Week 8 Term 4

School Vision Statement: To change the world through our faith in Jesus who is our light.
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.

Compass notes
Please ensure your Compass Event Notes are approved prior to the Event taking place.

• Year 5 and 6 Swim to Survive
• Choir and Cultural Dance Group-RSL visit

Up to date information
It is of the utmost importance that you keep your information up to date.                                                        If any of your details have changed and you haven't updated it, please email the school office stjohnsprimarydubbo@bth.catholic.edu.au your new information. This also includes emergency contacts, change of living arrangements, change of work and email address.

WEEK 8
Tuesday 3rd December - Year 6 Hit the ground running program
Wednesday 4th December - Choir and Cultural Group RSL Seniors Morning Tea performance
Wednesday 4th December - Kindergarten, Masonic Village Visit at SJP
Wednesday 4th December - Macquarie Conservatorium try outs at the Conservatorium
Thursday 5th December - Year 5 and 6 Swim to Survive
Thursday 5th December - Kindergarten Orientation 9.15 -10.45am

WEEK 9                                                                                                                                     Tuesday 10th December - Year 4 Art Exhibition                                                                                             Tuesday 10th December -  Year 2 Christmas Liturgy S.J.Primary Hall 10.15am                                           Thursday 12th December - SJP Christmas Concert from 5.30pm                                                                     Thursday 12th December - Kindy Orientation 9.15am -10.45am

Dear Parents and Caregivers,                                                                                                                As we near the end of another busy and rewarding term, I’d like to take a moment to reflect on the incredible contributions of our school community.

P&F Success with the Colour Explosion                                                                                          A huge thank you to our P&F Committee for the amazing job they did organizing the Colour Explosion. The energy, excitement, and school spirit on the day were truly wonderful to see.

At last week’s P&F meeting, it was confirmed that the funds raised will be used to purchase another cool water station for our students, ensuring they have access to fresh, cool water throughout the day. Thank you to the P&F for their dedication and to everyone who supported this event.

Another Successful Kindergarten Orientation
Last week, we were delighted to host another successful Kindergarten Orientation session. It was wonderful to see our new Kinders settling in and building connections with their peers and teachers.

We look forward to welcoming our 2025 Kinders for their next session this Thursday, as they continue to prepare for their exciting start to school life next year.

In addition, our 2025 Year 1 students had a fantastic time spending part of the day with their Year 1 teaching team, Mrs. Wright and Miss Anderson. This was a great opportunity for the children to become familiar with their new teachers and routines, helping to ensure a smooth and confident transition into the new school year.

Thank you to all staff and families for supporting these transition programs—they make such a positive impact on our students!

Parish Community and Student Involvement                                                                Thank you to all the families and students who supported yesterday’s Mass at St Brigid’s Church. It was heart warming to see our students actively participating in such meaningful ways—as lectors, presenting the offertory, singing, and leading the Prayers of the Faithful.

This beautiful connection with our parish community is something we treasure deeply, and we are committed to continuing and strengthening this special relationship with St Brigid’s Parish in 2025 and beyond.

The Season of Advent
This Sunday our Church celebrates the First Sunday of Advent. Advent begins the period of four weeks in which we 'prepare' for the coming of Jesus at Christmas. However, we believe that Jesus is already among us so, as Pope Francis reminds us, "the Lord is present in our daily lives, accompanying us in our journey’. This reality may get lost at times as we become distracted by the many concrete aspects of our daily lives; or perhaps we only look for spectacular and miraculous signs of the Lord’s presence. God conceals Himself in the most common and ordinary situations in our life, and we need to be constantly aware of this reality, not awaiting extraordinary events. This can be when we face someone in need, a chance encounter, or even in what might seem quiet or dull moments of daily life." 

How can you help your children 'prepare' during Advent as they focus on Christmas Day itself and all the excitement and joy it brings? Maybe using an Advent wreath at home to keep a focus on the light of Christ, helping them choose some toys they no longer use to donate to charity or attend Mass.

Advent Prayer

God of Hope,

May the blessing of your son, Jesus, be with us;
Warming our hearts and brightening our way.

During this Advent season, may we be a beacon of hope,
As we prepare for the coming light of Christ,
Who brings forgiveness and healing to our world.

Amen.

eSafety update - a message from the e-safety commission:
What does it mean for my family?
eSafety welcomes the introduction of the Australian Government’s Social Media Minimum Age Bill setting a minimum age of 16 for access to certain age-restricted social media platforms. While the contents and passage of the legislation remains a matter for the Parliament, eSafety looks forward to working closely with government, industry and the Australian community to ensure the implementation of any future legislation is effective, enforceable and fair.  

