Term 3, Week 4, 14th August 2025
Principal's Message
Dear Parents, Carers, and Members of our School Community,
What a week it's been! The school was buzzing with excitement on Thursday for Science Week, and it was fantastic to see so many of our students engaged in hands-on learning. A huge thank you to Miss O'Leary and the Stage 3 students for leading the fun and inspiring our younger learners with their fantastic science experiments.
Our Stage 3 students also showed great teamwork and sportsmanship at their mixed netball gala day on Wednesday. It was wonderful to see them representing our school with such enthusiasm. Thank you to Aliya and Miss McEvoy for taking the students. We also had the pleasure of hosting the Communications and Marketing team on Tuesday and Wednesday, who were able to see our amazing school in action.
As we look ahead, the energy and excitement are building for Book Week next week! Get ready to "Book an Adventure!" We can't wait to see the creative costumes and celebrate the magic of reading and storytelling together.
Unfortunately, I will miss book week, as I am attending the 2025 Australian Catholic Education Conference in Cairns, but I can't wait to see photos of everyone in their costumes!
Thank you for your ongoing partnership in your child's education. By working together, we are creating a community where every child has the opportunity to reach their full potential.
Warm regards,
Dave
Term 3 Events
All of the following events are in the SCHOOL GOOGLE CALENDAR
- Monday 18th - Friday 22nd August: Book Week and Book Fair
- Monday 18th August: Year 6 Visiting Koolbeanz @ 1:30pm
- Wednesday 20th August: NORPA Dinner Party at the End of the World” Project @ 8:50am (Stage 3)
- Friday 22nd August: Book Week Parade @ 9am
- Wednesday 27th August: NORPA Dinner Party at the End of the World” Project @ 8:50am (Stage 3)
- Monday 1st September: Father's Day morning tea and Liturgy @ 8:30am
- Monday 1st September: Year 6 Visiting Koolbeanz @ 1:30pm
- Monday 1st September-Tuesday 2nd September: Father's Day Stall
- Wednesday 3rd - Friday 5th September: Stage 2 & 3 Camp in Brisbane
- Tuesday 9th - Wednesday 10th September: 3 Way (Parent, Student, Teacher) Conferences
- Tuesday 9th September: Stage 3 - Prime to High Program @ 12:20pm
- Friday 12th September: National First Aid Day
- Monday 15th September: Year 6 Visiting Koolbeanz @ 1:30pm
- Wednesday 17th September: School Community Forum Meeting 3pm
- Friday 19th September: Stage 3 Gala Sport Day
- Tuesday 21st September: Stage 3 - Prime to High Program @ 12:20pm
- Friday 26th September: Celebration of Learning @ 2pm
- Friday 26th September: Last Day of Term 3
- Saturday 27th September - Sunday 12th October: Spring School Holidays
- Monday 13th October: First Day of Term 4
Important Canteen Supply Change
Recently, I was informed that our current food supplier for the canteen, the Chincogan store, has been sold.
This will affect our usual food orders, and as a result, the canteen menu is likely to change. These changes will take effect from Week 6.
Please be assured that we are actively exploring new supplier options to ensure a smooth transition. We will communicate the new arrangements with the community as soon as they are finalised.
We appreciate your patience and understanding as we work to find the best solution for our students and staff.
A huge thank you to Ben and Jess for their support of the school canteen over the last couple of years, and we wish them all the best in their future endeavours!!!
School Community Forum Meeting - New Date!
Dear Parents,
The School Community Forum Meeting that was scheduled for this week was postponed. Sorry for the inconvenience.
The meeting has been rescheduled for Wednesday 17th September at 3pm
Thank you!
2025 Australian Catholic Education Conference
To ensure our students continue to receive the highest quality education and faith formation, I will be attending the Australian Catholic Education Conference next week. This event brings together leading experts and educators to explore new ideas and best practices in Catholic schooling.
The theme of this year's conference is centred on a "synodal vision for Catholic education," and I will be engaging with discussions on how to strengthen our school's faith-based identity and mission. The goal is to bring back fresh perspectives that will enrich our students' learning experience and spiritual growth.
Key Focus Areas for Our School
Family Engagement: I am excited about the sessions led by Dr. Steve Constantino on the five simple principles to engage every family. This is a wonderful opportunity for me to learn new strategies to strengthen the partnership between home and school, ensuring your child's success is a collaborative effort.
Student Voice: A panel discussion titled "Voices that matter, Actions that count" will feature students sharing their perspectives on Catholic education. This session is a powerful reminder of our commitment to listening to our students and empowering them to be active participants in our community.
Teaching Excellence: A number of sessions will focus on high-quality teaching, new curriculum materials, and strategies to improve student outcomes. I will be learning from world-renowned experts, including Professor Dylan Wiliam, to ensure we are always using the most effective and evidence-based teaching practices in our classrooms.
