2022: Week 6, Term 4

Principal's Message

REFLECTION 
We come again to the last Sunday of the Church Year. The Feast of Jesus Christ, our King. As we tend to do at year’s end, we reflect on the year that has passed. Are we better Catholics now than a year ago? Are we more kind, considerate, gentle, honest, sacrificing, pure and chaste, forgiving, etc? Quite a challenge for all of us. At least if we give honour and allegiance to Jesus, our King, on this day, we can end our Church year on a firm note of Faith and Love.

Something to think about 

As long as we have memories, yesterday remains. As long as we have hope, tomorrow awaits. As long as we have friendship, each day is never a waste. Make the most of every single day, as tomorrow is never guaranteed.

LATE FATHER JOHN LANGTRY 

STAFFING ANNOUNCEMENTS

We farewell the following staff members who will be working in different schools in 2023:

Mrs Janelle Campbell

Miss Charlotte Bissell

Mrs Natalie Fedrigo

Miss Michelle Divola

Mrs Elise Akers

Mrs Leesa Topic

We thank them for their tireless work for the students of JB over many years. We wish them every success as they explore new ventures in 2023. As part of the school's Thanksgiving Mass on Friday December 9, we will offer a special blessing to our leaving members of staff. 

NEW CANTEEN TENDER ANNOUNCEMENT

I'm pleased to announce that we have a new proprieter for our canteen beginning 2023. Brooke's Canteen have been awarded the canteen contract for John the Baptist. Further details of their healthy, fresh and exciting menus will be provided before the completion of the school year. 

JB COLOUR FUN DAY CHALENGE

We look forward to our exciting day tomorrow! Thanks to all of our families who have contributed to this important fundraiser - it is very much appreciated. 

The weather forecast looks great for tomorrow and we are all excited for a special day. All families are welcome to join us!

NEWMAN SYMPOSIUM

A special demonstration of the vast array of learning opportunities that happen here at JB each day will take place on November 30. Familes are invited to come and join us at lunchtime through to recess. The students are excited to share their learning with all of our guests. Save the date!

Mr Brendan O'Connor  Principal

Assistant Principal News

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

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

Religion News

“SOCKTOBER” Day

Last month the staff and students wore a pair of funny socks to school and brought in a gold coin donation. Together we raised $1,111.10 for Catholic Mission. Thank you to all our families for your generous support of this initiative. 

God Bless. 

Mrs Jansen  Religious Education Coordinator  

Family Educator News

Advent SPaR and Parent Craft next Monday 21st November in the demountable classroom- 9am

Come along and learn about the season of Advent as we engage in some Advent Craft-perhaps make yourself a bracelet or a bookmark..

Coffee, tea and conversation provided!

JB Juniors- See dates below! Lots of fun in Term 4

All preschoolers are welcome to join  our playtime group from the start of school day(about 8.50am) on Tuesday in Weeks 4,6,8,10.  There is story and music time followed by craft. This term our focus will be on Advent and Christmas Crafts, so lots of fun!

Great for parents and carers to make some friends too! We usually finish by about 10am.

Dates Coming up this term:

Tuesdays -

November 29th

December 13th 

Wednesdays-

November 23rd

December 7th

Sabbath Week 7 next week- 

Make some family time or ME time and just BE in the moment. Spend the moment with God

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. 

Year 6 and their families are invited to Grade mass this Sunday 10am

 20th November- The Feast of Christ the King.

Please stay for morning tea and a chat after.

Please look out for Advent Initiatives coming home in the next two weeks! 

Thought for the Week:

Advent- why we have to Wait…

Do you feel like you are always waiting for SOMETHING? Waiting in shopping queues or for parcels to arrive, phone calls to be returned, lights to change, a parking space down in Gloucester street?

Even in our fast-paced world, with all its conveniences, we are all waiting for something. And, during the Advent season, we discover a purpose to our waiting. 

Advent calls us to reflect and focus on three things- Christ present with us in the past by his birth, his presence with us now today, and the time ahead when he will come again to be with us. 

SO much to reflect upon- so yes- we have to wait!

