Lord, we are companions on a journey

Only you Dear Lord

know the identity and depth of me

You know my hurts and pains

those frustrations I feel in this land

So please, I ask you take my hand

and comfort me

Reconcile and guide me in justice and in faith

For we’re on our way to Alice (Springs)

where you expressed your love for me

Lord, set me free

and let me be the servant I want to be

Lord, I thank you

for hearing and understanding me

For Lord, You are always on my mind

and on my lips and in my heart

And there’s simply no other way

that it could be.

NATSICC © November 2004

Dear Parents and Carers

Student Growth

I hope you notice that staff and students focus on student growth, as opposed to student 'performance'. We acknowledge that an element of performance is necessary and does in fact contribute to student growth; however, it’s not the key to contributing to a student’s progression and development over time.

When teachers monitor growth in the students, they are often looking for a willingness in individual students for continual improvement. Teachers look for long term progress (this can be from term to term or from one semester to the next) and our teachers have a belief that every learner is capable of further growth, regardless of their current level of attainment.

With our Year 3 and Year 5 students sitting NAPLAN last week, I have been very conscious of making sure we treat these assessments for what they are. They are an indication of where students sit at one point in time. There can be many variables that impact how students perform on these days. Often NAPLAN does not show the growth that we would expect. Some students do not perform in test situations; but can achieve great results when presented with problems in the way that they learn best. Each and every one of our students has special gifts – not all of them are displayed in a NAPLAN test.

Enrolments

The enrolment period for Preschool to Year 6 is here, so if you know of anyone who is interested in sending their child to St Jude’s next year (in any grade from P-6) then encourage them to submit an enrolment application. Online enrolments can be completed via the Enrolment tile on our website home page. All online enrolments should be received by the front office of the primary school for Kinder 2020 applications and ELC for Preschool 2020 applications by Friday 31 May.

New Two Classroom Building

I am finally confident that what was promised back in November of 2018 is about to come to fruition. We have been advised that a new two classroom building will be constructed and in use by the end of term three – September 2019. I am equally delighted that Paul Barnett Design Group (architects) will oversee the project and R and F Management will be our builder and site manager. Both PBDG and R&FM have been our architect and builder on all St Jude’s building projects for the past eleven years i.e. our internal upgrade of all classrooms, library and corridors, our preschool and upgrade of the hall and canteen. With these professionals on board, I am very confident our project will have a wonderful result which will benefit the children in our school.

H o p e f u l   k i d s   a r e   h a p p y   k i d s

by Dr Justin Coulson

Think of two children who you have regular contact with: one who is resilient and happy, and one who is struggling and languishing. Imagine you are interviewing each of them and you ask them to rate their response to these six questionnaire items: 

• I think I am doing pretty well 
• I can think of many ways to get the things in life that are important to me 
• I am doing just as well as other kids my age 
• When I have a problem I can come up with lots of ways to solve it 
• I think the things I have done in the past will help me in the future 
• Even when others want to quit, I can find ways to solve the problem 

Chances are that the child who is resilient will respond affirmatively to these items. The child who is struggling is more likely to say ‘no’ than ‘yes’. These items form the basis of the internationally recognised Children’s Hope Scale that is used to assess the hopefulness of children and teens. Hope is a critically important predictor of their wellbeing and resilience.  

National Reconciliation Week

NRW commences on Monday 27 May. This is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures and achievements and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia. The 2019 NRW theme is Grounded in Truth: Walk Together in Courage. St Jude’s will hold a prayer service next Tuesday to mark this important occasion. The venue is St Jude's Church and the start time is 2pm. You are all most welcome to attend.

Best wishes

Peter Galvin
Principal

School Carpark

Confirmation

The time has begun where the 2 parish schools are beginning to plan and prepare for Confirmation. While this sacrament is not received until Term 3, it is important for the Year 6 parents to be aware of dates so they can be put in diaries well in advance! Registration for the sacrament will be available later this term on Qkr!

This Sunday’s Gospel is from the Gospel of John:

When Judas had gone Jesus said:

‘Now has the Son of Man been glorified,

and in him God has been glorified.

If God has been glorified in him,

God will in turn glorify him in himself,

and will glorify him very soon.

My little children,

I shall not be with you much longer.

I give you a new commandment:

love one another;

just as I have loved you,

you also must love one another.

By this love you have for one another,

everyone will know that you are my disciples.’

