Term 1 Week 10 - Thursday 10 April 2025

Principal's Message

This week’s Gospel: Luke 22:14 – 23:56

In this passage, Luke presents the climax of Jesus' earthly mission—the ultimate act of self-sacrifice through his crucifixion. The Last Supper establishes the foundation of Christian worship through the institution of the Eucharist, where Jesus offers himself as the sacrificial lamb. His agony in the garden reveals the intense emotional and spiritual struggle he faces, yet his submission to the Father’s will highlights the depth of his obedience.

Throughout the trials and crucifixion, Jesus remains silent before his accusers, fulfilling the prophecy of the suffering servant from Isaiah. His words of forgiveness to his executioners and his promise to the repentant criminal on the cross reveal his boundless mercy and love, even in his darkest hour. The passage also emphasizes the rejection and betrayal Jesus faces from his closest followers, yet he maintains his role as the willing sacrifice for humanity’s sins. Finally, his burial marks a moment of seeming defeat, but for Christians, it is also a moment of hope, foreshadowing the resurrection. This passage calls believers to reflect on the depth of Christ’s love and sacrifice, inviting them to partake in the salvation he offers through his suffering and death.

Staff Professional Development

During the upcoming pupil free days our staff will be completing their First Aid with St Johns Ambulance and professional learning aligned with the English program.  There will be a particular focus on adapting and modifying to meet the needs of the students in each class. I understand the pupil free days are challenging for many families, however, they enable us to be involved in vital learning opportunities, which ultimately benefit the children in our classrooms. Pupil free days make up one component of our professional development, with each teacher required to reach a minimum number of hours in order to maintain their accreditation with the Teacher Quality Institute.

Mothers Day

Building Works

The painting of the play equipment is completed, however, because of the drop in temperature, it wont be able to be used until the start of next term, to ensure that it has properly dried. I will begin investigating shade structures, initially to cover the monkey bars area, then also to cover the other playground. My aim is to have at least the Monkey bars area sorted before the start of Term 4. We also took the opportunity to top up the soft fall in the middle playground area, which will be re opened today.

Over the holiday period there will be some internal and external works. Plumbers are continuing to work on ensuring that water collected on the roof and in the gutters is able to escape, this is a long term project as a number of the underground pipes have varying degrees of blockage. We will also have the next stage or the oval project completed, with the installation of a new irrigation system for our oval. These works will take the duration of the school holiday period. Thank you to all involved in fund raising through the fete and other projects as this would not have been possible without parent and community support.

50th Celebration

Open Day

Enrolment period is just around the corner and our open day will be held on Thursday May 1. Our wonderful Year 6 students will host school tours during the morning and evening. Enrolments are already open, via the school website. Please spread the word.

In closing, we have had a highly productive term with lots of wonderful learning opportunities. Thank you for your ongoing support. Please try to give your child every opportunity to recharge over the holiday break. Wishing you the very best for the holiday period.

Thank you for your ongoing support

Cameron

Important Dates

Birthdays

School News

50th Anniversary 

If anyone owns or has contacts for a food truck we would love to hear from you. Please contact the office at office.stjudes@cg.catholic.edu.au.  

Compass Absence 

When putting in an absence or signing your child in late please ensure you are using the relevant reason. Please do not select 'Natural Disaster'.  

Mother’s Day Celebrations

We invite all Mothers, Step-Mothers, Grandmothers, Aunties and special friends to attend our Mother's Day Celebration.

On Thursday 8 May 2025, we are holding a Mother’s Day Breakfast and celebrations beginning at 8.15am. Click the link to RSVP for the breakfast.

We have moved the celebrations from a Friday this year to avoid clashing with highschool ‘come and try days’.

Guests are then welcome to visit your child/children’s classroom/s, from 8.50am – 10.00am. We have allocated 70mins for classroom visits to allow guests to split their time across several classrooms if need be. There is no requirement to stay for the whole time.

At 10.00am we will say goodbye to our guests as they depart the school. With year 2 students and their guests moving to the hall for their Liturgy, which will commence at 10.15am.

For catering purposes, RSVP is required by COB Monday 5 May. Click the link to RSVP for the breakfast.

