ST JOHN'S NEWSLETTER INSPIRING
STUDENTS FOR LIFE
TERM 4 WEEK 6

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A MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL

END OF YEAR COMMUNICATION

Dear Families of St John’s,

As the year draws to a close, so too does my time as Principal of this remarkable school. It is with a mix of emotions that I write to you today, as I prepare to embark on the next chapter of my leadership journey as College Principal at Victory Lutheran College.

Reflecting on the past six years, my heart is filled with immense gratitude for the privilege of serving this incredible community. It has been a true blessing to work in partnership with parents and families, who have shown unwavering support and trust throughout my time here. Together, we have shaped a nurturing Christian environment where children thrive, not only as learners but as compassionate, confident and grounded individuals.

I am incredibly proud of what we have accomplished as a community. Our students have embraced contemporary learning opportunities with enthusiasm, growing as inspired, creative and capable learners. Our dedicated staff are an enormous asset, demonstrating a profound commitment to professional growth and care for the children entrusted to us. These successes are a testament to the strong sense of purpose and shared vision that defines St John’s.

I want to sincerely thank the incredible staff team I’ve had the privilege of working alongside. Your unwavering support and professionalism have been the foundation of everything we’ve achieved together. Each of you has played a vital role in creating a positive, dynamic and nurturing environment for our students and one another.

To the School Board, thank you for your commitment and support. Your guidance has been a solid foundation for the decisions we’ve made and the growth we’ve pursued. Special thanks go to our Board Chairs, Louise McGrath, Lester Kerber and Tony Wenke. Your partnership and dedication for this school is to be commended.

Finally, to the students of St John’s: I am extremely grateful to be part of your learning journey and partnering with you to help make St John’s the amazing school that it is. Keep speaking life into others and remember to live life to the fullest!

As I step into my new role, I will carry the memories and lessons of St John’s with me. I look forward to hearing about the wonderful things that lie ahead for the school.

It has been a privilege to serve St John’s.

With deepest gratitude,

Brad Moss

Principal

Final Message 2024

IMPORTANT DATES

Week 6

Thursday 21 November - Year 5/6 Market Day in the Hall

Friday 22 November

Year 5/6 Basketball comp with St Mary Mackillop College
St Paul's College Transition Day

Week 7

Tuesday 26 November - Year 6 Lake Hume Holiday Park Fun Day

Thursday 28 November

Kinder 2025 Transition #5 plus Parent Information Session (9:25 - 10am)
RAS Tennis Trials
Xavier High School Transition Day
Whole School Transition Session #1

Week 8

Monday 2 December - Kinder / Little Saints Incursion: I've Got a Story to TellThursday 5 December - Whole School Transition Session #2

Friday 6 December

Little Saints and St John's Carol Sing-along in the hall for Chapel
Year 6 Graduation Dinner

Week 9

Monday 9 December - Colour Fun Run

Tuesday 10 December - Minute To Win It

Wednesday 11 December - GRADUATION SERVICE and final day of school (students)

From the deputy desk
School Happenings!

Class Transition Sessions

To help our students prepare for moving into their 2025 class and learning space, we will hold two whole class transition sessions for students currently in K-5:

Thursday 28 November 2:35-3:20pm

Thursday 5 December 1:30-11:15am

These sessions will be led by their 2025 class teacher and learning coach in their 2025 classroom. For students needing additional transition time to familiarise themselves with their new environment, more opportunities for small groups to visit next year’s classroom have been arranged. If you are aware that your child needs addition sessions, please email their teacher.

Our fifth and final Kinder Transition Day is on the morning of Thursday 28 November. It has been wonderful to see our 2025 Kinder students’ confidence grow with each visit, making new friends and having FUN in the Kinder room!

Parent Information Session – Student Social and Emotional Skills

All school families received an email invitation last week to this parent information session led by therapist Kate Rotherham, who is currently leading a social skills program with our Year 3/4 students. It begins at 2:15pm in the hall on Friday 22 November and will finish at the end of the school day.

Overdue Library Books

A reminder that overdue library books are due to be returned by Friday 22 November. Overdue lists were sent home earlier this week. We appreciate your help in searching high and low for these valuable resources!

Chaplains Visit

Last Friday we were blessed by Joel Klemke (Victory Lutheran College Chaplain) and Robbie Wenke (St Paul’s Lutheran College Chaplain) leading our staff in morning devotion and our whole school in worship at Chapel with a focus on transitioning to new classes next year and high school for our Year 6s. They then spent time with our Year 5/6 students on further discussion about transition and the power of our words. We love the connection we have with our local Lutheran schools and will continue strengthening these ties.

Alison Jafari and Anna-Marie Bothe

FROM THE CHAPLAIN

KIDS CHURCH – FRIDAY NOVEMBER 30

This is a time of year for celebrations.

