School Newsletter - Issue 12 - Friday, 11th August 2023
- Principal's News
- Assistant Principal's News
- Class Merit Awards
- Growing in Faith and Knowledge Awards
- Religious Education Co-ordinator News
- 100 Days in Kindergarten
- Public Speaking
- Sports News
- Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Children's Day
- Parent Engagement Co-ordinator (PEC)
- Library News
- Flyers
- Upcoming Events
Principal's News
Welcome to Week 4! It was another busy week with two absolute highlights. The first was listening to, and adjudicating, our Year 6 public speaking finals. The students had to present a prepared speech and then were given ten minutes to prepare and present an impromptu speech. Public speaking can be daunting but our 11 finalists were outstanding in every aspect.
The second highlight was celebrating our Kindy’s 100 days of school. They looked amazing and certainly played the part. A huge thanks to our Year 6 and Kindy teachers and of course our parents for all of your preparation and organisation.
The conference I attended for Australian Primary Principal’s last week was very worthwhile. I sat through some engaging speakers, networked with Principals particularly from Victoria and got some great ideas from sponsors that will hopefully enhance what we are already doing. One of the keynote speakers’ address (Simon Breakspear) was all about mastering the art of strategic subtraction, that is, what can we take away? He spoke about that we always make ‘to do’ lists’ why don’t we ever write a ‘stop doing’ list? Sounds great in theory, what could this look like in our daily lives and practices I wonder?
Canteen
We are most grateful for Helen and the many volunteers that support the running of our canteen. It can be a thankless job at times, but the canteen is always full of laughter and cheer. The canteen orders are continuing to grow and at times are up near 150 orders per day. On that note, there are times that the Qkr will be closed or certain items unavailable. This is due to any of the following reasons:
1/ Orders have exceeded stock supply for the day
2/ A shortage of volunteers. This is due to work commitments or illness. For the sake of health and safety, if Helen is short of helpers for the day, orders will be cut at a certain point so as to ensure food is properly prepared
3/ Stock unavailable from suppliers
Thank you for continuing to understand and support those who work in our canteen.
Aboriginal Learning Support Assistant
Jodie Bourke has been very stretched in her role between us and OLR. There has been a review of these
days and it has been decided that Jodie will now be working at OLR full time commencing this week. Peter Coombes will be joining us every Tuesday in her place. Peter currently works part time at Wyong and I know will be made to feel very welcome at Tumbi. Jodie was in for a short period on Tuesday to complete a handover with Peter. We thank you Jodie for your time, expertise, knowledge and commitment to our Tumbi community.
Kind regards
Principal
Assistant Principal's News
Science Week
Next week is Science Week at St John Fisher! Miss Wilkinson and Mrs Wallace have been busy planning a great week of fun and engaging science activities for the whole school. During lunch times next week, every grade will have the opportunity to participate in some science experiments, led by our Year 5 and Year 6 children.
In class, a teacher will share a variety of experiments with the students, as well as setting the challenge of creating their own self-propelled vehicle.
We look forward to a fun week!
Loggerhead Turtle Sculpture
As part of the Central Coast Council’s Lakes Festival, St John Fisher have been asked to contribute recycled and natural items to help make a giant loggerhead turtle sculpture. The inspiration for this sculpture came from a loggerhead turtle nest that was found at Shelly Beach recently, something that we don’t see too often on the Central Coast.
Creating the turtle will take place on Saturday the 4th November at the Long Jetty Foreshore (corner of Archbold Rd and Tuggerah Pde). If you have any of the following items at home and would like to add it to the collection, please bring them to school and place them in the collection box located in the school hall:
Coloured plastic that can be recycled e.g. straws, bottles, lids etc.
Natural items e.g. stones, sticks., shells, leaves, gum nuts etc.
Summer Uniform Transition
As the weather is beginning to warm up, we will shortly start our transition between winter and summer uniform. As of Week 6, children can either wear their full winter uniform or full summer uniform to school. We won’t full transition to full summer uniform for the whole school until the beginning of Term 4, but from Week 6 onwards you can decide whether your child wears their full winter or summer uniform based on the weather that day.
