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What's coming up and when:
| Every Monday | Sports Day |
| Every Friday | Sports Day |
| Every Thursday | New for 2025 - SJV Parents and Friends Prayer Group. Time: 8:45am Where: Between the hall & canteen. Everyone welcome. |
| Friday 21st March |
9:00am - 2:30pm SJV Swimming Carnival - Mt Stromlo Leisure Centre & Sausage Sizzle afterwards back at school. |
| Saturday 22nd March |
5:00-6:00pm Sacramental Gathering Mass St Jude's Church |
| Wednesday 26th March |
St Clare's College Visit |
| Friday 28th March |
School Disco Year 4 to host the night |
| Saturday 29th March |
5:00-6:00pm Sacramental Gathering Mass - St Judes Church |
| Wednesday 2nd April |
5:30pm - 7:00pm Sacrament of Reconciliation St John Vianney's Church |
| Thursday 3rd April |
ACT Futsal 5/6 Competition - Empower Dome Fadden 5:30pm - 7:00pm Sacrament of Reconciliation St John Vianney's Church |
| Friday 4th April |
12:15pm St Mary Mackillop College Visit Sth Weston Swimming Carnival Mt Stromlo |
| Saturday 5th April |
5:00pm - 6:00pm Sacramental Gathering Mass - St Judes Church |
| Monday 7th April |
ACT Futsal 1/2/3/4 Competition - Empower Dome Fadden |
| Tuesday 8th April |
KidsLit Competition - Merici College |
| Wednesday 9th April |
2:30pm Holy Thursday Prayer Celebration |
| Thursday 10th April |
9am Easter Hat Parade after morning assembly.  |
| Friday 11th April |
Pupil Free Day No students at school |
Term 1 Week 1 Notes
Term 1 Week 2 Notes
No notes went home this week
Term 1 Week 3 Notes
Class_Contacts_Parent_Letter_2025.pdf
Parent_introduction_foundation_TRPHUB.pdf
2025_Address_collection_notice_for_parents.pdf
Term 1 Week 4 Notes
No notes went home this week
Term 1 Week 5 Notes
Kianniny_Camp_2025_Final_Note.docx.pdf
swimming_carnival_sausage_sizzle.pdf
Term 1 Week 6 Notes
Upcoming Events in Compass
2025 Swimming Carnival - please consent to the swimming carnival if you haven't already.
ACT Schools Futsal Titles - please consent and pay via the Compass Portal if you would like your child to play.
Term 1 Week 7 Notes
No notes went home this week
Please note - Merit Awards will be handed out at NEXT Friday's morning assembly.
|
KA |
Amelia Johnson |
|
1 B |
Marlowe Donley |
|
2 J |
Hugh Wilkinson |
|
3 P |
Shaun Shih |
|
4 CA |
Lily Battaglini |
|
5/6 J |
Fergus Daly |
|
5/6 P |
Tilly Henderson |
|
The Arts |
Lily Battaglini |
|
Italian |
Mercy Isisheri |
Dear SJV Community
Welcome to the end of Wk 7.
'Almighty and ever living God,
you invite us deeper into your world, your people, your Lent.
May this time be one of outward focus;
seeking you in those we often ignore.
Help us live a Lent focused on freedom, generosity, and encounter.
Give us hearts hungry to serve you
and those who need what we have to give.'
Swimming Carnival and 2025 Swimming program
I'm looking forward to seeing parents and grandparents at our annual swimming carnival tomorrow. We are always trying to promote swimming at SJV and it will be great to see the children testing their skills on Friday.
Our annual Swimming Survey is now complete and I can report that 92% of respondents wanted a K-6 swimming program. As such swimming will go ahead this year, it is currently scheduled for Wk 9 of Term 4.
Year 4 visit from David Smith MP for Bean
It was wonderful to have a visit from the Federal MP representing the electorate of Bean. David came into our school on behalf of Julie Collins who heads up the portfolio for Agriculture and Fisheries. You might ask why?
The reason for the visit was that our Year 4 class sent incredibly convincing and beautifully written letters to her department in 2024, protesting about cruelty to animals in relation to circus'. This caught the minister's attention, so much so that she wanted to respond to the school and asked David to visit us to speak with the students. Well done Year 4, democracy in action!
