Around The Primary

Dear Parents

Our Year 6 students returned from Canberra exhausted yet exhilarated last Friday night. Each individual student ‘stepped up’ to be the very best version of themselves, and this made the experience both valuable and really enjoyable for everyone involved. The staff that attended Camp 2018 were: Miss Graves, Miss Nish, Ms Allen, Mrs Gardner, Mr Fromm, Mr Hauer, Mr Henderson and myself. Each staff member packed plenty of enthusiasm, humour, kindness, wisdom and care and shared it freely and generously with all the students. Our conversations and activities centred on the following:

• Participation
• Teamwork
• ‘Having a Go’
• Having a positive ‘can do’ attitude
• Dealing with Emotions
• Cooperation and Collaboration
• Challenging Ourselves
• Learning about Ourselves and Others
• Faith, Family and Friendship

The Canberra Camp gave us multiple opportunities to talk about and reflect on so many aspects of what it means to be a good leader, a good friend and a good student. There were some interesting moments for staff as we watched the students organise themselves and their personal belongings responsibly. It was great to see students who went out of their way to help their peers; who were good problem solvers; who bounced back quickly after disappointment or frustration; who could consistently follow instructions and who were able to communicate well with tour guides, teachers and peers alike.

Whilst on this amazing Camp, we participated in a variety of educational programs on Australia's history, culture, heritage and democracy. We visited the New and Old Parliament Houses, the Australian War Memorial, Government House, the High Court, the National Capital Exhibition, the National Dinosaur Museum and enjoying the view from the Electoral Education Centre.

We also managed to fit in some more relaxing activities, such as, a river cruise on Lake Burley Griffin, walking along Anzac Parade and visiting Mount Ainslie, various sports experiences with AIS athletes and mini golf.

At the end of each day, we enjoyed a delicious meal and some peaceful time in our warm accommodation at the AIS and shared a special prayer reflection called the Examen.

It was a fantastic five days and we thank all parents for your support and trust. Special thanks to all the Year 6 Leaders who remembered to say thank you to staff at the end of camp and to all the parents for their messages of thanks.

We were so proud of each of the fifty-eight Year 6 leaders on camp and we received many lovely compliments about our young travellers.

Dear Ms De Pinto,

As a frequent flyer I felt compelled to reach out to you to commend you on the maturity, presentation and behaviour of students from your College who were on a flight on Friday 25 May from Canberra to Perth.

I must admit when I saw the students lined up to get on the plane I did think this is going to be a noisy flight, how mistaken I was.

The flight itself experienced turbulence to an extent that saw an interruption to the flight service and increased time with the seat belt sign on.  Having two children of my own I know that a delay in meal service on a plane or the inability to run to the toilet every 5 minutes could have a negative impact on their journey, however the students from John XXIII College took everything in their stride.

I would also like to comment on the fact that their maturity and good manners extended once off the flight and in the baggage carousel area.

You should be very proud of all the students and the teaching staff who were looking after the students deserve commendation also.

What a great representation of John XXIII College.

Well done!

Frequent Flyer

We would also like to thank the Australian Government for contributing towards the travel expenses incurred under the Parliament and Civics Education Rebate programme.

Enjoy the long weekend!

Kind regards

Antoinette De Pinto

Head of Primary

The Year Six students were lucky enough to spend last week exploring our Nation's Capital, Canberra. Each day was packed full of exciting, educational and fun activities. Some highlights of our amazing trip included seeing Malcolm Turnbull during Question Time at Parliament House, taking part in the Last Post Ceremony at the Australian War Memorial and listening to Paralympian Ahmed Kelly's inspirational life story at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS). We are so proud of the wonderful way the students represented our college whilst in Canberra. The Year Six teachers would like to thank Miss De Pinto, Ms Allen, Mrs Gardner, Mr Fromm, Mr Hauer and Mr Henderson who travelled with us and helped to make the camp a fantastic experience. We would also like to thank Ms McGann for all her hard work behind the scenes.

Miss Nish and Miss Graves

Year 6 Teachers

Our Canberra camp was so much FUN! Firstly, we had a great time at Parliament House as we got to see the Prime Minister arguing during Question Time which was a lot cooler than seeing him on TV. Secondly, we enjoyed Questacon because it was a balance of education and fun (but mainly fun) and it helped some of us conquer our fears (by taking on the 6 metre slide!). Thirdly, we enjoyed the Lake Burley Griffin River Cruise because we got to learn about some of the great landmarks around Canberra and then we got to have a dance party. Last but not least, we loved the awesome National Dinosaur Museum because we had an excellent tour guide who knew all about dinosaurs! Going to Canberra was special because we got to have amazing experiences, bond with our friends, learn new things and have lots of FUN at the same time!

Hannah Dale and Harry Martin

Year 6 Students

Year 4 Mass

As part of their preparation for the Sacrament of Eucharist, the students from 4B with Mrs Fontaine and Mrs Haydon prepared a beautiful liturgy for us all to enjoy. Special thanks to Fr Rodrigo for presiding at Mass this morning.

Reconciliation Retreat

In preparation for the Sacrament of Reconciliation the Year Three students spent a day at the Schoenstatt Shrine with Sister Lisette. They participated in lovely reflective sessions where they were given the opportunity to share their thoughts and understandings of forgiveness. All students were given a toy lamb as a symbolic reminder of the importance of forgiving. We hope they will share this message with their family members.

Year Three Teaching Team

Constable Care

This week we had the team from ‘Constable Care’ presented two shows to the Primary students. The shows supported the Protective Behaviours curriculum that is taught in each year level.   

The Junior Primary students were engaged during the presentation - “Fun Scary.” They learnt that there is a difference between fun-scary and bad-scary, and there is a difference between safe secrets and unsafe secrets.

The Upper Primary students enjoyed the presentation ‘Screen Time’ about online protective behaviours. They learnt about protecting personal information and how important it is to speak to a trusted adult to help resolve situations.

Both shows were enjoyed by the students and reinforced the important message, ‘everyone has the right to feel safe all of the time.’

Miss Joyce

Assistant Principal

Dates to Remember

Monday 4 June                     WA Day

Tuesday 5 June                     Yr 3-6 Cross Country Training

                                                        Parents’ Association Meeting 7pm (TMEC)

Wednesday 6 June             1B/1G Spineless Wonders Incursion

Thursday 7 June                   Year 6B Excursion to Channel 9