Stephen Lynch
Assistant Principal
Class Merit Awards
Growing in Faith and Knowledge Awards
Religious Education Co-ordinator News
Prayer from Mary MacKillop Prayers - Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart (sosj.org.au)
Mary MacKillop Liturgy
A big thank you to the Year 4 teachers and students who led us in a beautiful liturgy to 
Donations to Mary Mac’s Place
Once again we were delighted to be able to support Mary Mac’s place by donating the
$392.55 rasied from our mufti day on Mary MacKillop’s Feast Day. This donation, combined with the last one, brings our total donated to this very worthwhile cause to $922.55. If calculations are correct and a meal cost $5, we have provided a total of just under 185 meals for those less fortunate.
At the start of this term, Mr Lynch, Mrs Kate Benton our Parent Engagement Coordinator, and Mrs Tash Sheen our School Marketing Officer went along to Mary Mac’s Place with the Year 6 Mission and Wellbeing Team to present a cheque from the money raised from last term and all of the food and self-care products. The Pastoral Care and Wellbeing Team were astounded by the setup at Mary Mac’s Place along with the amount of people within our community who are in desperate need of help.
Here is what they thought:
On Monday, 1st August, the Pastoral Care and Mission team visited Mary Mac's to deliver
the food, clothing, toiletries and money our school generously donated in the last week of Term Two. When we arrived, we were greeted by a staff member who gave us a tour and showed us where they store and prepare food for those people who are struggling or alone. They told us that everyone is welcome there, no matter what they have or what their story is. We learnt that so many people use this facility and that our donations are vital to keep it active and supporting our communities. The work of the volunteers at Mary Mac's is invaluable and we have a new appreciation of how their actions and their kindness impacts others in difficult situations. After we witnessed the struggles of others, our eyes were opened, and we are keen to volunteer our time to support others in need.
Written by the PC and Wellbeing Team:
Isabelle B, Isla S, Nathaniel B, Ivy H, Alaura D, Ella H and Ella M.
A special shout out to Isla S for knitting beanies and donating them on the day also.
Assumption Mass Change of Time
On Tuesday 15th August we will be celebrating the Feast of the Assumption of Mary. We had originally planned on the Mass being held at 9.15 am, but have unfortunately had to move it to 11.40 am.
We apologise for any inconvenience and hope that you can come along to join us.
First Eucharist Candidates
Students in Year 4 are learning about the sacrament of Holy Communion. If you would like your child to make their First Eucharist and have not yet completed the enrolment form, please contact Jo at Wyong Parish on 0424 763 734.
(Students in Years 5 & 6 who have made the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Reconciliation are also warmly invited)
This is also a reminder that we invite all candidates to a Presentation Mass this Sunday at 5 pm after which, families will be able to pick their time to attend the ceremony on the 8th of September (either 5 pm or 6.30 pm) as there will be a cap of 25 per ceremony. We ask that all students attend mass weekly as part of their preparation.
Behavioural Expectations
Over the last two weeks we have been learning that:
SJF is a Safe and Happy Place when:
We are in the Right Place at the Right Time 
We have been unpacking what this means at school, for example, playing in the right area and responding to bells by coming to lines so that they're ready to learn. Being in the right place at the right time is also crucial when coming to school in the mornings as it ensures that we maximise our learning time.
Each day missed:
Puts your child behind and makes it harder for them to catch up.
Can lead to lower achievement in reading, writing and numeracy .
Can lead to gaps in learning and impact on social and emotional skills.
Year 3 students with an accumulated unauthorised absence rate of 10% in each of their first three years of schooling achieved approximately 36 points lower in Year 3 on the NAPLAN numeracy domain than students with no unauthorised absences during the same period. As students generally gain 100 points from Year 3 to Year 5 (Hancock et al. 2013), a 36 point difference is almost two thirds of a year’s growth in achievement that students with high rates of unauthorised absences fail to reach.
Luisa Lawicki
Religious Education Co-ordinator
100 Days in Kindergarten
On Wednesday we celebrated 100 ays of Kindergarten by dressing up as 100 year olds to represent how our learning has matured (aged🤪) us. In such a relatively short amount of time, the boys and girls in Kindy have made such great progress and the day was a great way to celebrate. Many little old ladies and little old men enjoyed 100-based activities and games with Yr 6 buddies and we shared a lovely picnic with our families.
Thank you to all the families of Kindergarten for helping your little ones look fabulous and celebrate their love for learning.
Public Speaking
Public Speaking Finals
Congratulations to Jax B and Giselle G who will be representing our school in the CCC Public Speaking Competition. To all the finalists you should be very proud of yourselves. Your speeches were amazing, entertaining and spoken with confidence in front of a large audience.