Parish Feast Day - Feast of the Annunciation
Next Tuesday will see St Jude's coming to SJV so we can jointly celebrate our Parish Feast Day. We are looking forward to celebrating this day with Mass and some fun activities alongside our sister school. Look for the article from our REC in this week's newsletter.
School Disco
Unfortunately we could not get this event organised in time for next week as we did not have quite enough volunteers. The disco will be held over until next term and we will inform you of the timing as soon as we have the new date.
Co-educational Offerings at SJV vs Single Sex Schooling
In Week 9 - Wednesday 2nd April at 4:30pm, I will be presenting information concerning the advantages and disadvantages of coeducational schooling vs single sex education. I believe that parents need to know all the primary school options for their boys within the local area. Whilst this will be targeted at Year 2 and Year 3, any family is welcome to attend.
Policies - Attendance
Every two weeks I will try and place in some information from CECG Policy library which is pertinent to parents. This week I have taken some information from their Attendance Policy for parents to peruse.
2.4 Parents/carers must ensure children of mandatory school age are enrolled in school or an approved alternative education program, or in approved employment1.
2.5 Parents/carers must ensure that enrolled students attend every day of school, and every activity or event the school requires the student to attend, during the required times. This is known as the ‘full-time participation’ requirement.
2.6 Parents/carers must provide an explanation to the school for any absence, ideally on or before the day of absence, and no more than five school days after the absence occurs. Parents/carers may be liable under the ACT or NSW Education Acts if students fail to attend school without a reasonable excuse.
2.7 Parents/carers must notify the school of planned absences of up to 25 school days in a 12-month period (including 25 part days) in writing, including the reason for the absence.
NAPLAN
NAPLAN is now all but finished. The student's have worked very hard over the last two weeks and we will finalise tests tomorrow after we complete our last catch-up session for students who missed days due to illness. Thank you to parents who made sure that their children were on time for school, as this helped with the test process.
Class Contacts
A big shout out to the following parents who have put their hands up to be class contacts
Kinder - To be filled
Year 1 - Erin Robinson
Year 2 - Emily Lucas
Year 3 - Sonia Taflaga
Year 4 - To be filled
5/6P - Beth Seivers
5/6J - To be filled
We are still chasing down some extra parents for Year K, 1 and both 5/6 classes.
Leave
As I did last year, I will be taking two weeks of LSL beginning at the end of next week. As always I am leaving the school in the very capable hands of our Assistant Principal, Mrs De Rosa. Please contact Nina in Wk 9 or 10 if you need her assistance.
God Bless
Peter Rodda
Principal
SPELLING MASTERY
Spelling Mastery is a six-level Direct Instruction series that teaches students dependable spelling skills by blending three approaches: the phonemic approach, the whole word approach and the morphemic approach. Each approach has advantages and possible disadvantages. Spelling Mastery is designed to maximize the advantages of each approach and minimize the disadvantages.
Spelling Mastery approaches spelling through strategies, patterns and rules. The straightforward lessons in Spelling Mastery combine phonemic, morphemic, and whole-word instruction to make spelling easier to learn, leading the way to more effective reading and writing.The whole word approach focuses on memorization. Spelling Mastery does not use memorization for words that contain predictable phonemic elements, but reserves memorization for words that have irregular letter-sound relationships (i.e feud, break, gone). Prompts are used to make the initial learning easier and systematic practice is provided to facilitate retention.
The phonemic approach is used for letter-sound correspondences that are predicable. For example, the sound /ar/ is highly consistent. In about 95 percent of the words in which the sound /ar/ is said, the sound is spelled with the letters a-r. A careful analysis of phoneme-grapheme relationships was made by the authors and the generalizable relationships are systematically introduced and practised.
The morphemic approach is used for combing the roots, bases, prefixes and suffixes into words. The morphemic approach used is highly similar to that used in Spelling Though Morphographs. Students combine morphographs to write words and do exercises in which they indicate the morphographs in words. The use of morphographs to figure out the meaning of words gradually increases as students progress through the levels.
