has been given a book of 10 raffle tickets

-Each book costs $10 or $1 per ticket

-If you require more tickets to sell, these can be collected from the office

-Each ticket sold must have a name and contact number on each side of the ticket

The child that sells the most tickets will WIN a $100 TIMEZONE Voucher

All ticket stubs and money are due back to your child’s class teacher by Monday 22nd August 2022.

The raffle will be drawn at the Father’s Day BBQ on Friday 2nd September 2022. Thank you to all Year 6 families for your donations and support.

Brendan O'Connor  Principal

Assistant Principal News

Dear Parents,

We have had  such a wonderful start to the term with many exciting learning activities, excursions and celebrations already taking place. We look forward to the rest of the term. 

Assembly - every Friday! 

Our Assemblies have returned to face to face in the church each Friday from 2pm. In line with COVID safe measures, we are gathering as K-2 for Assembly in Week A and Year 3-6 in Week B. If your child is due to receive their bronze, silver or gold badge, you will be notified via email. 

Toilets

Unfortunately this week, we have had to closely monitor student use of the toilets as there have been a number of incidents of disrespecting the bathrooms. We ask all parents to support us by reminding their children to use the toilets safely and respectfully. 

Reminder: We are a NUT free school 

A reminder to parents that we are nut free school. This means that any products that are nuts or contain nuts (e.g. sauces, pasta, rice, muesli bars, chocolates, cakes and biscuits etc) are not permitted to be on the school premises at all. 

This is to ensure the safety of all of our students, especially those who have a diagnosed allergy to nuts and nut products. 

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. Parents are also choosing to drive through the exit in order to enter the car park - this is dangerous and poses a serious risk to both yourself and our community, we ask that you please follow and abide by the road rules and signs and do not enter through the exit. 

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

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

Cuppa and Catch up

Come along to our Parent gathering on Monday mornings in the gallery as soon as the bell goes- there will be a hot cuppa waiting for you!

We have a VERY quick SPaR (Reflection) and then you can stay and make a new friend or catch up with an old one! 

Mondays in the Gallery- starts about 8.50am after morning announcements.

JB Juniors- Tuesday Playtime Group for preschoolers

(and Expressions of interest to also HOLD WEDNESDAY GROUP)

All preschoolers are welcome to join  our playtime group from the start of school day(about 8.50am) on Tuesday in Weeks 2,4,6,8,10.  There is story and music time followed by craft. Great for parents and carers to make some friends too! We usually finish by about 10am.

Dates Coming up this term:

Tuesday 26th July

9th August

23rd August

6th September

20th September

!!!*** Exciting News- There is a possibility we will also have a WEDNESDAY JB Juniors Group- If this is a better day for you and you are interested in attending, please complete this expression of interest  HERE  and I will contact you in the coming weeks to confirm.

Feast of St Anne and St Joachim- 26th July

Honour our grandparents and the elderly this week

This week we celebrated the feast of Sts Anne and Joachim. As we honour the grandparents of Jesus- we are reminded to also acknowledge the elderly and grandparents in our own lives. They have so much to contribute- passing on their stories and their faith to the younger generation.

Children watched a short presentation in class and were called to be thankful for our grandparents and older friends.

Perhaps as a family you might reach out to an older person this week- a neighbour or relative- and make a connection that will brighten their day.

See HERE for a clip on the second annual Day for Grandparents and the Elderly as declared by Pope Francis.

“They will still bear fruit in old age.” Psalm 92:14

Grade masses each Friday-

Don’t forget to keep checking the calendar for grade masses on Fridays- you are most welcome to join us  at Mass (bring grandparents too!) and stay for a cuppa afterwards. This is at 9am in the church.

Mass is also held at 8am on Tuesday morning if you and the children are early- a great start to the day. This mass usually runs about twenty minutes. It’s warmer in church too!

Tina Dunn  Family Educator

Confirmation Enrolments-

For those children in Year 6 and above who have made their First Reconciliation and Communion- 

Enrolments will be held in the Parish Hall on the following days and times: Saturday 30th July 4:00pm to 5:15pm and 6:30pm to 7:15pm and Sunday 31st July 9:00am to 11:30am Please bring with you to enrolments a copy of your child’s Baptism Certificate and $30.00 to cover program costs. Any enquiries please contact Linda Barilla on 0409 914 083.

Confirmation Masses will be held Tuesday 20th, Wednesday 21st and Thursday 22nd September in the evening.

Keep the dates…

IGNITE CONFERENCE-Here at Freeman!

Thursday 29 September - Sunday 2 October Freeman College Bonnyrigg. This popular conference was postponed in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-lockdowns, but is back this year, featuring the Holy Sacraments of Mass, Reconciliation and Adoration, inspiring speakers, workshops and dynamic music. The event is aimed at all ages with a program of interest to primary and high schoolers, young adults, ministry leaders, families, teachers, priests and religious from across the country. Speakers will include Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP, Fr Rob Galea and Therese Mills MGL.

Online:

 https://igniteconference.com.au/ 

NOTE: Any children from John the Baptist Parish who need assistance with registration costs- please contact Father Dominic on 98232572 and we should be able to assist.