We celebrate the year coming to an end, and the new year starting.
We celebrate milestones, like graduating primary school.

We also celebrate Christmas.

But what is Christmas really about?

Join us for our last Friday Night Chapel for 2024, as we explore this question through fun activities.

And help us say thank you to all the year 6 students who have helped us lead Friday night services in 2024!

Click here to subscribe to our Church Newsletter

ABRAHAM AND SARAH'S STORY - Bible Study

Join us for dinner and discussion as we look at the stories of Abraham and Sarah, pivotal figures of three of the world’s biggest religions today. Who were they and why are they significant?

For more information, contact Peter Reed: [email protected]

COLOUR RUN UPDATE!

Thank you so much to all of our families for your support. We are well on our way toward our goal for purchasing more sports equipment for our sports drawer. Our sports drawer and all of the equipment in it get such a workout each day at recess and lunchtime; it will be so great to fill it with some new equipment.

It’s not too late to create a profile or start fundraising.

Just jump on to get started.

Students have excitedly come along to Assembly each week to find out the updated amount that we have raised. Somehow the water fun committee convinced our teachers, learning coaches and administration staff to volunteer to be slimed when students raise over $1000! So far Mrs Bothe, Mr Walsh, Mrs Walsh, Mr Moss and Mrs Sarroff have been randomly selected by the slime wheel. As students continue to raise funds, more staff will be slimed! Head over to our Facebook or Instagram page (links below) to see some examples of sliming in action.

As the event begins to draw nearer, we will send families an email with specific details and information.

Event Details:

Monday 9th December

First Wave: Little Saints from 1:30pm

Second wave: Kindergarten – Year 2 students from 1:50pm

Third wave: Year 3-6 students from 2.10pmSt John’s Oval

Parents and friends are more than welcome to come along and watch students participate in the colour run obstacle course. If you wish to take your child/ren home after the event, please note that they must be signed out at the table provided.

We are looking forward to a fun-filled colourful event!

The Colour Run Fundraising Committee

School Fun Run

Thank you to everyone who made our school concert such a fantastic celebration of student talent!

Enjoy some photos from the evening.

CONCERT - St John's 2024 talent show

TICKETS NOW OPEN
Scan the code or click on the link to book your seats. Limited seating available so don't miss out!

Book your seats here

STUDENT INFORMATION
WHAT'S HAPPENING IN CLASS

KINDERGARTEN

PBL

We have just brought our PBL unit from last term to a close, exploring where our food comes from and how to care for living things. A small group of Kinders set up their own ‘Superhero Chicken Lunchtime Club’, we had an art group teaching other students how to draw chickens and creating a chicken artworks to hang up around the chicken pen, and the teaching group developing posters to teach others about chickens. The students enjoyed being able to brainstorm ideas as a group and show initiative and excitement to outwork these.

A huge thank you to Wodonga Peards Nursery and Albury Bunnings for their donations to create vegetable gardens and flower gardens around the chicken pen and also to the Albury Men’s Shed for providing us with some ply circles for the students' artwork around the chicken pen. Also, a big thanks to Cheeky Chic Farm for providing us with eggs to go through the incubation process in the classroom. The students loved it and it brought so much curiosity and excitement.

TOYS

We have been exploring how things move through push and pull forces by playing with a whole variety of toys and discovering how we move our bodies in different ways as well. We have put our creative hats on to try and move a marble without pushing it with our hands and designed and created a mini golf course or marble maze that involved pushing and pulling elements to the design. We are loving the design process in helping us plan, create and add to our ideas.

YEAR 1

PBL

In PBL, we have been continuing our exploration of sound, focusing on how different sounds can impact our emotions. The students have been discussing how sounds can influence feelings, such as promoting calmness or happiness. With this in mind, they’ve started exploring the concept of “sound gardens”—spaces that use a variety of sounds to create a calming and joyful atmosphere. The students are excited to brainstorm ideas for a sound garden that could help students of St. John’s feel more relaxed and content.

REMEMBRANCE DAY

On Remembrance Day, the Year 1 students learnt various ways to honour the sacrifice of those who died in war. These included laying wreaths at cenotaphs, wearing poppies and rosemary, attending services and observing a minute’s silence. We listened to the poem ‘In Flanders Fields’ and created our own artwork. We coloured some poppies red to remember the people who died in war, and others purple to honour the animals that also lost their lives. Lest We Forget.

YEAR 2

PBL

Community Garden Cake Stall: Last week students were creative as they painted and decorated pots to sell at the Community Garden Cake Stall this Saturday the 23rd of November. This week we will be making Honey Joys, Chocolate Crackles and Christmas Biscuits.

READING

George’s Marvelous Medicine: We have loved reading Roald Dahl books over this year and our latest novel is “George’s Marvelous Medicine”. Students were thankful that their Grandparents were not as mean as George’s! They enjoyed doing a character profile and now look forward to being creative and thinking of ingredients they could add to Grandma’s medicine.

