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Dear SJV Families,
As we are in the season of Lent I have placed this prayer below.
The Fast Life
Fast from judging others;
Feast on Christ dwelling in them.
Fast from fear of illness;
Feast on the healing power of God.
Fast from words that pollute;
Feast on speech that purifies.
Fast from discontent;
Feast on gratitude.
Fast from anger;
Feast on patience.
Fast from pessimism;
Feast on hope.
Fast from negatives;
Feast on encouragement.
Fast from bitterness;
Feast on forgiveness.
Fast from self-concern;
Feast on compassion.
Fast from suspicion;
Feast on truth.
Fast from gossip;
Feast on purposeful silence.
Fast from problems that overwhelm;
Feast on prayer that sustains.
Fast from anxiety;
Feast on faith.
Gala Days Goodness
Thank you to Mrs Malpas who has done a brilliant job organising some fabulous sport events for SJV students to be involved in outside school.
Today saw years 5 and 6 compete in the Southside/Weston Region Netball Gala Day. A great way to get children active and enjoy netball even if they have never played before. Our Year 3 and 4 students will compete in the same gala day next week.
On the ground, Mrs Malpas gave us this report from the sideline -
"The children represented SJV with pride and had lots of fun at the Gala Day. They showed determination, team work and pure sportsmanship. They had a few injuries, but 'soldiered on'. One game to go they have won 3 out of 4 games. Thank you to the SJV players for their sporting spirit and being positive role models for SJV. A huge thank to Heidi for coaching and taking the time off work to coach the team."
.... Update lost the last game but was very close - score was 5 - 2.
Tomorrow is a first for SJV playing - 'backyard cricket' in the grounds of Government House in Yarralumla!!!
Representatives from 3-6 will head off in the afternoon from school for a wonderful experience playing cricket with children from other schools. The Governor General will welcome everyone and from the press release the children might have an opportunity to play with the Governor-General and Mrs Hurley.
Thanks to Mrs Matchett for supervising the big day out.
Reminders- Supervision starts at 8:30am and Careful parking at Pick-Up
A gentle reminder that school supervision does not begin until 8:30am in the morning. Some parents remain in their car until this time whilst children move into school grounds. Parents must remain until 8:30am.
A reminder that cars are not to park parallel to the red-painted curb. This is for the safety of all.
Finally, a reminder that all mums and dads can now wait inside the school gate. This is a much safer place for everyone rather than having a large group of parents and children congregating in an area that has cars driving past. Please come inside.
Uniform shop
A big thankyou to Jess Rebbechi who has taken on the roll of working in the uniform shop.
Shop opening hours Thursday mornings from 9am - 10:30am
Outside of this time, people can order on any day and collect Thursday mornings as above.
If there is an emergency, Jet will fill the order and have it waiting in the Front Office for you to collect.
If parents need to try uniforms on their child/ren outside of Thursday mornings, Jess can sometimes be avilable Monday and Tuesday afternoons, but please contact the Front Office beforehand.
Lost Property
A reminder to parents that to write their child's name on the uniform and to check this twice a year. The chances of getting lost uniforms back with a name on it is high. Without a name, almost non-existent. I know mums and dads would rather extra money go towards coffee, mortgage repayments or a movie night, rather than a uniform that has been purchased three times.
Swimming lessons in December
Last year there were some families who were not in favour of school swimming lessons. Now that every family has experienced the program we want to ask a simple question to see if you are still in favour of the program. Please click here to take our two min survey.
Swimming Carnival
Please ensure that you have completed the online Compass form to state what your child will be participating in.
We would also gratefully accept any parent help on the day. A few parents have generously offered their time, but we could certainly make use of further offers of support.
Naplan 2023
ACT Schools will participate in NAPLAN Online testing from 15-27 March 2023. For further information please see the "Notes to Parents Page' of the newsletter. Naplan_15_27_March_2023.pdf
God Bless
Peter Rodda
Principal
Last Tuesday we welcomed Sharyn Angel back to SJV to continue to work with our Staff embedding High Impact Teaching Practices and Explicit Direct Instruction.
