Gospel Reading: Matthew    5:38-48
Jesus said to his disciples:
          “You have heard that it was said,
          An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.
But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil.
When someone strikes you on your right cheek,
          turn the other one as well.
If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic,
          hand over your cloak as well.
Should anyone press you into service for one mile,
          go for two miles. 
Give to the one who asks of you,
          and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow.
“You have heard that it was said,
           You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.
But I say to you, love your enemies
          and pray for those who persecute you,
          that you may be children of your heavenly Father,
          for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good,
          and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.
For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have?
Do not the tax collectors do the same?
And if you greet your brothers only,
          what is unusual about that?
Do not the pagans do the same?
So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Many of you will be aware that I am a big fan of regular reading. Did you know…..

Thank you to:

• All involved in the Parent/Carer/Teacher sharing sessions. They have given parents the opportunity to share valuable information.
• Carolyn Keily and Sara Gibney for their contributions as members of the Community Council Executive. They have offered sage advice and unconditional support.
• All involved in preparing for our upcoming school fete. This is an enormous task, all being led by volunteers.

School Car Parks:

Firstly, thank you for slowing down and being more patient during morning drop off and afternoon pick up. It has been noticeable. Whether it is planned or just a coincidence, the morning drop off and the afternoon pick up have less of a “Peak Hour” feel.

A reminder that the car park at the front of the school is designated solely to ELC parents. As it is there are not enough spaces for these families, however, when they are taken by school parents, we risk ELC children having to cross roads to get to cars. This isn’t ideal. Please don’t park in this area during peak times, if you don’t have a child at ELC.

Leadership Assembly:

Last Friday, our Year 6 leaders were inducted into their roles. Each student had a member of their family pin the badges. It is always a proud occasion for all involved. We are fortunate to have a group of very sensible and responsible Year 6 leaders in 2023.

Wet weather drop off and pick up:

Moving forward, the procedure for morning drop off for parents/carers is the same as if it were not raining. We will have 4 staff on duty from 8:30am. Once students arrive, they are expected to sit quietly in the shelter shed area. If it is still raining when the teachers come on duty, the students will be directed to their classrooms.

Moving forward, the procedure for afternoon pick up for parents/carers is generally the same as if it were not raining. You can collect your child from the external door of their classroom, or from the shelter shed. Please make sure that if your child walks home, catches the bus or rides home, that they know what to do if it rains.

If your plans change on any given day. The best thing to do is call the front office and Natalie or Renee will then be able to make sure your child knows the new arrangement. This phone call needs to happen before 2:50pm if possible.

Thank you for taking the time over the first 3 weeks to meet with your child’s teacher. I can appreciate that we are all very busy, however, information shared helps build solid foundations.

Morning Assemblies:

On Monday and Wednesday mornings, when the bell rings, the students assemble under the shelter shed. Monday announcements are usually tied to key messages for the week, whilst on Wednesday we also present the birthday certificates for the week. You are more than welcome to park in the second half of the main car park and join us.

Student Assessment:

Our students are being assessed much of their time at school. Some of this is formal, whilst the majority is informal, taking the form of teacher observation, questioning etc. The aim of most assessment is to gain an understanding of student understanding which is then used to forward plan. It’s cyclical and ongoing. Other more formal assessments, such as PAT, Dibels or NAPLAN are point in time assessments that are often used to gain trend data. As educators, we try to make these assessments seamless and stress free. Parents often ask, How can I help my child prepare for NAPLAN? The best thing to do is to try to normalise it. Remind them that throughout their school journey they will experience these assessments. However, it doesn’t define them and as long as they do their best, then that is all that matters. If you have questions about NAPLAN or other assessments, please reach out firstly to your child’s teacher.

Thank you for your ongoing support.

ELC NEWS

Happy Birthday to Jack K

This week we have started exploring the concept of prayer circle, the symbols that we use during prayer and discussion around Jesus and His family. Each class has created their own prayer mat to use during morning prayer as the mat brings us together.

Classes will be taking time to visit the church to explore the signs and symbols we see inside a church.

Confirmation of Childcare Agreement

Please remember to return your signed Agreement to the ELC as soon as possible.

Car park

We continue to have issues with cars parking in the carpark in front of the school which is designated for ELC families. Please do not use this carpark if you do not have a child in the ELC. ELC families will be issued with a sign to display on the dashboard and any vehicles not displaying the sign will receive a notice to inform them of the car park expectations.

Student absences

Please advise the ELC office and your child’s teacher if your child is going to be absent from school and a brief description of why. We record all illnesses so we can track if there are any outbreaks that the community need to be aware of. This can be via phone or email.

Parent Representative

Turtle class – Laura Sheehan (Elizabeth’s mum)

Stingray class – Andrea Halverson (Geordie’s mum)

Lobster class – Jacinta Crocker (Charlie’s mum)

You will receive an email from them shortly introducing themselves.

Scholastic Book Orders

Orders are due by 20 February, online payment only.  A percentage of purchases is donated back to the school for book purchases.

Save the date 

Swimming Carnival - Thursday 9 March

Athletics Carnival - Thursday 30 March

More information to follow. 