Even with minimum age restrictions in place, it is crucial that we continue supporting parents to play an active role in their children’s online lives. Nothing can replace those vital conversations that help parents stay informed, set boundaries and help when something goes wrong. By modelling good digital practices, parents can lay the foundations for safer and more positive online experiences. 

Cyberbullying support for parents                                                                                “Thank you very much for your swift response and for getting the video removed.”

This was the feedback we received from a parent whose child had experienced bullying and humiliation due to a TikTok video. eSafety worked with the family and the social media platform to have the video removed.  

Our research shows that more than half of children have been treated in a hurtful or nasty way online. Importantly, more than two-thirds told us they sought help from their parents when it happened. 

Online safety for every family | In your language eSafety Commissioner  to learn more about how eSafety can help if your child is experiencing cyberbullying, including advice in languages other than English.

Some key dates to for 2025:

• Friday 31.1.2025 - Staff Only Professional Learning Day

• Monday 3.2.2025 - Staff Only Professional Learning Day

• Tuesday 4.2.2025 - Kinder and Year 6 start 

• Wednesday 5.2.2025 - Year 1 to Year 5 start

• Wednesday 12.2.2025 - Opening School Mass

• Monday 3.3.2025 - Week 5 - Staff Development Day (Pupil Free) Mathematics with Anita Chin.

• Wednesday 5.3.2025 - Ash Wednesday Mass

• Sunday 9.3.2025 - St John’s Primary School - Meeting for Mass

• Tuesday 11.3.2025 - Bathurst Diocesan Swimming Carnival

• Wednesday 12.3.2025 - NAPLAN for Year 3 and Year 5 window open

• Monday 17.3.2025 - St Patrick’s Green Day celebration

• Friday 21.3.2025 - Harmony Day - Multicultural Day Liturgy

• Friday 28.3.2025 - Bathurst Winter Sports Trials

• Friday 11.4.2025 - Final Day of Term 1

• Friday 18.4.2025 - Good Friday

• Sunday 20.4.2025 - Easter Sunday

• Monday 21.4.2025 - Easter Monday

• Friday 25.4.2025 - ANZAC Day

• Monday 28.4.2025 - Staff Development Day (Pupil Free Day) - staff working with Kristi Ryan on English

• Tuesday 29.4.2025 - All students return for Term 2 and school ANZAC Day Liturgy

• Tuesday 6.5.2025 - Cross Country in Coolah

• Friday 9.5.2025 - Mothers Day Liturgy

• Sunday 25.5.2025 - St John’s Primary School - Meeting for Mass

• Thursday 5.6.2025 - School Photos

• Monday 9.6.2025 - King’s Birthday Long Weekend

• From Monday 23.6.2025 - School Musical Week

• Friday 4.7.2025 - Final Day for Term 2

School Choir and Cultural Dance Group to Perform at the RSL Christmas Morning Tea for Seniors

We are thrilled to announce that our School Choir and Cultural Dance Group will be attending the Christmas Morning Tea for Seniors at the Dubbo RSL this Wednesday.

This is a wonderful opportunity for our students to share the joy of the Christmas season with our senior community. The Choir will perform a selection of festive songs, and the Cultural Dance Group will showcase a special performance celebrating diversity and unity during this season of giving.

We are proud to have our students represent St John’s and spread Christmas cheer to those in our wider community.

God Bless and have a wonderful week                                                                                                            Anthony O’Leary

The Season of Advent
Yesterday at Mass, we welcomed the beginning of the Advent season. Throughout Advent, we watch and pray, awaiting the Lord's coming at Christmas. It is a season of so many things: expectation, reflection, hope and trust. The theme for the first week of Advent is - Hope. 

Once again, we will have our life sized Nativity scene set up near our admin block, which adds that small layer of excitement that Christmas is not far away.  I have no doubt that our students, parents and visitors to our school will appreciate this lovely edition to the SJP Playground for the season of advent.

Thankyou
To all of our students and their families that gave up one hour of their time yesterday and attended Mass with us THANKYOU! It was lovely to see so many of our students participating through reading, carrying the offertory, welcoming parishioners to the Church and singing with the Teacher’s Choir. When children attend Mass, the Church has a really lovely feel and so many parishioners appreciate this. Well done!

