Phone: 6882 2677

Fax: 6884 4500

Email: stjohnsprimarydubbo@bth.catholic.edu.au

Fees Enquiries: 6884 8504

Email: dubsjpfees@bth.catholic.edu.au

Term 4 Week 10 December 12th, 2016

ST JOHNS PRIMARY SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

www.stjohnsprimarydubbo.catholic.edu.au

138 Sheraton Road

P.O. Box 4914

S C H O O L M A N A G E R F a t h e r G r eg Ken n ed y

S C H O O L C H A P L A I N F a t h e r G r eg Ken n ed y

P R I N C I P A L M r A n t h o n y O ’ L e a r y

A S S I S T A N T P R I N C I P A L M r A d am F o l e y

R E C M r D a v i d S c h w ag e r

PRIMARY COORDINATOR

Mrs Angela Benton TEACHING STAFF:

KINDERGARTEN Mrs Maria Brice Mrs Teagan Hoper

YEAR 1 Mrs Kim English/Mrs Erin Carney

Miss Louise Lindsay Mrs Paula Clifford

YEAR 2 Mrs Gabrielle Jones / Mr David Schwager

Ms Cassandra Hawke

YEAR 3

Miss Anna Veech Mrs Angela Benton/Mrs Sarah Davis

YEAR 4 Mrs Judith Gibson/Mrs Aimee Rose Mrs Laura Emery/Mrs Aimee Rose .

YEAR 5 Miss Emma Bolton/Mrs Amanda Shields

Miss Madelyn Colquhoun YEAR 6

Miss Maddie Redden Mrs Mickaela Wright

SPECIAL EDUCATION: Mrs Patricia Toohey, Mr Adam Foley Mrs Amanda Shields

TEACHER’S AIDES: Mrs Deanna Swanson, Mrs Bronwyn

Harper, Mrs Tracey Duncan Mrs Maricon Suckling, Mr Trevor

Thomas, Mrs Belinda Montague LIBRARIAN:

Mrs Maree Williams ABORIGINAL EDUCATION

WORKER: Mrs Kristie Daley

CREATIVE ARTS: Mrs Maggie Dunn

SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION: Mrs Margo Green, Mrs Karen Meredith

CANTEEN MANAGER: Mrs Cathy Dries

GENERAL HAND : Mr Mark Bradford

CLEANER: Mrs Kerry Iverach Mrs Cathy Keevers

P&F MEETINGS: 2nd & 7th Tuesday each Term PARENTS/GUARDIANS Please note that photographs of students may be used in this publication. Please advise the School Office if you do not approve of your child’s photo being used.

From the Principal’s desk…. Welcome to Week 10 and the final week of school for St Johns Primary School. What a wonderful

year it has been with so many high-

lights including the wonderful P&F

led Fete, the amazing musical Alad-

din in Trouble, great results on the

sporting fields and academic learning that is truly 21st Century focused with so many opportunities

for ICT and Science / Engineering. 2017 will certainly be an exciting year for our school. I would like

to thank our entire school community for all of their support for our school. I would like to especial-

ly thank Father Greg for all of his leadership and advice throughout the year.

I wish everyone a Holy and Happy Christmas. I hope you will have time to spend with your loved

ones, families and friends. Christmas is not only a time to celebrate family, love and renewal - it's

also a time to honour Christ's miraculous birth. Remember, Jesus' birth was a gift to all humanity,

the reason we offer presents to each other during his birthday celebration. Keep an eye out for the

Mass times over Christmas, sharing Mass at this time is a very special family time.

If you are travelling over the Summer, please drive safely and take plenty of breaks.

Gospel and Reflection: Matthew 11:2-11

When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to

ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”

Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight,

the lame walk, those who have leprosy[a] are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised,

and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on

account of me.”

As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did

you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swayed by the wind? If not, what did you go

out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings’ palaces. Then what did you go out to

see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written:

“‘I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’

Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in

the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

Reflection:

Advent is no longer celebrated as a penitential period, but rather as a reflective time of expectation and hope, writes Sister

Veronica Lawson rsm.

The third Sunday of Advent used to be called Gaudete (be joyful) Sunday. It provided a

mid-term break within a period of austerity or penance in preparation for Christmas.

Advent is no longer celebrated as a penitential period, but rather as a reflective time of

expectation and hope.

Today's gospel passage is full of questions. First John sends his disciples to Jesus with a

question: "Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another? Jesus re-

sponds by directing them to the evidence: "Go and tell John what you hear and see:

the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the

dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them.” He adds a comment about those who take no offence at

him: they are blessed. He then turns to the crowds with a series of rhetorical questions about their motivation for going out to

John in the desert. His words to the crowds conclude with an identification of John as God's prophet and messenger, his own

precursor. He pays an extraordinary tribute to John, but leaves the reader puzzling about the final statement: the least in the

kingdom is greater than John.

John's imprisonment is a sobering reminder of what can happen to those who are faithful to their mission. As Matthew’s Jesus

will attest, John is no reed shaken by the wind. This could well be a subtle reference to Herod Antipas' choice of the reed as a

symbol on the coins commemorating the founding of Tiberias. Herod has arrested and imprisoned John and later will have

him put to death on specious grounds. John is not a fickle reed like Herod, but steadfast and strong.