Kerrin Henderson - Sports Coodinator

Items to collect from the Canteen

If you are ordering frozen items or cold milo in your child’s lunch order, they will receive a stamp on their lunch order bag. This stamp is an indication that they need to collect items from the Canteen. Your child needs to bring the paper bag with the stamp to the canteen to collect their item. Please remind your child of this process.  

Canteen Volunteers – Week 4

Wednesday 22 February - J. Long, M. Fairbairn & D. Sadreddini

Thursday 23 February - L. Gardiner, R. Buckley & R. Arnold

Friday 24 February - G. Cabot, S. Davenport, S Monges and one more volunteer please.

The Canteen is still looking for more volunteers - if you would like to volunteer in the Canteen, I would LOVE to hear from you, email me.

For all your uniform ordering needs, the quickest and most efficient method is via Qkr! Orders will be picked, packed and delivered to your child's class. 

For any secondhand items, please email uniform.stjudes@gmail.com with the items and sizes you need. Do not make payment until we have replied to let you know what we can supply and how much is owed. 

If you ever receive sizes that do not fit (or have been incorrectly packed), please ensure tags are left in place. Return the item to the front office with a note of what size/colour/item is to be swapped, and the volunteers will sort this with their regular packing visits. 

Opening Times:

FRIDAY 24/02/23 from 8.00am - 9.30am. 

We also have EFTPOS available on site, for speedy purchasing without needing to access Qkr!

The Mulleyduds Team.

The Community Council AGM and general meeting was held last night. Thank you to all those that attended in person and online. Last night the Deputy Chair and Secretary positions were vacated as per our constitution. I would like to acknowledge and thank both Carolyn Keily and Sara Gibney who are finishing up their terms as Deputy and Secretary. Their hard work and dedication have kept the Community Council running smoothly. I particularly am thankful for their support when I stepped into the Chair position. I also need to highlight the amazing work that Sara does in the uniform shop, going above and beyond to provide that service to St Jude’s families. We welcomed the following community members into the vacant positions:

Deputy Chair – Nick Fairbairn

Secretary – Peter Lilley

I want to thank Nick and Peter for generously volunteering their time and I, along with the other executive members, look forward to working with you both.

The minutes will be made available online shortly. If you have any questions or comments after reading them, please reach out. The next Community Council will be in week 8.

Many thanks,

Hello Parents and Carers

We are excited to announce that the St Jude’s Primary School Fete will be taking place on Saturday 18 March! This annual event is a great opportunity for the school community to come together and have fun, while raising funds for the school. As we get closer to the fete, we will be sending out regular updates and reminders to keep you informed about the event.

Please save the date and plan to join us for a day of fun and entertainment.

Some of the activities planned for the fete include:

• Rides and games,
• Food and drinks,
• Raffles,
• Trash and treasure,
• Performances by the school choir and local sports clubs,

And much more!

A Mufti Day will be held on Friday 3 March to seek donations for fete supplies (more details to come soon) and our stall holders will start looking for volunteers three weeks out from the fete.

We look forward to seeing you all at the fete on 18 March!

The St Jude's Fete Team

stjudespsfete@gmail.com

The National Multicultural Festival is on this weekend. Enjoy delicious food and entertainment from all over the world. There is an Indonesian Dance Performance on Sunday afternoon. Please see the details below:

Selamat menikmati (Enjoy)

Weston Molonglo Football Clubs registration for U6-U9's miniroos competition is open.

For more info and how to register please visit https://bit.ly/wmfcminiroos

We are also running skills sessions for U6-U9's on Saturday mornings at Waramanga playing fields.

They will be held on the following Saturdays 18 Feb, 25 Feb, 4 March and 1 April.

Session times

U6 - 9:00am

U7 - 10:00am

U8 - 11:00am

U9 - 12:00pm

Each session is 45 mins, please bring water bottle, SHINPADS and sunscreen.

Any questions please email Kate, the miniroos coordinator: miniroos@wmfc.org.au

WVSC are holding a club night Friday 24 Feb - 5pm warm up and 5.30pm racing. Open to all school swimmers who might like some practice before the school carnival or want to give racing a go/find out more about the club. 

All the info about Woden swim is here in this post: http://wodenswimclub.org.au/2023/02/13/february-2023-club-night/

Any swimmer is welcome so long as they can swim 25m. Cost of entry is $2 per swimmer plus pool entry - if they don't have a membership (it is at Stromlo Leisure Centre). They will need to enter through our club night coordinator, Amanda (wvsc.clubnight@wodenswimclub.org.au)

and give DOB, full name and their events (max 4). Events are: 

• 1 Mixed 100 Freestyle
• 2 Mixed 25 Breaststroke
• 3 Mixed 50 Breaststroke
• 4 Mixed 100 Backstroke
• 5 Mixed 25 Butterfly
• 6 Mixed 50 Butterfly
• 7 Mixed 100 Breaststroke
• 8 Mixed 25 Freestyle
• 9 Mixed 50 Freestyle
• 10 Mixed 200IM
• 11 Mixed 25 Backstroke
• 12 Mixed 50 Backstroke
• 13 Mixed 100 Fly
• 14 Mixed 200 Freestyle

A strict entry deadline Tuesday 21 Feb at 8pm.