Around The Primary

Dear Families

Congratulations to our Year 4 students who delighted the audiences with their wonderful performances of ‘Little Shop of Horace’.

The songs, dances and acting parts were all performed with great skill and enthusiasm. The Year 4 students have been a real credit to their parents and teachers from start to finish. Quite apart from their excellent skills - the effort, commitment, and dedication they have all given since term one, and the positive attitude, teamwork, and cooperation they showed throughout the production process made us all feel very proud indeed!

I cannot over-emphasise the wonderful opportunity of being part of a school production and extra-curricular groups, such as, Wanju Voices, Primary Singers, Chapel Choir, Primary Band … are in a child’s life and educational journey. Just as happens in a sporting team, working for the common good of the group, persisting with a challenge, striving for excellence, and pushing yourself to do your best and beyond are all ways we build skills and character!

Mrs Haydon and Ms Cattapan are to be highly commended for the time, dedication, and expertise they share so generously with our students. We are so fortunate to have many staff members who are prepared to share their gifts and time, despite their very busy work lives.

Thanks so much to all the volunteers and families for your support and encouragement of the students and of our staff and for the delightful feedback we have received from parents and grandparents.

I felt I just had to send an email to tell you how much we enjoyed the Year 4 performance. Wow - the kids were just brilliant! I can't recall a time when I have seen so many happy faces.

My most heartfelt and sincere thanks to Mrs Haydon, Ms Catt and all who have been involved in this wonderful musical. I can't begin to imagine the hard work the staff have put into making sure the performance was perfect and such a fantastic experience for the Year 4s.

My son was floating on cloud nine all the way home from the Musical on Monday night. This is yet another example of the dedication of the wonderful staff at John XXlll. We feel truly blessed to be part of such a wonderful school and community.

Just a quick note to say how proud I was of the Year 4s on Monday night. Their performance was outstanding to say the least. The effort they all put in was fantastic. They are an awesome bunch!! Whilst helping with the hair and makeup, they were all so excited and well-mannered. The teachers are amazing too. 

Suffice to say we are very proud once again of all our staff and students. All the hard work and commitment has paid off, culminating in a stellar performance on Monday evening for all to enjoy.

The Year 1 students have been exploring the world of fairy tales and at today’s Assembly, they reminded us through words, actions, and songs about the magic of narratives. Thank you to Mrs Thomas, Miss Pillera, Miss McKeague and Miss D’Annunzio and Mrs Bradshaw for all your hard work and to all the parents for providing the costumes.

Kind regards

Antoinette De Pinto

Head of Primary 

Save the Date!

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 and subscribe to the Primary Calendar.

JTC Parent Party - Sold out

As a result of the sellout, a waitlist is being established to ascertain the level of potential additional demand. Find out more.

Men of John XXIII present a session with Jon Haines - Rock Solid Character

Wednesday, 30 August 2023 

Cambridge Bowling Club, 39 Chandler Ave, Floreat 

6:30pm onwards 

Tickets: $25 RSVP: www.trybooking.com/1075996 

Super Stars

Well done to all the students who received a certificate at today’s Assembly.

Student Leaders

Earlier in the Term the Year 6 students received their new leadership roles and badges for Semester 2.  Congratulations to the Year 6 Sports and House Leaders for Semester 2 2023:

House Leaders embody the mission and values of their House Founders and act as Student Representatives on behalf of the Year 6 cohort. They work alongside staff members and the broader school community to provide leadership in the Primary school.

Our Sport Leaders display a keen interest in sport and are committed to achieving their personal best. They demonstrate skill and sportsmanship in all sporting endeavours. 

Eco-Action!

As part of Science Week, Eco-Action visited the Mary Ward Primary classroom to talk about native bees. The students had wonderful time making a bee hotel to place in their home gardens. The students left the incursion buzzing with information about what bees look like, their habitat and how to help them.

Karin Ilich 

Mary Ward Primary Teacher

Book Week

It is almost time for Book Week and this year’s theme is 'Read, Grow, Inspire'. 

We have lots of fun events and activities planned for the students, including visiting authors/illustrators and competitions. The Book Week Bake Off is back again on Tuesday 22 August! After last year's amazing array of creative cakes, we cannot wait to see this year's creations. We will also be holding a Book Face competition, please send your entries to libraryhelpdesk@johnxxiii.edu.au - all entries will be displayed in the library and winners will be announced in the newsletter. If you have any questions, please email sasha.cattapan@cewa.edu.au

Sasha Cattapan

Primary Library Teacher

Zen Japanese

On Wednesday, our Year 5 students dined at Zen Japanese in Subiaco. Everyone had a great time and enjoyed eating Japanese obentou for lunch. Students had a choice of chicken teriyaki, chicken katsu, karaage or vegetable tempura. It was oishikatta! (delicious)

Rowson sensei

Japanese Teacher 

Messy fun!

