Around The Primary

Dear Families 

Last evening, I had the pleasure of attending the INSPIRE Parent Talk alongside many members of our College community. It was a valuable opportunity to hear from Natalie Alach, Martin Emery, Elise Svanberg, from our Wellbeing Team as they explored the important topic of emotional regulation. Through their expertise, insights, and practical experiences, families were provided with a range of strategies to support children and young people in understanding and managing their emotions.

Next Friday, 7 August, we look forward to celebrating John XXIII Day, one of the most significant events in our calendar. This special day honours our founders and rich heritage, bringing students and staff together in a spirit of gratitude, connection, and service. The day will begin with a whole-school Mass, followed by a range of mini stalls and activities. Funds raised will support Jesuit Mission Australia and Mary Ward International, continuing our commitment to making a positive difference in the lives of others.

I encourage all families to take some time to review the Year Level Overviews for Term 3. These documents provide valuable insight into your child’s learning journey and help strengthen the partnership between home and school. The overviews can be accessed through SEQTA Engage under the relevant year group pages.

Congratulations to the students who performed at today’s Primary Instrumental Ensemble Assembly. They showcased their talents with enthusiasm, confidence, and pride, delighting the audience with their performances. A sincere thank you to the ensemble directors, Mr Kros, Ms Jennings, Mr Pitt, and Ms McKenzie, for their dedication in preparing the students so well. Our gratitude is also extended to Mrs Haydon for coordinating this wonderful assembly.

Kind regards,

Antoinette De Pinto

Head of Primary 

Dates to Remember

Please check the College Website to note all the important Primary school events for your family calendar. https://www.johnxxiii.edu.au/view/for-families/calendars. By subscribing to the College calendar you are automatically alerted when details of an existing event are changed. 

Superstars

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

Shaun Tan Award

Congratulations to Isaac Xu, Year 6 on his award-winning entry to the 2026 Shaun Tan Award for Young Artists.  His entry, ‘Capybara’ was awarded 2nd place in the Upper Primary category.  

Amazing work Isaac!

Keeping Safe: Focus Area 3 Recognising and reporting abuse

It is a requirement under The Registration Standards for Non-Government Schools that all students receive a protective behaviours education. At John XXIII College our staff are trained and deliver the Keeping Safe: Child Protection Curriculum (KS:CPC) across all year groups. 

Keeping Safe is an evidence-based child safety curriculum. This term across the Primary school we are exploring the third Focus Area of the Keeping Safe Program: Recognising and Reporting Abuse.

Topics: Privacy and the body; Recognising abuse; Secrets; Cyber Safety (older years)

• Students continue to explore the concept of privacy, with an emphasis on public and private (e.g. locations and personal information) and safe and unsafe touching. Students use anatomical names for sexual/private body parts and understand that their whole body is private. They learn the meaning of consent, what it looks like, sounds like and strategies for giving and not giving consent.
• A range of developmentally appropriate situations are presented to students to help them identify physical, emotional, and sexual abuse and neglect, and what to do if they or someone they know is experiencing abuse. Students gain an understanding of domestic and family violence and explore strategies and support networks to keep themselves safe.
• Students learn strategies to remain safe in the digital and online world. They learn about media classifications of video media and computer games and explore the use of photographs and images.
• Students develop an understanding that while many secrets can be fun and exciting, some secrets are unsafe to keep. It is important for students to recognise unsafe secrets and tell a trusted adult about them.

Religious Education Assessment (REA) 

In Catholic schools across Western Australia, students enrolled in Years 3, 5 and 9 participate in a system-wide, online assessment in Religious Education. 

The purpose of the REA is to measure student learning of the mandated content in the Religious Education Curriculum. Test items relevant to each participating year level are developed by the Religious Education Directorate at the Catholic Education Office of Western Australia. The test items consist of multiple choice, short and extended response. The students’ faith is not assessed using the test items.

As a system-wide assessment, the REA informs teaching and assessment practices in Religious Education by providing classroom teachers, school and system leaders with a ‘point in time’ snapshot of student achievement. Over time, the REA also provides information about student progress in Religious Education. 

Formal student and school reports are produced from the student achievement data generated from the REA. The reports are made available to schools in Term 4. A copy of your child’s results will be sent to you. The information provided by the REA reports aims to complement the school-based assessment programs in Religious Education.

Students from Years 3 and 5 will sit the Religious Education Assessment (REA) on Wednesday 5 August.  A catch-up Assessment Day has been scheduled for Thursday 6 August. 

Please contact your child’s teacher or myself - kylie.allen@johnxxiii.edu.au if you have any enquiries regarding the Religious Education Assessment. 

Kylie Allen

Primary Assistant Principal

John XXIII Day moving to cashless purchases

John XXIII Day is one of the most significant days in the College calendar, a community day where students celebrate our founders and heritage. Highlights of the day are the House stalls and activities, which raise funds for our College partners, Jesuit Mission Australia and Mary Ward International.

This year, John XXIII Day will move to cashless purchases.

