ST JOHN'S NEWSLETTER INSPIRING
STUDENTS FOR LIFE
WEEK 8

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A MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Neurodiversity Week

Neurodiversity awareness is vital for promoting inclusivity and generating an understanding of individual needs in our school. This encompasses conditions such as autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and others. By acknowledging and appreciating neurodiversity, we move away from the idea of a 'one-size-fits-all' approach to education. Instead, we celebrate the unique strengths and perspectives of everyone around us. This shift enables us to celebrate the unique strengths and perspectives that neurodiverse individuals offer. It also helps to combat stigmas and misconceptions that have historically marginalised neurodiverse individuals, fostering greater acceptance, understanding and support. "We need to embrace neurodiversity as a tapestry of brilliance, for within each unique mind lies extraordinary potential waiting to be unleashed. By celebrating our differences we create a world of understanding and acceptance. "Dr Michael Carr-Gregg. Please use the link to find out more about neurodiversity.  

 

Yours in Christian service,


Brad Moss
Principal

Brad navy

Building Update

We are getting closer to our first class moving into their fresh new learning hub. Painting is finished, new split system air conditioning is installed, shelving is being built, new lights are being installed and flooring is currently being laid. New furniture has been delivered and is ready to be moved in. It has been a long time waiting but our whole school refurbishment project is now well underway. We will be holding an opening for each new learning hub as it is finished. Please keep an eye on emails for dates and times.

Neurodiversity Week

From the Deputy Desk

NAPLAN

Our Year 3 and 5 students have been participating in the NAPLAN tests over the past week. Parents of these students have been given information about the test and results will be sent home later in the year when they come out.

Community Fun Day - Friday 5th April

Students are allowed to wear casual clothes for this traditional fun day near the end of term. Our Leadership Team provides rotation activities for all students for the day so that our teachers have more time to prepare for Term 2. Our committed teachers spend an enormous amount of time outside of school hours on their planning an assessment and this is our way of supporting their wellbeing and saying a big THANKS! The day will involve engaging collaborative activities. More information will be sent home shortly.

Student Agency – Term 1 Problem to Solve

This year, we are focusing on building more student agency – this involves students having more of a say in decision-making in our school. The driving question for solving this term’s ‘problem’ is: How might we make better use of our school chickens (or ‘chooks’ as we like to call them) for education and school culture? All students in the school were invited to join a lunchtime meeting held each Wednesday to collaborate on ideas. Around 30 students from Kinder to Year 6 met while we ate our lunch last week and came up with a wide range of ideas that we’ll present at Assembly each week. (We were so impressed with the 3 Kinders who attended our first meeting 2 weeks ago to get the ball rolling!) We’re getting excited about what we could do, including giving ‘Cluckingham Palace’ a spruce up and creating fun ways for students to learn about, care for and have fun with our chooks!

Neurodiversity Celebration Week and Harmony Day

Neurodiversity Celebration Week is a worldwide initiative that challenges stereotypes and misconceptions about neurological differences. During this week, students will be learning more about neurodiversity and creating more inclusive and equitable cultures that celebrate differences and empower every individual.We are celebrating Harmony Day this Thursday through class devotions, thanking God for enriching our world through its wide range of cultures and focusing on how we can treat people of all cultural backgrounds and traditions with respect. Embracing this diversity links with Empathy in our Learner Profile in our everyday school life:  

 

Alison Jafari and Anna-Marie Bothe

FROM THE CHAPLAIN

 

Life Groups
We’re starting weekly groups for adults to get together to talk about life and faith. ‘Christianity in Context’ looks at today’s social issues through a biblical lens to understand the many different positions Christians come to on any given topic. ‘The Story of the Bible’ looks in depth at what was happening during Bible times to understand what message the entire Bible is telling.