In Kindy we have been celebrating Science Week by becoming scientists and conducting a few experiments. We placed mentos in coke to create an explosion and poured hot water on skittles to create a rainbow that honoured the “Matilda’s”! We also made a sprinkler out of a plastic bottle!  It was a messy week full of fun!!

Cayley King & Emma Distante

Kindy Teachers

Music Update

Year 4 Musical

Many people have helped to make the Year 4 Musical a success and we thank all of you for your hard work and support. 

Sasha Cattapan, for your assistance in directing and producing this show. The experience and mentorship you have shared has been invaluable.

Thank you to our fantastic band including Nick Pitt (bass guitar), Jack Maher (electric guitar) and Joe Bell (percussion).  Thank you also to Mike, James and Joshua Haydon for assisting with vocal recordings.

Thank you to Caitlan Anderson, for your choreography work. 

Our sound and lighting Audio Visual Manager, Jeff Jansen, who made the stage look so amazing and ensured the sound was spot on! Special thanks to Declan Fyneman who cleverly designed our lighting, and to Jack Purkiss and the audiovisual team.

Our Media crew, Jack Purkiss and Sam Tout, for their filming and editing work in the show, as well as, Brad Serls and Steve Williams for their fantastic photography work. 

Sonja Goss, Emma Eisenmann, Clare McKeague and Mary-Jane Rowbottom for their generosity of time, and their support and cooperation during the preparation of this production.

Our Head of Primary, Antoinette De Pinto, and Assistant Principals, Talea Standing and Kylie Allen, for their continued support, encouragement, and assistance during after-school rehearsals. 

The Primary staff who helped supervise the cast during rehearsals. Special thanks to Nancy Petsos for her administrative assistance. 

Our set designer, Chris Reimer who built and painted our amazing set and props. Thank you to Fiona Blaauw (Primary Art Teacher) and Steve Williams (Primary Sport Teacher) for their assistance with props and artistic ideas.

Thank you to the Maintenance Team for their ongoing assistance. 

Thank you to Mike Haydon, for designing our Little Shop of Horace poster.

All the volunteers in the costume team have worked tirelessly these past months to make sure the cast have the most amazing costumes. Special thanks to Vanessa Manifis, Frances Reed, Catherine Natale and Vanessa Reside for coordinating the costume team, as well as, organising costumes and props. Our thanks is extended to Leesa Steele, Sue Frawley and Iris Reed for their assistance with sewing. We wish to thank Victoria Plant and Patricia Byrne for designing and coordinating the make-up for the cast.

Special thanks to the Year 4 families for their wonderful support.

Writing and directing my first full production has fulfilled one of my personal and professional life goals. I am so grateful to John XXIII College for this wonderful opportunity, and to the staff, families and students who have enabled this dream to become a reality. In particular, I would like to commend the students who have brought the show to life beyond my imagining. A very special thank you to my family who have supported me from the first brainstorm to the final performance. 

Finally, a big thank you and congratulations to the Year 4 students for performing with great skill and enthusiasm. We are all so proud of you!

Choir Rehearsals 

Choir rehearsals for next week are as follows:

*Please note the changed rehearsal day for Wanju Voices and the later start time for Primary Singers (due to the Catholic Holiday on Monday). 

Catholic Performing Arts Festival 

Congratulations to the following Primary students who performed in the Catholic Performing Arts Festival this week: 

 Best  wishes to all students representing the College in the Festival next week, including Wanju Voices (Years 4-6 Choir) and Primary Singers (Years 2-3 Choir). 

Music Eisteddfod – Primary Winners’ Concert

Congratulations to the students who performed in the Primary Eisteddfod Winners’ Concert on Thursday. The recipients of the ‘Outstanding’ award in each section delighted the audience with an encore of their Eisteddfod item. All Special Mention and Outstanding awards were presented by the Head of Music, Mr Kros, and Miss De Pinto shared words of congratulations and encouragement. 

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

Catherine Haydon

Primary Music Teacher

Sport Update

It has been great to see so many Year 3, 4, 5 and 6 students at athletics training getting some practice in for all the track and field events.  Training is on from 3:30pm to 4:30pm, meeting outside the St Louis Sports Centre (Gymnasium), in the event of inclement weather, training will continue in the gym.  No sign up required, just come along!

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

Steve Williams

Primary Sport Coordinator