The Public Speaking Team:
Jax B, Giselle G, Cruz V, Senan M, Quinn G, Ciara O, Mackenzie F, Isla D, Sophia N, Ella M and Ella H.
Sports News
CCC Athletics Carnival
Congratulations to all students who represented our school at the CCC Athletics Carnival last Fridy.
Special mention to Willow T who ran the 100m in the first Multiclass race and Cooper D who was the Junior Boy Athlete of the meet. Congratulations!
The following students made it through to the Broken Bay Carnival:
Cooper D, Kai F, Ella S, Caleb N, Isaac S, Taj C and Willow T.
Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Children's Day
Last Friday on the 4th of August we celebrated Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Children's Day.
This day is a chance for all our Indigenous families and communities to celebrate the strength and culture of our children. It is an opportunity for all to learn about the crucial impact that culture, family, and community play in the life of every Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander child. This year the theme was "Little voices, loud futures".
All the children in our Yarn Up group came together for a yarning circle, we shared some amazing cupcakes to celebrate and played "Protect the Baby" which is a traditional Indigenous game that the children learned during our NAIDOC celebrations, as well as the all-time favourite, "Dodgeball"! The children were also given one of this year's NAIDOC hoodie's which were so kindly donated by Barang Regional Alliance. Thank you to Mrs Newson for taking some great pics of us celebrating! 
NAIDOC Book Illustrations
Congratulations to the following students who entered in the Charter Hall NAIDOC Book Illustrations.
Baylei W.B, Charlize P, Ellie B, Zhali D, Jade F, Aubree W.B, Kael D, Charlie B, Charlotte B, Aria B,
Lennox M and Conner Morgan whose artwork will be featured in the story book.
Jodie Bourke
Aboriginal Learning Support Assistant
Parent Engagement Co-ordinator (PEC)
SJF Advisory Meeting
On Tuesday the SJF Advisory met for our Term 3 meeting. The minutes will be available on the SJF website in the next few weeks. You are able to access minutes from all of the past meeting as well, and we encourage you do so.
“CHOSEN” Wyong Parish Youth Group
On Monday Years 5 & 6 had the awesome experience of meeting Gabbi, who is the Wyong Parish Youth Co-ordinator. She came and spoke to the students about her new youth group which we would like to encourage all of our students join. They played some fun games and Gabbi spoke to the children about what they can expect from youth group. Please see the attached flyer for more information.
“Meet the Teacher”
In each coming newsletter it will be my pleasure to bring you a little “Meet the Teacher” bio on some of our amazing teaching staff here at SJF. This week we will meet Mrs. Samantha French! (see below)
Kate Benton
Parent Engagement Co-ordinator
Library News
Premier's Reading Challenge
The NSW Premier's Reading Challenge is nearly finished for 2023. After the 18th August students will be unable to add any more books to their student reading logs. If you have questions, please check details on the website NSW Premier's Reading Challenge 2023 : Home (det.nsw.edu.au) or email Mrs O'Keeffe in the Library for support. teresa.okeeffe@dbb.catholic.edu.au
Congratulations to those who have recently passed the halfway mark :
Book Week
On Thursday the 24th August we will be celebrating Book Week at SJF. We are asking students to come dressed for our Book Parade as their favourite characters from books, movies, TV series etc, and to please bring a gold coin donation to support the Indigenous Literacy Foundation.
The parade will be held in the Hall from 9-10am, and families are invited to come and join in the fun! All are welcome to stay after the parade for our Family Story Fruit Break. Families are encouraged to bring a rug and a favourite story to share picnic style during fruit break, which concludes at 10.20am. We hope to see you there!
Teresa O'Keefe
Teach Librarian
Flyers
Upcoming Events
| Term 3 | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
| Week 5 | 14th August Year 6 Debate in the LARC 11:30 am | 15th August | 16th August | 17th August | 18th August |
| Week 6 | 21st August | 22nd August | 23rd August | 24th August 10:00 am Family Book Picnic Parent Support Group 8:00 am | 25rh August |
| Week 7 | 28th August | 29th August | 30th August Broken Bay Primary Athletics at Narrabeen | 31st August Acadamic Assessment Morning at | 1st September |
| Week 8 | 4th September | 5th September Playgroup | 6th September | 7th September | 8th September |
| Week 9 | 11th September | 12th September | 13th September | 14th September | 15th September |
| Week 10 | 18th September | 19th September | 20th September | 21st September | 22nd September Last day of Term |
