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Dear SJV Families
Welcome to the beginning of Term 2. We have certainly experienced a chilly start to our term.
Autumn Months
Remind us that it is you who give us the breath of life. May the harvest from the fields remind us of the abundance we have been given and bounty we are to share with others. May the dying of summer's spirit remind us of your great promise that death is temporary and life is eternal.
Cross Country 12:00pm-1:30pm
Tomorrow the children (weather permitting) will participate in the X-Country starting at 12:00pm. Unfortunately it was postponed from last term but we are now rearing to go. I look forward to seeing our volunteers and parents that can make the event. The order of our runners are as follows -
K/1/2(1000m)-8years (1000m)-9years (1500m)-10years (2000m)-11/12+years (3000m)
Open Days – Every Wednesday in May 10:30am-5:30pm and Saturday 4th May 9:30am-12:30pm
Enrolment month has started for SJV. I would encourage anyone from our community to tell friends and family that we are now enrolling new students. The best way to bring great new families into our community is by word of mouth. We have a fabulous parent body and dedicated teachers, all who work hard to support a beautiful student group.
You will have noticed signs for SJV and St Judes advertising both school Open Days and enrolment periods. This is great messaging for both our catholic schools. Unfortunately, sometimes our signs have been vandalised or stolen.
If you do see anyone taking either school's signs, can you please report it to me, or directly to the police. These signs are not cheap and are the private property of both schools. This message has gone out to both of our school communities. Thanks for your help with this matter.
Athletics Carnival 9th May - Chapman Oval
A compass note has gone out to advertise this event, no permission is needed as it is a walking event in the local area. Unfortunately, the ELC cannot attend as they have a prior engagement. The emphasis will be on fun and participation. It will also give our serious athletes an opportunity to progress to the next level. If you can make it we would love to see you there.
Mother’s Day Afternoon Tea and Open Classrooms - 10th May 2:40pm
Our Mother’s Day event begins in conjunction with open classrooms at 2:40pm for mums, grandmothers and carers. Immediately after the open classrooms, afternoon tea will be served to celebrate Mother's Day outside of the school. This will give the children the opportunity to burn off some energy whilst mums and carers enjoy a coffee and tea with some light refreshments.
SJV Community Garden - The Meeting Place
With assistance from the ACT Government under the Parent Engagement Grant Program, SJV is creating a Ngunnawal and native plant garden. This garden will be a wonderful space for our whole school community to enjoy.
This Sunday (5th May), we kindly ask for parent assistance at a working bee to begin the preparations of the Community Garden.
If anyone is free between 2-4pm on Sunday, we would greatly appreciate your help to remove or relocate plants not required in the current garden space. Please bring with you any tools that will help us make this happen and if you have a trailer, we at most require about 4 traliers to fill and then we ask that you take the greenwaste on our behalf to the tip. I Look forward to seeing you all on Sunday.
Prayer Celebrations - ANZAC DAY 2:40pm
Tomorrow in the school hall, we will visit the importance of ANZAC Day through a Prayer Celebration being hosted by Year 4. All parents/carers are more than welcome to attend.
Winter Uniform - Terms Two and Three
Children are now meant to be wearing winter uniform. As always there is a grace period of two weeks so parents can grab what they need from the Uniform Shop. A reminder that our shop is open on Tuesdays from 8:50am-9:20am and you can order new clothes on-line. If you would like to order quality second-hand items you will need to come into the shop to check availability.
Before and After-school Pick-Up
A reminder that students should not arrive to school before 8:30am unless supervised by their parents. Pick-up is from 3:10pm-3:30pm and parents are reminded to drive slowly through the car park as we have very small children in and around this area. Another gentle reminder is not to park on any curb that has a red painted line, these areas need to be kept open for traffic.
God Bless
Peter Rodda
Principal
WE’RE TAKING IT IN OUR STRIDE ON FRIDAY, 10 May 2024
What is Walk Safely to School Day all about?
Walk Safely to School Day is part of National Road Safety Week and will be celebrated on Friday 10th May 2024. It aims to improve the environment and our daily exercise routines. As a school we will participate on Thursday (9th May) as we walk to and from the Chapman oval for our Athletics Carnival.
Walking to school is the perfect way to start the day by getting some exercise and fresh air, ready to start school with a clear mind. Here are some of the benefits you can enjoy when you choose to walk to school:
- Walking offers a great opportunity to remind children about safe pedestrian behaviour and recap on the rules of the road.