The CE Catalyst Program has supported schools to introduce targeted programs that continue to provide opportunities for our students to be the best they can possibly be in the areas of Literacy and Numeracy. Last year SJV implemented InitiaLit in K-2
InitiaLit - K-2 Literacy Program
What is it?
InitiaLit is a literacy program for all children in Kinder, Year 1 and Year 2.
It has been developed by MultiLit, a research-based initiative of Macquarie University.
What does it do?
IntiaLit teaches children how to read and spell through daily lessons, using research-based teaching methods. It also uses a range of good quality storybooks to develop children’s vocabulary, oral language and writing. IntiaLit will be used daily during the time set aside for literacy.
How does it teach Reading and writing?
InitaLit teaches children that words are made up of sounds and sounds are represented by letters. Unlike learning to talk which children pick up naturally, children do need to be directly taught the relationship between sounds and letters. In Year 1, children will build upon the knowledge of the alphabetic code that they gained in their first year of schooling (Kindergarten). They will learn that a letter or letters can make different sounds, and that two or three letters together can make a sound. They will also learn key terminology such as ‘vowel’, ‘syllable’, ‘phoneme’, ‘grapheme’, and ‘digraph’. By the time children are in Year 2, they have learnt that words are made up of sounds represented by letters. They should be able to work out most words they encounter for reading and spelling without guessing. The focus now moves to reading comprehension and spelling. There are four main teaching components in InitiaLit–2 spread across the week.
How does it teach Reading and writing?
InitaLit teaches children that words are made up of sounds and sounds are represented by letters. Unlike learning to talk which children pick up naturally, children do need to be directly taught the relationship between so
• Comprehension and fluency
• Spelling
• Grammar
• Vocabulary (using children’s literature)
An InitiaLit lesson will take place at least four times a week. The first 25 minutes are spent on the mat where the children are introduced to new letters and sounds or a new concept in a very clear and explicit way. They will do a number of targeted activities to practise reading and spelling words with the new sound during this whole-class session. After the lesson on the mat, the teacher will work with different groups of children to help them read words, sentences and stories using all the sounds and letters they have been taught. While the teacher is working with a group, the rest of the class will be doing an activity to consolidate what they have been learning. This may be a spelling worksheet, a game to practise their tricky words (words with irregular spelling patterns that cannot be sounded out letter by letter), or more practice using an InitiaLit reader. As your child’s reading becomes more confident, they will be able to read a variety of texts.
In Year 2, children will learn to use different comprehension strategies to help them understand what they are reading and they will practise reading with expression.
They will learn the various ways to spell the sounds of English, as well as some spelling rules to help them make the correct choice. They will also be introduced to some simple and useful grammatical concepts to help with their writing. After the new concept has been taught, the teacher will work with different groups of children in turn, helping them to develop their reading fluency and comprehension using a variety of reading material. The rest of the class will be engaged in different activities to consolidate what they have learnt.
How will my child be assessed?
There will be regular opportunities to assess your child’s developing reading and spelling skills. Progress monitoring, Stop and Checks and Cumulative Reviews are built into the program. Children’s reading progress relates to their ability to lift words off the page both accurately and fluently. Reading comprehension is assessed more informally during time spent in reading groups.
How can you help with reading at home?
Read a storybook each day to your child and discuss the story, pointing out any new words to enrich their vocabulary. Spend time teaching your child nursery rhymes, songs and poems. Play language games. Talk about letters and sounds in the environment. Help your child learn to spell the target words which relate to the sounds they are learning. Practise reading and spelling tricky words. Even if your child can read well, it is still appropriate and pleasurable to read to your child. This is a way of exposing your child to books that they may find difficult to read themselves. Provide a mix of non-fiction and fiction books to enjoy together.
When readers are sent home, make sure that you spend time listening to your child read, providing support to help them apply their knowledge about sounds and letters to the text. Talk about what they are reading, checking for comprehension.
What if my child is struggling to learn to read?
Some children do struggle to learn how to read. Talk to your child’s teacher if you are worried about their reading or spelling. It is important to address any difficulties as early as possible so that extra support can be put in place to help them catch up. We are utilising other supporting MultiLit programs such as MiniLit Sage and MacqLit, for children who require extra support when learning Literacy skills.
