2024: Week 4, Term 2

Principal's Message

Dear Parents and Carers,

REFLECTION- GOSPEL

Trinity Sunday - Who could ever explain the mystery of the Trinity. Who should ever forget the God who loves and likes me first the way I am.  “I have called you by name, you are mine.”
For ourselves, Trinity Sunday. Do we allow our Religion to be effective in our lives just for one hour each week? Or do we allow it to be truly effective each day of the week? Are we people, who do live our lives in the Name of our God? Do we live our lives in the Name of the Father, in the Name of the Son and in the Name of the Spirit of the Living God?

One kind word can warm three winters. A smile costs less than electricity, and give more light. The generosity of your time is the most valuable gift you can give. Time gets away faster each day so enjoy it, it won’t come back. The best advice we ever had was given by toddlers - take one step at a time. Life is like playing a violin in public and learning the instrument as one goes on. We are blessed by God everyday just to wake and the start the day.

TELL THEM FROM ME SURVEY

As we continue to focus on school effectiveness, our school will be participating in the Tell Them From Me® (TTFM®) online survey. This survey aims to gather valuable feedback from parents, staff, and students about school life, engagement levels, and staff interactions. Further information and the link to the survey are included in this week's newsletter. 

The survey is used by schools  across Australia and around the world to improve their practices. We encourage all staff, parents, and students to take the time to participate in this survey, which will be available over the next few weeks.

Students from all grades will complete the survey during regular school hours.  All students will be provided with a random username and password to ensure complete anonymity. The survey takes approximately 15-20 minutes to complete.

The Tell Them from Me Survey provides our school with important feedback and data so we can ensure that our school community is working together to meet the needs of your child. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact the school.

Thank you for your continued support and partnership in our school community.

PRINCIPAL LEAVE

I will be on leave from next Wednesday 30/5 to Tuesday 18/6. During this leave period, Mrs Tomic will be leading thje school as Acting Principal, and Mr McInerney as Acting Assistant Principal. 

I look forward to seeing everyone on my return. 

Mr O'Connor  Principal

Tell Them From Me Parent Survey

Dear Parents/ Carers, 

We would 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 open and will close on the 14th June, 2024.  

Parents do not require a username and 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/jb2024 

If you have any questions, please contact Mrs Tomic via the school office. 

With thanks, 

Mrs Natali Tomic  Assistant Principal 

Religion News

Religious Education Newsletter Term 2 Week 4 

Pentecost 

Come Holy Spirit! On Sunday, May 19th  we celebrated Pentecost, a significant day in the Catholic calendar. On this day, we commemorated the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles and followers of Jesus Christ, empowering them to spread His message of love and hope. At John the Baptist Catholic Primary School, we embrace the spirit of Pentecost by reflecting on the gifts of the Holy Spirit: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. Through prayer, reflection, and acts of kindness, we cultivate these gifts in our daily lives.

At our Sunday 10am Parish Mass Year 1 students and their families were invited to come together to celebrate Mass. We had many Year 1 students and their families gather for Pentecost Sunday. Thank you to the Year 1 students and teachers for putting together a beautiful song and movement which was performed during the celebration. Students sang ‘Holy Spirit Rock’ and wore flames on their heads to represent the Holy Spirit. It was a beautiful and engaging prayerful reflection. 

Let us open our hearts to the guiding presence of the Holy Spirit as we continue our journey of faith and service together as a school community.

God Bless, 

Mrs Felysha Knight  Acting Religious Education Coordinator 

Family Educator News

Family Educator  Term 2  Week 4

Weekly Parent Gathering and CUPPA- Mondays in the demountable classroom. 

Monday 27th May- (Note this is a Quick Reflection) -God Glasses- to see others as God sees them! 

Coffee machine will be on early! Come along and share a short reflection which only lasts about ten minutes,  followed by a cuppa, chat and company for as long as YOU want to stay. Everyone is welcome. Just let the gate person know you are headed up to the room and they will let you enter.

 This is a great way to clear your head and start the week off the right way!

JB Juniors Children aged 0-5 years are welcome to join us at playgroup from 8.50am. 

Wednesday 29th May- Trinity Shamrocks

Wednesday 5th June-  Zoo Animals

We pray, sing and share a story together before a craft activity. All are welcome to attend and this is a great opportunity for parents to meet each other and the children to make friends before starting school, building friendships and connections with each other in a faith filled space.

Craft- First Communion Rosary Making

For those parents who wish to make a gift of a handmade Rosary for their child, or any parent who wishes to make a Rosary- we still have sessions available.

 Come along on

Wednesday 29th May at 11am or 2-3pm

Thursday 30th May-11am

Please just text or send me a note via the tubs so I can have enough resources ready.

Text to 0439 492920. 

Cost is $5 and will take approximately 30-45 minutes.

