Week 6 Term 2

Phone: 6882 2677 or 6882 2653
Email: stjohnsprimarydubbo@bth.catholic.edu.au                    
Principal: Mr Anthony O’Leary
School Manager/Priest: Father Greg Kennedy           
P&F Meetings: 2nd & 7th Tuesday each term

Parents/guardians-Please note that photographs of students may be used in publication. Please advise the School Office if you do not approve of your child’s photo being used.

WEEK 6

Monday 3 June - Yr 2 Excursion

Monday - Wednesday 3rd-5th June - Kindy 2025 Sibling Interviews Commence

Thursday 6th June - Kindergarten Mass 12.15pm St Brigid's Church (all welcome)

WEEK 7

Monday 10th June - Kings Birthday Public Holiday

Tuesday 11th June - Kindy Sibling Interviews 

Tuesday 11th June -  Year 3-6 Choir Eisteddfod performance 10am

Tuesday 11th June - Year 5 & 6 Russell Richardson/ David Peachey Rugby Gala Day

Wednesday 12th June - Kindy Sibling Interviews

Wednesday 12th June - Year 3-6 choir Masonic Village visit 2pm

Wednesday 12th June - 12:15 pm Mass at St. Brigid’s = Year 5 - Families welcome to attend

Welcome to Week 6

Today our Kindergarten 2025 interviews commenced for our sibling families. It is always a wonderful part of my role meeting new family members and welcoming them into the SJP school community. Our enrollment numbers are looking strong, so if you have not applied for Kinder 2025 for your child or know of a friend thinking about joining our school community, please apply asap.

Winter Uniform:

From today, Monday 3rd of June, all children are to be wearing the full winter school uniform on the nominated days. The uniform days are: 

Sports Uniform = Monday, Wednesday and Friday

Formal Uniform = Tuesday and Thursday

MASONIC VILLAGE VISIT                                                                                              This week our community linkage program continues with 3B visiting the Masonic Village. The link with the Masonic Village continues to grow and it is a relationship we value. This Thursday, Kindergarten will be going to St Brigid’s Church for Mass commencing at 12:15pm. Our parents are very welcome to attend Mass with the children.

CROSS COUNTRY
Good luck to Sienna (Year 5) and Adelaide (Year 6) who will be running at the CPS Polding Cross Country event in Sydney. Miss Anderson will also be there in her capacity as Manager. 

Safe, Respectful Learners at SJP

This year we are very fortunate to have Mrs Kenny working as our Well Being Officer, in addition to her teaching load. Mrs Kenny has been working with the staff and students to ensure we are all aware of our goals and expectations around SwPB4L - School Wide Positive Behaviour for Learning. 

For example, this next round of our focus will be on ‘Caring for our school environment - minimising rubbish.’

We also have a focus on respectful relationships. The topic of Bullying can come up. 

What is Bullying?

• Bullying is the repetitive and deliberate misuse of power in relationships through repeated verbal, physical and/or social behaviour that intends to cause physical, social and/or psychological harm. It can involve an individual or a group misusing their power, or perceived power, over one or more persons who feel unable to stop it from happening.
• Bullying can happen in person or online, via various digital platforms and devices and it can be obvious (overt) or hidden (covert). Bullying behaviour is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time.

 What is Not Bullying?

• Mutual arguments and disagreements between students (where there is no power imbalance).
• Not liking someone or a single act of social rejection.
• One-off acts of meanness or spite.
• Isolated incidents of aggression, intimidation or violence. However, these conflicts still need to be addressed and resolved.
• Single incidents and conflict or fights between equals, whether in person or online, are not defined as bullying.

All students are explicitly taught the expectations and what they might look like using our Behaviour Matrix. It is important that we work together with our families as a community to help our children be successful in their social interactions. The Bullying Project Australia website https://thebullyproject.com.au/ lists some things parents can do at home which include:

• Talk with and listen to your children about their social interactions at school, at sports or in your community.
• Set a good example of kindness and leadership. Any time you speak about or to another person in a mean way, you’re teaching your child that behaviour is ok.

