ST JOHN'S NEWSLETTER INSPIRING
STUDENTS FOR LIFE
TERM 4 WEEK 4

previous newsletters

A MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL

A Deep Understanding of Leadership

As we journey through the school year, I am continually reminded of the immense potential within our students and the importance of nurturing that potential through leadership opportunities. This past week, I had the privilege of witnessing our Year 5 students showcase their understanding of leadership during the School Captain and Sport Captain speeches. I was genuinely impressed with the calibre of their presentations and the depth of insight each candidate displayed regarding the responsibilities and qualities of a true leader.

Developing leadership qualities in our students is one of our most vital roles. Leadership is not simply a title, it is a journey that involves self-awareness, empathy, resilience, and the ability to inspire and positively influence others.

Through these speeches, our students demonstrated a profound grasp of these principles, articulating the values and actions they believe are essential to lead and support their peers effectively.

It is inspiring to see our students who are not only eager to lead but who also understand that leadership is about service, integrity and working together to achieve shared school goals.

Congratulations to our 2025 School Captains Deon and Scarlett. Our Vice Captains Ben and Eloise. Our Sports Captains for Dight – Emma and Jett. Goessling – Louise and Johan. Luther – Indi and Luke.

Yours in Christian service,

Brad Moss

Principal

IMPORTANT DATES

Week 4

Monday 4 November - 2025 School Captain Speeches

Wednesday 6 November - 2025 Sports Captain Speeches

Week 5

Monday 11 November - Remembrance Day

Wednesday 13 November - Kinder 2025 Transition #4Week 6

Wednesday 20 November - Year 5/6 Market Day in the Hall

From the deputy desk
School Happenings!

Assessment

Classes are currently undertaking whole class assessment to assist our teachers report on student learning for Semester Two. In addition to this assessment scheduled for each term, our teachers use a range of strategies for ongoing assessment to understand individual student needs and inform their planning, which also contributes towards our Semester Two Reports.

Year 3/4 Social Skills Sessions and Parent Infromation Session

Last week our Year 3/4 students had their first of 4 social skills sessions with Kate Rotherham from Parachute Therapy in Wodonga. Kate works as a therapist with children and teenagers and has worked as a school counsellor. These sessions will provide our Year 3/4 students with helpful understandings, skills and consistent language to take with them into their final years of primary schooling. We are so grateful for the time Kate has devoted to supporting our students in this way.

Lunchtime Clubs

We have a large number of new student-led Lunchtime Clubs this term! We’re so proud of the students from all year levels using their initiative to serve others in this way.

Remembrance Day

On Monday 11 November, teachers will discuss what Remembrance Day is in their class devotion (discussions will be age appropriate). We will have 1 minute’s silence at 11:00am and a prayer at Assembly in the afternoon for those who died or suffered while serving in wars, conflict or peace operations.

Poppies can be purchased on the morning of Remembrance Day from the School Office for $1 each. Proceeds will go to the City of Albury RSL Sub-Branch.

Alison Jafari and Anna-Marie Bothe

FROM THE CHAPLAIN

KIDS CHURCH – FRIDAY NOVEMBER 15

What does the bible have to do with Social Justice? Join us for an interactive, student led service as we learn about God’s heart for those in need.

Click here to subscribe to our Church Newsletter

ABRAHAM AND SARAH'S STORY - Bible Study

Join us as we look at the stories of Abraham and Sarah, pivotal figures of three of the world’s biggest religions today. Who were they and why are they significant? For more information, contact Peter Reed: [email protected]

BASES

Bases - design thinking and collaboration in action

At lunch and recess playtime, many of our students make use of our outdoor spaces around our oval for creative play. This year has seen an increase in students using design thinking and collaboration to create what we call 'bases'. They test and improve designs to make them sturdy and use their imagination to create the most amazing spaces for play! This creative play reflects our Student Learner Profile, and highlights how much we value these qualities which we are excited to see flowing from the classroom into the playground.

Thank you to everyone who made our school concert such a fantastic celebration of student talent!

Enjoy some photos from the evening.

CONCERT - St John's 2024 talent show

TICKETS NOW OPEN
Scan the code or click on the link to book your seats. Limited seating available so don't miss out!