WRITING

Procedural Writing. The Year 2s have been enjoying the hands-on experiences of procedural writing over the last couple of weeks. For their Warm Write they were able to write about something they had created at home. Some examples were jam drops, muffins, smoothies, healthy snacks, bonfires and paper planes.

YEAR 3/4 LK

Learning up to Week 6

In PBL, students have been working on their collaboration skills to choose which idea they will use for their Santa’s workshop moving creation. Students first had to decide on their own top three ideas. Then they discussed and got feedback from a partner to finalise their best idea. After finding out who their PBL partners were, students then used skills of listening, compromising and evaluating to come up with their final idea choice. They completed a 1-2-3 thinking task –

1- Choose 1 idea

2- Combine 2 ideas

3- Create a new idea by adding 1 thing to 2 ideas you already have

YEAR 3/4 PV

Cicadas and lady bugs are in their peak season as they have been spotted, observed and collected during playtime at school. Apparently, the cicada spends seven years in nymph form drinking sap from plant roots underground before emerging from the earth as an adult. Students spark curiosity as they hold onto cicadas that have had their skin shed. Did you know that only male cicadas sing, and they live only a few weeks?

The Year 4 Maths students have been showing their understanding of tenths and hundredths and experimenting with number balances to examine equivalent equations.

YEAR 5/6

PBL

Our classes have been busy getting organised for our upcoming PBL Market Stall. They have been finishing off their products and signs to advertise their stalls. We look forward to sharing this with our community. Last Friday, we were lucky enough to have Joel Klemke and Robbie Wenke, chaplains from St Paul’s and Victory, come and talk to our class about transitioning to high school and the feelings we may experience during these times. It was such a valuable session for the students, and we appreciate their time and support.

WELLBEING and the flu season

Flu season

It's that time of year again when coughs, colds and covid are about in the community.

NSW Health advise we are currently in the moderate level of COVID-19.

For everyone to stay well this season please follow the recommendations of the NSW Government and keep your child home when sick.

You can find out more via the following links

https://education.nsw.gov.au/schooling/covid-19/advice-for-families#Staying1

https://www.nsw.gov.au/health/covid-19/testing-managing/symptoms

Whilst we understand how challenging it is to be called at work, we also know parents value a safe school and we thank you for your support.

STAY HOME WHEN SICK!

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 5

Grace Allan

Jim Berry Mannix & Ava Dowell

Delilah Harrington

Thomas Sawyer

Janelle Mellick

Week 6

Harper & Indigo Sutcliffe

Jett & Cruz Smith

Isabel & Jack McGrath

Ella Donaldson, Max Moore

Melisa Russell

MERIT AWARDS

Kinder

Octavia Chettleburgh and Beatrix Phelps
Year 1

Archer Walker and Stevie Thies
Year 2

Chloe Oates and Rory O'Grady Moll

Year 3/4 LK

Joel James and Evy Groenewald

Year 3/4 PV

Tennyson Deegan and Toby Paech

Year 5/6 GC

Lara Male and Indi Knight

Year 5/6 DB

William Frohling and Luke Schulz

Kinder

Arthur Lieschke and Maxton Marshall
Year 1

Piper Barber and Hannah Thomson
Year 2

Brooklyn Severin and Xander Grimmett

Year 3/4 LK

Grace Allan and Ivy McWaters

Year 5/6 GC

Johan Klassen and Archie Kerkow

Year 5/6 DB

Finn Condon and Sarah Bergmeier

CARPARK - SAFETY IS EVERYONES RESPONSIBILTY!

Use the footpath to enter school

Walk

Use dedicated parking bays

DO NOT walk/ride/scooter through the carpark

DO NOT park in driveways

Hats

Be like George!

Label your hat
Keep your hat in your bag
Wear your hat if the UV is 3 or higher
Look after your hat

THEIRCARE
BEFORE & AFTER SCHOOL CARE

Week 5

HEAD LICE

Currently we have an increased number of cases of head lice presenting at school. Please click here for a fact sheet of treatments and preventative measures which may be a support to families. If head lice is detected at school, home will be contacted. In line with school expectations, any child with below shoulder length hair is required to tie their hair back while at school. Please ensure if your child has longer hair it is tied back for the school day.

UPCOMING COMMUNITY EVENTS

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!

The Jindera Swimming Pool Committee is running the canteen again this year as there were no other people interested. It can only work well if we have enough volunteers outside the committee. The time commitment is not huge. If you are interested, please contact Jenny on 0438263417 or [email protected]

This pool is for all to enjoy so let's all support this cause.

Thanks

Jenny

ST JOHN'S NEWSLETTER INSPIRINGSTUDENTS FOR LIFETERM 4 WEEK 6