Dear SJV Families

Welcome to Week 10 

I would like to thank the students, parents and teachers for making our first week back to school so settled.  Students have focussed on classroom tasks and immediately began completing their work to a high standard. Below I have placed a suitable prayer to start our new semester. 

Lord, as we prepare for the coming of a new semester, make us ready, attentive and available to hear you.
Thank You for the gift of being able to rise each day with the assurance that You walk through it with us.
Thank You for the gifts of creativity and uniqueness, and the energy to put them to good use.
May all that we are today, all that we try to do today, may all our encounters, reflections, even the frustrations and failings all be place in your hands.
May the work we do and the way we do it, bring new hope, new life, and courage to all we come in contact with this semester. We thank you, Lord. Amen

Welcome Harvey John Perryman

We are happy to announce the wonderful news that Mrs Perryman and her husband have welcomed a baby boy on the 5th July. 

Welcome to the world Baby Harvey. 

Pick-Up and Drop Off

A reminder for all parents to park in the allotted bays in the bitumen car park.  Cars cannot park along the curb which is painted red.  This is a thoroughfare for general traffic and parents will be asked to move their car if they are in this area.  This request is for the safety of all our community.  Thank you for your understanding. 

Rostrum

Last night, with Mrs Malpas, I attended the Woden/Weston Rostrum finals.  Hayden from 5/6J was our representative and he did the school proud, speaking brilliantly, with no mistakes and engaging his audience fully.  The standard was extremely high and the student who took the competition out was also the winner from 2022, a tough act to top.  I am very proud of the fact that although we are a small school, students are still given all the opportunities and support to compete at regional and state levels. 

SJV Feast Day

We will celebrate our Feast Day on Friday 4th August.  Much is planned with Mass in our school hall, a talent quest and a free Special Lunch scheduled (small cost for an extra sausage sandwich).  This should be a fun day for everyone. 

Free Uniform Day Tomorrow - A Chocolate Bar Donation

To support our School Fete, our Committee have planned a uniform free day tomorrow.  We would ask that each child brings in a chocolate bar or block to school which will be used for our 'Chocolate Coin Toss' stall.  To avoid temptation, I promise that I will not store the chocolate in my office!  

NAIDOC WEEK

This week we have been celebrating NAIDOC Week, yarning stories, art work and a  NAIDOC Mass tomorrow these have been some of the highlights.  I would like to thank Mrs Kain for organising these events to help celebrate our indigenous culture.

Computers

Thirty six new computers have just arrived and will soon be imaged by CE and distributed to our Year 3 and 4 students, ensuring one-to-one access to a device.  These computers, like rulers and pencils, are just tools that students have access to.  This means that when needed, students can use the best possible equipment to complete the task required. 

NAPLAN

NAPLAN results will soon be mailed to schools and will be posted out to parents when they arrive.  The NAPLAN interpretation and descriptions have changed and this will be evident when you look at the documentation.  NAPLAN is one test on one day, but indicative results for our Yr 3 and Yr 5 cohorts, when averaged, have results in the 'Strong' and 'Exceeding' categories ranging from 70%-95% for the cohort. I am very happy with the progress and direction of our school and these results will help teachers further shape the student's learning towards their educational needs.

COMPASS Information Tuesday 1st August 4:45pm

Some parents completely understand Compass, our schools communication platform.  Some parents are baffled by some of the intricacies and nuances of the system, if you fall into the latter category then this information session will be for you.  Areas covered will be - logging in, accessing a news feed, contacting staff, accessing attendance data and student reports.  I believe that many parents will find this session very informative. compass_Information_Session.pdf

Student Attendance

Just a reminder to all parents that if your child is going to be away from school due to illness, a family event or any other reason, to contact the school and let us know.  It is a government requirement that all absences are explained and we should have this information either on the day of absence or no later than 5 days after the event.  Thank you for your cooperation with this, it makes the school's administration much easier.  

A Busy Term Ahead

Below I have placed some of the school activities we have planned for the term. 

Most of these items with their specific dates appear in our Calendar, but I thought you might appreciate a general heads-up.  

Week One and Two - NAIDOC week.  Uniform Free Day (Fete Fundraiser)

Week Three – SJV Feast Day.  National tree day. 

Week Five - Parents Bingo Disco and National Science Week. Monday 14th August, Year 5/6 will be attending a program at CSIRO Discovery Centre and on Thursday 17th August, Kinder to Year 4 will be on an excursion to Questacon! 

Week Six - BOOK WEEK!!! Dress up day, an author visit and lots of book sharing!

Week Seven - National Literacy and Numeracy Week.  Fathers Day backs onto this event and we are hoping to involve our dads in the fun.

Week Nine and Ten - Uniform Free Day (Fete Fundraiser). Possum Magic whole school excursion to the Canberra Theatre 

Welcome New Families

A big welcome to Ahsoka (KA), Esther, Skye and Isabella (Bella) - Bella's first day is  tomorrow (Year 2JB), Arabella (Bella) and Diana (Year 3/4CA), Carter in 3/4P, Maryam in 5/6J and Awa in 5/6P.  I have spoken to all these students and they have all settled into their new school beautifully. 

God Bless

Peter Rodda

Principal