Congratulations to our Year 6 students who were confirmed over the weekend. It was a privilege to see so many of our students receive the sacrament on Sunday, and we also had many families there as part of the Meeting for Mass. It was wonderful to see.

Gospel and Reflection: Mark 14:12-16 - The Last Supper

12 On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when it was customary to sacrifice the Passover lamb, Jesus’ disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”

13 So he sent two of his disciples, telling them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him. 14 Say to the owner of the house he enters, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ 15 He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.”

16 The disciples left, went into the city and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover. 22 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take it; this is my body.” 23 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it.

24 “This is my blood of the[a] covenant, which is poured out for many,” he said to them. 25 “Truly I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” 

26 When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Time to express gratitude

When we use the phrase ‘lifeblood’, we are referring to the indispensable factor that gives something its strength and vitality. When Moses built an altar flanked by 12 pillars to represent the tribes of Israel at the foot of the mountain, he attempted to instil vitality into the early Hebrew relationship with God by splashing the blood of sacrifices on the altar. Jesus strengthened our bond with God by offering his own lifeblood on the Cross. These sacrifices were made in the name of salvation – the deliverance from sin and its consequences, believed by Christians to be brought about by faith in Christ. It’s hard not to feel grateful that someone would give their life so that you could be saved, and this weekend is a good time to express that gratitude prayerfully, through worship and by treating others lovingly.

God bless and have a wonderful week

Anthony O’Leary

Thankyou!                                                                                                                                           To all of the families who attended Mass yesterday for SJP’s Meeting 4 Mass celebration - thankyou! Your commitment to supporting your children in their faith development and emphasising the importance of God in the lives of your children give our staff much to be hopeful about and thankful for. It was a great reminder that we complement one another’s work when a shared belief is demonstrated. Thankyou!

Confirmation Photos
To all of the Year 6 students who received their confirmation over the weekend, some who are pictured below - congratulations. We trust that you will receive the Gifts and Fruits of the Holy Spirit as they are intended - to accept them and put them to use now that you have become full members of the Church community.

Visit to Masonic Village
This coming Wednesday our 3B students will visit the Masonic Village and engage with residents by reading books and short stories to them. No doubt, our students will appreciate if the residents read to them too! We know you will enjoy your visit 3B.

Grade Masses
This Wednesday, Kindergarten will attend Mass at St. Brigid’s at 12:15pm. All parents of Kindergarten students are more than welcome to attend the Mass.

Please note updated changes to Mass at St. Brigid’s Church: 
Saturday - 5:00pm, Sunday - 9:00am and Sunday - 5:00pm
Due to heating issues in St Brigid’s, all weekday Masses will be held at St. Laurence’s Church throughout June, July, August.

Enjoy your week!

Paula Clifford
Religious Education Coordinator

Just a reminder that ordering for our 2024 School Photos close on Monday 17th June with photos taking place on Thursday 20th June.

Any orders made after this date may incur a late order fee.

Sibling photos will take place starting 8.15am - 8.50am. Parents are asked to please bring your children to the school hall durning this time for family photos. 

No family photos will be taken outside this time frame.

If you have any questions please contact MSP photographers direct on 6360 2008.

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

We kick off the Eisteddfod next week with the 3-6 Primary Choir performing on Tuesday 11th June. The choir is sounding amazing and we are looking forward to performing. I want to thank the choir members for their commitment and enthusiasm in rehearsals. We follow this up the very next day performing our Eisteddfod pieces at Masonic Village in the afternoon. 

Please ensure all students are wearing their full winter uniform on their performance days. (This excludes Year 6 and Kindergarten). As the change over to the blue shirts for girls is still in the process, students who have beige shirts are still welcome to wear them. 

Remember, tickets only need to be purchased for events being held at DRTCC. Please refer to the table that has been in the newsletter all term.