REMINDER : 

2024 Vinnies Winter Appeal- Keep someone warm this winter! Please bring in by Thursday 6th June.

Thank you to those who have already brought in lots of lovely warm items- socks, beanies, blankets and even a few sleeping bags.

 The items listed are suggestions and we only ask IF you are able to donate ONE item per family we would very much appreciate your generosity. We understand that there are many experiencing challenges as the cost of living has continued to increase.

We wanted this opportunity to assist many in our local community who are also doing it tough this year and many find themselves homeless due to many differing circumstances.

Mini Vinnies

Our Mini Vinnies group has been very popular and we have placed the students into groups by class at the moment so that they may have opportunity to assist and come along at least twice a term. The groups will be given saint names and the roster will be given to the children and continue for the remainder of the year. At these recess sessions children will be able to assist with various initiatives such as sorting and packaging the Appeal items, making snack packs, making Cards of Hope to accompany the donations and hopefully they will be learning about some important issues in our community.

We have been so happy to see so much enthusiasm amongst the students.

Parish Notices

Parish Newsletter Bulletins can be found here

IMPORTANT NOTICE TO PARENTS WITH FIRST COMMUNION CANDIDATES-

Your child will be attending the Communion Retreat on Sunday 2nd June after the 10am Mass (so starting approximately 11am). You will need to sign your child in and possibly wait for a short meeting to finalise details of the Communion day before leaving them with their leaders to participate in the workshops and rehearsal.

At the Conclusion of the retreat when you return to collect your child at 2.30pm this MUST BE DONE VIa the Playing field AT GLOUCESTER STREET CARPARK.

There will be NO PICK UP from MOUNT STREET due to a large event at Freeman Catholic College. There will be NO parking on Mount street or the church carpark.

ALL CHILDREN WILL BE SUPERVISED AND WAITING near THE GLOUCESTER STREET CARPARK GATES for you to sign them out and/or notify their leader when you take them. 

Community Care 

If you or someone you know is experiencing any kind of difficulty that the parish may be able to assist with financially or spiritually, please contact Father Dominic or the parish office on 9823 2572 in confidence.

Have a blessed month of May!

ALL things to ALL People!

This week we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Trinity. It is a concept of three in one that even as adults we might have difficulty understanding or explaining- and yet our faith calls us to believe- God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit - ARE ONE. 

Each day of our lives we are called to be different things to different people- parent, partner, child, teacher- the list is endless. We might struggle at times but we usually find the strength to be who is needed at that time for others in our lives. That’s the Holy Spirit working through us.

Remember, we have God the Loving Father- and he is all these three things and so much more to EVERYONE. We need to find the faith to remember that ‘with God all things are possible’. Matthew 19:26

Tina Dunn  Family Educator

Newman News

ICAS Competition 2024 - Reminder 

Dear Parents,

A reminder that if you wish to register your child for ICAS, registration remains open until Friday 26th July. 

ICAS is designed to assess students’ higher-order thinking and problem-solving skills in English, Mathematics, Science, Writing, Spelling Bee and Digital Technologies.

Each assessment celebrates students’ accomplishments by providing opportunities for recognition and development. Every student will receive a printed certificate and an online results report. Top performers will be eligible for medals. 

We encourage you to consider entering your child into ICAS this year.
 

Our school has signed up for the ICAS Assessments parent payment system (PPS) for all tests. Through this system parents can pay for ICAS directly online. All tests will still be held at our school. Please use the following details to register your child and make payments by no later than Friday 26th July 2024.  

Digital Technologies (Year 2-6) - Monday 5th August
Writing (Year 3-6 only) - Tuesday 6th August
English (Year 2-6) - Tuesday 13th August
Science (Year 2-6) - Monday 19th August
Spelling Bee (Year 2-6) - Tuesday 20th August
Mathematics (Year 2-6) - Tuesday 27th  August

Please do not send money to school. 

Access details:

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

JB Unique School Code - JHW352
 

We are proud to offer ICAS and look forward to some fantastic results later in the year. 

Regards, 

Caddie Ruster  Newman Facilitator 

SCS Eisteddfod News

Sydney Catholic Schools Dance Ensembles Eisteddfod 

We congratulate our JB Dance teams who recently took part in the Sydney Catholic Schools Dance Ensembles Eisteddfod. Students from Years 4 to 6 represented John the Baptist in this competition and we celebrate all students involved for their hard work and achievements! 

