St Johns College Dubbo Term 1, Week 8 2024

Principal

Dear St Johns Community,

This Sunday is Palm Sunday. Palm Sunday is the beginning of Holy Week, the most important season for all Catholics. Millions and millions of people around the world will participate in the liturgies of the Sacred Tridium, next weekend, beginning with the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday night and ending on the evening of Easter Sunday. This marvellous time in our Christian calendar is epitomized by one word - hope. The terrible agony of the death of Jesus on the Cross on Good Friday is replaced by the absolutely miraculous scene of his resurrection from the dead on Easter Sunday… but it is not just an historical re-enactment. In the six weeks of Eastertime Jesus is challenging us to give our yes to the Easter message by being people of hope, joy and optimism in the way we live our lives both here at school and at home. This is an enormous challenge for each of us as we wrestle with the daily challenges of the world we live in. I hope each family has the opportunity to participate in at least one of the liturgies of next weekend. They are an opportunity for reflection and prayer that will strengthen your faith and give rise to feelings of peace and tranquillity. I wish all families a peaceful and relaxing Easter break.

Year 10 Retreat
It was particularly pleasing and impressive to hear about the behaviour, participation and respect Year 10 demonstrated last week on their Retreat at Lake Keepit. There is no “I” in team and Year 10 are already demonstrating their understanding of one of the essential ingredients of not only learning success but leading a fulfilling adult life: teamwork! Huge thanks to all of the teachers and Fr Greg who gave of their personal time to be with the Year 10’s and enabled them to have this experience. No teacher or priest gets paid overtime for this generosity of time. Special mention must go to Mr Watts and Mrs Burden for their superb organization, their commitment and their professionalism. Well done Year 10!

Thank you to all those students who are preparing diligently for all of the assessment tasks that will need to be completed in the coming weeks. You will reap the rewards of striving for your personal best and know that you are capable and have the capacity to achieve even more in the future. For those students who are having difficulty with these assessment tasks ask your teachers for help and they will be able to assist. Asking for help is a sign of strength not weakness!

Congratulations
To Mr O’Dea and all the students who acted as volunteers and officials for the Dubbo Mud Run last Saturday with  special mention to Caitlin Scott, Year 11 and Abby Osborne Year 12 for outstanding assistance. Very impressive! Well done also to the St Johns Chess team for their fine victory over Macquarie Anglican School. Good luck for your next encounter.

St Johns is a good school lets all continue to work to make it a better school!

Yours faithfully

Ray Wooby
Interim Principal

Assistant Principal

Term 1 has been a busy one for our staff, students and families. I would like to thank all parents and families who have supported their children in what has been a relatively smooth start to the year. Those families who were with us last year would remember that by this stage in Term 1 2023 we were navigating serious storm damage that impacted half of our teaching spaces, key areas of our playground, most of our specialised classrooms and caused significant damage to our resource hub and student services. I am sure that all students will no doubt remember our temporary bathroom arrangement. By comparison 2024 has been smooth sailing. 

In the last 8 weeks, Year 7 and 9 have finished NAPLAN, Year 10 have had their retreat, the College Exhibition team have experienced phenomenal success at the Royal Canberra Show and we have had our swimming carnival. This is a great variety of opportunities that have allowed our students to shine their lights and we thank our families for their support.

Uniform
We would like to emphasise the significance of wearing our school uniform with pride and responsibility. School uniforms foster a sense of belonging and unity among students, promoting a school culture that values equality and inclusivity. Embracing our uniform policy instills discipline, respect, and a sense of identity, preparing students for success both within our school community and beyond. Therefore, all students are urged to follow our College uniform policy and uphold the tradition of wearing our school uniform with honor and integrity.

As outlined to students in our recent assembly and to parents in our newsletter, the College will be moving to a three strike system. Students who are in the incorrect uniform have been receiving lunchtime detentions throughout Term 1. From the commencement of Week 9, students' uniform detentions will begin to be tallied. When a student reaches three uniform detentions within a term they will be removed from class for a period of time and work from the senior study.

