School Newsletter - Issue 5 - Thursday, 6th April 2023
Principal's News
Dear Parents and Carers,
Welcome to week 10! It is still very hard to believe that this is the end of the term! It’s been a very busy but very enjoyable term. Very different to the last few years, we have been able to complete our school cross country, hold a successful parent forum night, enjoyed the ‘Big Arvo’ last week, attend Year 5 camp, hosted a very well attended Open Day/Night, made Easter hats and enjoyed our Easter Hat Parade and most importantly established very settled class and school routines.
Holy Week
Holy Week is a designated time during Lent to enter more deeply into the Passion of Jesus Christ. It begins on the sixth Sunday of Lent, traditionally referred to as Palm, or Passion, Sunday, or formally as “Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord”. It is generally considered the most sacred week of the Christian calendar, culminating in the Paschal or Easter Triduum, a three-day liturgical event beginning on the evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper, reaching its zenith in the Easter Vigil, and closing with Evening Prayer of the Sunday of the Resurrection (Easter Sunday).
Staff Development Day
Just a reminder that the first day of Term Two will be a Staff Development Day, followed by ANZAC Day on the Tuesday and so the first day back at school will be Wednesday 26th April.
School Photos
Don’t forget that on the first day back at school (26th April), we are having our whole school photos. Students are asked to wear their full summer uniform even if it is their scheduled sports day.
Winter Uniform
I know that you are so happy to see these words, just a precursor to think about preparing over the holidays! When the students return in Term 2, we will still be wearing the summer uniform. We will gauge the weather as the term commences before giving notice as to when we will transition to winter uniform. We will give some transition time but aiming for mid-Term Two.
2024 Sibling Enrolments
If you have a sibling that will be enrolling in Kindergarten next year, to avoid missing out on a position, it is important that you don’t leave this past the closing date. We encourage you to download an enrolment package off our website and return it to school by the end of April.
Please ensure all documentation has been included.
Canteen
The school canteen will be closed for the first week back. The first day open will be Wednesday 3rd May (Week 2)
Congratulations
It is with great delight that we announce that Mrs Nikki Hinwood and her husband Jarryd are expecting their second child later this year. As a community it is wonderful to celebrate such milestones and we look forward to following this journey with them.
I wish you all a very safe and hopefully relaxing Easter Break and look forward to seeing you all back on Wednesday 26th April.
Kind Regards
Marcel Arendse
Principal
Assistant Principal's News
Year 5 Camp
What a fantastic time Year 5 and their teachers had at Point Wolstoncroft Camp during Week 8. The boys and girls had many amazing experiences lead by the camp staff and their teachers. The children had the opportunity to participate in rock climbing, mountain bike riding, sailing, kayaking and archery. It is always great to see the children in a different environment with their friends and completing activities many of them have never tried before. As teachers, we were so proud to see how the children interacted with each other and their camp leaders as well as how they challenged themselves to try new things. Thank you also to Mrs Powell, Ms Dickson and Mr Arendse for spending two nights away from their families to give the children this fantastic experience. 
BIG ARVO
Thank you to everyone who joined us for the BIG ARVO! As a school it is always great to take the opportunity to spend time together and continue to build upon the great community culture we have at St John Fisher. The children loved the chance to interact with all of the activities and the stalls that were on offer and it was great to see parents socialising and joining in. It was fantastic event for our community, and we thank all the parents who spent a lot of time preparing and helping on the day.
Mark Taylor Shield Cricket
Our Mark Taylor Shield cricket team played their second round match against St Augustine’s on Tuesday. After a comprehensive first round victory against MacKillop College, unfortunately our team went down by a mere 20 runs in this game. It was a great effort by our team who have been the most successful cricket team in recent St John Fisher history. Thank you to Mr Pobjie for spending countless lunch times training the team and we look forward to seeing them play again in Term 4’s Waratah Shield competition.
Stephen Lynch
Assistant Principal
Class Merit Awards
Religious Education Co-ordinator News
Easter Hat Making and Hat Parade
On Monday the students had lots of fun making their Easter hats. We loved having so many mums, dads and grandparent here to help us and join in with the festivities.
Thank you
Thank you to the amazing parents that came and painted our Early Stage 1 and Stage 1 Religious Education resources. You did an awsome job.
Basketball Challenge Accepted
On Wednesday at lunch time, the Year 4 students challenged teachers to a basketball match. There were lots and lots of Year 4, 5 and 6 students who wanted to take part in the action and some very tired teachers who agreed. After a well fought game, we would like to announce that the teachers won!!!! It was very funny and a wonderful way to end the term. Thanks boys and girls.