Life groups can be run in person or online and are open to anyone. If you are interested in either of these groups, please contact Peter – [email protected]

Newsletter
St John’s Chapel now has a regular newsletter

 

 

 

Peter Reed, Chaplain

Click here to sign up and keep up to date on church events  

STUDENT LEADERSHIP

VET Cadets

Year 6 Leadership Team - VET Cadets Xavier Sarroff, Molly Ginnivan, Annabel Johnston and Kael Jervois led a session on animal welfare and what to do when students come across an injured animal. Students joined them in the library for some informative, hands on training. Well done VET Cadets!  

STUDENT INFORMATION
WHAT'S HAPPENING IN CLASS

KINDERGARTEN

Buddies and Bogtrotters

In our story book sessions this week Kinders have been looking at the book ‘Bogtrotter’. We had a great time making Bogtrotter puppets. The students used their developing scissor and glueing skills and they turned out brilliantly. We then enlisted their buddies to help take these puppets on an adventure around the school. Armed with an Ipad for photo, the Kinders had to tell their buddies where the bogtrotter wanted to go. After taking the photos they all came back in the make a book about their adventures.  

Zones of Regulation

We are exploring the Zones of Regulation in the Kinder classroom: talking about different emotions that we feel, what they look like, feel like and sound like and the four different zones - red, yellow, green and blue. We have just started looking at strategies to help us move into the green zone of feeling happy, calm and ready to learn. Our first one has been doing a puzzle and reflecting on whether it made us feel happy, silly, annoyed or tired.

Maths

In Maths this week, Kinders have been looking at the numbers 1 to 10. We have been counting forwards and backwards, counting and grouping objects, writing our numbers and doing so many more exciting activities that get them thinking about the numbers and how they made.

YEAR 1

Maths

We have loved the games and short, sharp hands-on activities we have been doing during our ‘Daily Reviews’ in Maths. Our Daily Reviews are a warmup each day where we complete a series of short activities designed to review previously learnt Maths concepts.

Literacy

During our literacy time we have been looking at compound words and nouns. Students have enjoyed making lists of all the nouns that they can think of or see in our classroom. We sang a song to help us remember what a noun is – ask your child to sing it to you.

Look, look, look around. Can you see a noun?

People, places, things we see, all of these are nouns.

In Writing, we have had a big push on writing a personal recount and the students have shown amazing improvements. We have now started to think about imaginative texts and how we create our own stories.

Buddies

This week we were so excited to meet our buddies for this year! We are incredibly lucky to be buddies with 3/4 LK. Our big buddies were so thoughtful and created a card to introduce themselves and asked questions to help get to know each other. Over the year, we will have opportunities to work together and continue to develop our relationships. It was so nice to hear many of our students have already meet their buddy in the playground for a play.

YEAR 2

PBL

Our Driving Question for Project Based Learning this term is:

How could we help others in our school community to be fit and healthy?

The Year 2s enjoyed surveying other students in Year 3/4 PV and Year 5/6 on what they do to keep healthy and fit. From this, we shared survey results as a whole class and created a list of what students do to be physically active. The Year 2s have created groups and this week look forward to trialling their physical activities, based on their interests and what we discovered from the surveys. We are also in the process of creating healthy living posters and thinking about advertising campaigns on promoting fitness and health in our community.  

InitiaLit

Each week during InitiaLit we are introduced to ‘tricky words.’ Many tricky words are ones that we use often, so it's important to teach students how to spell and pronounce them. Tricky words to spell cannot be sounded out easily. They are common words that have complex spelling. One way the students enjoy learning their tricky words is by playing games, such as memory and snap.

Maths

Over the last week students have been exploring forming groups using arrays, skip counting, making equal groups and using repeated addition. Lots of games were played like Bingo Arrays and Around the House.

YEAR 3/4 PV

FUN IN THE PLAYGROUND

On Wednesdays in the Junior Playground, we (Evie, Emily and Amelia from Year 3) run a club called ‘Buddies Challenge Club’.  You can bring a buddy, or we will match you with someone your age. It is for students in K to 6. We play some fun games. When we start, we play a game to get to know each other, such as ‘Up the Ladder, Down the Ladder.’ The games we have played include, Red Rover Cross Over, Red Light Green Light and Rob the Nest. We think it is going really well. We love handing out the awards afterwards. There are usually around 15 students each Wednesday.