Please note that at this point the focus for years 7-10 is on wearing their formal or sports uniform on the correct days. Many students have been wearing black joggers with their formal uniform. From the beginning of Term 2 all students will be expected to wear polishable black leather school shoes with their formal uniform as per College policy.

If you are having difficulty getting your child to wear the correct uniform or are unsure what days your child should be wearing which uniform please contact the relevant Year Leader for assistance. If you have issues with the College policy please contact the Principal Mr Ray Wooby to discuss your concerns.

Playground supervision
Supervision of students begins at 8:20 each morning. We are aware that some buses arrive before this time. We ask that all students who arrive on the school premises prior to 8:20 sit in the area nearest to the science labs until playground supervision begins.

Progress Reports
These are available via the parent portal. Please see communication from the school about how to access reports via the app. If you cannot access Compass, can you please contact the Front Office so that they can support you.

PTSC
Parent Teacher Student Conferences will take place Wednesday Week 9 (27th March) from 3:30-7:30. These are an opportunity to discuss achievements and challenges as students progress through 2024. Bookings can be made via the Compass app.

Many teachers are already at maximum capacity. If you would like a teacher to contact you and you cannot make a booking, please contact Emma Chater (e.chater@bth.catholic.edu.au) or Catherine Jones (c.jones@bth.catholic.edu.au). Teachers will then make contact with you via phone or email before the end of Week 10.

Please do not show up on the night without a booking. It is very likely that you will be turned away, especially if a teacher that you wish to see is heavily booked out for the night.

Warm regards

Mrs Emma Chater
Assistant Principal - Acting

Religious Education

Dear Families,

I always love this time of year. The weather is perfect and as a Christian, I enjoy preparing for Easter. We are always so busy that sometimes we forget to take the time to think about what Easter means to us. If you think about Jesus as a man with feelings, this week leading up to Easter is extremely powerful. This Sunday is Palm Sunday. Jesus rode into town like a celebrity. The crowds saw him as a king. Five days later he was dead. Crucified at the request of the same people who had claimed their love for him on Palm Sunday. Jesus knew he was going to die. That God had asked him to be a sacrifice for us. Jesus was betrayed by a friend. Jesus was tortured, physically and mentally, and eventually died an agonising death. In this lead up to Easter, it is only right that we cast our minds to the experience of Jesus. That we remind ourselves that Jesus died for us. It is a time to think about whether we are living lives worthy of this sacrifice. 

The tradition of eggs on Easter Sunday is of course symbolic of new life. In the same way that Jesus rose from the dead, we are asked to rise from our past mistakes and transgressions and start again. If we are not proud of the way we have conducted ourselves or treated others, we turn over a new leaf and start again. 

I encourage all families to attend at least one Mass service across the Easter weekend. The Good Friday service at 3pm is extremely moving, with students from the College performing the Passion play. Easter Sunday is always an extremely joyous service. I would like to put the challenge to families that they consider the real meaning of Easter and attend Mass together. 

Last week (Week 7), I had the absolute pleasure of taking our Year 10 students to Lake Keepit Sport and Recreation Centre for their Retreat. Students took part in physical activities such as mud run, kayaking, biking, archery, stand up paddle boarding and raft building. The purpose of this is to ask students to step outside their comfort zones, work in a team, show resilience and encourage others. At night, we reflected on who we were, the gifts we have to share and the uniqueness of each Year 10 student. Whilst a retreat has many purposes, one of the most important is to bring students together as a year group. To bond as a cohort. To make new friends and cement established friendships. There was lots of laughter and many meaningful moments. Our Year 10 students were kind and respectful of one another and of staff. Year 10 parents and guardians should be very proud of their children. I would like to thank all staff who attended the retreat. As you can imagine, it is hard and tiring work plus time away from home, but every staff member gave their all. Thank you to Kirk Watts, Adam Caton, Tim Long, Hugh Gibbons, Luke Doyle, Tegan Douglas, Naomi Clark, Danielle Stein, Emma Rice and Eliza Jarman our counsellor. Once again, the amazing Father Greg gave of his time to come along and give spiritual guidance, leading Mass and even showing his skill on the giant slip and slide! We are truly blessed to have Fr Greg at the College.

