1 The Evangelist Term 4 Week 1 Wednesday 17th October 2018 D earP arents /Carers , St. John's Primary School, Riverstone Ph: (02) 9854 3200 E: [email protected]W: www.stjohnsriverstone.catholic.edu.au Welcome to our final term for 2018. I trust that you and your family enjoyed a relaxing time together during the holidays. The year is passing very quickly and a number of significant school events and teaching and learning experiences have been organised and planned for this term. I encourage parents and caregivers within our community to try to take time, when you can, to support school initiatives and the learning experiences that your children will participate in this term. Our dedicated team of teachers will continue to provide relevant and purposeful learning here at St. John?s right up to the last day of the term. A Prayer for HSC Students This week our senior students (Year 12) commence the HSC. I ask that our community take a few moments to stop and offer a prayer for these young people as they participate in their assessments. Heavenly Father, we pray for all students who are sitting the HSC tests starting on Thursday. Give them the gifts of wisdom, right judgement, knowledge and courage. Bless them with calm hearts and clarity of mind as they sit for their assessments. May they be affirmed in their efforts and may they know that you are always by their side. We pray that they stay calm under pressure and work to the best of their ability. May they feel your loving presence in their lives, now and always, and may they be strengthened by the prayers we offer for them. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
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The Evangelist
Term 4 Week 1Wednesday 17th October 2018
Dear P arents/Carers,
St. John's Primary School, RiverstonePh: (02) 9854 3200
Welcome to our final term for 2018. I trust that you and your family enjoyed a relaxing time together during the holidays. The year is passing very quickly and a number of significant school events and teaching and learning experiences have been organised and planned for this term. I encourage parents and caregivers within our community to try to take time, when you can, to support school initiatives and the learning experiences that your children will participate in this term. Our dedicated team of teachers will continue to provide relevant and purposeful learning here at St. John?s right up to the last day of the term.
A Prayer for HSC St udent s
This week our senior students (Year 12) commence the HSC. I ask that our community take a few moments to stop and offer a prayer for these young people as they participate in their
assessments.
Heavenly Father, we pray for all students who are sitting the HSC tests starting on Thursday.
Give them the gifts of wisdom, right judgement, knowledge and courage. Bless them with calm hearts and clarity of mind as they sit for their assessments. May they be affirmed in their efforts
and may they know that you are always by their side. We pray that they stay calm under pressure and work to the best of their ability. May they feel your loving presence in their lives, now and
always, and may they be strengthened by the prayers we offer for them. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
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Grandparent ?s Day
The students and staff of St John?s School extends an invitation to all grandparents to join us on Friday 26th October for a celebration of thanksgiving to acknowledge all grandparents. We pray
that this day will continue to strengthen the bonds grandparents have with their grandchildren and nurture the unique tradition that they share in a family. The arrangements for the morning are as follows: Liturgy of thanksgiving at 9.30 am in the hall followed by morning tea. Our grandparents
are then invited into the classrooms for the children to share their learning with their grandparents. This is a wonderful event so please mark it in your diary. Look for the invitation
coming home with your child today.
School Book St all at Fet e
The staff of St John?s will have a ?book st all? this year at the fete. At this stage we have a significant number of books for adults. However, we are in need of more books for children. If you have any
well-loved books in good condition and would like to donate to our book stall please send books in a plastic bag to the office.
The school fete is just around the corner ? Sunday 28t h Oct ober 10am - 2pm . We hope that all our families and friends of St John?s will support our fete by your attendance. Please also
encourage neighbours and work colleagues to come along on the day. The more the merrier!
Fiver for a Farm er
I would like to congratulate and thank everyone in our community for their generous support of St John?s fundraising events to raise much needed funds to assist our drought stricken farmers.
In particular, I would like to acknowledge the work done by Miss Jefferey, her team (Miss Paes, Mrs Berry, Miss Kersten) and the SRC for organising the ?Fiver for t he Farm er Appeal' event held on 27th September. It was a great success! We raised $1,000.00 which will be used to purchase bales
of hay through ?Buy a Bale Appeal? for farmers who have been affected by the drought. The generosity of our community never ceases to amaze me when called upon to support social justice
issues. Thank you to all those who assisted in the activities: Mrs Bentley for organising and supervising the establishment of our community vegetable garden, Mrs Filopovic, Mrs Murray, Mrs
Maggio, Mrs Galati and Mrs Hofma for assisting the students in preparing and planting their garden beds.
Special mention also to Mrs Murray, Mrs Maggio and Mrs Stone for organizing the baking and distribution of the pancakes. A great effort everyone!