Jazz - 2nd Place 

Girls Hip Hop - Highly Commended

Boys Hip Hop - Encouragement Award 

Miss Ohanessian & Miss Morabito  Dance Facilitators

Sport News

Cross Country News

On Tuesday 14th May, our sensational JB cross Country team participated in the Sydney Catholic Schools Cross Country Championships.Congratulations to all competitors as they braved the 2 and 3 km runs. Well done Elliano Abouna, Oleen Abouna, Frank Barilla, Gisele Blanda, Jonah Borg, Emilia Bruzzese, Andrea Carnovale, Emilia Cavicchia, Talia Cavicchia, Luca Corvelo, Chloe Davino, Tomas Horvat, Oliver Komadina, Gianluca Liberatore, Sophia Milczarek, Luca Milostic, Noah Naamo, Daniella Orlando, Rosario Patronaggio, Vincenzo Pelle, Jacob Pisani, Ariana Sculli, Mateo Sculli, Imogen Siciliano, Alana Tripodina, Gianluigi Vaccari and Rocco Vaccari. These were our amazing top 10 finishers:

Chloe- 3rd

Rosario- 3rd

Emilia- 3rd

Talia- 4th

Gianluigi- 5th

Sophia- 7th

Jonah- 8th

Tomas 10th

Chloe, Rosario, Emilia and Talia  will now represent John The Baptist at the MacKillop Championships in June. Good luck!!!

Frances Olivierio  Sports Coordinator

Cross Country

Notes from the Office

IMPORTANT REMINDERS

Parents, a gentle reminder regarding the importance of informing our school of any changes that may  occurr during the year to your family’s personal details such as an address, mobile numbers, emails, emergency contacts, etc. For your convenience, these details may be updated via the Personal Details Form available on your Compass Favourites links.

Of equal importance and in the best interests of your child/ren, we ask if there has been a new event or update in relation to your child’s health, once again, we ask this information be provided at the earliest. A Student Health Information Form is also available on your Compass Favourites link, to assist you in this process.

SCHOOL FEES

Your 2024 school fee statements have now 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 CompassPay, BPay, Cash, Eftpos or Centrepay.

Your co-operation is greatly appreciated!

CANTEEN

Please contact the school office 9823 5042 for any communication with the Canteen. 

LOST PROPERTY

We have numerous items of clothing collected everyday, they are placed in our lost property basket in the office.  Each day, all labelled items are returned to the child's classroom.  Items which  which are unlabelled go to the clothing pool.  

Please ensure you re-label any clothing your child is able to remove at school as markings can fade over time.

Please ensure ALL of your children's items are labelled including drink bottles, lunch boxes and containers as we have numerous lost property items collected everyday which remain unclaimed and ultimately have to be thrown away. 

CLOTHING POOL  

Parents, should you wish to make a purchase of good quality second-hand clothing at any time, a reminder you may do so via your Compass Favourites link via the Clothing Pool Order Form.

Alternatively, you can call the office and place an order via telephone, email info@jbbonnyrigg.catholic.edu.au or complete the form below and return it to the office with your child. 

The clothing pool welcomes donations of school uniforms. Please ensure that all items are clean and in good condition (no rips or stains as we have no washing facilities). Only official school uniform items are accepted and please note we cannot accept socks or stockings.

Canteen News

Dear Parents, 

Please note the following information regarding ordering from the school canteen.

BREAKFAST ORDERS:
Breakfast orders are available from 7:30am - 8:20am from the CHURCH side window for parents and students.

After 8:20am only students can order via the TOP playground window.

LUNCH & RECESS ORDERS:
Online orders MUST be placed prior to 8am on the day your child requires lunch.
If you miss the 8am deadline, there are 2 options;

Option # 1 9 (preferred) Write your child's name on a paper bag/envelope, place the correct money (if possible), the child will then place the order in their class tub when they arrive in class.

Option # 2 Call the school office, we can transfer the call to the canteen to place your order. Please be mindful the canteen staff are busy and you may need to wait on the line.

Please note the bottom gate into the school closes at 8.45am
 
Thank you for your kind understanding.

Administration Staff

CatholicCare

Alex from CatholicCare would like to offer his services for anyone who feels the need to chat and discuss Family Support in Schools and/or Child and Youth Services.

Alex Ferreira

 Case Worker

Family Support In Schools

Child and Youth Services

 T 02 8784 6222 – 02 8784 6208

M 0420 653 839

13 18 19 Ccareline

E alex.ferreira@catholiccare.org

IMPORTANT - Information for driving & parking in and around school zones

Student School Travel

Dear Parents and Carers,

We are fortunate that school students in NSW are afforded free public transport to and from school.  Opal data gathered by tapping on and off is used to determine the demand for bus services.  If Students do not tap on and tap off, services may be cancelled due to the lack of patronage.  Additionally, some bus services may become overcrowded as the bus companies do not have accurate data as to how many students are genuinely using a particular bus route.

With this in mind, we ask that parents remind their children that they must have their Opal cards with them every day and that they must tap on and off every time they use a bus.  This is one of the conditions of being granted a free student Opal card.  If students lose their Opal card they must apply for a new one, no student should be travelling on a bus without a valid Opal card.

Your support is appreciated and helps the bus companies ensure they provide the appropriate level of service to our students.

Awards

Congratulations to the following students on achieving their badges:

Dates to Remember