Primary parents can now order the following for their child:

• Pre-Primary to Year 2      $5 token card
• Years 3 and 4                      $5 or $10 token card
• Years 5 and 6                      $5 or $10 card (if they wish to visit other stalls)

How to order:

1. Log in to My School Connect using Parent ID Passport (PIPs), our single sign-on system. You can sign in with Google, Microsoft, Apple, or your email address, just make sure it matches the email the College has on file for you.
2. Select the John XXIII Day tile from the dashboard.
3. Choose the value of the card(s) you wish to order and click Add to Order.
4. Make payment.

Important: Orders close at 11pm on Monday, 3 August, without exception, to allow time for logistics on the College's end.

Collection and unused funds

• Cards will be delivered to student classes for collection at the start of John XXIII Day.
• Any outstanding value remaining on cards after the day will be donated, along with funds raised on the day, to our College fundraising partners.

Need help? Contact the My School Connect support team, who will be happy to assist, or visit their FAQs page for more information.

A note on email communications jtc@idmail.johnxxiii.edu.au is a valid College email address, used by our PIPs Service to send communications regarding My School Connect and related matters. To ensure you receive these, please add this address to your safe senders or contacts list ("whitelist" or "trust it") in your email platform.

Library News

We will be celebrating Book Week this term and we are so excited for all the fun events planned! The theme for Book Week 2026 is ‘Symphony of Stories’. 

Below are a few of the exciting events scheduled:  

• Book Week Poster Competition - Students may enter a poster based on the theme of ‘Symphony of Stories’. Please put your name and class on the back and hand it in at the library front desk by Tuesday 25 August. The poster must be drawn or painted by the student.

• Award winning author Sean E Avery will be visiting our library and presenting to students.

   

• The ‘Book Week Parade’ will be held on Friday 28 August.  Students may come dressed for the day in a costume inspired by a character from a book. Families are welcome to come along to the parade which will be held in Roncalli Hall at 9:00am.

Sasha Cattapan

Primary Library Teacher

Primary Sport

Soccer

Our Upper Primary Soccer teams have been training to develop their skills and teamwork in preparation for the  SSWA Soccer Championship being held on Wednesday 5 August.  It is going to be a very competitive tournament; with the energy and positivity our teams have been practicing.

Extra-Curricular Sports 

Athletics – Years 3 to 6

Beginning in Week 4, students will have the opportunity to practice track and field events in preparation for the Interhouse Athletics Carnival on Friday, 11 September. Training takes place on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 3:30pm to 4:30pm.  Meeting outside the gymnasium, bring a healthy snack. 

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 

Primary Music 

Ensemble Rehearsals

Music Eisteddfod

John XXIII College’s annual Music Eisteddfod will be held on Sunday 9 and Monday 10 August, when hundreds of young musicians will fill the College with music! Featuring students from primary and secondary in vocal, instrumental and ensemble categories, students receive feedback on their performances from our panel of external adjudicators.

Students who have requested piano accompaniment can book rehearsals through the Music Office in the leadup to the Eisteddfod. A full schedule can be found on the Music page of the newsletter.

Please contact the Music Department with any queries – music@johnxxiii.edu.au 

Catholic Performing Arts Festival 

Congratulations to the students who participated in the Catholic Performing Arts Festival this week. The festival opened with Chapel Choir singing beautifully at St Mary’s Cathedral on Monday night and Primary Piano solo performances at Zenith Music in Claremont. Best wishes to all students representing the College as they perform next week. 

Save the Date

Please note the following performance dates for instrumental ensembles and choirs.

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

Catherine Haydon

Primary Music Teacher

2026 Census Collection Notice  

Every August, the Australian Government conducts the Non-Government School Census data collection. The information provided by schools during the Census is collected by the Department of Education to:   

• ensure the provision of Australian Government funding to schools is properly calculated and appropriately managed.   
• conduct research, statistical analysis and develop school education policy for the Australian Government.   
• meet national and international reporting obligations on school students in Australia.   
• publish and provide information about schools to the public.   
• Further information regarding the Census can be accessed below and via SEQTA Documents under the Primary General category.

WA Student Assistance Payment 

The WA Student Assistance Payment helps parents and carers with cost-of-living pressures associated with sending their children to school. 

All Western Australian school students with an active enrolment at a public school, non-government school or registered for home education are eligible for the WA Student Assistance Payment. 

You can claim $250 for each secondary student and $150 for students from Kindergarten to Year 6.

The fastest and most convenient way to claim is through the ServiceWA app. More information on how to claim through the ServiceWA app is available at WA.gov.au/WASAP2026 

All claims must be received by Friday, 25 September 2026. More information can be found at the WA Student Assistance Payment.  

Notification of Absences: Important Reminder

A reminder of the change in process for notification of absences. 

If your child is absent or has an appointment (one offs and recurring), it is essential that you notify the College using the SEQTA Engage App/Portal before 8:30am, giving the reason for the absence. 

Families are still required to sign their child on SEQTA Kiosk for late arrivals, early departures and appointments.

Please note the ‘primary absentees’ mailbox is no longer in use.

Additionally, for absences extending more than 2 days during term time, parents are also required to email Antoinette De Pinto, Head of Primary and Nancy Petsos, Administration Officer, Primary.

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.