Jesus issues a new commandment. If he had left it as ‘love one another’ it would have been intolerably vague. After all, I love chocolate and I would love to win Tattslotto. The word ‘love’ has such a range of meaning in English that it always needs a context to be understood.

So Jesus went on: ‘Love one another as I have loved you.’ That’s more definite. That’s more concrete. ‘… as I have loved you.’ So now there is a measure by which we can gauge our progress in discipleship.

There are some obvious enough pointers in the gospel stories. Jesus loved us in a way which invariably led him to do counter cultural things like sharing meals with the marginalised and ostracised. We can all ask how we measure up to his way of living in that and many other respects.

But there is a deeper, more fundamental, dimension to Our Lord’s love for us.

Divine Love was aware that humankind was in a mess: a history of disoriented behaviour distorting our relationships with God and others.

Divine Love could have dealt with this in a myriad of ways, perhaps by using angelic forces or purely spiritual Powers.

But instead, in Jesus Christ, Divine Love entered into the human story and absorbed the suffering experienced by every human being in death, the tearing apart of body and soul. He conquered such wrenching death in the Resurrection and invites all humanity to share in that victory.

You may think that this extravagant extreme of love is something no human being could ever measure up to. So does our Lord present us with a command impossible to fulfill?

But actually, it happens whenever a mother or father sits by the bedside of a child suffering the terrible pain of a chronic illness or traumatic accident and, perhaps, even facing the prospect of death. Such a parent will invariably say ‘I would rather suffer and die than see my child suffer and die.’ It is the same with a spouse seeing their much loved life partner in a similar situation.

The desire to absorb the suffering of another, quite freely except for the compulsion of love, shows humanity at its best. This is the ultimate degree of com-passion, suffering with another, and is the closest a human being gets to the deep dimension of the way in which Our Lord loves the whole of humankind.

But each of us, usually to a lesser degree and in less fraught circumstances, has the opportunity to share in the anxieties, the fears, and to absorb, to some extent, the sufferings of others. Together with imitating the other patterns of Jesus’ earthly ministry, we are thus given the possibility of fulfilling the command: ‘Love one another as I have loved you.’

The effect of this sort of loving will be realised at the end of history when all such lovers will constitute a new way of humans living together, as in a wonderful city.

The vision of John, the seer, recounted in the second reading will come true. We are not destined to live in a garden of Paradise, but in a City: a complex way in which great numbers of people relate to each other.

‘Then I heard a loud voice call from the throne, “You see this city? Here God lives among men. He will make his home among them; they shall be his people, and he will be their God; his name is God-with-them. He will wipe away all tears from their eyes; there will be no more death, and no more mourning or sadness. The world of the past has gone.”’

Let us together make our way to that future City, that future City made possible by the Divine Lover who took on our human nature and absorbed the worst that Death could do.

Let us together make our way to that future City, where God will wipe away all tears from our eyes. There will be no more death and no more mourning or sadness.

And let us on the way to that future City start to transform human history by fulfilling our Lord’s command: ‘Love one another as I have loved you’.

Michael Tate

Dates to remember:

Thursday 23 May: Year 3 class Mass 9.30am, St Jude's Church

Thursday 30 May: Whole school Mass for the Ascension, 9.30am, St Jude's Church

Monday 3 June: Beatitudes Prayer Assembly, 2.30pm, Church 2D presenting

Thursday 6 June: Year 5 and ELC class Mass 9.30am, St Jude's Church

Thursday 13 June: Kinder class Mass, 9.30am, St Jude's Church

God bless,

Susan Chant
RE Coordinator

South Weston Cross Country

Our South Weston Cross Country St Jude’s Team has been announced. If your child has qualified, a note has been sent home with all the information for the event. Students will need to pay a $10 registration fee to compete on 3 June 2019. If your child is unable to attend, could you let me know sooner rather than later. as another student can replace them at the carnival.

Little Shredders

Little Shredders is running two free community sessions, starting next week, teaching students skills for cross country skiing.

Dates:
Thursdays 23 May – 13 June at the AIS Canberra, 4.00pm - 4.45pm offered to students in Kindergarten to Year 6
OR
Thursdays 23 May – 13 June at the AIS Canberra, 4.00pm - 4.45pm offered to students in Year 3 to Year 6.
If you are interested in having your child participate, please register for both sessions through the following link https://www.skiandsnowboard.org.au/events/39294/

Trials

There are a number of trials for ACT sports (Basketball, Netball, AFL, Football, Hockey) at the moment. If you play a sport and would like the extra challenge please check the Sports Noticeboard for further information or talk with Mrs Thomas.