- Being outside in the fresh air creates a space in your day for mindful exercise. Walking and taking in the scenery around you creates a sense of calm that will set you up for the rest of your day.
- Walking to school will help to reduce the air pollution in your area or near your school.
- By using your feet instead of a car, you can also play your part in helping to reduce traffic congestion.
How can you get involved and support the cause as a family?
- Find a safe walking/riding route to school
- On Friday 10th May, leave the car at home and start the day by getting some exercise and fresh air.
- At Friday morning assembly children who walked to school will be congratulated and receive a tattoo
NAIDOC Week art competition
The Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn is holding a competition for students to design artwork celebrating NAIDOC Week 2024.
The winner will have their art made into an acrylic block and will be featured on the NAIDOC Mass booklets. Entries must include the NAIDOC Week theme, ‘Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud and Proud’, and a Catholic symbol. Submissions close Friday 28 June.
Mrs D’s ‘Thought of the Week….’
Nina De Rosa
Assistant Principal
RE News with Laura Matchett
Gospel Reflection: Luke 24:35-48
In this passage, we witness a pivotal moment in the journey of the disciples following the resurrection of Jesus. They are still grappling with the reality of His resurrection, trying to comprehend the magnitude of what has occurred. As they gather together, Jesus appears among them, offering peace and reassurance. One of the striking aspects of this passage is Jesus' emphasis on His physical presence. He invites the disciples to touch Him and see that He is not merely a spirit, but truly alive. This underscores the reality of the resurrection and serves as a reminder of the tangible nature of our faith.
Furthermore, Jesus opens the disciples' minds to understand the scriptures. He connects the dots between what was prophesied in the Old Testament and how it has been fulfilled in Him. This highlights the continuity of God's plan throughout history and emphasises the significance of scripture in deepening our understanding of God's purposes.
Project Compassion
Thank you again to everyone who was able to donate to our Project Compassion fundraiser throughout Lent this year. As a school we raised just over $300 which is a fantastic effort. Congratulations to Jaleyah, Willis and Joseph who were the lucky winners of our Easter Egg Guessing Competition. We hope you are enjoying your winnings!
School Masses
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. Dates the school will be attending Mass term and next term are as follows:
Term 2 Week 2 - Wednesday 8th May: Parish Mass, 9:30am (led by 5/6J)
Term 2 Week 7 - Wednesday 12th June: Parish Mass, 9:30am (led by 5/6P)
Term 2 Week 9 - Wednesday 26th June: Parish Mass, 9:30am (led by Year 2)
Prayer Celebrations
Our students led our school in Prayer Celebrations marking significant events in both our religious and secular community. Prayer Celebrations which will occur this term are:
Term 2 Week 1 - Friday 3rd May ANZAC Day, 2:40pm (led by Year 4)
Term 2 Week 4 - Friday 24th May: Reconciliation Week, 2:40pm (led by Year 2)
Prayer Celebrations are held in our hall and all parents and friends of our school are welcome to attend.
Sacraments 2024
Registrations for Confirmation for 2024 are open and we encourage families who would like their child to receive this Sacrament this year to register as soon as possible via the Parish Qkr account. All questions and other general enquiries about the Sacramental program are best directed to the Parish Office via email: SacramentalOLA@cg.org.au
Eligibility for each Sacrament is as follows:
Reconciliation - open to students who have been baptised Catholic and who are in Year 3 or above.
First Eucharist - open to baptised Catholic students who have made their Reconciliation and are in Year 4 or above.
Confirmation - open to baptised Catholic students who have received their First Eucharist and who are in Year 6 or above.
Key dates for each Sacrament are as follows:
First Eucharist
Tuesday 21st May: Reflection Hour, 5:30pm, St John Vianney’s Church
Tuesday 28th May: Reflection Hour, 5:30pm, St John Vianney’s Church
Saturday 1st June: Sunday 2nd June: Gathering Masses
Tuesday 4th June: Reflection Hour, 5:30pm, St John Vianney’s Church
Saturday 15th June: Sacrament of First Eucharist, 5pm, St Jude’s Church
Sunday 16th June: Sacrament of First Eucharist, 9am, St John Vianney’s Church
Confirmation
Saturday 1st June: Sunday 2nd June: Gathering Masses
Tuesday 2nd July: Reflection Hour, 5:30pm, St John Vianney’s Church
Tuesday 23rd July: Reflection Hour, 5:30pm, St John Vianney’s Church
Wednesday 24th July: Confirmation registrations close
Tuesday 30th July: Reflection Hour, 5:30pm, St John Vianney’s Church
Tuesday 6th August: Reflection Hour, 5:30pm, St John Vianney’s Church
Saturday 24th August: Sunday 25th August: Gathering Masses
Tuesday 27th August: Reflection Hour/Preparation Hour, 5:30pm, St John Vianney’s Church
Wednesday 28th August: Sacrament of Confirmation, 6pm, St John Vianney’s Church, (celebrated by Father Richard Thompson)
Please note - Merit Awards will be handed out at NEXT Friday's morning assembly.