Vinnies Christmas Hamper Appeal
Once again, a huge thankyou goes out to all of the families who have contributed to class hampers. Many families within our Dubbo community will be incredibly grateful to receive these at Christmas time. Tomorrow is the very last day for items to be brought in, as hampers then need to be wrapped/sealed before collection at the end of this week. At this stage the first group to complete their hamper will be either 1B or teachers who will enjoy zooper doopers as a prize!

Kindergarten Retreat Day
On Friday, Kindergarten travelled to St. Brigid’s Hall and Church to enjoy a day together learning about Belonging and how they can connect with God as part of our Catholic school. The students engaged in many fun activities, songs and games to help them develop their sense of belonging to God’s family. Thankyou to the parents who were able to pop in for a small part of the day. Photos were posted on the SJP Facebook page of Kindergarten enjoying this day together at St. Brigid's.

Seniors Christmas Morning Tea at Dubbo RSL
The SJP Choir and Cultural Dance Group are very much looking forward to their outing to perform at the Seniors Christmas Morning Tea at Dubbo RSL on Wednesday. They will song Christmas Carols and our cultural group will perform one of their Bollywood dances. We know our students will bring happiness to the seniors of our community as they entertain them at this event. Parents if your child is involved in this, please ensure you have given permission via Compass for them to attend this event.

Year 2 presents the Nativity Story next week
All parents and family members are invited to attend the Year 2 Liturgy next Tuesday 10th December at 10:15 in our school hall.

The Liturgy will tell the story of Jesus’ birth and remind us all, of the excitement that builds as we anticipate Jesus’ upcoming birthday. Please save this date if you can and support Year 2 as they present the SJP Christmas Liturgy.

Mass at St. Brigid’s Church
Saturday - 6:00pm, Sunday - 9:00am and Sunday - 6:00pm

Enjoy your week!                                                                                                                                                Paula Clifford                                                                                                                                                Religious Education Coordinator

St Brigid’s Christmas Eve Mass Nativity Play: A reminder - every year, the 6pm Christmas Eve mass at St Brigid’s includes a Christmas Nativity play presented by children of the parish.  If your child would like to be part of the Christmas Nativity please contact the organisers.  Practice dates are as follows...

Nativity Practices: Please allow up to one hour per practice.

All costumes will be supplied - except the angels’ white dresses (wings and halos supplied)

If more information is required, please contact: 

Jeanette Hannam - 0409 846 611                                               Jo Taylor - j.taylor@bth.catholic.edu.au

Macquarie Conservatorium Instrument Come and Try Night!                                          The Macquarie Conservatorium invites all parents and students who are interested in learning a musical instrument next year at school, to their Come and Try night this coming Wednesday. At this time, students will be offered the opportunity to hold instruments and have a try of how the instrument works. Some students may already have developed an interest in a specific instrument after witnessing the demonstration by Conservatorium teachers last week at school. This is a great opportunity and we are hopeful that many parents are able to take their child to the Conservatorium for this event. More details are on the following page.

SPB4L                                                                                                                                                            Our final SPB4L focus for the year was introduced at our fortnightly assembly and the focus is on ‘making sure we are meeting the SJP behaviour expectations we have talked about throughout the year’. We discussed what these expectations are: 

Classroom

• Listening to the teacher
• Completing work to the best of our ability
• Helping keep the classroom clean
• Using kind and appropriate language

Playground

• Moving safely around the playground
• Playing fairly and including others
• Playing in the appropriate areas
• Using kind and appropriate language
• Putting our rubbish in the bin
• Wearing our school hat.

Stage 3 students have had an exciting two weeks playing basketball and cricket at Sports World as part of the Charism Cup. They've enjoyed learning new skills and showcasing teamwork and sportsmanship. The current leaderboard sees the Warriors narrowly leading, with the Lions close behind. Next week is the final week of competition before we wrap up with ten-pin bowling to celebrate!

Hi Everyone,

We’re looking for parents and friends of our school community who might be interested in helping us offer more cultural activities, especially those that celebrate our Indigenous heritage. If you have skills or knowledge to share in areas like song, language, dance, or art, we’d love to hear from you!

This doesn’t have to be on a volunteer basis (though we’d certainly welcome that if you’re able to donate your time). If you’re part of a business and would like to get involved, we’re keen to explore how we can work together to create engaging cultural experiences for our students.

If this sounds like something you’d be interested in, please send us an email at stjohnsprimarydubbo@bth.catholic.edu.au. Let us know what you could share with our school community and whether you’re volunteering or offering your services through a business.

As the year is quickly wrapping up, we’d really appreciate hearing from anyone keen to help out by the end of this year, so we can start planning for 2025.

Thanks so much for considering this, and we look forward to hearing from you.