If you need any further information regarding our sports program, please don’t hesitate to contact me through email at Leanne.thomas@cg.catholic.edu.au

AFL Clinics

This week we have started a four lesson clinic with ACT AFL. Students in Year 2, 3, & 4KR enjoyed their lesson with Nick, learning how to kick the ball and some basic games to enhance some catching/throwing skills. Students in Year 6, 5 and 4LR will be starting their lesson on Friday. 

Happy Birthday Delilah P

Last Friday the Turtles and Lobsters joined St John Vianney’s at Chapman oval for their athletics carnival. It was our first bus ride and the excitement of the day was running high.Thank you to SJV for inviting us to attend, we highly value the connections with our two primary schools.

The ELC children have been enjoying our fruit shop. We have had some families bring in a mystery fruit or vegetable that the children may not have tried before. If parents have an idea for a mystery fruit, we would love you to share it with us. At the fruit shop we explore patterns, colours, shapes, and the characteristics of the fruits and vegetables. 

After our very successful working bee, we are hoping to bring some more colour into our outdoor areas.  We have put some ideas on a poster at the sign in desk and parents are invited to vote which ones you would like to see included.  The children have had an opportunity to vote for the garden ideas they like best in class.

3pm Pickup

A reminder to parents that preschool pickup time is 3pm. Children who have not been picked up on time will be signed into the Seahorse (after school care) program and fees will apply.

Kinder Enrolments 2020

A reminder to ELC parents that you need to complete an enrolment form for your child for Kindergarten next year. You can now enrol online for Catholic schools and ELCs for 2020. To access online enrolment, visit the relevant school website.

ELC Enrolments 2020

Spread the word, ELC enrolments are now available online, visit our website for more information.

St Jude’s School Disco

The school disco will be on Friday 31 May in the school hall. Pre-schoolers are invited to attend from 6-7pm.  $5 per child or $10 per family is payable at the door. The theme is 80’s so feel free to dress up!

Woolworths Earn and Learn Stickers

This year, St Jude’s is participating in the Woolworths Earn and Learn sticker program. All proceeds raised will be donated to St Mary’s Primary, Batlow. You can place your stickers in the boxes at the primary school, ELC or at Weston Woolworths store.

ELC Fees

A reminder that ELC fees for weeks 5 and 6 are due tomorrow, 24 May. Your efforts to have fees paid on time are appreciated.

Entertainment Book

Entertainment Books can be purchased in hard copy (collected on the day of purchase from the ELC) or digital copy for your phone. View the book online at www.online.flippingbook.com/view/1048499/ or order at www.entbook.com.au/94h4738. Purchase before 1 June to take advantage of the early bird offers.

Yesterday was National Simultaneous Storytime (NSS) day and many classes enjoyed the chosen book ‘Alpacas with Maracas’ by Matt Cosgrove and some activities as well. 

Congratulations to Noah M, Laura C, Abbey S, Jade H, Hannah P and Riona R for completing their CMRC this week! Well done! Great effort!

Chess is happening in the Library on Monday lunchtimes.

Reading for pleasure on Wednesday mornings 8.30am until bell time.

Happy reading!

Verna Comley
Librian

Masterchef

Our Masterchef this week is the 'The Haunted Hekimian Family' and they are making 'Triple Choc Mini Muffins'. The ingredients are: cocoa, flour, desiccated coconut, white chocolate bits, milk chocolate bits, butter, milk, egg and brown sugar. We will be selling them for 50 cents.

Consistent Qkr! Problems

Please ensure online lunch orders are for the correct day and make sure you receive a receipt number. Too many children are turning up at lunch upset that their lunch orders are missing. Some parents also haven’t updated their children’s classes, this delays the tallying process in the morning, especially on Fridays when we are very busy.

Volunteers

Mulleygrub’s Café can only function with your help. Any amount of your time is wonderful. Thursdays and Fridays are especially busy so if you can, please come in and have a go. I’ll even make you a cuppa! Remember to apply for a Working with Vulnerable People card (WWVP). It’s free for volunteers!

