2022: Week 8, Term 4

Principal's Message

At this weekend's upcoming Mass, the second Advent candle will be lit.

THE SECOND CANDLE 

Is called the Bethlehem Candle to remind us of the place of the birth of the Messiah. There are times in our life when, for one reason or another, we stop and pause, and reflect. Our Gospel this weekend challenges us to do just this. John The Baptist challenges us to reflect on where we stand before our God. He is a “voice crying out” to us to “prepare the way of the Lord”. Crying out to us to admit our failings, to be sorry for them, to change our mind and our heart. Days, weeks, months go by. Are we closer to our God now than we were this time last year? If we are not,guess who has moved away - and the answer that it is NOT our God. What change will there be in me that I might welcome the “child of Bethlehem more sincerely this year?

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK

Often we want to be able to see into the future. We say “how will next year be for me? Where will I be in five or ten years from now?” There are no answers to these questions. Mostly we have enough light to see the next step, what we have to do in the coming hour, or the following day. The art of living is to enjoy what we can see and not complain about what remains in the dark. When we are able to take the next step with the trust that we will have enough light for the step that follows, we can walk through life with joy and be surprised at how far we go. Let us rejoice in the light we carry and not ask for the great beam that would take all shadows away.

2023 SRC and SPORT CAPTAIN ANNOUNCEMENTS

Congratulations to the following students who have been selected by their peers and staff to lead the John the Baptist school community in 2023.

SRC Girls (alphabetical order)

Audrey Alcantara  Katie Hamoo  Allegra Lentini  Ella Paiano  Lorella Palermo

SRC Boys (alphabetical order)

Phoenix Kljajic  Kristian Komadina  Hagob Tatian  Luc Thomas  Nicholas Zamprogno

Yellow Captains

Chloe Chetcuti Benjamin Willcocks

Red Captains

Ava Callipari Ethan Mitri

Blue Captains

Santana Rodi Antoni Curjak

Purple Captains

Merel Alhadaya Josh Pashley

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.

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

Family Educator News

Our parent SPaR and JB juniors are concluding over the coming weeks and will recommence next year in Term 1- watch out for dates in the school calendar and newsletters.

Gift of Goodness- CatholicCare Fundraiser- Our Family helping other Families

Each family will have received an envelope and Advent Calendar in the last few days.

This year our school will again participate in the Gift of Goodness. Not all children are born into safe and secure homes and for those who need assistance Catholic care will focus on providing them with vital support.

To encourage this spirit of generosity an Advent calendar with suggested activities has also been sent home and perhaps you will be able to reward your child as they perform these tasks  with some spare change to place in the envelopes. These will need to be returned by Friday 9th December at the latest. 

The jobs are designed to bring joy to others- “Jobs for Joy” and are simple acts of kindness that will brighten the day for someone else- parents included! Some special dates and mass times are also included in the calendar.

Children’s Christmas Eve Mass-

There will be a Children’s Mass on Christmas Eve at 5.30pm. Please watch Compass and the last newsletter in Week 10 for rehearsals if you would like your child to be involved in the retelling of the Gospel Christmas story at the Mass. 

GingerBread House Family Activity Monday 12th December

For those of you who have booked for your Gingerbread House making with the family after school on Monday 12th December, please remember to send in your payment if you have not already done so. We will meet in the Activity room on the top playground after school. Bookings are limited - there are only a few places left HERE

Parish Bulletins- stay up to date with the parish activities HERE

(especially check out Father Ben’s adult faith formation)

GOD, LIFE, UNIVERSE, EVERYTHING (G.L.U.E) ADULT FAITH FORMATION 

Thank you for your initial interest in this Faith Formation program. To help Fr Ben coordinate timing of talks please fill out this form 

Once the details have been collated we will advertise the first talks in the series. Thank you. 

John the Baptist Community Care

If you or someone you know is having a challenging or difficult time this Christmas please let our John the Baptist Community Care team know- Contact either Father Dominic on 9823 2572 or me on 0439492920- and we may be able to assist. Enquiries are all confidential.

Jesse Giving Tree - Assisting Flood Victims in the Moree area

This year our JB Jesse Tree will be in the church as usual. You may take an envelope and place it in the basket at mass or in the Collections. All funds will go to flood victims in the Moree area. This is our community helping another doing it tough this year.

Advent Message-

Week 1 Hope- Watch and pray as we await the coming of our Lord. We do not know the day or hour so be vigilant. Wait Patiently.

In a world of fast internet and express same day deliveries, are we all that good at waiting patiently for things?? How can we prepare and change our thinking?

Week 2 Peace- Make peace with your neighbours and forgive all grudges. Love one another as God loves us.

 Is there anyone we should reach out to this year? Any relationship in need of reconciliation? Through this forgiveness, we ourselves can be at peace too. That’s what the season is all about- Peace on Earth- and it starts with each and everyone of us!

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!!!

Tina Dunn  Family Educator

Maths News

Maths Olympiad develops students' ability to solve problems with a variety of strategies. The program runs throughout the year and strengthens students’ mathematical thinking skills. 

Congratulations to the following students in Year 2 - 6 that participated in this year's Maths Olympiad Challenge:

Mr Michael Hobson - Numeracy Coordinator

Newman News

Inquisitive Minds Mathematics Talented Day

On Monday 28th November, a small group of talented Year 5 students were taken to Cerdon Catholic College to represent our school in an Inquisitive Minds Mathematics Talented Day.

These students spent the day working through a range of mathematical problems and displayed fantastic problem solving skills!

Overall, the day was a huge success with our teams coming first and third places! Well done to all the students who participated in the day and represented our school - they sure made us proud!

Mrs Francine Bushby  Newman Facilitator/Gifted Coordinator

Inquisitive Minds Mathematics Talented Day

Library News

What to read if you don’t have a book!

When children are not borrowing school library books, what can they read??

I absolutely love books, but I always encourage my children to read widely… Why not suggest one of these ideas?

Return all Library Books

We have now begun our end of year Library stocktake. Please return all books as soon as possible and pay for any lost books at the school office.

Thank you!

Natalie Fedrigo  Teacher/Librarian

Sport News

JB Colour Fun Day Challenge

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Our JB Colour Fun Day Challenge was a huge success.  The students had the opportunity to have a fun filled day while collecting over $23 000 for our school.  A special thank you to the families who helped organise prizes for our highest earners.  A special congratulations to Kinder Ruby who were our challenge winners!

Colour Fun Day Photos

Sports News

Archchdiocesan Tennis Trials

We congratulate Clara Smolcic who represented JB at the Archdiocesan Tennis Trials.  Clara played brilliantly and has now made it through to the MacKillop team. 

Well done Clara!

Frances Oliverio  Sports Coordinator

Canteen News

Please see the letter of introduction and information from Brooke's Canteen who will taking over our services from 2023. We look forward to welcoming Brooke and her staff to JB in the new year!

Notes from The Office

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