Around The Primary

Dear Families

Our Years 4-6 students had a wonderful day at the Interhouse Swimming Carnival. The spirit of sportsmanship and participation was on full display. Well done to all the students for their fantastic efforts to showcase their talents in the pool! 

A big round of applause to Mr Williams who worked tirelessly to ensure everything ran smoothly.

A special thank you to our Year 6 Sports leaders, dedicated staff, and to all volunteers for their efforts on the day. My thanks is extended all the parents and grandparents who came along to support and cheer on the students.

Congratulations to Koolyangarra House for their outstanding performance in securing this year's shield and to Ward House for taking out the Spirit Award. 

Our College Learning Goal for the next three years is: To respond to the needs of students through effective student identification, tracking of student data and differentiated learning strategies to ensure learning growth.

Our dedicated staff use innovative teaching strategies, provide timely feedback and create inclusive learning environments to assist our students to reach their personal best.  In our classrooms, good teaching goes beyond the sharing of information; rather, good teaching cultivates critical thinking, creativity, and a lifelong love of learning. Families can be proud of our teaching staff who continually strive to improve their practice. Through their dedication and expertise, they make a profound difference in the lives of our students, helping them to succeed academically and flourish as confident individuals.

Kind regards

Antoinette De Pinto

Head of Primary 

3P Photography Timetable

3P Photography will be taking individual and class photos on Tuesday and Wednesday next week in the Thomas More Exhibition Centre. 

Students must wear their school uniform on their allocated photo day.  If your child has Sport on this day, they can pack their sneakers and sports uniform (if preferred). 

Please refer to the timetable below:

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.  

NAPLAN

The National Assessment Program in Literacy and Numeracy will take place in Week 7. Students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 will be assessed in the areas of Writing, Reading, Conventions of Language and Numeracy. 

Assessments are a normal part of the teaching and learning cycle so there is no need for students to feel under added pressure during NAPLAN. Years 3 and 5 classroom teachers are spending time with their students teaching them how to navigate the screen when using the Online assessment platform. 

We encourage the students to approach the assessments with a positive mindset and to try their best.

NAPLAN Timeline

Week 5 (commencing 26 February)

Practice Tests – Provides an opportunity for students to become familiar with using the test platform.

NAPLAN online testing window 

Wednesday 13 March to Monday 25 March

NAPLAN Testing Schedule and Window

Sacramental Program – Students in Years 3, 4 and 6

Parishes have begun enrolling for their Sacrament Programs and parents are encouraged to enrol their child in their ‘home’ parish. 

The program is family-focused, parish-based, Catholic school-supported. This means that parents are respected as first educators in the faith of their children. 

The family is supported by the College Religious Education program. In Year 3, students are taught the content for First Reconciliation; in Year 4, the content for First Holy Communion and in Year 6, the content for Confirmation. Students celebrate these sacraments in their parish. 

Each Parish has a unique Sacrament program. As they become available, details from the parishes located nearest to the College will be updated on the College website. 

Parents often have questions about the Sacrament program, so don’t be afraid to ask:

• Your parish priest or Sacrament Coordinator
• The Archdiocesan website
• Email Mary-Anne Lumley mary-anne.lumley@johnxxiii.edu.au or phone 9383 0513.

Sport Update

Our Interhouse Swimming Carnival was a huge success on Tuesday!  The display of swimming was outstanding, and it was impressive to see every swimmer trying their best and really challenging themselves. We always place a big emphasis on House spirit and sportsmanship in everything that we do, and Tuesday’s swimming carnival was an incredible demonstration of these traits. It was impressive to see all our students cheering on not just their own House, but all swimmers, which created such a supportive environment and allows our students to really push their limits. 

Next week we have SSWA Academy Plate Tennis Tournament taking place on Tuesday and Wednesday and our Interschool Swimming team travels to Newman College for the IPSHA Interschool Carnival on Thursday. 

Cross-Country training continues Tuesday and Thursday mornings.  I recommend our boys tennis teams rests on Tuesday morning and the Interschool swimmers rest on Thursday morning.

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

Save the Date

Wanju Voices and Primary Singers will be performing at the upcoming Assembly on Friday 8 March. We look forward to seeing families of choir members at the choirs’ first performances for the year.  Please remember to wear your parent badge. 

Rehearsals 

Choir and instrumental ensemble rehearsals next week are as follows:

Please note that Year 6 Band will not be rehearsing in Week 6 and will resume in Week 7.

Music Photos

Music group photos will take place on Tuesday 19 March. Further information regarding the schedule and other details will be communicated via email and in next week’s newsletter.

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

Catherine Haydon

Primary Music Teacher

Extend After School Care

Please click on the following link to find out about After School Care offered by Extend including hours of operation, fees and how to book - John XXIII College - Extend

The team at Extend can be contacted via email: support@extend.com.au or call 

1300 366 437.