I look forward to sharing the insights and inspiration from the conference with my staff and the school community in the weeks to come. This is a valuable investment in professional development and, ultimately, in your child's future.
AWARDS
Week 4 Awards
Zone and Dio participants
LEARNING @ ST JOHN'S
Learning is in the Air!
It's been a busy and exciting time at St John's, with our students fully engaged in a range of fantastic learning opportunities. This past week, we wrapped up our celebrations for National Science Week, and it was a huge success!
Our S3 students truly excelled, becoming brilliant young scientists and leading the entire school through a variety of engaging and hands-on activities. From building marshmallow launchers to creating edible slime and even making ice cream in a bag, they showed us just how fun and creative science can be. It was wonderful to see their enthusiasm and leadership inspire our younger students. Thank you to Miss O’Leary for coordinating this event.
The creative project with NORPA, the "Dinner Party at the End of the World”, is well underway with Stage 3. The professional artists guiding them have been consistently impressed by the students' deep engagement and imaginative insights as they grapple with the project's powerful themes.
The excitement doesn't stop there! This term, Miss O’Leary has been running an ongoing STEM project. Four of our passionate Stage Three students, Ella, Samara, Edie, and Josie, were nominated to compete in the STEM MAD - Make a Difference competition for 2025!
Their project, Talk 2 Teddy, is a brilliant and heartfelt creation designed to help students with special needs feel more comfortable and confident in the classroom. Talk 2 Teddy allows teachers to communicate with these students through a teddy bear.
This innovative project involved coding an app that will allow teachers and parents to make voice recordings. The recordings are then played through the teddy bear, providing a creative way to interact with students. It was a wonderful and collaborative project for the students and their STEM teacher, and we couldn't be prouder of their effort to make a difference in our community. The team presented their project to the panel today. We are excited to hear how their presentation went.
Next week, we're diving into the wonderful world of literature as we celebrate Book Week with the theme, "Book an Adventure." We have a wide range of activities planned to spark a love of reading in all our students.
The Book Fair will be open all week, offering a fantastic selection of books for students and families to explore and order from. Our older students will share their love of reading by reading to preschoolers at Koolbeanz Early Learning Centre. On Friday, all students will participate in a school-wide special book treasure hunt where, once the clues are solved, they can enjoy literature in a variety of ways.
The grand finale will be our much-anticipated Book Parade on Friday morning. We can't wait to see our students arrive dressed as their favourite book characters, bringing the magic of their favourite stories to life! It's always a highlight of the year. Please join us in the hall at 9 am for the parade.
Science Week fun
Norpa Dinner Party
WELLBEING
Wild Things By Sally Rippin
New Book in our Parent Library
When Sally Rippin discovered her child was struggling to read, the best-selling children’s author assumed it would sort itself out over time. She couldn’t have been more wrong. Her son’s dyslexia and ADHD went undiagnosed for years, leaving him further and further behind his peers, and labelled as ‘difficult’ by an education system that couldn’t easily cater to neurodivergent kids. And by the time Sally learned how to advocate for her child, it was – almost – too late.
This extraordinary book for parents is about how we learn to read and what can happen if we don’t, through the eyes of a parent who did everything the wrong way. Through meticulous research, interviews with educational experts and conversations with neurodivergent adults, Rippin shares her brilliant and eye-opening insights into how we can help all kids find the joy in reading, and advocate for them within the limited mainstream schooling system – and maybe even help shift the system entirely. After all, they say school isn’t for everyone, but if everyone must go to school – then why not?
I’ve just finished reading this book and can’t recommend enough, to our parent community! It is very well written, easy to read, full of compassion and honesty as well as great ideas, strategies and support for any parent who is raising a child who is having a struggle of one kind or another at school.
Sally has written several high-interest fictional book series for struggling readers.
You can find them on her website below;
https://www.sallyrippin.com/ We have ordered copies of Wild Things for the parent library.
Please enquire at the front office if you’d like to borrow a copy.
Best regards, Greg
Naidoc Week
MISSION
Upcoming Masses
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary - Friday 15th August
Stage 2 and Stage 3 students will attend Mass at St John's Church on Friday, 15th August at 11:30 AM to celebrate the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Stage 3 students will be leading this Mass. Fr. David Gilbey will be presiding the mass.
Sacramental Program Sacrament of Reconciliation
We will celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation on Thursday, 11th September at 4:30 PM at Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Brunswick Heads. Please keep our candidates in your prayers as they prepare for this sacrament:
- Gemma, Arlo, Ivy, Savannah B, Savannah G
We pray that God will bless these children as they receive this sacrament.
God bless,
Ellie Bailey
SCHOOL INFORMATION
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU"
Our Birthday people
JB & Anne
COMMUNITY
