Around The Primary

Dear Families

Welcome back to Term 2 everyone!

I trust that you and your loved ones had a wonderful time together during the holidays. The students have started the Term on a positive note. They have come back to school refreshed, happy, and eager to dive into the next eleven weeks of learning and enjoyment with their peers, teachers, and families! Our message to the students is to continue putting in their best efforts and seize all the learning opportunities that come their way.

The teachers have put a lot of effort into planning and getting everything ready for the upcoming Term. We are all excited to help your child reach their full potential in all aspects of school life. In addition to the different learning activities, we have some exciting events lined up, such as Primary House Day, Interhouse Cross-Country, Mothers’ Day Mass, Kerem Camp (Year 5), Canberra Camp (Year 6), and Sacramental Reflections Days. More details on these events will be shared throughout the Term.

Our planned Evacuation Drill went smoothly this week, and the staff ensured that the students were well-prepared for this important safety practice. These exercises are an essential part of our procedures to maintain safety in our school community.

Kind regards

Antoinette De Pinto

Head of Primary 

Save the Date! Mothers' Day Mass

Dates to Remember

Please check the College Website to note all the important Primary school events for your family calendar. http://www.johnxxiii.edu.au/view/for-parents/calendars 

By subscribing to the College calendar, you are automatically alerted when details of an existing event are changed.  

Sacramental Certificates

Parents are requested to email a copy of their child’s Sacramental Certificate (Reconciliation, Eucharist or Confirmation) to Mrs Petsos in Main Administration nancy.petsos@johnxxiii.edu.au for our College records.

Sport Update

Whilst it still feels a lot like summer, our Years 5 and 6 students enjoyed the beginning of their Winter Sports on Thursday afternoon.  Please ensure students remember to bring the required safety equipment for their particular sport. 

It has been great to see numbers growing at cross-country training this week.  Next week we will begin practicing the course for the upcoming Interhouse Cross-Country Carnival so our Years 3 to 6 students can familiarise themselves with the course and plan their race!  Younger students, accompanied by an adult, are still welcome to come and run with the group.  

Term 2 Extra Curricular Sports begin next week, please sign up using the links below if you haven’t already.  

If you have any queries about anything sport-related, please contact me via email: steve.williams@johnxxiii.edu.au 

Steve Williams

Primary Sport Coordinator

Music Update

Rehearsals

Choir and instrumental ensemble rehearsals for next week are as follows:

Catholic Performing Arts Festival

Entries into this year’s Catholic Performing Arts Festival are open to all students who learn an instrument/voice through the College or with external tutors. Students learning through the College will have their applications managed through the Music Office, while those learning externally can submit and return an online application.

A calendar detailing category, performance venues and dates is available online. Please contact the Music Department with any queries music@johnxxiii.edu.au 

Pre-Primary Music

The Pre-Primary students enjoyed learning about high and low pitched sounds this week. All students had fun taking turns playing the huge concert bass drum.

Year 4 Musical

The Osborne Room was buzzing with excitement this week as the Year 4 students found out their roles in the Year 4 Musical ‘Feathers Fly – Birds the Musical.’ The students cheered each classmate individually as they received their contract, highlighting the responsibility they are undertaking through the rehearsal and performance process. The students also worked with dance teacher and alumnus Zoe Brown to learn the choreography for their opening number. 

If you have any queries regarding Primary Music, please contact me via email: catherine.haydon@johnxxiii.edu.au

Catherine Haydon

Primary Music Teacher

Counsellor Corner

Welcome back to Term 2.  It has been wonderful to see the children come into school and reconnect with friends and staff. This week I have had some questions from families about the Bondi tragedy and the request for some tips on talking with children.

• Be mindful of how much children are exposed to. More information is not reassuring.
• Give children the opportunity to discuss what they are feeling.
• Show empathy. It is very sad.
• Put it in perspective, this is a very rare occurrence.
• Reassure them clever people are working together to prevent this from happening again.
• Give them hope. There is more good in the world. Look at all the people who helped.
• Tell them what they can do to build a kinder world. Every small kind action makes the world a better place.

Justin Coulsen from Happy Families has been interviewed and provided this useful clip. Expert's advice for helping children deal with aftermath of Bondi tragedy (smh.com.au) 

He also has a podcast:

https://happyfamilies.com.au/podcast/episode/970-talking-about-tragedies?ts_post_id=88851&ts_track_num=1

If you have any concerns about your child, please contact me via email: anne.murphy@johnxxiii.edu.au 

Anne Murphy

Primary Counsellor