RE News

Holy Week is the final week of Lent and commemorates Jesus's final days on earth, culminating in his crucifixion and resurrection. It is a time to reflect on the message of the Resurrection where hope is always present and salvation is offered to all who believe.

Mass Times Weston Creek

• Palm Sunday April 14: 5.00pm Mass.
• Holy Thursday: No 9.30am Mass. 7.30pm Mass of the Lord’s Supper followed by the procession to the Chapel of Repose. Adoration to 10.00pm.
• Good Friday: 11.00am Stations of the Cross, 12 noon – 1.00pm Confessions;
• Holy Saturday: 8.00am Office of Readings (No morning Mass). Easter Vigil: 7.30pm, no adoration before
• Easter Sunday: 5.00pm Mass

Holy Week

Thank you to all our staff and students for the reverent Holy Week celebrations. Kinder began the week with Palm Sunday, Year 4 reflected on Holy Thursday and Year 6 led us in Stations of the Cross for Good Friday. Today we celebrate the Resurrection with year 1. 

ELC News

ELC NEWS

Happy Birthday to Olivia C, Alfie F, Lily M, Lucas V and Remi R

ELC Term Dates

Friday 11 April – Last day of Term 1. While the primary school has a pupil free day on Friday, the ELC will be operating as usual with Lobsters and Turtles attending.

Week beginning 14 April – Holiday Program for children with 48 week bookings

Week beginning 21 April - Holiday Program for children with 48 week bookings

ELC uniforms are not required for holiday care. Please come to the ELC and sign in as usual.

Public Holidays - The ELC will be closed on the following public holidays:
Friday 18 April - Good Friday

Easter Monday – Monday 21 April

Anzac Day – Friday 25 April

Monday 28 April - Term 2 will begin for Stingrays and Turtles. While this is a pupil fee day at the primary school, the ELC will operate as usual on this day.

Thursday 1 May - Term 2 begins for the Lobsters class.

ELC Staffing

Karen Leighton has accepted the position of Acting Assistant Principal at St John the Apostle Primary School in Florey for Term 2. Carla Drayton, Roving ELC Director, will be filling in for Term 2. Farewell to Mrs Putt as she heads off to begin teaching career. Jacinta Putt has been a huge asset to our ELC, bringing with her a wealth of knowledge, dedication to working with young people and families, and a passion for teaching and learning.

ELC Fees

Today’s direct debit includes Holiday Care fees for children with 48 week bookings, as well as any outstanding fees from Term 1 (usually a result of CCS adjustments).  Your next payment will be on Thursday 24 April and will include the Term 2 resource fee of $85.  The gymnastics fee will be charged the following fortnight.

ELC Gymnastics -Term 2

We are very lucky to have a facility like Woden Valley Gymnastics Centre right next door. In term 2, the ELC children will attend a weekly gymnastics class run by qualified instructors at the gym. Check your notes pockets for permission notes. A fee of $90 will be added to your account for the 10 week program. The Turtles and Stingrays will attend on Tuesdays and the Lobsters will attend on Thursdays. Please ensure all students are dressed appropriately for gymnastics on those days. Children will need to remove their shoes and put them back on after the session so please provide shoes they can manage independently. Please ensure you return your permission notes to your teacher as soon as possible.

St Jude Open Day – Thursday 1 May

St Jude’s ELC and primary school will hold an Open Day on Thursday 1 May. There are two sessions: 9:30am - 11am and 4pm - 6pm. We will also hold tours on Tuesdays in May from 9:30 – 11am.  Please contact the ELC if you would like a Tuesday tour.  If you know any families with children approaching preschool age, invite them along to have a look at our amazing ELC.  Online enrolments are open via the ELC page of the school website.

St John Vianney’s Open Days

St John Vianney’s will have Open Day every Wednesday in May from 10:30am to 5pm and Saturday 9:30am – 12:30pm.

Library News

Kids' Lit Quiz

Congratulations to the following students who represented St Jude's at the Canberra heat of Kids' Lit Quiz on Tuesday:

Sadie S, Violet W, Ella R, Santoshi T, Aimee Z, Cleo E, Kanishka S, Ava L, Willow M, Sam M and Will R.