God Bless Patricia
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What's Coming Up19th October World Teacher's Day, M orning Tea for Staf f26th October Grandparents Day Li turgy 9.30 am, fol low ed by
M orning Tea26th October Whole School A ssembly/Cul tural Dance Performance 2.20pm28th October St John's Spring Fete 10 am - 2 pm29th October Sw imming Program commences 7th November ES1/2019 Parent Information Evening 6.30 pm
SCHOOL FEES Thank you t o t he fam il ies who have f inalised t heir t h ird inst allm ent of school fees for 2018.
The school fee st at em ent s for Bil l ing Per iod 3, 2018 are now overdue.
Please be advised that unless alternative arrangements have been made regarding the payment of your account it will be assumed that full payment will be made on or before the due date. Fees are payable in
accordance with the Diocesan School Fees Policy which states ?all fees are due and payable within 30 days of the date the school account statement is issued?. Outstanding accounts will be forwarded to
Catholic Education Diocese, Parramatta, for actioning.
Catholic Education Diocese, Parramatta, is committed to supporting families experiencing genuine financial hardship. If you are experiencing difficulties with the payment of your school fees, you are encouraged to
contact Deanne Hearnden to arrange an appointment to discuss payment options. Discussing of fees will be dealt with confidentially and each person is guaranteed that they will be treated with respect and dignity.
Fees can be paid eit her by cash, cheque, bpay, post bil lpay, direct debit or by using our EFTPOS facil i t ies. If you need t o discuss any issues in relat ion t o your school fees, please don?t hesit at e t o
cont act Deanne Hearnden on 02 9854 3200.
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The Numeracy goal for St John's for 2018 is
To develop all students ability to use reasoning
strategies to solve mathematical problems in
Number
To assist with problem solving, we have been looking at the language of mathematics and the many different ways
we can express our ideas and solutions. For example, when we want our students to add numbers together, we
may use words such as add, total, sum or equal. When dividing, we may ask students to divide, find equal groups,
quotient, remainder, left over, halve or quarter. In patterns and algebra, words such as first, last, increase, decrease,
term, missing, odd, even, first and second are words that are used to describe numbers in sequence.
You may see some of this language in homework that your child brings home or in work in their books. Each day,
teachers break down the language of mathematics with your students so they can understand increasingly more
challenging problems.
if you wold like to know more about the language of mathematics, you can look online for a mathematics
dictionary. Here is a link to one that I have found useful:
https://www.mathsisfun.com/definitions/
You can speak with your child's teacher if you are wondering about the language of maths that they will be using
for their current unit of work. This will allow you to help and encourage your child with their mathematical
thinking and understanding. If you would like more resources about this, please come and see me.
The Sacramental program for the Sacrament of Confirmation will begin next week with a parent
information session on Monday 22nd October at 4.00 pm or Wednesday 24th October at 7 pm. There
are also enrolment Masses on either Saturday 27th October at 6 pm or Sunday 28th October at 9 am.
Students that are eligible to make this Sacrament are usually in Stage 3 as they have already received
the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist. Parents who have made their Sacraments with the
parish will have already received a letter but if you have not received a letter and your child has
made the other Sacraments, please contact the Parish office.
Grandparent s Lit urgy
On Friday 26th October 2018, St. John?s will be celebrating Grandparents day with a liturgy at 9.30 am in the hall. Grandparents are very precious people who make so much of a difference in our lives. They give us unconditional love, listen to our stories, play games with us and provide us with many
memories. For this reason, it would be great to be able to share this liturgy with as many grandparents as possible. Please look for the invitation coming home with your child and rsvp by the
due date for catering purposes. Hope to see you there.
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Ear ly St age One
A f iver for a farm er
Early Stage One really enjoyed dressing up for our ?A fiver for a farmer? day and helping out with our very own garden patch! It was a wonderful experience as we were also able to link back to our Term 3 Religion ?Jesus loved and respected others?, Science ?Staying Alive? and HSIE ?People live in places? units that explored the importance of caring for God?s Creation and different ways we can help care for our special environments.
Students really enjoyed planting their own tomato and eggplant seeds, as well as researching different ways we can take care of the plants and animals in our world. It was really interesting
finding out about the many ways we were helping our farmers out during the drought!
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SECONDHAND UNIFORM SHOP
Trading HoursM onday - closed
Tuesday - Friday 2.30 pm - 2.50 pmSee Belinda Murray in the
under-croft
The Secondhand Uniform Shop urgently needs Summer uniforms
Sizes 8 - 10If you have any unwanted items in good condition please consider donating
them to our Secondhand Uniform Shop. Drop off to the school office anytime.Thank you for your continued support.