JB Men’s Group and Archdiocesan initiatives for Men-

JB Men put faith on display. To join the JB men’s group or to find out more, email jbmgroup@gmail.com or call/SMS Daniel on 0411 254 520.

Stay up to date with some great Sydney Archdiocesan events for men on the calendar HERE

Literacy News

Literacy Corner Term 3 Week 2

Welcome back to another exciting term of Reading and Literacy at JB. This week, we will be celebrating the achievements of those children who have excelled in the Lexile Reading Program during Term 2.   Lexile Medals are awarded to one student per class who read the most words during Term 2.  There were also many students who were congratulated for their consistent efforts and outstanding overall results throughout Term 2. Congratulations to all our students who continue to demonstrate motivation and efforts towards this program.  

A variety of research studies have clearly proven that students who read for 15 minutes or more each day demonstrate accelerated learning gains.  This means that every minute a child is reading is making a difference.  Keep up the hard work!

Congratulations to the following class champions: 

A class trophy is also awarded each term to the class in the grade that read the most words during the term.  Term 2 Champion Classes are as follows:

3 Silver 4 674 203 words read

4 Emerald 2 816 035 words read

5 Emerald 4 028 112 words read

6 Emerald  3 057 743 words read

Winter Reading Challenge

The Winter Reading Challenges are continuing to be marked, collated and judged this week.  I have been absolutely overwhelmed by the high calibre of entries!  The reading challenge entries have come in all shapes and sizes with many talents on display.  I have now enlisted a whole judging panel to go through our entries further, stay tuned for our class and overall winners that will be announced shortly.

A huge thank you to all the parents and families who have created these amazing entries and read so many fantastic books over the holidays.  Building a love of reading is highly important and assists children become lifelong learners.

Teresa Wojtowicz  Literacy Coordinator

Newman News

UNSW Australian Schools Competition

The date for online registration for ICAS has been extended until Friday 29th July.

If you wish for your child to participate in the UNSW Australian Schools Competition, please visit the link below to register and organise payment.

Please do not send money to school. 

Access details:

Visit:  https://shop.icasassessments.com/pages/pps

JB Unique School Code - XJH440

Payments will not be accepted after Friday 29th July, 2022.

Please contact Mrs Bushby if you have any questions.

Mrs Francine Bushby  Newman Facilitator/Gifted Coordinator

Writing News

This term, in Writing, our Year 5 students are learning how to compose informative texts. The unit began by writing an explanation of how chocolate is made! Below are some examples of how they have introduced their scrumptious topic in their statement of phenomenon (introduction). We can’t wait to learn more about the process of a cocoa bean becoming a chocolate bar from our students’ fantastic work!

Religion News

HOLY COMMUNION PHOTOS

First Holy Communion photos will be available for collection from the Church Meeting Room between 6:30pm and 8:30pm on Monday 1st August and Tuesday 2nd August.

 Enquiries:  Maria Giglio on 0407 662 535

Library News

New Borrowing Procedures

This term, students have begun following new library borrowing procedures. Please help to remind your children to return their Library Books and Home Readers on the correct day.

Book Club FREE books offer! 

Book Club Issue 5 is out now, don’t miss out on this exciting opportunity to select FREE books! With books starting from $3, there is surely a book for every reader! 

Place your order through the LOOP app. 

**FREE books will be selected at checkout from a special list. 

Book Club orders close:

Tuesday 2nd August.

Premier's Reading Challenge!

Not long to go now for the Premier’s Reading Challenge (year 3-6 students). Encourage your children to attend lunchtime library if they would like help to complete their Reading Record. 

Premier’s Reading Challenge closes on Friday 19th August.

Natalie Fedrigo  Teacher/Librarian

Numeracy News

Holiday Maths Challenge

Congratulations to all students who completed the Mathematics Holiday Passport. It is amazing to see so many people continuing to push themselves to master their mathematical skills.

Look at some of the amazing work from these students below.

The best way to be amazing at maths is to … Practise... Practise... Practise!

Sport News

Dancefever Interschool Challenge

Our year 4 and year 6 students will have the opportunity to participate in the Dancefever Interschool Challenge at Homebush on Wednesday 7th September.  Please save this date.  We will provide you with more information when this becomes available.

Conference 4 Athletics Championships

We wish our school athletics team all the best at the Conference 4 Athletics Championships next Thursday.

After School Soccer

Our Term 3 After Schools Soccer Program started this week.  We look forward to seeing the students develop their soccer skills over the four week program.

Notes from The Office

SICK CHILDREN 

Wth the resurgence of COVID-19 and the cold & flu season upon us, we ask your assistance to please keep child/ren home if they are showing any signs of illness. It is also important to remind your child/ren to practice good hygiene habits, particularly while at school.

Thank you for your understanding & support in this matter.

SCHOOL CENSUS - Friday 5th August

Parents, please be aware that from time to time, we are required to provide student details and background data provided through the school enrolment form to government agencies.

For our Visa student families, we ask if there has been any changes to your Visa circumstances or have recently become an Australian Citizen, to please immediately advise the office. 

Parents and guardians are able to access information regarding this process via the following linked notices:  SCS Privacy Notice, SCS Standard Collection Notice and the AGDESE 2022 Census Privacy Notice 

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.

Dates to Remember