Volunteers Roster

Friday 24 May
Belinda Mc
Bec H
Help needed X 2

Thursday 30 May
Wendy D
Help needed X 2

Canteen Kim

Mulleyduds will be open:

Friday 24 May, 3.00pm to 3.30pm
Friday 31 May, 3.00pm to 3.30pm
Friday 7 June, 3.00pm to 3.30pm

Just a reminder that Uniform Shop orders can be placed electronically via Qkr! and items will then be delivered directly to your child, for them to take home. Pending the availability of our volunteers, Qkr! orders are usually filled on Wednesday mornings, as well as Friday afternoons when the shop is open. 

If you need to exchange any item that you have ordered (e.g. for a different size), just send the item and a note back into school with your child to go in the daily message bag to the front office. The volunteers at the Uniform Shop will then swap the item over for you and provide it to your child to take home. If any of the items you have ordered happen to be out of stock at the time, a slip will be provided to your child advising of this. If required, refunds can be arranged via the front office.

All profits from the Uniform Shop go to the St Jude’s Community Council and help fund school projects, such as the new playground equipment built in 2018.

If you have any questions, please direct them to: uniformstjudesps@gmail.com

Finally, if anyone is able to assist at the Uniform Shop on a Friday afternoon from 3.00-3.30pm, your help would be greatly appreciated.

Susana Lloyd, Skye Magure & Alison Egan
uniformstjudesps@gmail.com

Trivia Night will be held on 17 August this year and, aside from booking the band and making sure Tom Gibson is free (thanks Tom!!), we need to get cracking on the finer details. It's a big event and a great fundraiser for the school, so many hands will make light work. Please email Kylie at kylieox@y7mail.com or text 0410 486 767 if you can help out. There are a number of things that need to be done before the night, on the night and at the end of the night (cleaning crew), so if you have a preference, please let me know. We also need some prizes for the competitions and raffles, so if you can donate something, please email me, so I can keep track. Once we have a crew, I'll arrange a get together to iron out the details. Thanks in advance!

The Election Cake Stall

The election cake stall, coffee and democracy sausage stand was an outstanding success, making around $3000 for the Community Council. Congratulations and a very big thanks to all who helped out on the day; set up and packed away, and of course to our army of bakers.

Parent Survey Results

Last week the Community Council met to review the parent survey results and determine which projects the Community Council will support this year. If you were unable to make the meeting, you can find the minutes on the school website under the Community Council tab.

One of the issues raised in the survey is that there is a lack of understanding around the role of Community Council, and what happens at meetings. Despite popular belief, these meetings are not an opportunity for parents to be pressured into jobs. These meetings provide an opportunity for parents and community members to hear the contemporary issues around the school, understand solutions and plans in place for these, and to voice their own concerns or ideas.

Thank you to those parents who completed the parent survey. We received excellent fete and fundraiser feedback, which has been passed directly on to the relevant committees. The following summary list some, but not all of the suggestions discussed at the Community Council meeting. The underlined suggestions are the ones that the Council agreed to support this year.

Proposed Community Council projects for 2019

• Playground shade sails
• Year 6 eating area
• Fencing playground
• Bike cage
• Basketball tops
• Garden beautification
• Solar panels
• Toilet beautification
• Car park upgrade
• Re paint the school

Community Council couldn’t function without the participation of parents and community members. If you have any concerns or suggestions, please feel free to attend our meetings, or if you can’t, you can always hit me up around the school or email me.

Charlotte Dalton
Community Council Chair
Stjudes.scc@gmail.com

Students of the Week

~ Awards Week 3, Term 2~

KT—Abby M and Eva-Mae B

KH—Alexandria P and Eli M

1S—Penny A and Caleb H

1T—Oscar W and Evie M

2D—Wilson M and Meike D

2BF —Kenisha K and Julie JB

2J—Nina S and Katherine R

3M—Connor R and Logan B

3ME—Mitchell C and Finn F

5L—Jacob L and Isla T

6S—Matt H and Grace K

6CG—Caila G and Marie L

I realised that reading was the key that opened the door to secret lands, STRANGE PLACES and the worlds behind other people’s eyes.

Romana Koval, By the Book

National Library of Australia (2016). Reading Pleasures. Canberra, ACT: NLA Publishing. P 29

School assembly is every Friday at 2.15pm.

School Banking is every Friday morning.

 If your child is interested in participating in our school banking program, please pick up an information brochure from the front office.​