As our patron saint John the Baptist cried out-

“Prepare the way of the Lord in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert…”

What can you do to prepare for Christmas? Start making some plans, reconcile differences with friends and family, pray together, attend mass, participate in an act of charity or donate to a charity- open your heart (prepare the way) and make this year different.

Don’t wait for December 25th!

CAROLS BY CANDLELIGHT!!!

An amazing night of fun and community- celebrate 2022 and the coming Christmas season.Food trucks from 5pm and Carols from 7pm- bring your singing voice with you!!!

 Find the latest John the Baptist church bulletin  HERE

Tina Dunn  Family Educator

SACRAMENTAL INFORMATION- Reconciliation and Holy Communion 2023-

 Enrolment for Reconciliation and Communion Sacrament program for children in Grade 4 and above will be held early Term 1 in 2023. Dates will be announced in the Church bulletin. Any questions please contact Tamara on 0424 166 248.

Literacy News

Literacy Corner Week 6 Term 4

Welcome to another week of fantastic results by our students.  At our most recent assembly we celebrated our overall Spring Reading Challenge winners.  These winners were awarded certificates and gift vouchers to spend at their favourite stores as recognition of their amazing entries.  Congratulations to:

Georgia Button - Buisson and Brandon Janus: Overall Infants Winner

Kyrillos Balyoz and Lazarous Balyoz: Overall Primary Winners

Look out soon for our Summer Holidays Reading Challenge which will be distributed towards the end of this term.  Remember: You have to be in it to win it!

The assembly also gave us the opportunity to present all Lexile Medal Class Winners.  The Lexile Reading Medals are awarded to the student in each class who has read the most overall words in the term.  It was a very close race in many classes with many outstanding achievements.  Congratulations to the following students and classes:

EVERY WORD COUNTS

As teachers we know the importance of praising EVERY effort in reading.  Reading development is a complex process that requires instruction and practise at every stage.  

We know reading takes practise and needs stamina, and this relies on maintaining the interest of our earliest readers. We need to harness children’s drive to find meaning in print; to support them in lifting words off the page, rather than merely barking at words or ideas on a page.  This is why EVERY WORD COUNTS!

The more that children read, the more they build their vocabulary and reading development.  Studies have shown that children who read at home, or students who are read to at home, have a much larger vocabulary and word knowledge than children who do not have these experiences.  This vocabulary stimulates literacy skills and is seen as a great advantage as children progress through the stages of reading development.  Keep up the reading at home as every single word your child reads, or listens to in a text, actually does make a difference.

Remember: READ! READ! READ!

Teresa Wojtowicz  Literacy Coordinator

Maths News

NUMERACY NEWS

This year students at John the Baptist have continued to thrive in the Numerical Acumen Semester Challenges. Congratulations to all students involved in the program. The amount of awards for our school is testament to the hard work and dedication across the school. John the Baptist was awarded Most Inspirational School of the Year for the third year in a row!

Newman News

Newman Symposium - Tuesday, 30th November - 10.45am - 1.00pm

In celebration of all of our learning success over the year, John the Baptist is holding its annual Newman Symposium on Tuesday, 30th November. The day will begin at 10.45am with a picnic lunch, before a range of learning experiences are showcased. We can’t wait to share our learning with you and look forward to seeing you there!

UNSW Australian Schools Competition

The ICAS certificates have finally arrived! Students will be bringing these certificates home this week and will be acknowledged at the next assembly.

Thank you for your patience!

UNSW Australian Schools Competition - ICAS

Last term over 60 students from year 2 - 6 completed ICAS assessments in the areas of Writing, English, Spelling Bee, Mathematics, Science, and Digital Technologies. 

The ICAS Competition is an initiative of the University of New South Wales. It is an opportunity for high achieving students to compete nationally. 

Students are awarded a participation, a merit, credit, distinction or high distinction. 

High distinctions place the awarded students in the top 1% of Australia, and distinctions which place them in the top 10%. 

An extra special mention goes to: 

Patrick Jekki - for receiving a High Distinction in ICAS Digital Technologies 

Marcus Settineri and Sofia Dahdah - for receiving a High Distinction in  ICAS Science.

