Around The Primary

Dear Families 

It's hard to believe that we have come to the end of the school year! It has been full of engaging learning experiences, rewarding achievements, and fun times. The dedication and hard work of our amazing staff, the enthusiastic efforts of our students, and the wonderful support of our families have all contributed to our wonderful teaching and learning journey. It is now the time to reflect and celebrate the achievements of all our Pre-Kindy through Year 6 students! We are so proud of each one of them for consistently striving to reach their personal best. 

This week our Year 6 students celebrated the conclusion of their primary education with a Thanksgiving Mass, morning tea with their families, a fabulous pool party and an exciting excursion to Adventure World. We will miss them and wish them every success and happiness as they embark on their journey into secondary school.

We are truly fortunate to have an exceptional and hardworking team of educators in our primary school. Special thanks to all staff for their dedication in inspiring, supporting, and challenging our students. I hope they all enjoy their well-deserved break. To our parent community, we extend our gratitude for your support, kindness, and trust throughout the year. 

May you all enjoy a joyful and holy Christmas. Wishing everyone a happy and rejuvenating summer holiday!

Kind regards

Antoinette De Pinto

Head of Primary

Staff News 

Next year we welcome to our team - 

Sophie Atkinson, Pre-Kindy Blue Teacher

Suzie Thomas, Year 3 Gold Teacher

Breanna Chapman, Year 5 Blue Teacher

Loredana Coenen, Year 6 White Teacher

Stacey Williamson, Upper Primary Literacy Support Teacher

Sophie Dipane, Mary Ward Education Assistant

Nicole Omodei, Mary Ward Education Assistant

Meegan Seaborn, Year 1 Education Assistant

We welcome back Jodi Joyce as our Upper Primary Numeracy Specialist and Emma Distante will be joining our Mary Ward teaching team. 

Building Update

The students have enjoyed watching the development of our three new classrooms. Each of these classrooms have been purposefully designed and built and will be fitted with air-conditioning and a large interactive whiteboard.

Mrs Blaauw is looking forward to moving into the new Art room, located near the Pre-Primary classrooms.

Miss Eisenmann and Miss Krikstolaitis can’t wait to start decorating the new Year 4 classrooms, located near the current Year 6 classrooms.

Mrs Haydon has been busy moving all the musical instruments and resources into the MacKillop Room (located near Mary Ward Primary), as this will now be the new Music room.

St Vinnies Thank you

This week we received a Certificate of Appreciation – Vinnies Christmas Appeal and a lovely note of thanks. 

On behalf of the Claremont Conference of the St Vincent de Paul Society, I would like to thank all the staff and students who assisted in the preparation of the large number of Christmas hampers we were able to provide to many of the people we call on during the year and remain in need of support.

We have just finished delivering around 50 hampers to families in need.

Could you pass on our thanks to everyone who assisted. 

Best wishes for Christmas.

John Loney

On behalf of the Conference President Henry Simmons

Semester Two Reports 

Semester Two reports for Pre-Primary to Year 6 students will be available through the College’s online communication platform ‘SEQTA ENGAGE’ this afternoon at 3:30pm. 

Instructions 

i. Please login to your SEQTA Engage account at:  https://parent.johnxxiii.edu.au

ii. Click on the REPORTS link located on the menu at the left side of screen

iii. Select Student

iv. Select 2025P, 2025S2

2025 Companions Yearbook Distribution 

Families can look forward to receiving the 2025 Companions Yearbook early next year.  All Year 12 students will receive their copy via mail over the holiday break.  For all other families, the youngest child in the family will receive the yearbook at the start of Term 1, 2026.

2026 Term Dates

The 2026 Term Dates have now been published and are available to view on the College Website - Parent Information | Term Dates | John XXIII College 

Save the Date

Saturday 14 February – Primary Picnic!