Tickets can be purchased from DRTCC Box Office or ordered online – please see details below

Admission: $6 (adults, seniors, pensioners & children 6 years & over)

Order your tickets online at:

1. drtcc.sales.ticketsearch.com/sales/sales
2. Type in Search - Eisteddfod
3. Select which session you wish to attend
4. Payment of your tickets. (Please note: you will have 20 minutes to complete your transaction)

Have a wonderful week.

Mrs King

Congratulations to our superstar Spelling Bee contestants; Ranumi, Gavin, Luxi and Lithum!

On Thursday last week, these four students travelled to St Mary’s, Wellington where they competed against other students from our Diocese in the Spelling Bee Competition.
Ranumi and Gavin competed in the Stage 2 division. Congratulations to Gavin on making it to the final round in his pool. A special congratulations to Ranumi who achieved runner up in the grand final! Well done on this outstanding achievement.
Lithum and Luxi both competed in the Stage 3 division. Congratulations to them both on making it to the grand final! It was a fantastic day out and I thank the parents who took their child to this event.
Well done Super Spellers! SJP is very proud of your achievements.

SPB4L

This week our SPB4L focus was introduced at our fortnightly assembly. Our SPB4L focus is on ‘keeping our playground clean’. During our assembly, we discussed ways that we can achieve this 

SPB4L goal: 

• Putting rubbish in the bin
• Walking around the gardens

We have beautiful school grounds and through this SPB4L focus itwill continue to encourage students to look after our school community.

BeYou 

Below is an extract of information from the BeYou website about how nutrition and mental health are linked. More information can be found using the following link https://beyou.edu.au/fact-sheets/wellbeing/nutrition-and-mental-health 

Extract from BeYou website: 

Healthy eating helps children and young people cope more effectively with stress, better manage their emotions and get a good sleep – all of which assist learning.

Most research about nutrition and mental health has focused on adults. We know that good nutrition is associated with better mental health outcomes, whereas a poor diet is associated with a greater risk of depression and anxiety. However, emerging research that focuses on children and young people has also found a relationship between unhealthy diets and poorer mental health outcomes. 

Poor nutrition has been associated with:

• externalising behaviour (such as hyperactivity, aggression, disobedience)
• symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder 
• poor concentration and tiredness, which interfere with learning
• immune system function, which is also linked to mental health
• delayed brain development – high-fat, high-sugar diets can affect proteins in the body that are important for brain development
• iron deficiency, which has been linked to cognitive function impairments associated with learning and memory
• nutrient deficiencies, which have been associated with mental health conditions including depression and anxiety (we know that fruits and vegetables, grains, fish, lean red meats and olive oils are rich in important nutrients such as folate, magnesium, vitamins and zinc which all impact on body and brain functions, including mood regulation). 

Dietary habits aren't always a choice                                                                                         ‘Food insecurity’ – where people don’t have enough food due to because of things such as unemployment and poverty – is also a problem for many families in Australia. Food insecurity can result in poorer academic performance, time off from school, stress, depression, anxiety, aggression, and difficulty getting along with others. Food insecurity can result in: 

• psychological stress – high levels of ongoing stress have been related to depression and delayed brain development
• poorer academic performance
• time off from school
• anxiety
• aggression
• difficulty getting along with others. 

The good news is that improving what you eat can lead to improvements in your mental health, so it’s never too late to encourage healthier eating patterns. 

Dear Parents,

If your child is away and you have placed a lunch please notify the school by 10am otherwise refunds will not be available.

Our meetings are held Week 2 & Week 7 of each term, on a Tuesday evening at 6:30pm.        Please feel free to come along and join us. 

Details of location will be posted in the school newsletter closer to the date. 

If at any stage, you would like to get in contact with the P&F, please send us an email:
sjpdubbopandf@gmail.com  
Alternatively, please follow us on Facebook - search for: St John's Primary Parents and Friends.