Congratulations to the following students who achieved a Distinction in the assessments they completed:

Many of our students also received credits. Those students achieved in the top 25% and these students should be very proud of their efforts.

Congratulations to every single student who participated in the ICAS tests. The content is very difficult, with most questions being beyond grade expectations.

JB Sporting Event Photos - FINAL CALL

As part of the Newman Symposium this year, the Film Club are working on collating a short film of all the students who have represented JB at sporting events throughout 2022.

If your child has represented JB at any sporting event this year, please complete the form and include photos of your child at the event. https://forms.gle/KQ16d3WC3RPewnsX8

Mrs Francine Bushby  Newman Facilitator/Gifted Coordinator

Library News

Book Club

Do you need Christmas gift ideas?

Why not check out Book Club issue 8, the final issue of the year!

There is so much choice in the catalogue, you will be sure to find the perfect book for any child!

Final Borrowing Week

This week is the final library borrowing week for 2022. Please return all books in week 7 and pay for any lost books at the school office.

Thank you!

Natalie Fedrigo  Teacher/Librarian

Sport News

Swimming News:

On Thursday 10th November, our primary students participated in the JB Primary Swimming Carnival.  We were blessed with a beautiful sunny day and all students had the opportunity to demonstrate their swimming skills throughout the day.  We congratulate the Purple House on winning the Spirit Award on the day.  We also congratulate the Red House who were the overall winners on the day.  We wish the following students the best of luck as they will now compete in the Conference 4 Swimming Trials on Thursday 2nd March 2023.   

Good luck Audrey Alcantara, Renata Giuliani-Bruno, Amelia Hughes, Allegra Lentini, Melanie Romero, Alana Tripodina, Zane Borg, Luca De Boucherville, Marc De Boucherville, Joseph Gabara, Giuseppe Gauci, Tobias Romero, Daine Trajcevski and Kosta Triantafillou!

JB Colour Fun Day This Friday

When will it be held?

Friday 18th November 2022

When are sponsorship cards due back at school?

Sponsorship cards and money are now due back at school. If you have lost your card, please send the money to school in an envelope with your child's name, class and amount collected written on the envelope.

What do the students wear?

The students are encouraged to wear comfortable sports (mufti) clothes on the day.  A white or light coloured t-shirt will work best for our “colour” rotation.  IT IS BEST TO WEAR INEXPENSIVE CLOTHES as they will be covered in coloured powder by the end of the day, and although the powder is non-toxic, skin safe and washable, there may be a slight chance that all the colour may not come out in the wash!

Are parents invited?

You are welcome to visit the school anytime throughout the day.  If you need to use the bathroom facilities, please use the Tunnel toilets on the day.

We look forward to a fun day.

Year 4 and 5 Soccer Trials

Our year 4 and 5 pathway soccer trials will take place soon.  Please keep an eye on the Compass alerts to ensure your child does not miss out.  At this trial, a total of 5 students will be selected to represent John The Baptist at the Conference 4 Soccer Trials in 2023.  Students are encouraged to wear their sports uniforms to school on the day and may change into their soccer boots for the trial.

Frances Oliverio  Sports Coordinator

Notes from The Office

LEAVING STUDENTS 

As we are in our final term, we request any family that may be leaving JB at the end of the school year, to kindly advise the office at the earliest.  A Cessation of Enrolment form will be required to be completed and returned to the office urgently. Please call or email the office on info@jbbonnyrigg.catholic.edu.au to inform us if your family is in this position.

SICK CHILDREN 

We ask for your ongoing 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.

OTHER REMINDERS

Parents, a gentle reminder; should you wish to make a Clothing Pool purchase or need to update any of your / emergency contacts personal details or child's health information at any time in the future, you may do so via your Compass Parent Portal, Star – School Favourites. Here you will find our links to the Clothing Pool Order Form, Change of Personal Details Form and the Student Health Information Form, for your convenience. 

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.

Awards

Congratulations to the following students on achieving their badges:

Dates to Remember