Around The Primary

Dear Families

Our two Primary choirs, the Wanju Voices and Primary Singers have worked very hard with Mrs Haydon in preparation for today’s assembly. They were very excited to share their songs in front of families and friends, and everyone certainly enjoyed their entertaining performances.  

For some of the younger students, this was their first ever performance as part of a choir. After only a few rehearsals this year, the students have done exceptionally well to learn the lyrics and music of the new repertoire, as well as the choral etiquette, and performance protocols.

It has been a busy week in sport, with students competing in the Academy Plate Tennis Tournaments and the IPSHA Interschool Swimming Carnival. 

Congratulations to all our competitors who proudly represented our College – it was a fantastic effort made by all and we are very proud of their efforts and achievements. Thank you to Mr Williams, for coordinating these sporting opportunities for our students. 

We hope you enjoy highlights from the Interhouse Carnival last week. 

It is hard to believe we are now heading towards the end of term 1. Seeing the students transition successfully into their classes and reconnecting with their peers has been wonderful. Over the term, I have collaborated with parents and teachers to work towards the shared goal of assisting children to thrive at school. This includes success in the classroom, fulfilling healthy friendships, as well as the social and emotional skills to deal confidently with challenges. 

As part of our Primary Assessment and Reporting process for Kindy to Year 6 students, Parent-Teacher interviews have been scheduled for Monday 18 March. 

These meetings give parents/caregivers and teachers the opportunity to celebrate successes, understand challenges and identify goals for children next term. Remember that a little genuine encouragement and words of thanks is always greatly appreciated by teachers. 

Special thanks to the Parents’ Association for providing $10 000 funding to purchase some ecofriendly tables/benches to use around the Primary. My gratitude is also extended to all the volunteers for their assistance on photo days in making sure the students were looking neat and tidy.

Kind regards

Antoinette De Pinto

Head of Primary 

Project Compassion – For All Future Generations

Our ‘Giving Tree’ display is looking fabulous!  We sincerely thank you for your generosity and are grateful for all the wonderful donations.

Our tree is full of leafy green leaves containing meaningful messages from the students. During library sessions and at lunch time, students often gather in front of the display, proudly looking at the various classes fundraising efforts and reflecting on ways to care for the environment, or where they have seen God in the natural environment. 

There are only two weeks left to add a leaf to our flourishing tree. We look forward to receiving any last donations so that all the donations can be counted over the school holidays. Next term, we will inform the whole school community of our fundraising total.

Thank you for supporting our fundraising initiative for Caritas.

Kylie Allen

Assistant Principal, Primary

Super Stars

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

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 next week.

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. 

It is important to encourage the students to approach the assessments with a positive mindset and to try their best.

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

What a week in sport! 

On Tuesday and Wednesday the boys’ and girls’ teams competed in the Academy Plate Tennis Tournaments.  The competition was extremely close, and players were responsible for scoring and calling lines during their games. I was so impressed at the honesty and sportsmanship displayed by all our players.  Our boys’ Team 1 made it to the grand final and won the Boys Academy Plate, playing against a very strong team from Rossmoyne Primary.  The girls' team played exceptionally well and finished as runners up in the grand final, to an experienced team from St Hilda’s. 

Thursday saw the Interschool Swimming team travel to Newman College for the IPSHA Interschool Swimming Carnival.  Our swimmers competed incredibly well against some strong competition, particularly from Newman and All Saints College.  The cheering and support from our team was immense and our swimmers returned with chests full of ribbons! 

Well done to all our students who represented the College in tennis and swimming this week.

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

Congratulations to the students in Wanju Voices and Primary Singers for their outstanding performances in assembly this morning. Thank you to all who assisted with preparing the assembly items, including Mr Johnston (piano), Mr Reimer (drumkit), Mr Jansen (sound and lighting) and Mr Haydon (video editing).

Save the Date

Wanju Voices will be singing at the 9:00am Mass at St Joseph’s Church in Subiaco on Palm Sunday, 24 March.  We look forward to seeing many families join us for this special occasion.

Rehearsals

Choir and instrumental ensemble rehearsals for next week are provided below:

Please note that Primary Singers will not be rehearsing next week.  Rehearsals for Primary Singers resume in Week 8.

Music Photos

Music group photos will take place on Tuesday 19 March. Please refer to the Music page of the newsletter for further information regarding the schedule. 

All students involved in choirs, bands and orchestras are required to wear their school uniform (not sports uniform) on this day. 

Catholic Performing Arts Festival

Entries into this year’s Catholic Performing Arts Festival open on Tuesday 12 March to all students who learn an instrument/voice, either through the College or with external tutors. 

Students learning through the College will have their applications to perform managed through the Music department.  Students learning externally can submit and return an online application.

A calendar detailing category, performance venues and dates is available online. 

Please contact the Music department with any queries at music.secretary@johnxxiii.edu.au 

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.