Around The Primary

Dear Families

As we head into a long weekend, we look back on the week we have had and celebrate the wonderful learning opportunities that have taken place.  Students continue to be busily engaged in new learning while collaborating, negotiating, reflecting and creating.

We entered into National Reconciliation Week, making connections to the 2025 theme Bridging Now to Next. Through stories and incursions, students are learning about shared histories, cultures, and achievements and are exploring ways we can work together towards achieving reconciliation in Australia.   

The 2025 Reconciliation Week artwork was created by Kalkadoon woman Bree Buttenshaw. After considering her work, we were inspired to create our own Reconciliation artwork of native plants, to display around the school.

Grace Michalka 6G

We look forward to our incursion with Dylan Collard who will share Story Telling and Language on 12 June. 

Our Year 6 students have been away all week touring our National Capital learning about our Nation’s history, culture, heritage and Australian democracy. They have visited interesting places such as Parliament House, Museum of Australian Democracy, National Museum of Australia, National Capital Exhibition, Australian War Memorial and Government House.  Students have engaged in many activities providing opportunity for both personal and educational growth. 

A heartfelt thank you to the staff who have spent the week away from family and friends to provide this incredible experience for our Year 6 students. Mrs Purcell, Ms O’Connor, Mrs Ferrier, Miss Eisenmann, Miss Krikstolaitis, Mrs Rowson, Mrs Taylor and Miss De Pinto, thank you! Your commitment to both the students and College is amazing.

Thank you also to the Parents' Association for preparing a lovely morning tea for staff today.

Wishing our school community a wonderful long weekend, enjoy spending time with family and friends on the WA Day Public Holiday on Monday. 

Kind regards,

Kylie Allen

Assistant Principal, Primary 

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. 

Bike Safety

As part of the preparations for the Canberra Camp, our Year 6 students participated in a Cycle Sense incursion and Constable Care excursion. 

Cycle Sense

During the bike incursion led by the instructors from Cycle Sense, we enjoyed riding around the netball courts and participating in the ‘slow riding challenge ‘and learning to ride in a peloton with hand signals. We developed a lot of bike skills and had fun riding around the cones. We also had the chance to have a close look at our own bikes and see how safe they are. We loved it all! It was a very valuable experience and the instructor was awesome! Zoe Groom 6G and Annabelle Knox 6G

Constable Care

Last week, the Year 6 students participated in an excursion at the Constable Care Safety School in Maylands.   We learnt the rules about riding on the road to help us develop our skills for our Canberra tour.  We rode in a ‘mini world’ which was filled with roads, traffic lights, roundabouts and even boom gates! It was surreal that everything functioned as if we were on actual roads.  We learnt many new skills and hand signals to help us feel more confident and experienced when riding in Canberra. Thea Barboutis 6B

Counsellor's Corner

Sometimes Forgive & Forget on the Friend-o-Cycle is the hardest part!

As part of the Friendology curriculum, URSTRONG helps students spot strengths in themselves & their friends. This increases children’s capacity for forgiveness and builds strength in friendships.

We all possess 24 Character Strengths in different degrees. Everyone has a different mixture or combination of strengths; some representing our top strengths. Take a look with your child/ren and encourage them to identify their own strengths and the strengths of their friends (not just their best friends)

imgurl:https://urstrong.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Character-Strengths.png - Search

Forgiveness is such a big, layered topic and there’s so much to unpack. If you would like to better understand or reinforce these lessons at home, try this activity: What is Forgiveness? 

Written by: Dana Kerford Founder of URSTRONG & Kids’ Friendship Expert

Please contact me if you have any questions via email natalie.alach@johnxxiii.edu.au 

Natalie Alach

Primary School Counsellor

Sports Update

Y3-Y5 SSWA Cross Country 

We had an amazing day at the SSWA Cross Country Carnival with over 250 runners in each race our runners did incredibly well with several top 20 finishes.  All the runners should be very proud of their efforts.  Results can be found here - School Sport WA Primary XC Championships

Cross Country Training 

Cross Country training continues on Tuesday 3 and Thursday 5 June commencing at 7:30am outside the gymnasium.  This training will help prepare the interschool runners for the IPSHA Carnival on Friday 6 June and we will be running our 1.5/2.5km courses.  All are welcome to join, please note that Year 2 students and below will need an adult with them.

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 Update

Primary Ensembles 

Please see below for rehearsal times for ensembles next week: 

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

Catherine Haydon

Primary Music Teacher

Carpark Safety

As part of our ongoing commitment to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of our students and the wider College community, we would like to remind all families about the importance of safe driving practices in the carpark.

Key Points to Remember:

• No Drop-Offs in the Carpark: The carpark is not to be used for dropping off students. This is not safe due to the high volume of pedestrian traffic. Please use the designated drop-off loop instead.
• Speed Limit: Please adhere to the speed limit within the carpark and surrounding areas to ensure the safety of all pedestrians.
• Parking: Only park in designated parking spaces. Do not park in areas that are not marked for parking, as this can obstruct traffic flow and create hazards.
• Pedestrian Awareness: Be vigilant for pedestrians, especially young children, who may be walking through the carpark. Always give way to pedestrians.
• Patience and Courtesy: We understand that peak times can be busy and stressful. Please remain patient and courteous to other drivers and pedestrians.

Your cooperation is greatly appreciated in helping us maintain a safe environment for our students and community.