The reader knows that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah or Anointed of God. John is checking it out. He clearly has contact with

his disciples whom he sends to Jesus with the question about his identity. Is Advent over or not? The answer to John's ques-

tion is to be found in what they hear and see. The restorative and healing activity of Jesus is realising the Messianic dream of

the prophet Isaiah (first reading). In a sense, Advent never ends: We might well pray: “Strengthen our weak hands, and make

firm our feeble knees” in the face of such challenges.

Year 6 Graduation: Our Year Six class of 2016 will be celebrating their graduation tonight. I must congratulate the Year 6 stu-

dents for their commitment to providing student leadership; their willingness to get involved in our school life; their friend-

ship and humour; their creativity and initiative have all been aspects of this class that have shone through their senior year

and their graduation Mass last week. They have proven themselves to be excellent role models for students coming through

our school into our senior classes and we wish them a very smooth transition to high school next year.

God Bless and have a wonderful Christmas

Anthony O’Leary

SCHOOL FEES

Have you finalised your school fees for 2016? If you think you are going into credit, and have no chil-

dren returning to St John’s Primary for 2017, please contact me

before the end of this week.

Thank you

Karen Meredith

Important Dates to Remember

Dec 12 Year 6 Graduation Dinner (6pm @ Macquarie Inn)

Dec 13 Year 6 Pool Party

Dec 16 Term 4 Concludes

Dec 19 Second Orientation Day Yr 7 2017 St John’s College 9:30—11:00am

Jan 30 2017 Classes Years 1—6 resume

Jan 31 2017 Kindergarten commence

Feb 2 St John’s Primary Swimming Carnival Years 3-6

THANK YOU!

A huge thank you to Adrian & Jane Driscoll from Poolwerx

Dubbo who have kindly provided a KidsAlive resource kit to

each child from Kindergarten to Year 3 who participated in

the recent School Swimming Program.

We are sure the children will enjoy reading the stories and

watching the DVD.

Many thanks!

Religious Education News Term Four, Week Ten 2016

St Vincent de Paul Christmas Hampers

Thank you for your terrific support of this worthy cause. On Wednesday, St Vincent de

Paul will be able to collect 30 Christmas Hampers from our school, which will be deliv-

ered to families in need in our local community. The real Spirit of Christmas is alive and

well!

End of Year/ Graduation Mass

Thank you to everyone that made our final Mass of the year such a success. It was a great

way to say thank you and farewell to our Year 6 students, and to families that are leaving

us.

Beginning Year Mass 2017

Our Beginning Year Mass for 2017 is scheduled for Thursday 9th February at 10am. This is

also the Mass where the new student leaders of our school are inducted into their roles.

“Moving Up’ Classes

This Thursday at 10.30am, students will have the opportunity to ‘move-up’ to their new

classroom for 2017. This allows them to meet their new classmates and, in most cases,

their classroom teacher as well.

Finally, I would like to say thank you to all the school community for your support of Reli-

gious Education at St John’s Primary throughout the year. Special thanks to Fr Greg who

has really immersed himself in the life of our school and who makes an effort to get to

know each and every student in our care.

Wishing you all a happy and holy Christmas,

David Schwager (REC)

NOTICE FOR PARENTS/CARERS/GRANDPARENTS!

Practice for the

Children’s Vigil Christmas Mass will be held

5.00pm Wednesday 14 Dec

Please just ‘rock along’

with your child or children.

Canteen News

Hi everyone! All the best for a wonderful Christmas and New Year. To celebrate our last day of school, we will be having a Hot Dog Day this Friday. They will be available over the counter at re-cess for $2, but by lunch-order only for lunch.

Thank you to everyone for a great 2016

Cathy Dries

Canteen Manager

0458 550 747

Tecknow Topics Technology News:

And the school year is over! What an exciting year it has been in many learning areas, especially in our integration of technologies for learning. At the beginning of the year, we rolled out nearly 190 1:1 chromebook devices to our Year 4, 5 and 6 students. Teachers unanimously agree having this technolo-gy has revolutionised learning; through using technologies in purposeful ways, our students are not pas-sive users of technologies, but actively create and write digital content to express their ideas and fully participate in and influence our ever modernising world. First term 2017 will see our new Year 4 receive their devices. A parent information evening will occur in Week 2. Technology Safety:

Good digital citizenship is a lifelong habit that all users of technology need to practice at all times. Par-ents are encouraged to discuss digital citizenships with their children regularly, to develop shared under-standing and expectations about how good digital citizens interact in online environments. Every key-stroke forms a piece of your digital footprint; students need explicit teaching, guidance and clear bound-aries to learn and practice online manners and safe behaviours. Many experts recommend that children should use devices in family areas, have time limits set and that parents always monitor online activities. Tip:

Safety tips and good digital citizenship here.

A bit of fun here. Santa Tracker!!

Have a safe, happy and spiritual Christmas. Judy Gibson

MUSIC MATTERS

Instrumental Tuition at St Johns Primary 2017:

If you are interested in your child/children learning an instrument next year, please complete the attached forms and return them to the Macquarie Conservatorium.

Group tuition will be limited to afternoon sessions at school starting from noon and therefore it is essential that you make your decision as quickly as possible. After school instrumental tuition will only happen at the Macquarie Conservatorium of Music Cnr Buljte and Darling Streets.

I recommend that after one year of group tuition, you make the commitment to move to an individual lesson time for your child’s progress.

Forms have been sent home with each student who tried out an instrument. If those forms have been misplaced, please find them on the following pages.

Wishing all a very peaceful and refreshing Christmas.

Happy Music/Drama making!

Mrs Maggie Dunn