By Evie and Emily

ART

The students made paper plate weavings in class. Most found the weaving component relaxing and, as students finished off their creations, they admired the variety of individual designs.

YEAR 3/4 LK

BUDDIES

There was great excitement in Year 1 and Year 3-4 LK when the students found out who their Buddy is for this year. The Year 3- 4 students wrote cards to introduce themselves and then got to know their new Year 1 friends. It has been wonderful to see Buddies together at playtimes as well.

YEAR 5/6

POP ART in Year 5 and 6

In Visual Art this term, Years 5 and 6 have been appreciating pop art. We have specifically looked at the work of Andy Warhol and the impact he had on the art world in the 60s and 70s. We took his vibrant screen prints (such as “Campbell Soup Cans”, and “Marilyn Dyptych”) and appropriated them using our own pop culture references. Stage 3 chose icons from today like Taylor Swift, Bart Simpson and even the dinosaur from Chrome.

WELLBEING

BOUNCE BACK

When things go wrong for you, or you get “knocked down” by what happens in your life, remember that you can decide to BOUNCE BACK! and be yourself again.

Bounce Back! stands for:

Bad times don’t last. Things always get better. Stay optimistic.

Other people can help if you talk to them. Get a reality check.

Unhelpful thinking makes you feel more upset. Think again.

Nobody is perfect – not you and not others.

Concentrate on the positives (no matter how small) and use laughter.

Everybody experiences sadness, failure, hurt, rejection and setbacks sometimes, not just you. They are a normal part of life. Try not to personalise them.

Blame fairly. How much of what happened was due to you, to others and to bad luck or circumstances?

Accept what can’t be changed (but try to change what you can change first).

Catastrophising exaggerates your worries. Don’t believe the worst possible picture.

Keep things in perspective. It’s only part of your life.

To find out more about the Bounce Back! program follow the link to a great resource for families!

 

 

 

Bounce Back Information for Families

PRAYING FOR YOU

At St John's, we pray for our students and their families and staff members.
This week, we are praying for:

Week 7
Elsie & Theodore Merkel

Matthew & Lachlan Kalina  

Cyrus & Daria Jafari

Leo Dulhunty, Adeline Moll

Alison Jafari

Week 8
Eden & Ivy Lawrence

Maison Holm

Sophie and Holly Wenke

Harrison & Samuel Connelly

Elsie Clarke

Melanie Barnes

2011overheadhires
LOGO WHITE LS Lower

MERIT AWARDS

Kinder
Theo Baker & Delilah Harrington

Pipper Harris
Year 1
George Tuohey & Lachlan Paris

Jimmy Schmidt & Andy Tuohey
Year 2
Grayson Cox & Edward Sarroff

Charlotte Phelps & Benny Busch

 

Year 3/4 LK
Elsie Merkel & Ivy Tervet

Maeve Bryant & Beau Pitman
Year 3/4 PV
Evie Noordam & Benji Lustig

Amelia Yong & Eden Lawrence
Year 5/6 GC
Gan Ney Cole & Tully Heath
Year 5/6 DB
Cyrus Jafari & Kaitlyn Holmes

THEIRCARE
BEFORE & AFTER SCHOOL CARE

04/03/24 – 08/03/24

Reminder


Strict 'no hat no play' rules apply at here at ThierCare, so remember to bring one along just in case and we can enjoy the sunshine together outside.