|
KA |
Nadha Chansawang |
|
1 B |
Christabel Arinze |
|
2 J |
Nisi Paese |
|
3 |
Isabella Pollock |
|
4 |
Amelia Huszar Nate Topp |
|
5/6 J |
Maryam Habash |
|
5/6 P |
Amalia Craciun |
|
The Arts |
Emma Ayling |
|
Sustainability |
Sully Donley, Thomas Doyle, Elsie Spackman, Tilly Henderson, Nadia Taflaga, Amelia Huszar and Elizabeth Seivers. |
Term 1 Week 10 Merit Award Students
Elizabeth Sheehan, Noel Justin, Vuk Stankovic, Imogen Boyle, Harry Doszpot, Ailah Buenaventura, Jassnoor Kaur, Patrick Seivers, Tim Flanagan, Nate and Harper Topp, Marqas Hughes Bell and Joseph Walshe.
Bringing the school community together
SJV Community Garden - The Meeting Place
With assistance from the ACT Government under the Parent Engagement Grant Program, SJV is creating a Ngunnawal and native plant garden.
The SJV School Community Council is excited to announce that the school has received a significant grant from the ACT Block Grant Authority to help build our school community.
These new funds will be used to:
- build a new community focussed Indigenous Garden (with an initial working bee this Sunday!); and
- purchase a coffee machine to support school events and opportunities for families to come together at low/no cost.
The Council meets again on Monday, 13 May – at this meeting we will confirm plans for the 2024 fete and other community events. If you have any ideas, suggestions or questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out either via sjvparent@gmail.com (or in person at drop off/pickup).
Community Council Committee.
Children's Book Fair
The book shelves will roll in and open for shopping during Parent and Teacher Conference week.Book Fairs help your school stock up on resources to enrich your children's education. The right book can ignite a passion for reading, so we encourage families to work together to rcreate a reading culture at home. Reading expands the mind and nourishes the imagination.
Book club Issue 3 - Book Club Issue 3 2024 went home today and orders are now open. To order the books and find out more about Scholastic, please follow the link below.
A huge thank you to the School Community Council for donating a wonderful selection of Australian Book Council notable and shortlisted books for our school library.
The students will be greeted with yet another selection of new books to choose from.
Thanks SCC!! We love our school library!!
Chief Minister’s Reading Challenge 
All SJV students have been registered to participate in the 2024 Chief Minister’s Reading Challenge. At school, and at home, students are encouraged to read 30 books by the end of June (this includes books that are read to them/ shared).
Each student from Year 2 to Year 6 has a recording sheet in the library that they are encouraged to fill in to show the 30 books they have read. I will keep a note of the books we read in the library from Kinder to Year 2.
ELC NEWS
Happy Birthday to all of our April birthdays: Mitchell H, Vaimoana L, Jake J, Nicholas C and Remi R and to Ava S and Chloe B for this week.
Welcome back to Term 2. A big thankyou to our wonderful ELC educators who ran such an engaging holiday program. The children enjoyed fun-filled days including incursions from Make a Bear, Giggly Wiggly balloons and Bunnings as well as making cupcakes, Wombat Stew, rainbow art and Autumn craft.
This week we are very excited to begin our gymnastics program conducted by qualified instructors at Woden Valley Gymnastics Club. Throughout the program the children develop gross motor skills, balance, spatial awareness, and confidence, and have a lot of fun. We are very lucky to have such a great facility so close to our ELC.
Staffing
A big congratulations to Ms Aquilina (Kasia) on the safe arrival of baby Hudson during the holidays. Welcome to Ms Neda who will be working as an additional educator in our Stingray room. Neda has worked with us previously and it is great to have her back on board. Mrs Putt (Jacinta) is in the final year of her Bachelor of Early Childhood Education and is currently doing her 4 week practicum in the Turtles room. Ms Fatima and Ms Stapleton will be covering Jacinta’s normal shifts.