Spelling Mastery interweaves these three approaches according to students' skill development and provides lessons that efficiently and effectively teach the spelling skills students need to become proficient readers and writers. Grades 3 – 6 undertake this program for 30 minutes per day, 4 days per week. Explicit instruction, careful selection of spelling words, and repeated and cumulative practice help students master each concept and reinforce and retain key information. These lessons are run in addition to the core literacy hours.
An update on Spelling Mastery in the Primary classes 3-6. Placement tests completed at the end of last year and at the beginning of the year are indicating that children are displaying a better understanding on how sounds work and spelling rules to apply in certain situations. With any change, it will take time to see the true effects and results, however early indications are positive. On a similar note children moving from Infant classes to Primary classes are displaying a stronger understanding of phonics and diagraphs, also confirming the positive implementation of InitiaLit Programs.
Mrs D’s ‘Thought of the Week….’
Nina De Rosa
Assistant Principal
RE News with Laura Matchett
Gospel Reading Luke 13:1-9
In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus refutes the notion that suffering and misfortune must be punishments from God for sins. This challenges us to resist simplistic judgements and embrace compassion. Instead, Jesus emphasises the universal call to repentance, a continuous process of self-examination and responding to God’s ever faithful love. The parable isn’t a veiled threat, but an invitation to transformation, crucial for all. The parable of the fig tree further highlights the urgency of bearing fruit. We are called to witness to the compassionate love of God’s love through faithful service and building the Kingdom. This demands humility, authenticity, and active discipleship.
We must recognise the urgency of our mission, while also cultivating patience and perseverance, nurturing growth in ourselves and others. We must be accountable for the fruit we bear, striving to reflect the Gospel in our actions and words, and lead lives that honor God and serve humanity.
Source: Catholic Leaders Formation Network
Our Lady of the Annunciation Feast Day
Tuesday 25th March marks the feast day of our Parish’s patron, Our Lady of the Annunciation. We will be attending Mass at St John Vianney’s Church at 9:30am along with the staff and students at St Jude’s. Parents and friends of the school are welcome to attend this Mass. After the Mass has finished, students and staff from both schools will move to the playground for lunch (students are to bring lunch from home as normal), followed by free play time. The students from both schools will then participate in some rotation activities and games, before ending our time together with some Zooper Doopers. Our friends from St Jude’s will depart SJV between 12:30pm - 1pm. This is the third year our schools have come together to celebrate the Parish feast day, and we look forward to another fun-filled day together. Please pray for beautiful weather!
Easter Prayer Celebrations
We warmly welcome parents and friends of SJV to join us during week 10 for our Holy Week Prayer Celebrations. All celebrations will be held in the hall.
Palm Sunday - presented by Year 1 on Tuesday 8th April at 2:40pm
Holy Thursday - presented by Year 5/6 on Wednesday 9th April at 2:40pm
Stations of the Cross - presented by Year 5/6 on Thursday 10th April 2:10pm
Resurrection/Easter Sunday - presented by Kindergarten on Thursday 10th April 2:40pm
Project Compassion
Our fundraising for Caritas Australia’s 2025 Project Compassion campaign is well under way. This year’s theme is Unite Against Poverty this Lent. There are many Project Compassion boxes around the school, including in each classroom, and every student is encouraged to donate some money to this worthy cause. Project Compassion is Caritas Australia’s major fundraiser for the year, and much of the work they do in developing communities around the world, depends on our generosity. Even a donation as small as 50c a week during Lent can make a huge difference to our school’s overall total. Our classroom teachers will continue to promote Project Compassion throughout Lent, and we encourage our students to embrace this as the almsgiving part of their Lenten journey. We understand that times are difficult financially for many families at the moment, so please give what you can.
Our first school wide fundraising event for Project Compassion will be held next Thursday 27th March at first break. Our Youth Ministry team will be selling Zooper Doopers for 50 cents with all profits going to Project Compassion. Other school wide fundraisers will be announced in the coming weeks, and we thank you for your support.
