St John's Primary School Mullumbimby eNewsletter

Principal's Message

As we begin to look ahead to the new school year, I am delighted to share the below news and staff allocations for 2025. We are blessed with a dedicated and talented team, and I’m confident these placements will strengthen our school community and support our students' learning journeys.

We are thrilled to announce that some of our valued team members will be transitioning to permanent roles in 2025.

Congratulations to Felicity Gruft and Riley O'Leary, who will take on full-time permanent positions, as well as Karla Chartres (two days a week) and Chloe Quinn (one day a week). We also celebrate Sarah Newson and Karyn Doust on their well-deserved permanent roles.

This milestone reflects their dedication and contributions to our school community. We are grateful for the passion, expertise, and care they bring to our students and families every day.

Please join us in congratulating Felicity, Riley, Karla, Chloe, Karyn & Sarah on this exciting next chapter in their journey with us!

Congratulations to Chloe Quinn, who has been seconded to St Joseph's, South Murwillumbah in a full-time classroom teaching position for Term 1 and Term 2 of 2025. We are so proud of Chloe for this exciting opportunity and know she will bring her passion and expertise to her new role.

A heartfelt thank you to Karla Chartres for her flexibility in taking on a specialist role during this time. Karla will be stepping in to teach CAPA for Term 1 and Term 2 in place of Chloe's PE.

We also extend our sincere thanks to Chris Hosie for his dedicated work this year. Chris has been a valuable part of our team, and we appreciate his contributions to our school community. At this stage, Chris will be returning to St Francis Xavier Primary in Ballina for 2025. We wish him all the best and hope to see him again in the future.

I also want to take a moment to acknowledge and thank Molly Philips for stepping into the Support Teacher role, replacing Courtney Hyde’s support teacher time this term. Molly's dedication and care have greatly supported both our students and staff and as Molly moves on to new opportunities in 2025, we wish her all the very best for the future. Her contributions this term have made a meaningful impact, and I know you will join me in expressing our gratitude and well wishes.

I would like to thank the staff for their incredible dedication and support throughout this year. Their hard work and commitment are what make St John's a vibrant and caring learning environment for all students.

2025 Staffing

School Leaders

Principal: Dave Bermingham
Leader of Learning: Naomi O'Dwyer
Leader of Mission: Ellie Bailey
Leader of Pastoral Care (3 days/week): Greg Flint
Leader of Sport: Laura McEvoy

Teaching Staff

Kindergarten Teacher: Myree Loane
Stage 1 Teacher: Felicity Gruft
Stage 2 Teachers: Ellie Bailey (Monday-Thursday) and Riley O'Leary (Friday)
Stage 3 Teacher: Laura McEvoy
Specialist Teachers:

Karla Chartres: Specialist Teacher CAPA (1 day/week for semester one)
Riley O'Leary: Specialist Teacher STEM (2 days/week)
Chloe Quinn: Specialist Teacher PE (1 day/week for semester two)

Support Teachers

Karla Chartres: Support Teacher (2 days/week)
Riley O'Leary: Support Teacher (2 days/week)
Lisa Russell: Literacy Support Teacher (2 days/week)

Support Staff

Classroom and Learning Support Assistants:

Bernie Woodhouse (16hrs/week)
Sarah Newson (18hrs/week)

Aboriginal Education Worker: Aliya King (20hrs/week)
Library: Sarah Newson (2hrs/week)
Administration Assistants:

Karyn Doust (3hrs/week)
Tundra Snape

Student Wellbeing Officer: Anne Nethery (2 days/week)
School Counsellor: Sasha Kruse (2 days/week)

If you have any questions or concerns about these allocations, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

HOPE | First Sunday of Advent

The Season of Advent begins today - a Catholic tradition that marks the beginning of a new liturgical year and as a faith-filled community we celebrate this four-week period leading up to Christmas, signified each week by the lighting of a candle.

The first purple candle lit today represents Hope - how will you be preparing your heart & home for Christmas this Advent?

Discover ways to pray during this special time: https://bit.ly/3uE3SyQ

Ellie Bailey Leave

Ellie Bailey will be on Long Service Leave for the remainder of Term 4. We wish Ellie all the best during this time and hope she enjoys a well-deserved extended break.

During her leave, we are pleased to welcome Tahnae Andrews, who will be stepping into Ellie's classroom support role. Tahnae is familiar with our context, she brings a lot of enthusiasm, and I am confident she will be a great support to the team and our students.

Please join me in thanking Ellie for her significant contributions this year and extending a warm welcome to Tahnae as she transitions into this role for the remainder of term 4.

Awards Week 7 & 8

LEARNING

Stage Three Science and Technology: Innovating with Forces

Recently, Stage Three students embarked on an exciting journey into the world of forces and motion through a hands-on design project. Aligned with the Science and Technology syllabus, students applied their understanding of contact and non-contact forces to create innovative models capable of moving a mini figure.

The design brief challenged students to make a model of a product that could move a mini figure at least 30 cm. As part of the project, students explored how forces such as push, pull, and gravity influence motion.