ELC Days - Term 2
A reminder that the Lobsters Wednesdays are in odd weeks and the Stingrays Wednesdays are in Even Weeks for the remainder of the year.
Week 2 (beginning 6 May)
- Stingrays attend Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday
- Lobsters attend Thursday and Friday
Enrolment period
Enrolments are now open for 2025 preschool and primary school. Go to the school websites for more details and the application link. Current ELC families need to submit an application for kindergarten at their in-area school. Applications must be submitted by the end of May in order to be considered in the first round.
St John Vianney Open Days
SJV Open Days are Wednesday throughout the month of May from 9:30am to 5pm and Saturday 4 May from 9:30am to 12:30pm.
SJV welcomes all families to have a tour of the school every Wednesday in the month of May between 10:30am and 5:00pm. If you are keen to tour our school and you can't make these times, please contact the Front Office office.sjv@cg.catholic.edu.au to make an appointment.
The ELC now has a Facebook page which we encourage you to follow. We will post updates, reminders and images of all the fabulous things we get up to. https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61557194577229
The Resilience Project
This year the ELC have signed up to join The Resilience Project. TRP mission is to teach positive mental health strategies to inspire happiness and change lives. We will explore the concepts of Gratitude, Empathy and Mindfulness and easy ways to practise these in everyday life. We also incorporate Emotional Literacy, Connection and Physical Health education and activities as they are foundational contributors to positive mental health. You can access more information through the Parent Hub at https://theresilienceproject.com.au/2023-early-years-parent-carer-hub/
Mothers Day
St Jude's invite all mothers, step-mothers, grandmothers, aunties and special friends to attend our Mother's Day celebration on Friday 10 May. We are holding a Mother’s Day Breakfast beginning at 8.30am. Please click this link to RSVP for the breakfast. Guests are then welcome to visit your children’s classrooms from 9.00am – 10.20am. For Stingray families, we will be holding an open classroom on Monday 13 May from 9am – 9:40am.
Karen Leighton - St Jude's ELC
Phone: 6287 5520
Email: elc.stjudes@cg.catholic.edu.au
What's coming up and when:
| Every Monday | Sports Day |
| Every Friday | Sports Day |
| Friday 3rd May |
Cross County Carnival from 12noon - 1:30pm
2:40pm Anzac Day Prayer Celebration led by Year 4.
|
| Saturday 4th May |
Enrolling now Open Day 9:30am - 12:30pm.
|
| Wednesday 8th May |
Enrolling now for 2025 - Open Day from 10:30am - 5pm
Parish Mass - all families welcome from 9:30am Led by 5/6P.
|
| Thursday 9th May |
SJV Athletics Carnival. 9:30am - 1:30pm
|
| Friday 10th May |
Cross Country Carnival Ribbon Ceremony as part of our morning assembly
From 2:40pm Mother's Day Celebration and Learning Journey
|
| Friday 17th May |
Athletics Carnival Ribbon Ceremony as part of our morning assembly.
|
| Monday 20th - Friday 24th May |
Book Fair - Library
|
| Thursday 23rd May |
Incursion : The Jungle Book Performance in Italian
|
| Friday 24th May |
2:40pm Reconciliation Week Prayer Celebration Led by Year 2
|
| Monday 27th May |
Public Holiday Reconciliation Day
|
| Tuesday 28th May - Thurs 31st May |
Parent and Teacher Conferences
|
Term 1
Week 1 Notes
no notes went home this week
Week 2 Notes
Week 4 Notes
Naplan_2024_Advice_to_Parents.pdf
Privacy_Collection_Notice_for_Parents_Address_Collection_2024.pdf
Week 6 Notes
Week 7 Notes
No notes went home this week
Week 8 Notes
Information about Secret Boys Business Secret_Boys_Business.pdf
Week 9 Notes
Italian_Special_Lunch_2024.pdf
Week 10 Notes
No notes went home this week
Week 11 Notes
No notes went home this week
Term 2 Week 1 Notes
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 May
Penny
Wednesday 8th May
Luke
Chiquita 12:30pm-1:30pm
Friday 10th May
Karen
Ellen
Term 2 Canteen Roster 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 Winter Menu Term 2 and 3
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