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SPORTS NEWS SW I M M I N G PR O GR A M COM M E N CI N G M ON DA Y
29T H O CT OB ER
REMINDEREMERGENCY/PERMISSION NOTES ARE NOW OVERDUE
PLEASE ENSURE ALL NOTES ARE FORWARD TO THE OFFICE ASAP, t hank you.
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Book FairThe Book Fair will arrive at St John's on
Friday 2nd November 2018A note will be coming soon with opening times and information about all the
I mogen Talbot- Woodford 23rd Sept, Amandeep Singh 25th Sept,
Cooper Stone 1st Oct, Sofia Maggio 5th Oct,
Ryan Camilleri 6th Oct, Jamie Hartz 7th Oct.
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In NSW school at t endance is com pulsory for children over t he
age of six years unt i l t he m inim um school leaving age of 17 years. What if my child has to be away from school?
If your child has to be absent from school, you must advise the school and
provide a reason for your child?s absence. To explain an absence parents
and carers may: - send a note or email the school - telephone the school, or
- visit the school and complete an absent form at the office.
A small number of absences may be justified if your child:
- has to attend a special religious ceremony - is required to attend to a serious and/or urgent family situation (e.g. a funeral) - is too sick to go to school or has an infectious illness
Children need t o ar r ive t o school and class on t im e Lat eness t o school or leaving ear ly f rom school m ust be recorded as a par t ial absence.
EVERY LEARNER EVERY DAY
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UNEXPLAINED
ABSENCES
LETTERS ARE SENT HOME TO
PARENTS/CARERS ON A REGULAR BASIS REGARDING UNEXPLAINED
ABSENCES
THIS IMPORTANT INFORMATION IS
REQUIRED URGENTLY AND NEEDS TO BE RETURNED TO THE SCHOOL
OFFICE
If your child is absent f rom school i t is t he Parent /Carers responsibil i t y t o
send t o school w it h t he child (on t heir ret urn) a w r it t en explanat ion
of t he reason for absence and it also needs t o be signed by t he
Parent /Carer .
This is a legal requirem ent .
r emindernew t el epho ne
number f o r st j o hn's pr imar y scho o l
pl ease updat e yo ur r eco r ds wit h o ur new
t el epho ne number
02 9854 3200
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EMERGENCY
CONTACTS
IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF ALL
PARENTS/CARERS TO ADVISE THE SCHOOL OFFICE IN WRITING OF ANY
CHANGES/UPDATES TO PARENT/CARERS AND EMERGENCY CONTACTS
TELEPHONE/MOBILE NUMBERS
It is imperative that the school is able to get in contact with
each and every child's emergency contacts at anytimePLEASE FORWARD ANY CHANGES/UPDATES IN WRITING TO THE SCHOOL OFFICE SO YOUR
CHILD RECORDS CAN BE AMENDED. YOU CAN ALSO PICK-UP A FORM FROM THE SCHOOL
OFFICE
Thank you for your support
Lunch orders are available on
Monday?s and Fr iday?s f rom Sam 's
Café Please write your child?s name, class and order on a brown paper bag and enclose
the correct money.
Children can then place their orders in the blue lunch order boxes located in the under-croft, near the student foyer.
Orders need t o be in t he boxes by 8.45am
SECONDHAND UNIFORM SHOP NEW
TRADING HOURSMONDAYS - CLOSED
TUESDAY - FRIDAY
OPENED from 2.30PM-2.50PMPlease see Belinda Murray in the under-croft.
STAY IN THE LOOP
SUBSCRIBE TO THE NEWSLETTER, SKOOLBAG AND CHECK OUT OUR
FACEBOOK PAGE
Website - www.stjohnsriverstone.catholic.edu.au
Facebook - St John's Primary, Riverstone
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Building Child Safe Com m unit ies
Im por t ant Inform at ion for
Volunt eers
Thank you for your interest in volunteering. The opportunities provided to students are greatly enhanced by the contribution of volunteers. All volunteers will need to complete the 'Under t ak ing for Volunt eers? Form and Training Module online before they can volunteer at St John?s, please use the link below.
http://childprotection.parra.catholic.edu.au/home
St ep 1: Com plet e 'Building Child Safe Com m unit ies - Under t ak ing for Volunt eers' Form
You will need to complete a Volunteers Form for each locat ion that you volunteer. A notification of your successful completion of the form will be sent via e-mail to the volunteering location and also to your email address.
St ep 2: Com plet e t he online t rain ing m odule
It is a system requirement that the online training module be completed by all volunteers commencing at any of our locations and the training needs to be completed every second year.
· Open the module by clicking the St ar t link below.
· Read through the presentation.
Complete and submit quiz questions (this will take approximately 10 minutes).
NOTE: IF YOU HAVE ALREADY COMPLETED THE TRAINING MODULE YOU WILL ONLY NEED TO COMPLETE THE