Please check the College Website to note all the important Primary school events for your family calendar - Calendars | John XXIII College 

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

Consent2Go

 Streamlining parents’ online College experience: digital updates for 2025 and 2026

Over the coming months, the College is upgrading its online platforms to assist families more efficiently access College information and manage student details. 

A trusted provider in schools across Australia and New Zealand, Consent2Go provides a digital solution to enable parents to keep their child’s health records accurate and provide consent for school events, excursions and camps. 

Consent2Go will be implemented in readiness for Term 1 2026. 

To facilitate this, the College needs parents’ help to ensure their child’s contact and health details are accurate prior to implementation. Parents received an email invitation today to update student contact and health information by Friday, 19 December. In the future, this will become a simple yearly process to keep information current. Registering and updating students’ details is a user-friendly process that will take approximately 10 minutes. 

Information regarding the implementation of Consent2Go and other digital platforms to enhance parents’ user experience was provided to all families yesterday. If you did not receive this communication yesterday or the email invitation today, please contact ithelpdesk@johnxxiii.edu.au. 

Years 5-6 Booklists Orders

Our Year 5 and 6 students will require booklist orders to be completed with the payment being made directly to Campion Education.

The Year 5 and 6 Booklist Forms for 2026 are available on College Website using the following link Parent Information | Booklists 2026 | John XXIII College. The Resource List Code for John XXIII College is – YWMW.  All orders must be completed online at www.campion.com.au by Sunday 28 December 2025. 

If you have any queries, please contact Nancy Petsos nancy.petsos@johnxxiii.edu.au in Primary Administration. 

Wellbeing Weekly

I feel blessed to be part of the John XXIII community. Each day, I am greeted by the warm smiles of students, colleagues, and parents, and am grateful for the way you have welcomed me to the school this year.

A special thank you to our wonderful students, who have given me countless moments of laughter and learning. You make every day a joy!

As we approach the festive season, I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you for your support and kindness. I wish you and your families a Merry Christmas filled with wonder, joy, and special moments together.

I look forward to seeing you all again in the new year!

If you have any queries, please contact me via email: natalie.alach@johnxiii.edu.au 

Natalie Alach

Primary School Counsellor

Sports Update

PP-Year 3 Swimming Certificates

Rare Indigo Swimming Program Certificates have been issued to all Pre-Primary to Year 3 students this week.  Please contact Hamish Johnson at Rare Indigo if you have any queries via email hamish@rareindigoswimming.com 

Christmas Holiday Sport

Tennis 

Nick Kirkbride and his coaches at City Beach Tennis Club are running their holiday camps again this summer.  Nick is offering a 10% discount to our students.  School Holiday Clinic Enrolment | Coastal Tennis | Western Australia

Soccer

Pro Football Training are running soccer camps on the College Secondary ovals in the lead up to Christmas. Check out the flyer for details. 

If you have any queries about anything sport-related, please don’t hesitate to contact me via email: steve.williams@johnxxiii.edu.au  

Steve Williams

Primary Sport Coordinator 

Music 

2026 Instrumental and Vocal Lessons

Students enrolled in individual instrumental or voice lessons will automatically be re-enrolled for 2026 unless an electronic Notice of Intent to Withdraw form is completed by Friday 6 February (end of Week 1), 2026. 

Students in Years 3 and 5, who were members of the Strings or Band Programs are required to complete an online application form, to continue with lessons in 2026. Online applications for instrumental lessons are welcome during the office closure and will be processed to start Term 1 next year.

Please contact the Music Office for any queries regarding enrolment or withdrawal from lessons.

Please note the Music Office is now closed and reopens on Thursday 29 January 2026. 

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

Catherine Haydon

Primary Music Teacher

Is your child using the Southern Route Charter Bus in 2026?

With the Fremantle Traffic Bridge closing from February 2026, adjustments will be made to the College’s Southern Route charter service. Parents are asked to review the proposed 2026 timetable and route and provide feedback by 12 December 2025. More details available here.