Our postponed Year 7 Retreat takes place on Tuesday and Wednesday of Week 10 - I look forward to sharing news and photos of that Retreat in our next newsletter.

Warm regards

Elissa Burden
Leader of Ministry and Mission

Year 10 Retreat

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Learning and Teaching

Progress Reports and Parent Teacher Student Conferences
Interim reports are now available through Compass. These focus on the habits of learning - those things that, if done well, will ensure ongoing success, like response to feedback and focus on independent tasks. They are a useful document in preparing students, teachers and parents for Parent Teacher Student Conferences in Week 9. If you have not booked your conferences, you can do so in Compass - if using the app, you will need to “open in browser”.

Assessments
In our last newsletter I included some information about the importance of assessment and support at home for assessment tasks. I have included these points again, because assessment is so important for growing learning, getting meaningful feedback, assigning grades, and developing a pathway through future years of schooling.

Putting in effort:

• How you perform in assessment tasks helps teachers to work out your grade (A-E). 
• Submitting your best work helps the teacher to give you the right feedback, so you can continue to get better.
• If you are in Year 9&10, it helps to work out what subjects you should be selecting in Year 11&12. 
• And, it goes without saying, working hard on more difficult and independent tasks will help you learn the skills and content better. 

Working on assessments at home and support from parents:

• Help them to develop their executive functioning skills through scheduling time for schoolwork and ensuring they know their assessment dates and what’s coming up.
• With them, check in on how they are going and compare their progress with the performance outlined in the marking rubric in the task.
• If they are unsure of something, remind them that their lessons are on Canvas and they can go back and relearn it.
• If they are preparing for a test, quiz them on the content. 
• Help them to edit their writing, improving grammar, spelling and punctuation. 
• Look at feedback with them. 

Assessment and Feedback

Teachers will be providing feedback to students on their assessment tasks via CANVAS. You can see written comments, marks, grades and rubrics. There is also a mark comparison graph that helps students recognise their performance against that of the cohort. 

This article gives useful step-by-step information for viewing feedback in CANVAS if this is the first time students or parents have used this function.

How do I view my grades?

Canvas logins now in your inbox

Parents received Canvas logins via email in Week 6. If you haven’t had a chance to investigate the platform yet, now would be a great time, as students are submitting tasks and receiving feedback over the next few weeks. 

Like any new tech, it might feel a bit confusing at first, but the best way to learn is through use. Fortunately, you have a budding expert in Canvas living in your home. They will be a great resource and teacher. 

If you did not get your login, it means that we may not have the correct email for you in Compass. Please contact our admin staff to help you update your details and get your login. 

Literacy Focus 2024 and the College Writing Rubric

Our Literacy Coach Lisa Williams and I attended the CSSA Symposium for writing across the curriculum. Many of our plans and processes were reinforced by the experts. Here are some of the key ideas:

• As a 7 - 12 school, we are all teachers of Year 12, as what we do with writing in Years 7 - 10 supports HSC success
• Specific writing requirements are in every new syllabus
• We are implementing a whole school approach to writing, and within this, a focus on the skills particular to each subject 
• Writing is key to HSC success

Warm regards

Catherine Jones
Leader of Teaching and Learning

Pathways and Careers

Walanga Muru (Macquarie University) Visit

Representatives from Walanga Muru presented to interested Year 9-12 Aboriginal Students about university camps for juniors & seniors and opportunities for seniors to plan pathways into university studies including early entry, scholarship and support whilst studying.