                                                                                                                                       

This week

This week we spent time focusing on welcoming the beautiful season of Autumn. The leaves haven’t quite started to change colour and drop, nor has the weather got any cooler during the day, but we have seen some darker and colder mornings which means it's well and truly on its way! We have been seeing a lot of new Kindergarten faces and our numbers have been high at both before and after school care which is great to see! Lots of kids means lots of fun! This week there has been crafting and creating, cooking, and eating, running and playing. We got busy with Autumn themed art, adding to the amazing tree display on our window - our favourites are the cute little owls that were made; each on has their own personality thanks to the care and effort by the children. On Wednesday we cooked, of course, but once again chose something on the savoury side. It was quiche this week…not a big hit 😊 but that’s okay. Children were more than happy to try new things which was great to see! We got all of our energy out by playing in the hall every day - soccer and cricket have been our favourites this year.  

Next week

We are taking a deep dive under the sea next week! Did you know that only 5% of the ocean has been explored? That means a huge 95% is unknown!! We will expand on this theme and chat about what we may think is at the depths of the ocean. I can’t wait to see what the kiddies come up with. There will also be lots of craft relating to the ocean, sea animals and life and I can’t wait to see the beautiful art that is created - hopefully you will see it too, hung up around the room. Up next on Wednesday’s menu is mini pizzas! Can’t go wrong with those. Unlike with the quiche, I think we will have a lot of happy children. It is also an exciting day on Friday for ThierCare, and we want you to help us celebrate! Its our birthday!! ThierCare turns 7 years old! So, Friday morning, come along with empty bellies because there will be yummy pancakes to be enjoyed by all. Can't wait to see you there!

Summer Harris

EVENTS

Premier's Reading Challenge

What is the Premier's Reading Challenge?
The NSW Premier's Reading Challenge is on again! It is not a competition but a challenge for each student to read, to read more and to read more widely. Its aim is to encourage a love of reading for leisure and pleasure and to enable them to experience quality literature. The Premier's Reading Challenge (PRC) is open to all NSW students in Kindergarten to Year 10, and many students have rushed to express their interest in participating this year.

The PRC involves students reading books from predetermined lists, logging them online and at the end of the Challenge, receiving a certificate of completion. Any books on the Premier’s Reading Challenge booklist that your child has read or you have read to your child during the summer holidays can be counted towards this year’s challenge, just note the title and the author. The PRC Booklist can be found here PRC Booklist

How do students participate in the Premier's Reading Challenge?
To complete the Challenge, students are required to read the following number of books:

Challenge level

Number of books you must read

Minimum number of PRC books

Maximum number of Personal Choice books

PRC booklists you can read from

K-2

30

20

10

K-2, 3-4, 5-6

3-4

20

10

10

3-4, 5-6, 7-9

5-6

20

10

10

5-6, 7-9

7-10

20

10

10

5-6, 7-9, 9plus

3-10 (refer to rules on PRC site)

20

10

10

All booklists

Here are the dates for 2024 Premier’s Reading Challenge
Monday 26 February 2024 - challenge opens
Friday 23 August 2024 - challenge closes


To log in
Use this link: NSW Premier's Reading Challenge
Go to ‘Logon’ on the left pull down box. Then enter your child’s username and password (sent home this week by their class teacher)

This is the link to find books to read......Home Page: NSW Premier's Reading Challenge (det.nsw.edu.au)

If you have any queries regarding the Premier’s Reading Challenge visit the PRC website NSW Premier's Reading Challenge or send me through an email with your concerns and I will endeavour to answer your questions [email protected].
Your school’s PRC coordinator is Mrs Therese Schmidt...'Mrs T'.

Library Borrowing
Please don’t forget that the library is open each lunch time for quiet reading and the opportunity to borrow books. Class time is also allocated for weekly borrowing. Students will require a library bag for the safe transportation of library books between home and school.

COMMUNITY EVENTS

Jindera Swimming Pool Committee AGM

A big thank you to everyone who supported the pool canteen this summer. As it was run by volunteers, the pool committee now has several $$ to spend for next season.

We are holding our

AGM on Thursday 21 March, @7 pm

in the pool meeting room.

Please come and give some input into what you would like us to spend the money on, for YOU and YOUR family!

Contact Miranda 0419689068

or

Jenny 0438263417