Around The Primary

Dear Families

The weather conditions were challenging for our Years 3 – 6 Interhouse Athletics Carnival today but this did not dampen the spirits of students.  It is a busy schedule of events for the day and there were some incredible individual achievements and team performances - the way our students took on the challenges, tried their very best and supported each other was extremely impressive.  

Thank you to all the family and friends who cheered our students on, a special thank you to all the parents who volunteered to help out at the finish line.  

The House Spirit Award went to Ward House, congratulations!

A big shout out to Koolyangarra House for winning the Carnival today.  The overall standings were:

Well done and thank you to Mr Williams for coordinating this successful carnival and to all staff for their efforts and enthusiasm throughout the day. 

Congratulations to Wanju Voices and Chapel Choir for their outstanding performances at the Spring Soiree last Friday night. It was a wonderful experience for the students to showcase some of the pieces they have been working on throughout the year, and to see the Secondary ensembles perform. A big thank you to parents for their support in bringing students to rehearsals. My thanks is extended to Mrs Haydon for all her wonderful work with the Choirs and Primary Music program.  

We now look forward to seeing our students light up the dance floor at the highly anticipated Primary Disco next Friday 13 September.  Just a reminder, tickets must be pre-booked for this special event https://www.trybooking.com/CUUBJ

Kind regards

Antoinette De Pinto

Head of Primary

2025 Class Placements

Each new school year brings the excitement and change of classes, teachers and classmates.  It is normal for children to have some apprehension about this.  It is also inevitable that changes to friendship groups occur as children move through the grades.  Meeting new and different people is a part of life and it is our role as parents and educators to support children through change rather than protect them from it.

I ask all parents to trust that the class your child is going into next year is one in which they will thrive. It is important to note that parental requests can only be met in exceptional circumstances and requesting a particular teacher or placement with a best friend does not constitute an exceptional circumstance.

If there is an exceptional circumstance that the College needs to be aware of, this needs to be sent directly to antoinette.depinto@johnxxiii.edu.au by Friday 20 September (last day of Term 3).  No late requests will be considered.

While written parent requests to the Head of Primary for a child to be in a particular class are considered, parents need to understand that this request may not always result in the desired outcome.

Early notification of class lists will not be provided.  Parents can feel confident that their children will always be in good hands and receive an excellent education at John XXIII College. 

Save the Date

Please save the date for the Grandparents Picnic on Thursday 10 October.  Please book here -

 https://www.trybooking.com/CUWUG

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. 

Inspire Event

In Primary we continue to use our URSTRONG program to assist the children to develop heathy happy friendships. This blog from URSTRONG is a great read for parents about to how to support their child navigate the ups and downs of friendship.

Parents, Has Your Protective Instinct Kicked In? | URSTRONG

Don’t forget to get your FREE parent membership to the URSTRONG website which is loaded with useful resources. 

Last Wednesday about 40 parents joined Martin Emery (Secondary Psycologist) and myself Anne Murphy (Primary Counsellor) for an Inspire Morning Tea to continue the conversation about strengthening children and teens against anxiety which was the topic of Karen Young’s INSPIRE presentation in July. Karen Young offers many practical strategies to build resilience in children and I recommend visiting her website Hey Sigmund - Building Courage in Kids & Teens With Anxiety If anyone would like further information about the content of Karen’s presentation please don’t hesitate to get in touch by email annemurphy@johnxxiii.edu.au 

Anne Murphy

Primary Counsellor 

Sports News

Term 4 Extra Curricular Sports 

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 News

Primary Choir and Instrumental Ensemble Rehearsals

Year 6 Ensembles

As we begin rehearsals for the Christmas Concert in Term 4, students in Year 6 Band have been invited to join the Secondary students in Christmas Band and Year 6 string players have been invited to join the Secondary students in Chamber Orchestra. 

Year 6 Band students must continue to attend Year 6 Band rehearsals in order to participate in Christmas Band rehearsals on Thursday mornings at 7:30am. Year 6 string students are invited to attend Chamber Orchestra rehearsals on Wednesday mornings at 7:00am in the Osborne Room. Year 6 strings students who are also members of Year 6 Band must attend Band rehearsal at 7:30am before joining Chamber Orchestra at 8:00am. 

Year 1 Mini Music Performance

The Year One students are very excited about their upcoming mini music performance of ‘We’re Going On A Bear Hunt.’ Please see below details. Parents and grandparents are invited to attend.

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

Catherine Haydon

Primary Music Teacher