Book your seats here

ATHLETICS CARNIVAL RESULTS

HOUSE CUP RESULTS ATHLETICS CARNIVAL 2024

1st Place: Dight (404.83 points)

2nd Place: Goessling (386.16 points)

3rd Place: Luther (363 points)

STUDENT INFORMATION
WHAT'S HAPPENING IN CLASS

KINDERGARTEN

Scavenger Hunt

On Friday, we had a parent come into the classroom to run a Scavenger Hunt for our Kinders. It was all based on where our food comes from around our school with clues and riddles they had to solve to find the final clue in the Front Office. They loved running around the school exploring the chickens, worms, composting containers and the native plants around. Thanks so much for the time and effort you put in to the activity, Sarah!

Writing journals

In Kinder, we have introduced out ‘Writing Journals’. We are becoming Authors and Illustrators and we have times during Hands-on Learning where we can have free writing time to write about different topics we love. It might be telling a story, writing a letter to someone, writing about something we love. We play instrumental music and just have a go at writing and drawing. It is one of our favourite activities during hands-on learning.

YEAR 1

MATHS

Our Year 1 students have been engaging in exciting math activities to deepen their understanding of numbers and geometry! Recently, we’ve introduced number lines as a helpful tool for skip counting. The students are learning to jump by twos, fives, and tens along the number line, strengthening their counting skills and building a foundation for multiplication. It’s wonderful to see them confidently moving up and down the line, discovering patterns as they go. In addition, we’ve been exploring the concept of area using 2D shapes. The students have been using informal, uniform items, such as blocks, playing cards, and even their own bodies to measure and describe the area of various shapes. By covering spaces with these objects, they’re learning that area is the “amount of space” a shape takes up. They’ve also enjoyed experimenting with different ways to fill the same space, developing a sense of composition in measurement.

MUSIC

During Creative Arts the students have been busy learning how to use an instrument (tapping sticks) to keep the beat. It was great hearing the students playing in unison and the joy and excitement that occurred when they successfully played the entire song together. What an authentic display of how we can use grit, perseverance and teamwork to achieve great things.

YEAR 2

PBL

Thank you to all those parents who have sent in different materials for our PBL unit this term. We have been investigating different types of materials and finding out about their uses. This week we will be launching our boats that were made and discover if the materials that were chosen were suitable to keep it a float.

MATHEMATICS

Student’s have been enjoying hands on and interactive games exploring the movement of the shape using turns as ‘left turn’, ‘right turn’, ‘clockwise’ or ‘anticlockwise’ when making tessellations.

WRITING

Last week Ms Mellick brought in an empty bird’s nest and the students became inquisitive as to what bird made the nest. This tied into one of our storybooks “You, Me and Murrawee“ by Kerri Hashmi. The students wanted to do some research, choosing an Australian Bird to write an information report. Check out the display in the front office.

YEAR 3/4 LK

PBL

Students have been engaged in some fun hands-on learning activities. The are continuing to develop their knowledge and understandings about forces and simple machines. As part of their learning the class has conducted experiments looking at only changing one variable at a time. The students are very keen to get started on the next part of their PBL.

YEAR 3/4 PV

The class Christmas tree is up as we prepare for our PBL this term.
For Science, we had Chappie Pete come in and demonstrate the force of gravity. (Thankfully he has his ‘ladder licence’ 😊) He showed how two objects of a different weight dropped from a height fell to the ground:

a) At different times

b) At the same time

We asked the students what happened. A lot were surprised at the results.

It was brave for some Kinder students to come in with Mrs Walsh and speak to the class about the Chook Club.
Last Friday, the girls and boys in Year 3/4 had their first of 4 social skills sessions with Kate Rotherham. The students started by playing warm-up games, highlighting the importance of communication.

YEAR 5/6

Imaginative Writing

For the past two weeks the students have been given time to write an imaginative piece using pictures as prompts. There are no guidelines or rules during these times, just free writing. We are so impressed with the work they have created so far and excited to see how we can use these as a base to critique and improve. We have been using the picture book “Mallee Sky" as an example text to inspire our writing this term.

WELLBEING and the flu season

Flu season

It's that time of year again when coughs, colds and covid are about in the community.