Kerry-Lyn Strain - VET and Stage 5 Future Pathways  k.strain@bth.catholic.edu.au
Patricia Strahorn - ASPA and Stage 6 Future Pathways p.strahorn@bth.catholic.edu.au

Resource Hub - Library

Book Review

Mrs Bruce - Teacher Librarian
Miss Lappa - Library Technician

Harmony Day

Did you know that at St Johns College we have over 20 different nationalities and cultures represented among our students? Our students and their families speak over 30 other languages as well as English. Australia is a vibrant and multicultural country — from the oldest continuous culture of our first Australians to the cultures of our newest arrivals from around the world. Harmony Month (18 March 2024 - 19 April 2024) is about inclusiveness, respect and belonging for all Australians, regardless of cultural or linguistic background, united by a set of core Australian values.

Mrs Patricia Strahorn
Stage 6 Pathways & ASPA Coordinator

2025 Year 7 Enrolments Closing Soon

Enrolments close Friday 12th April 2024.

Attendance

For further Compass information plesae refer to our website

Chess

NSW Junior Chess League Competition

The SJC Chess Team played its first game in the NSW Junior Chess League Competition - Western Region against Macquarie Anglican Grammar School on Tuesday 19th March at the St. Johns College Library.

The competition was both quite competitive and enjoyable. St.Johns won this game and will move on to the next round.

Our Chess Team players, Eamonn, Sarayu, Milind and Callum enjoyed the challenge, with Archie and Leanne attending the game as reserves and practicing their skills.  

We look forward to the next round of the competition for Western Region.

Mrs Rhonda Bruce
Chess Team Leader

Sport

Zac Selected for the NSW CCC Golf Team.

Congratulations to Zac G who has gained selection in the NSW CCC team to compete at the NSW All Schools Golf Championships to be held in June. He played some excellent golf to achieve the 8th best score on the day, gaining his selection in the CCC team.

St Johns College Teachers Show Us How It's Done

Well done to four St Johns College teachers who travelled to Orange last weekend to compete in the Orange Running Festival.

Special congratulations to Michelle Gailey who came 3rd in the Women's 42km Marathon!

Richard Eggleston 21km - 2hrs
Nick Bakker 21km - 1hr 50min
Michelle Gailey 42km - 3hrs 21m
Luke Doyle 21km - 1hr 27min

Well done, you are an inspiration to us all!

Canteen News

School Fees

Dear Parents/Guardians 

The 2024 College statements were emailed to families on Friday 1 March 2024.
On the invoice will be Compass and BPAY details and also term payment amounts for those families wishing to pay their fees in Terms 1, 2 & 3.

For existing families that have an additional student join the College this year you may need to adjust your payment plan accordingly. Please contact me to discuss your account.

For new families who wish to start a regular payment plan via Direct Debit, BPAY, Credit Card or Compass please contact me to discuss details and payment options.

Please note all College fees are due by 30 November 2024.
HSC fees are due by 31 October 2024.

If you did not receive a copy of the College Fees statement or wish to discuss your account please contact the College Fees Office on 6841 5142 or email m.carlow@bth.catholic.edu.au.

Kind Regards 

Maree Carlow
Administration Finance Leader

Important Dates

Term 1 2024

If you would like to add the St Johns College Calendar to your google calendar please click on this link.

Tuesday 26th March - 27th March
Parent Teacher Student Conferences

Thursday 28th March
SJC Cross Country

Friday 29th March - Monday 25th March
Easter Weekend

Tuesday 2nd April & Wednesay 3rd April
Yr 7 Retreat

Wednesday 3rd April - Friday 5th April
Yr 12 Art Excursion - Canberra & Sydney

Tuesday 9th April
Easter Art Excursion

Wednesday 10th April
Duke of Edinburgh
2024 Da Vinci Decathlon

Friday 12th April
Last day of Term 1
Yr 7 2025 Enrolments Due

Thursday 25th April
ANZAC Day

Monday 29th April
Pupil Free Day (Staff Professional Development)

Friday 3rd May
Interschool Cup - St Johns v's James Sheahan

Thursday 9th May
Year 12 Careers Information Day

Community News