Key to this activity was the design criteria, which stipulated that the models must incorporate both contact and non-contact forces. Students worked through the design process, including brainstorming, prototyping, testing, and refining their creations.

The excitement was palpable as students tested their models, engaging in critical discussions about what worked, what didn’t, and how their designs could be improved. This hands-on inquiry fostered creativity, collaboration, and resilience.

Through this project, Stage Three students not only deepened their understanding of scientific concepts but also honed key skills in problem-solving and critical thinking—essential competencies for 21st-century learners.

Below are some highlights of the project in action. Enjoy the creativity and engineering genius on display

Chris Hosie Acting Leader of Learning Acting Leader of Mission and Engagement 3-6

Innovating with Forces

WELL BEING @ ST JOHN'S

The Power of Diversity

Arabic Classes @ St John’s

You may have already heard of Ghina Bloudani! She’s a relatively new student at St John’s, yet she is contributing a lot to life at school.

Whilst Ghina’s family are Syrian, they recently immigrated to Australia from Lebanon where they’d been living in a refugee camp for eleven years. Yes that’s correct, eleven years!

Ghina has started Arabic lessons at lunch times every Tuesday in the library. The lessons have attracted a loyal following of stage two students. When I spoke to Ghina about the lessons and she explained that she really enjoys teaching her peers and hopes one day to be able to speak to them in Arabic.

Savannah B, one of the Arabic students in Ghina’s was buzzing when I spoke to her about the class: “I enjoy learning new languages as I’ve always had English as my first language.” She went on to say that “ Arabic words have different sounds and they even have genders! It is really funny sometimes when you get the sounds wrong and they come out weird. Ghina is a great teacher she gives all the kids a reward at the end of the class even if they didn’t get all the words right.”

Another student, Dylan chimed in saying, “ I like learning about Ghina’s religion and culture as well. We are learning about Arabic letters and they’re difficult because they’re different to our letters.”

From both wellbeing and learning perspectives Ghina’s story is a great success: she has progressed quickly with her language skills and all of her learning is coming on in leaps and bounds. Her teachers Miss O’Leary, Miss Chartres and Sarah Newsom have all been pivotal in assisting with this process. Sarah has at times worked one on one with Ghina to improve her language skills, while Karla and Riley have used innovative technology effectively to ensure Ghina has been able to access the learning in class.

Ghina was embraced immediately by the St John’s students, especially her classmates and she demonstrates a strong sense of belonging and this is a credit to our students and the way they have reached out to her, made her feel safe and welcome and celebrated her difference.

This story is a testament to warm and welcoming school culture we have here at St John’s. I witness examples of this culture every day. It is a credit to the students, parents and all the staff who together create the school culture.

Best regards, Greg

MISSION

A Time of Celebration and Farewell

As the year draws to a close, our school community is preparing for two significant liturgical celebrations to reflect on the year, give thanks, and farewell our graduating students.

We warmly invite all families to join us for the End of Year Mass on Friday, 13th December, at 9:30 am in St. John’s Church. This special celebration will be a time to give thanks for the many blessings of 2024 and to pray for our continued journey as a faith-filled community. Together, we will celebrate the achievements, growth, and connections that have shaped our school year.

In addition, our Year 6 Graduation Liturgy will take place at school on Monday, 16th December, at 5:00 pm. This is a poignant and heartfelt occasion as we celebrate our Year 6 students, acknowledge their contributions to our school, and send them forth with our prayers and blessings as they begin their next chapter.

Both events reflect the heart of our mission as a Catholic school: to foster gratitude, community, and hope. We look forward to coming together in faith and unity as we conclude this year and look ahead to the future.

We hope to see you there!

Chris Hosie Acting Leader of Learning Acting Leader of Mission and Engagement 3-6

SCHOOL INFORMATION

Our Journey into Podcasting

This term, Stage 3 students have taken on an exciting new challenge: podcasting! As part of our English unit, we’ve been learning about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, focusing on art, history, songlines, and Dreaming stories. The students chose topics that sparked their interest, and in small groups, they created informative podcasts to share what they learned.

Throughout the process, the students wrote and delivered their own Acknowledgement of Country, taught some Bundjalung words, and shared fascinating insights into the rich cultural traditions and histories they explored. It was a wonderful opportunity to develop their research, writing, and speaking skills, all while learning more about the history and significance of Indigenous cultures.

The Podcasting Process

The students worked closely with teachers through each step: from planning and researching their topics to drafting scripts and recording their podcasts using high-quality RODE podcasting equipment, provided by the Catholic School Office Lismore. They also learned how to edit their recordings, ensuring their podcasts sounded polished and professional.

They had a great time listening to their finished products and should be incredibly proud of all they accomplished. It was fantastic to see how much they enjoyed the creative process and how much they learned about the technical side of podcasting.

Proud Moments

The students were excited to share their work with their peers and families, and they should feel proud of the effort and teamwork they put in. Not only did they gain new knowledge about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, but they also developed new skills in collaboration and communication.

Check out their podcasts using this link!

podcast link