Sacraments 2025
Registrations for Reconciliation for 2025 have now closed, however, registrations for First Eucharist and Confirmation remain open. Families of students who are eligible to make one of the Sacraments (Reconciliation, First Eucharist or Confirmation) this year are encouraged to visit the Parish website: https:/stjvwestoncreek.blogspot.com/ for information and registration details for each of the Sacraments.
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.
It is possible to receive more than one Sacrament in the same year, however, the Sacraments usually need to made in order (i.e. Reconciliation, followed by First Eucharist, then Confirmation). These questions and other general enquiries about the Sacramental program are best directed to the Parish Office via email: SacramentalOLA@cg.org.au
SPAR - Parents and Friends Prayer Group
Our SPAR Parents and Friends Prayer Group will be held regularly on Thursday mornings at 8:45am in the space between the canteen and the hall, and will run for 10 minutes. A reminder that the group is open to everyone regardless of faith background, practising or non-practising Catholics, those who pray regularly, those who haven’t prayed in a while, anyone considering becoming Catholic, anyone curious about how we pray here at school, or anyone who would like 10 minutes of peace and calm in their week! You don’t need to attend each week, it will always be open to anyone who wants to come along.
Parents and friends with younger children are welcome to bring them along where they will be watched by Year 6 students in the hall. The prayer group will focus on reflections on the forthcoming Sunday’s Gospel, Christian meditation, and significant events and feast days central to the Catholic faith. No one will be asked to share or verbally participate unless they feel comfortable to do so. I’d encourage you to consider whether this might be something you give a try this year. Please feel free to contact me: laura.matchett@cg.catholic.edu.au with any questions or feedback (particularly regarding the timing, if this is a barrier for you to attend). I hope to see you there.
Chief Minister’s Reading Challenge
This year's theme is 'Spaces and Places Where We Read'
This year SJV students will participate in the 2025 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.
Happy reading
Happy Birthday Mary J and Marley M
What an amazing fete day last Saturday! A huge thank you to the parents, staff, families and friends who helped make it such a successful day. It takes a whole community to come together to make such a big event work. A special thank you to Sarah Tonna (mum of Alice in the Turtles) for taking on the massive role of fete co-ordinator again this year.
Project Compassion Donations
Throughout Lent, we will focus on the importance of prayer and doing kind things for others, and we will be participating in Project Compassion to help people living in poverty. ELC families are invited to donate. Project Compassion boxes are located on the prayer table in each classroom and children will be able to contribute during morning class prayer.
Harmony Day – Friday 21 March
On Harmony Day we celebrate our rich diverse culture and the valuable contribution that different cultures make to our society. Harmony day aims to promote cultural diversity and inclusion, fostering respect and a sense of belonging for all Australians. Students are asked to wear orange to school and/or something traditional from their cultural background.
Athletics Carnival – Monday 24 March
The St Jude’s athletics carnival is at Woden Park on Monday 24 March. A fee of $8.50 has been added to your account to cover the bus.
Parish Feast Day – Tuesday 25 March
On Tuesday 25 March the ELC will join the St Jude’s and St John Vianney’s to celebrate our parish feast day. A fee of $8.50 has been added to your account to cover the bus to SJV. Please ensure you have returned your permission note. The bus departs at 9:15am, please ensure you are on time. We would hate for you to miss the bus!
St Jude Open Day – Thursday 1 May
St Jude’s ELC and primary school will hold an Open Day on Thursday 1 May. There are two sessions: 9:30am - 11am and 4pm - 6pm. We will also hold tours on Tuesdays in May from 9:30 – 11am. Please contact the ELC if you would like a Tuesday tour. If you know any families with children approaching preschool age, invite them along to have a look at our amazing ELC! Online enrolments are open via the ELC page of the school website.
St John Vianney’s Open Days
St John Vianney’s will have their Open Day every Wednesday in May from 10:30am to 5pm and Saturday 9:30am – 12:30pm.
Karen Leighton - St Jude's Early Learning Centre
Phone: 0262875520
Email: karen.leighton@cg.catholic.edu.au
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 21st March
Swimming Carnival Sausage Sizzle
Karen, Jen, Ray and Andrea
Wednesday 26th March
Sonia and Karen
Friday 28th March
Karlie and Deb
Term_1_2025_Canteen_Roster_.pdf
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
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