Mrs D’s ‘Thought of the Week….’
“We don't need a list of rights and wrongs, tables of dos and don'ts:
we need books, time and silence.
Thou shalt not is soon forgotten, but Once upon a time lasts forever." - Philip Pullman
Happy Reading.....
Nina De Rosa
Assistant Principal
RE News with Laura Matchett
RE Newsletter Term 1 Week 5
Gospel Reflection: Matthew 17:1-9
But Jesus came up and touched them. ‘Stand up,’ he said ‘do not be afraid.’ And when they raised their eyes they saw no one but only Jesus.
This week’s Gospel tells the story of the transfiguration; when Jesus took his closest friends up to the top of the mountain and stood with Moses and Elijah as he revealed Himself to be God’s son. These two figures from the Old Testament are significant as Moses, represents the law, and Elijah, the prophets. Together with Jesus, they represent God’s complete Word. Yet the three are not presented as equal in this story, in fact God rebukes Peter’s attempt to make them equal when he offers to build each of them tents (tabernacles) to honour them. God speaks from beyond the clouds, echoing the story of Jesus' baptism by John the Baptist, and declares: ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; he enjoys my favour.’ After this, Moses and Elijah disappear and the disciples are left alone with Jesus and their focus returns to Him and only to Him.
It is this last moment of the story that we can connect to at this time in our Lenten journey. Lent is a call to return home; to return to our faith; to return to God. Just as the disciples' focus was drawn back to Jesus in the transfiguration, Lent is a time that we are invited to consider the things that are drawing our attention away from God, and from being the people of faith we would like to be. It is an opportunity for us to consider even simple acts of making a small sacrifice to give up a pleasure or a vice, or even to take something up that gives us the opportunity to come back to God.
Project Compassion
Thank you to families who have already generously donated to our Project Compassion fundraising campaign. Our students have been learning about where their money goes, and even small amounts of money (even 5 cents a week for each week of Lent) can help people and communities in need. Project Compassion will run until Easter (also the end of our school term), and we ask that you give what you can.
School Masses Term 1 2023
As a school, we regularly attend the Wednesday morning 9:30 am Mass at St John Vianney’s Church. The choir sings at this Mass and sometimes our students have a role in other parts of the celebration. Parents and friends of our school are welcome to join us alongside parishioners at this Mass. We have added an additional Mass this term to celebrate the feast day of our Parish (Our Lady of the Annunciation) with St Jude’s. This Mass will be held at St John Vianney’s Church on Friday 24th March at 10:30am.
The dates the school will be attending these Masses for Term 1 are:
Week 6: Wednesday 8th March
Week 8: Wednesday 22nd March
Week 8: Friday 24th March, 10:30am (Feast Day of Our Lady of the Annunciation)
Reconciliation 2023
Commitment Masses for candidates making their first Reconciliation this year will be held this weekend both at St John Vianney’s Church and St Jude’s Church. Please pray for our candidates as they take this step in their faith journey, and for their families who support them.
Sacraments 2023
Key dates for the Sacraments this year are listed below. Please note, we have received a date for the Sacrament of Confirmation from the Archbishop’s office; this will be celebrated on Wednesday 23rd August. All enquiries about Sacraments are best directed to the Parish via email: westoncreek@cg.org.au
|
Reconciliation |
First Eucharist |
Confirmation |
|
Open to any child in Year 3 and above who has been baptised. Information Night 7 Feb 2023, 6pm @SJV Church Commitment Mass Weekend of 4-5 March 2023 Reflection session 7 March 2023, 6pm @SJV Church Sacrament of Reconciliation (choice of) 8 March 2023, 6pm @SJH 9 March 2023, 6pm @SJV 11 March 2023, 9am @SJH |
Open to any child in Year 4 and above who has made their first Reconciliation. Information Night 2 May 2023, 6pm @SJV Church Commitment Mass Weekend of 10-11 June 2023 Reflection session 13 June 2023, 6pm @SJV Church Sacrament of First Eucharist (choice of) 17 June 2023, 5pm @SJH 18 June 2023, 9am @SJV |
Open to any child in Year 6 and above who has received their first Eucharist. Information Night 25 July 2023, 6pm @SJV Church Commitment Mass Weekend of 19-20 August 2023 Reflection session 22 August 2023, 6pm @SJV Church Sacrament of Confirmation 23 August 2023, 6pm |
Please note - Merit Awards will be handed out at NEXT Friday's morning assembly.
