School Newsletter - Issue 2 -Friday 1st March 2024
Principal's News
Dear Parents and Carers,
Welcome to the end of Week 4, another busy week but I feel there is plenty to come! We had our first SJF Advisory meeting last week (minutes will be posted) and a part of the agenda was preparing for our parent forum which will be held on Wednesday 6 March at 6 pm. The questions were shared via Compass on 26/2. I know that those who attended last year welcomed the opportunity to share their thoughts, ideas, and feedback. We warmly welcome you to attend this year.
2024 Staff Development Days
Staff development days for the year have been posted on the Compass calendar. For this year only there are two extra SDDs that will be system-wide and dedicated to Curriculum Reform. We will be hosting some of these days with Star of the Sea, Terrigal, and OLR The Entrance. Just to keep you updated, here are the dates that we have locked in:
1/ Tuesday 2 April (the day after Easter)
2/ Monday 29 April – First day of term 2
3/ Friday 5 July
3/ Early T4 – date TBA Staff Spirituality Day
4/ Wednesday 18 December – last day for students
We are still trying to lock in a final date for our own SDD. The date and topic will be sent once locked in.
School Cross Country
Another big day at SJF. Thankfully the heat from yesterday left us and albeit muggy, the students had another great day filled with water fun, ball games, ice blocks and a cross country. Many thanks to Mr Pobjie for his organisation and workload that goes into organising the day.
Kind regards
Marcel Arendse
Principal
Assistant Principal's News
Goal Setting Meetings (Week 6)
On Monday, the Goal Setting Meeting Booking portal will be open on Compass. To make a booking, please select one of the available times you're able to meet with your child's teacher. Each booking will be for a 10 minute period.
Once again you have the option for a face to face or telephone meeting. We would love to encourage families to book a face to face meeting if possible, but we understand some families may need the option of a telephone meeting.
For families whose children have already had a personalised plan meeting, there is no need to book a goal setting meeting.
We will send you a Compass notification to inform you once the portal is live and you can start making bookings.
NAPLAN
NAPLAN testing will start for our Year 3 and Year 5 children on Wednesday, 13th March. Children will complete the Writing, Reading, Conventions of Language, and Mathematics assessments. For Year 3 and Year 5 parents, we will send out a timetable for the NAPLAN tests. If your child is absent for one of the assessments, they are able to complete the makeup test during the NAPLAN period which finishes on Monday, 25th March. We wish all the children the very best during this period.
Every Day Counts
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.
Please let us know if there is anything we can do for you and your family to support your child’s attendance each day.
Stephen Lynch
Assistant Principal
Key Dates
Growing in Faith and Knowledge Awards
Religious Education Co-ordinator News
CC sharecatholic.com
Reconciliation
We ask that for the next four weeks you keep the Year 4 students in your thoughts and prayers as they prepare for the sacrament of Reconciliation. This Sunday at 5 pm the students will attend Mass and will be presented to the congregation so that they can connect with the parishioners by picking their prayer partners.
If anyone hasn’t yet registered please follow the information below or contact
luisa.lawicki@dbb.catholic.edu.au
Sacrament of Reconciliation Enrolment form 2024.pdf
Project Compassion
Students have brought home Project Compassion boxes so that families can start to raise money for this very needy cause. Why not get some well needed jobs done around the house by getting the students to help out for donations to Project Compassion.
Click here for fundraising ideas, resources and videos
PBL: Positive Behaviours for Learning
At SJF we have one school rule:
We Make Good Choices to be Respectful Responsible Citizens
In each class, teachers unpack what behaviours help us to follow this rule. Over the past two weeks we have been:
Learning and Helping Others Learn
For the next two weeks, students will be learning:
What does speaking and acting respectfully look like in your house? How can you support your child to speak and act respectfully?
Here are some awesome websites that have excellent tips and tricks.
8 Highly Effective Ways for Teaching Kids Respect & How to Be Polite (thepragmaticparent.com)
8 Ways Parents Can Teach and Get Respect | Psychology Today
How to Teach Respect to Kids: 5 Ways to Do It (momlovesbest.com)
Luisa Lawicki
Religious Education Co-ordinator
Office News & Information
SCHOOL FEES
New BPay Reference
The preferred payment method is BPay using your new reference number on the Tax Invoice. Please note payments cannot be made over the phone.
Should you have any questions relating to your fees please contact: -
Catholic Schools Broken Bay School Fees Liaison Team
Via email schoolfees@dbb.catholic.edu.au or phone 02 7256 2888
MEDICATION FORMS
If your child requires medication to be administered at school; antibiotics, paracetamol, Nurofen, etc, a Request to Administer Medication at Schools Form must be completed. Please see form for further details.
Extended Leave Form
If your child/ren will be away from school for up to 9 school days due to travel, an email must be sent to your class teacher advising them of this absence. Parents should ensure an attendance entry in Compass has been made prior to this leave.