NSW Health advise we are currently in the moderate level of COVID-19.

For everyone to stay well this season please follow the recommendations of the NSW Government and keep your child home when sick.

You can find out more via the following links

https://education.nsw.gov.au/schooling/covid-19/advice-for-families#Staying1

https://www.nsw.gov.au/health/covid-19/testing-managing/symptoms

Whilst we understand how challenging it is to be called at work, we also know parents value a safe school and we thank you for your support.

STAY HOME WHEN SICK!

PRAYING FOR YOU

At St John's, we pray for our students and their families and staff members.
This week, we are praying for:

Week 3

Finn Condon

Leon Bradbury

Levi Eames

Pavlina Vaccaro

Week 4

Arthur Lieschke

Maeve Bryant

Darcy Wright

Ava Terlich

Jax Marshall, Claire Schwarz

James Walsh

MERIT AWARDS

Kinder

Indigo Sutcliffe and Soraya Valente
Year 1

Morgan Mason and Andy Tuohey
Year 2

Benji Keen and Ruby McWaters

Year 3/4 LK

Mannix Dowell and Evelyn Tyrrell

Year 3/4 PV

Ayeva Walters and Noah Merrett

Year 5/6 GC

Deon Byers and Louise Jarick

Year 5/6 DB

Poppy Ley and Eve Barclay

Kinder

Mia Thomson and Finnley Cox
Year 1

Millie Baird and Theo Merkel
Year 2

Sophie Wenke and Evie Pendergast

Year 3/4 LK

Mackenzie Smilie and Mia Lieschke

Year 3/4 PV

Coby Miller and Archie Mahan

Year 5/6 GC

Gan Ney Cole and Ella Mighalls

Year 5/6 DB

Frankie Tuohey and Annabel Johnston

CARPARK - SAFETY IS EVERYONES RESPONSIBILTY!

Use the footpath to enter school

Walk

Use dedicated parking bays

DO NOT walk/ride/scooter through the carpark

DO NOT park in driveways

Hats

Be like George!

Label your hat
Keep your hat in your bag
Wear your hat if the UV is 3 or higher
Look after your hat

THEIRCARE
BEFORE & AFTER SCHOOL CARE

28/10/24 – 01/11/24

Week 3: There were plenty of adventures and so many amazing stories to tell! We focused on the theme of ‘Hollywood’, ranging from movies to fashion, athletes to artists! On Monday we decorated some Hollywood stars to stick up on our wall, just to show everybody how many superstars we really have! We had yoghurt and frozen berries for afternoon tea. On Tuesday we really kicked off with some puzzles! We started (and finished!) a Pokémon puzzle and began working on a bird puzzle. We also made popcorn boxes out of paddle popsticks and paper doilies! We had Vegemite and cheese scrolls for afternoon tea. On Wednesday, there was major interest in paper dolls! There were so many children decorating their own paper clothes and dolls, cutting out each doll and designing endless outfits. We had oat and sultana cookies for afternoon tea. On Thursday we spent a lot of time in the hall playing group games, as well as continuing our puzzles and paper dolls. We had corn chips, salsa and cheese for afternoon tea. On Friday we settled down with some colouring, continued our puzzle and watched a movie while enjoying some popcorn and Zooper Doopers.

This week we are doing fun activities about tropical beaches! Bring your sunscreen, hats and smiles!

HEAD LICE

Currently we have an increased number of cases of head lice presenting at school. Please click here for a fact sheet of treatments and preventative measures which may be a support to families. If head lice is detected at school, home will be contacted. In line with school expectations, any child with below shoulder length hair is required to tie their hair back while at school. Please ensure if your child has longer hair it is tied back for the school day.

UPCOMING COMMUNITY EVENTS

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!

The Jindera Swimming Pool Committee is running the canteen again this year as there were no other people interested. It can only work well if we have enough volunteers outside the committee.The time commitment is not huge. If you are interested, please contact Jenny on 0438263417 or [email protected]

This pool is for all to enjoy so let's all support this cause.

Thanks

Jenny

ST JOHN'S NEWSLETTER INSPIRINGSTUDENTS FOR LIFETERM 4 WEEK 4