Holy Week Celebrations
This week we have marked Holy Week in a quiet reverent way, with grades gathering in the Mass Centre to reflect on the Stations of the Cross.
A big congratulations to Reef, Savanah, Leo, Sophie, Sheridan and Airlie, who acted out the Stations and will be coming along tomorrow, Good Friday, to again re-enact it for the parish at 10 am.
ANZAC Day Dawn Service Wreath Laying and March
This year we are looking for children and families who would like to join Mr Lynch, Mrs Lawicki and Kate Benton for the ANZAC Day Dawn Service and March. The dawn service starts at 5.30 am at The Entrance Cenotaph and finishes at around 6am. Following this is a March at 11 am that start from Short Street (Next to the Police Station) and finishes at 11.30 am. We see this as a beautiful way to honour our diggers. If you would like to come along and be an SJF representative, please wear your smartest school uniform and let us know that you are coming by completing the attached Google Form.
Learning Support News
Dear parents and friends,
April is Autism Awareness Month. A time for us to advocate, ally, and understand Autism. Here are 10 essential tips for understanding neurodiversity, a great resource from suelarkey.com.au
The staff of St John Fisher will be engaging in an 'Understanding Autism' course at the start of next term, to increase our knowledge and expertise so we can further support all of our neurodivergent students. If you would like to learn more about Autism there is a free online course for parents. Follow this link to access them.
https://aus.oltinternational.net/free-short-courses
Many thanks
Tracie Woolford Learning Support Teacher
Parent Engagement Co-ordinator (PEC)
Parents
A big thanks to all of the parents who have joined us at school this past fortnight. It has been so wonderful to see you all on site engaging with each other and your wonderful children
The Big Arvo
The Big Arvo was a huge success and I want to say a special thank you to Kate Hooke who has been organising this fantastic event for the past 10 years. 2023 was her final event as Charlie is off to high school next year. Kate has worked tirelessly behind the scenes and has shown a new team of parents how it’s done to continue the tradition for years to come!
ANZAC Day
Please see the flyer attached for information on ANZAC day at The Entrance foreshore.
Term 2 Little Fisher’s Playgroup
Please join us for playgroup again in Term 2. See attached flyer for next terms dates. Can’t wait to have you all back!
Kate Benton
Parent Engagement Co-ordinator (PEC)
Easter Colouring Competition
Congratulations to all our students who 'enthusiastically' participated in our SJF Easter Colouring Competition.All the beautiful entries are now decorating the walls in our office - making it a wonderfully colourful and happy place full of Easter cheer.While it was very difficult to decide our winners, as we know everyone has tried their best, we are very happy to announce Adelaide K. Yr 4 - First Place Winner,
Sophie K. Yr 5 - Second Place Winner,
Kai N. Yr 1 - Third Place WinnerAll of our winners received an Award certificate and a delicious Easter Hamper full of yummy treats, a colouring book and pencils.
Happy Easter to all our families.
SJF Office Staff
Parish News
Easter Mass Times
The following will also be taking place in the parish:
Holy Thursday 6th April Mass of the Last Supper St John Fisher Tumbi 7pm
Followed by the Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament (Reconciliation will be available)
Good Friday 7th April Stations of the Cross St John Fisher Tumbi 10am The Lord’s Passion St John Fisher Tumbi 3pm
Holy Saturday 8th April Easter Vigil Mass St Cecilia’s Wyong 7pm
Easter Sunday 9th April Mass St John Fisher Tumbi 8.30am & 5pm
Flyers
Upcoming Events
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | |
| TERM 2 Week 1 | 24th April | 25th April ANZAC Day  Anzac Day March at The Entrance | 26th April
| 27th April | 28th April |
| Week 2 | 1st May | 2nd May | 3rd May Mother’s Day Stall | 4th May Selective Schools Exams | 5th May |
| Week 3 | 8th May | 9th May Little Fishers Playgroup | 10th May SJF Advisory Meeting 6pm | 11th May | 12th May
|
| Week 4 | 15th May | 16th May | 17th May | 18th May | 19th May |
| Week 5 | 22nd May | 23rd May Broken Bay Primary Cross Country | 24th May | 25th May | 26th May |
| Week 6 | 29th May Confirmation Information Evening at | 30th May | 31st May | 1st June | 2nd June |
| Week 7 | 5th June | 6th June | 7th June | 8th June | 9th June |
| Week 8 | 12th June Kings Birthday PUBLIC HOLIDAY | 13th June | 14th June | 15th June | 16th June |
| Week 9 | 19th June | 20th June | 21st June | 22nd June | 23rd June |
| Week 10 | 26th June | 27th June | 28th June | 29th June | 30th June |