If your child/ren will be on leave due to travel for 10 school days or more, an
Application for Extended Leave – Travel must be completed at least 2 weeks prior to travel. Please submit this form to the school office, upon approval by the school Principal, a certificate will be issued. This certificate must always be carried on person with you during your travel.
Library Update
Thank you to all the families who have encouraged
borrowing and sharing library books as this busy year has started. There has been excitement as children are borrowing new books, some of which we have acquired due to the community's generosity at last year's Book Fair.
Book Covering
A big thank you must go out to the wonderful people who have been covering books for us: Barbara Pincott, Leanne Adamson, Kate Widdup, Adele Toomey, Vanessa Whitley, Donna Montebello, Kate Benton and our generous staff Mrs French, Mrs Foley, Miss Smith, and Mrs Rodgers. Our St John Fisher community is so lucky to have your support. Another book covering morning tea will be held next term if you would like to come along and join this wonderful group.
Returning Library Books
It has been great to see so many library bags, particularly with the wet weather we have been having. The children have embraced our new morning returns routine, where returning library books go into the cart on the COLA before school. There are still some outstanding books from last year, yet to be returned. It is important to encourage your child to keep library books in a safe place at home, so they can be returned promptly for others to enjoy. Unfortunately, last year, some younger siblings and pets were attempting to “read” library books and damaged them beyond repair. With your help, we are trying to develop responsible readers at SJF.
NSW Premier's Reading Challenge 2024
The NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge 2024 has commenced, and students
now have access to the website to begin adding their books. Students who participate will have their name added to the library display when they reach the halfway mark, and when they complete the challenge. Any books read since September last year can be added for 2024. Logins are the same as 2023 for students who participated at St John Fisher and can be confirmed during Library sessions. Any new students, including Kindergarten, will have access logins generated for them and sent home in the next week or so. For more information about the challenge, check out the Rules tab.
Teresa O'Keefe
Teacher Librarian
News from the Parish
Parent Engagement Co-ordinator (PEC)
Community Forum Evening
Next Wednesday 6th March we will have our Community Feedback Forum. Earlier in the week a post went out on Compass detailing the event and all of the topics we will be discussing on the night. This is an amazing opportunity for you, as parents to provide feedback to the SJF Advisory and the leadership team
Anxiety Parent Workshop
Our amazing counsellor Christine Hain will be facilitating a parent workshop focusing on helping children with anxiety. The workshop will take place on Monday 11th March from 9 am-1 pm. Please see the attached flyer for further information and to register.
SJF Advisory
Last Thursday evening the SJF Advisory met for the first time this year. We welcomed our new Advisory member Sarah-Jane (representing Kindy & Year 3) and our new CSP Rep Donna M (representing Year 5 & Year 6). The minutes will be available on the school website in the coming weeks.
Big Arvo
Friday 22nd March we will hold our annual BIG ARVO on the side oval from 5 pm-7 pm. This year we are bringing back the very popular chocolate toss, so save your coins! We will also welcome the “Tropical Sno” snow cone van. So pack a picnic and enjoy!Each grade will be responsible for a stall/game and as we know, many hands make light work. If we share the load on the night, everyone will be able to enjoy some time with their family and friends. Please get in touch if you can help on the night.
Canteen News
The Canteen has been a hive of activity for the last 3 weeks. Ice blocks remain the flavour of the month with the hot weather hanging about. It has taken 3 weeks to fully restock a decent supply to provide to them. Watch out for over-the-counter specials on a Wednesday or Thursday. It is great to see so many smiling faces and lovely manners being used.
QKR – PLEASE NOTE
The New cut-off time from Wednesday 27th March for all orders on every canteen day, will be 7:50 am (see compass notification).
Easter Raffle
Starts Friday 1st March. Any order made between the 1-22 March will
automatically go into the draw.
Birthday Ice Block Baskets
Ice Block Baskets are now available to order on Canteen days. There will be a trial period for these and subject to availability.
Helen Taufle
Canteen Co-ordinator
Flyers
Upcoming Events
| TERM 1 | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
| Week 5 | 4th March | 5th March | 6th March | 7th March | 8th March |
| Week 6 | 11th March Anxiety Parent Workshop 9:00 am | 12th March Goal Setting Evening | 13th March | 14th March SJF Open Day Morning Session | 15th March |
| Week 7 | 18th March | 19th March St Josephs Day | 20st March | 21st March | 22nd March Big Arvo 5:00 pm |
| Week 8 | 25th March | 26th March | 27th March Reconciliation | 28th March | 29th March
|
| Week 9 | 1st April | 2nd April | 3rd April | 4th April | 5th April |
| Week 10 | 8th April | 9th April | 10th April | 11th April | 12th April |
| TERM 2 | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
| Week 1 | 29th April | 30th April | 1st May | 2nd May | 3rd May |
| Week 2 | 6th May | 7th May | 8th May | 9th May | 10th May Mother's Day Breakfast |
