Dear SJV Families,

Happy New Year! The new Church year commences this weekend with the first Sunday of Advent.

Advent is a season of waiting; we wait with hope, desire and expectation. One of our Advent companions is Mary, and during these weeks we remember her as she waited for the birth of her child. We know what waiting is like, as many of us wait with anticipation for the holidays.

Advent is also a season to prepare for Christmas. We know that the first coming of Jesus at Bethlehem will not happen again, so during Advent, we prepare for a new coming of Jesus into our lives. We take this time every year to practise how to receive Jesus every day of our lives. We remember Jesus’ call to us, to make our world a peaceful and loving place, and so, during Advent, we make special efforts to be signs that God is with us. This is what the word ‘Emmanuel’ means – God-with-us.

Advent is a season with its own special mood, colours, sounds, words and joys. Sometimes it can be swamped by Christmas and we can be tempted to celebrate Christmas too early. This Advent, may we all try to wait, as the world waited long ago for the coming of Jesus, the “Light of the World”.

Make the most of it

Compass is the communication portal we use to share a great deal of information regarding your child. As well as providing a place to share and store your child’s end of year report, receive newsletters and other notes, receive excursion notes and give permission, it now has a more robust attendance section, providing further details and greater functionality.

By opening the Attendance tab, parents can see at a glance the attendance history of their child. It is also a convenient way to send a note into school explaining your child’s absence. If you need any help using the Compass App, please don’t hesitate to ask.

Parent Teacher Conferences

Many families have taken the opportunity to arrange a meeting with their child’s teacher/s next week. The booking system has closed, but if you still want to arrange a time, please contact your child’s teacher directly.

Raffle

Thanks to those families who have already sold their tickets. Special thanks to those who have sold extra books. Please remember that all raffle ticket stubs, sold or not, must be returned to school no later than Tuesday 6th December 

Kindness Day and Colour Run

Last week was a special one at SJV. We had the Book Fair, which was attended by many families, and finished the week with Kindness Day activities. Though the whole day was enjoyable, the highlight certainly was the colour run at the end of the day. Check out our FaceBook page for some snaps of the fun (https://www.facebook.com/stjohnvianneysprimaryschoolwaramanga)

Special thanks to Mrs Janice Spackman for the Book Fair, and to Mrs Nina De Rosa for organising the Kindness Day. A big shout-out also, to our Year 6 leaders for the wonderful Sideshow Alley.

IGA Chapman

This afternoon we had a wonderful surprise from Carlie and Sarah Temple ex-students of SJV who handed over a cheque from Chapman IGA as a $322 donation to the school.  Each year from their Community Chest Fund, they contribute to our school community.  We are forever grateful for their support of our wonderful school.

Vinnies Appeal

Though money is tight at the moment, please consider those who are doing it even tougher. Our Vinnies Christmas appeal runs for one more week. Please help if you can.

School Fees

A reminder that school fees will be due at the end of term, apologies for the delay in sending them home, for those who are not on a regular direct debit with us I ask that you settle your account with us as soon as possible so that we are able to meet our budgetary commitments.

Semester Two Reports

Your child’s teacher is in the process of preparing Semester Two reports. There is a great deal of work and energy that goes into the writing of these documents, and I thank the teachers for their efforts. Reports will be made available to parents, on the Compass App, on Tuesday 13^th December.

Library

Please have a look in your home for any SJV Library books that may not yet have found their way back to their own home. You can help us to minimise the number of books we need to replace by returning them as soon as possible please.

Term Dates

The last day for students this year is Thursday 15^th December. Term dates for 2023 are as follows:

It was once said…

“Whatever you do, always give 100%. Unless you’re donating blood.” – Bill Murray.

Blessings to you and your family.

Matt Egan-Richards

Principal (Acting)