Around The Primary

Dear Families

We have had a productive week at school, and it has been great to see our students getting into their new routines so quickly. Our classrooms have been filled with engaging activities with lots of learning and fun.

Thank you to all the parents who took time out of their busy schedules to attend the Parent Information Sessions on Monday and Tuesday night. It was lovely to welcome back our existing families and welcome new families to our school community.  The information presented at these sessions is available on SEQTA Engage under the respective year group tabs. 

Thank you to all those families who joined us last Saturday evening at our Family Picnic – it was a perfect warm evening and a great opportunity for us all to connect with one another. A special thank you to Ric Del Pizzo, Doug Watson, and Jeff Janssen and their teams and Nancy Petsos – your generous service of our community is greatly appreciated. I’m sure you will agree that ‘foam frenzy’ did a fantastic job of keeping the children entertained throughout the evening. 

It was lovely to see people reaching out in friendship to new faces and families – thank you for the consideration you showed, as it really helped to make new families feel welcome. It is always wonderful when we have an opportunity to come together as a community – thank you so much for making the effort to come along and for the positive emails and comments shared on the night – it means so much. Here are some lovely examples:

This email is to say a very big thank you for all the hard work that went into making the 2023 Primary Picnic such a wonderful evening. Our family had a wonderful time.  We absolutely loved the foam machine.  To host such a large event takes an incredible Team.  We are so lucky to be able to experience these events at John XXIII College.

Thank you for the family picnic on Saturday night. As always, it was a great success and a lovely way to catch up with the JTC families. The foam machine was a particular hit with the kids.

The benefits of such evenings reverberate in the ongoing enhancement of the culture at the College and the engagement of so many families with the education of their kids in such a wonderful community. We walked away from Saturday evening only reminded by the ‘right’ choice we made in enrolling our kids at JTC.

Families are warmly invited to the Ash Wednesday Mass next Wednesday 22 February at 9:00am in the College Chapel. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent.

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 http://www.johnxxiii.edu.au/view/for-parents/calendars and subscribe to the Primary Calendar.

Kindy 2025 Interviews

Kindy 2025 Interviews are commencing in Term 2.  If you have not submitted an Application Enrolment Form, please do so by the end of Term 1.  For your convenience, please use this link:  New Submission (johnxxiii.edu.au)

NAPLAN

The National Assessment Program in Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) will take place in Week 7. The testing window falls between Wednesday 15 March and Monday 27 March.   

Students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 will take part in online assessments in the areas of Writing, Reading, Conventions of Language and Numeracy.  The Year 3 writing assessment is the only assessment that will be completed on paper.

To keep parents informed, a parent information leaflet will be sent home today with the students in Years 3 and 5 and further information will be provided as we approach this testing period.

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.  Prior to the assessments, students will spend some time learning how to navigate the screen when using the Online assessment platform. 

Sports Update

We had a fantastic turnout for our tennis trials and with an extremely enthusiastic group hitting some nice shots it was very difficult to choose the team!  Well done to all who came down for a hit and congratulations to those who made the team. The team list can be found on the sports board near the Year 6 classrooms. 

It was great to see so many Years 3 – 6 swimmers at swim training this week.  We are lucky to have Alec Mander (WAIS Swimmer), Matt Oberman (WAIS Water Polo) and Sarah Thompson (all round superstar) to help our swimmers prepare for the upcoming Interhouse Swimming Carnival on Tuesday 28 February. Just two more training sessions to go! 

If you have any queries about anything sport related, please contact me via email steve.williams@cewa.edu.au. 

Steve Williams

Primary Sport Coordinator

Music Update

Student Achievement:

Congratulations to Harrison Byrne (Year 4B) and Madeleine Grainger (Year 6B) for being awarded certificates of Distinction in their recent Grade 2 piano exams.

Primary Choirs:

Rehearsals are now well underway for Wanju Voices (7:30am on Mondays) and Primary Singers (8:00am on Thursdays). If your child is ill, please ensure that an email explaining their absence is sent to Catherine.haydon@cewa.edu.au

Primary Music Calendar:

Please note the following dates in your diaries:

Friday 10 March – Music Ensemble Photo Day

All College (Primary and Secondary) music ensembles (choral and instrumental) will be photographed on Friday the 10 March (Week 6). Students in instrumental ensembles will need to bring their instruments to school on this day for inclusion in the photos. Primary students are photographed in College Uniform with black shoes and College socks (no tights). 

A schedule for photo day will be distributed shortly to students involved; all photos are held in the Thomas More Exhibition Centre. Please contact the Music Office music.secretary@johnxxiii.edu.au with any queries.

Friday 24 March – Primary Choral Assembly

Wanju Voices and Primary Singers will be performing at the Primary assembly in Week 8. This will take place in the Roncalli Hall at 9:00am. Parents of choir members are welcome to attend.

Sunday 2 April – Palm Sunday Mass at St Joseph’s, Subiaco

Primary choristers will be invited to represent the College to sing at the 9:00am Palm Sunday Mass at St Joseph’s Church in Subiaco. More information regarding this special occasion will be sent out during the term.

Instrumental Lessons:

It is wonderful to see so many students enrolled in instrumental lessons through the College. To maximise your child’s enjoyment and progress, regular practice at home is essential. Younger students often need assistance in working out when they can fit practice into their daily routine, and all students benefit from the encouragement of their families. While it is appreciated that many families have busy schedules, shorter, regular practice sessions throughout the week (rather than a long session on one day) will help your child to get the best out of their lessons, as well as learning the important skills of perseverance and discipline. 

Practice Tip:

One practice idea for students finding time or motivation difficult is ‘can you play that song once for me?’ Often, the hardest part about practising is getting started. Knowing that the expectation is ‘just one song’ helps students to feel that this is a more manageable task. Additionally, once they have started, students tend to want to keep playing!

Chapel Choir:

Chapel Choir is open to all Year 2 - 12 students who love singing, with a focus on liturgical music. Rehearsals commence at 7:30am in the Chapel with Mrs Haydon and Mr Johnston. Chapel Choir then sings at Community Mass (commencing at 8am). The next Chapel Choir rehearsal and Community Mass is Friday 24 February.  Please contact Mrs Haydon for more information. 

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

Catherine Haydon

Primary Music Teacher