|
KA |
Tilda Wilkinson |
|
1 B |
Maisy Wilson |
|
2 J |
Daniel Blumenthal |
|
3/4 CA |
Hanston Joseph |
|
3/4 P |
Harrison Cameron |
|
5/6 J |
Zoe Bufalo |
|
5/6 P |
Dimitri Taflaga |
|
The Arts |
Mason Jamieson |
|
Library |
Daniel Blumenthal |
|
Italian |
Hayden Sjoberg |
What's coming up and when:
| Every Monday | Sports Day |
| Every Friday | Sports Day |
| Monday 6th March | Year 5/6 Journeying with Jesus Retreat |
| Tuesday 7th March - 10th March | ACT and Regional Principal's Meeting Catholic Leaders Day and Retreat |
| Wednesday 8th March |
9:30am - Mass |
| Monday 13th March |
Canberra Day Public Holiday |
| Friday 17th March |
Swimming Carnival - Stromlo Leisure Centre |
|
Reconciliation |
First Eucharist |
Confirmation |
|
Open to any child in Year 3 and above who has been baptised. Information Night 7 Feb 2023, 6pm @SJV Church Commitment Mass Weekend of 4-5 March 2023 Reflection session 7 March 2023, 6pm @SJV Church Sacrament of Reconciliation (choice of) 8 March 2023, 6pm @SJH 9 March 2023, 6pm @SJV 11 March 2023, 9am @SJH |
Open to any child in Year 4 and above who has made their first Reconciliation. Information Night 2 May 2023, 6pm @SJV Church Commitment Mass Weekend of 10-11 June 2023 Reflection session 13 June 2023, 6pm @SJV Church Sacrament of First Eucharist (choice of) 17 June 2023, 5pm @SJH 18 June 2023, 9am @SJV |
Open to any child in Year 6 and above who has received their first Eucharist. Information Night 25 July 2023, 6pm @SJV Church Commitment Mass Weekend of 19-20 August 2023 Reflection session 22 August 2023, 6pm @SJV Church Sacrament of Confirmation (TBA) |
ELC NEWS
Happy Birthday to Tirzah. J and Marlow. D
Over the past five weeks, the ELC children, staff and families have been forming relationships and establishing a sense of belonging within their new ELC environment. As stated in the Early Years Learning Framework, “Children’s lives are characterised by belonging, being and becoming. From before birth children are connected to family, communities, culture and place. Their earliest learning, development and well-being takes place through these relationships, particularly within families, who are children’s first and most influential educators. (p.6)”
Children have been proudly introducing their families to their class through family photos, stories and drawings. This week the children have explored a special family, Jesus’ family. The Early Years Learning Framework has been updated this year, head to BELONGING, BEING & BECOMING (acecqa.gov.au). Our teachers and educators have been attending various personal development opportunities to help understand the changes and how to adapt the programs to reflect these changes.
This week I listened to a fabulous podcast by the Imperfects, Lael Stone discusses the topic ‘Creating Emotionally Intelligent Humans’. Parents often inform us of the big emotions that occur at home, this episode may help shed some light as to why The Imperfects: Lael Stone - Creating Emotionally Intelligent Humans on Apple Podcasts
Fruit Shop
Our first Fruit Shop was a huge success, the children were very excited when presented with the opportunity to purchase their own fruit. This week’s Mystery Fruit was a whole watermelon, it was so big!
You no longer need to pack a fruit snack on Wednesdays. If you have fruits or vegetables growing in your gardens at home and would like to share, please do. Alternatively, if you see strange and exotic fruits or vegetables in the shops please let us know.