In a very tight competition our teams came 18th, 25^th and 27^th and Sadie even won a $5 individual question.

Such a wonderful group of students who worked cooperatively in groups, showed beautiful manners and great sportsmanship.

Sora App

Sora is an app and web-based platform that allows our Year 4-6 students to access thousands of e-books, e-magazines and audio books at school and at home. 

Our Year 4-6 students have had time during library lessons to become familiar with Sora. They can access Sora on devices at home, with parent's permission.  If parents would like their children from K-3 to access Sora please contact  their classroom teacher.

The website is https://soraapp.com/welcome or you can download the Sora app for free from the App Store.

Students will need to search for Australian Catholic Education Network instead of St Jude's. They will need to input their school username and password to access Sora.

Storybox Hub

St Jude's has a subscription to Storybox Hub. We can now access hundreds of stories on Storybox on our own computers and devices. 

Families can access via www.storyboxhub.com/login or download the free Storybox app. 

Username: STJ

Password: STJ2025

Happy holiday reading,

Mrs Hind

Sports News

South Weston Swimming Carnival 

Last Friday St Jude's was represented at the South Weston Swimming Carnival by Marlia, Rubi-Jean, Charlie, Max, Luca, Cleo, Michael F, Isabel, Maddie, Santiago, Hannah, Connor, Lucas, Isla, Eve, Michael L, Will, Noah, Amy, Clara, Annabel, Sadie, Vivian and Ashley. All of these students were excellent ambassadors of St Jude's and many personal bests came out of the day. Congratulations to everyone who participated and thank you to parents for transporting their child to and from the AIS. Thank you to Ms McKenzie-Kay for supervising the students on the day. 

Congratulations to Clara S, Connor H and Amy R who have qualified for the ACT Championships.

Clara - 50m freestyle and 50m backstroke 

Connor - 50m freestyle and 50m backstroke 

Amy - 50m Breaststroke

The ACT Championships will be held at the AIS on 6 May. We wish Clare S, Connor H and Amy R the very best. 

AFL

Thank you to Mr Morwitch and Daniel Brooker for coaching our two teams at the Paul Kelly Cup on Tuesday. Everyone had a great day and displayed wonderful sportsmanship. 

A sunny autumn day greeted two St Jude's teams at Deakin playing fields for the AFL Gala day.

24 budding stars donned St Jude's (Weston Creek Wildcats) colours to take on the might of the other primary schools in Canberra.

All players represented the school proudly with plenty of high flying marks, long range goals and impressive teamwork. St Jude's finished the day in the 3rd and 4th place playoffs, a great effort for teams who had some players that only found out what a sherrin is at the start of the first game.

Thank you to all players for having a go.

Mulleyduds Uniform Shop

Uniform shop will be next open, Monday 28 April from 10am-11am.

For second hand requests please email to: uniform.stjudes@gmail.com. Please include your child’s name and classroom for us to deliver to. **Please do not make payment for secondhand items, until we reply to your request confirming stock is available.

Mulleygrub Cafe News

Thank you to all our volunteers for this term. Without you our canteen can not operate. 

If you would like to volunteer next term please contact the office at office.stjudes@cg.catholic.edu.au

Community Council

Election BBQ - 3 May

The Federal Election BBQ on Saturday, 3 May, is another great opportunity to get involved and support our school. We need volunteers to help set up, cook, and serve food throughout the day. Whether you can lend a hand for a one hour or a couple of shifts, we’d love to have you on board!

Sign up to help with the Election BBQ here: https://volunteersignup.org/43JKX

Mother’s Day Stall - 7 May

This year, we’re holding our much-loved Mother’s Day Stall on Wednesday, 7 May, 9-11am, where students can pick out a special gift for their mums. Items will be available for sale ranging from $2 to $10, so there’s something for every budget! To ensure the event runs smoothly, we’re looking for volunteers, preferably dads, to assist with setting up, running the stall, and helping the children select their gifts. Your time and effort will make this event memorable for all involved!

Sign up to volunteer for the Mother’s Day Stall here: https://volunteersignup.org/X4EAQ

Fete News

Holiday Programs