St Jude’s Fete
The St Jude’s Fete will be on Saturday 18th March. This is a great fun day to meet other families and raise some funds for the school. This year the ELC will be hosting the hairspray stall. Many hands make light work, so we’d love for you to get involved. More information on how to volunteer will come soon.
Mufti Day
Mufti Day (non-uniform day) is on Friday 3 March (tomorrow!) for Turtles and Lobsters and Monday 6 March (week 6) for Stingrays. The aim is to collect supplies and donations for our fete stall. Children are invited to wear plain clothes and we ask that you donate a can of coloured hairspray and a gold coin.
Karen Leighton - St Jude's Early Learning Centre
Phone: +61262875520
Email: karen.leighton@cg.catholic.edu.au
Term 1
Week 1 Notes
_5_6_Camp_2023_Permission_Note.pdf
2023_Collection_Notice_for_Parents.pdf
Welcome to Book Club Parents & Kids Order Now
Week 2 Notes
2023_Canteen_Volunteer_Note_1_.pdf
Term_1_Canteen_volunteer_roster_2023_7_Feb_2023.pdf
Week 3 Notes
Week 4 Notes
Week 5 Notes
Term_1_DISCO_call_for_volunteers._.pdf for year 3 and year 4 parents
SJV Tuckshop is open Wednesday & Friday. Orders can be made online via Qkr! A copy of the Menu and Qkr! instructions can be found on the Tuckshop Webpage.
TUCKSHOP ROSTER
Friday 3rd March
Sarah and Annette
Wednesday 8th March
Sonia
Friday 10th March
Jen and Emma
Term 1 Canteen volunteer roster 2023 15 Feb 2023 Please remember to bring your WWVP- (Working with Vulnerable People) card with you.
You can apply for the card via Access Canberra: https://www.accesscanberra.act.gov.au/s/article/working-with-vulnerable-people-wwvp-registration-tab-how-to-apply
A new WINTER Canteen Menu is available here and on our website. Term 2 & 3 2022 Winter Tuckshop Menu
Term 1 & 4 The Summer Tuckshop Menu kicks in.
Please contact the Front Office or Mel or simply fill in the Canteen Volunteer Note to let us know you are able to help and when.
Mel Harding
Canteen Manager
melanie.harding@cg.catholic.edu.au
Swimming Carnival
This year’s swimming carnival will take place on Friday 17 March at the Stromlo Leisure Centre.
All families received a note via Compass that included important details to assist with the smooth running of the day, including consent to attend the carnival and the selection of races/activities.
To date, a number of families have not yet submitted this note. It would be greatly appreciated if all outstanding notes could be submitted by the end of this week (Friday 3 March).
Thank you
Swimming Carnival Coordinators
SJV NETBALL
Registrations will soon
be open for the Winter
Netball season.
SJV enters a handful of
teams each year in the
local competition at
Arawang Netball Courts in Stirling. It is lots of fun for both children and parents alike, and a
great way to get to know other members of the SJV
community.
Games begin Saturday (morning) 29 April, but teams may like to get some practice in before
the Easter holidays. The season ends early September, and games are not played on
long weekends or in school holidays. Training is usually held in the SJV grounds, straight
after school (depending on coach/player availability). All games at held at the netball courts
on Streeton Drive.
Players: Boys & Girls - Years 2-6 (if there are any keen Year 1s, they would also be warmly
welcomed to help Year 2 field a full team)
Rego: TBC (approximately $185 for the season)
Please get in touch with Rebecca Battaglini by Friday 24 February
(danbec@grapevine.net.au) to register your interest, offer coaching/umpiring support,
and/or to ask any further questions.
WMFC 2023 Miniroos, Girls and Open U10 - U18 Registrations are now Open.
Please visit www.merici.college for all dates and information for our Open Day, Be a Merici Girl Days and Talk and Tours. Register online now!
Open Day, Principal’s Address and Year 7 2024 Information Night: Wednesday 3 May
Be a Merici Girl Days: 28 April, 1 and 8 May
Talk and Tours: 4 March, 6 May, 19 August, 21 October
Merici_College_2024_Enrolling_Now_flyer.pdf
We are enrolling now for 2024 and beyond!
SAVE THE DATE:
24TH March
Theme to be announced next week.
