Gospel, Matthew 13:44-52

'The kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in a field which someone has found; he hides it again, goes off in his joy, sells everything he owns and buys the field.

'Again, the kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls;

when he finds one of great value he goes and sells everything he owns and buys it.

'Again, the kingdom of Heaven is like a dragnet that is cast in the sea and brings in a haul of all kinds of fish.

When it is full, the fishermen bring it ashore; then, sitting down, they collect the good ones in baskets and throw away those that are no use.

This is how it will be at the end of time: the angels will appear and separate the wicked from the upright, to throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.

'Have you understood all these?' They said, 'Yes.'

And he said to them, 'Well then, every scribe who becomes a disciple of the kingdom of Heaven is like a householder who brings out from his storeroom new things as well as old.'

Arriving at school on time

I can appreciate that on colder mornings it is difficult to get some children moving. However, I am appealing to each of you to make your very best effort to have your children at school before the bell goes. As a teacher, those first 5 minutes help set the tone for the day and when students are late, it has a significant impact on the tone and mood of the room. It also creates a stop/start environment. Fortunately, morning traffic around school is generally free flowing. Please set the alarm 5 minutes earlier, leave home 5 minutes earlier or use your magical parent/carer powers to make sure your child is at school on time. When they are late, it impacts the class, but it also heightens their stress level as they haven’t heard initial instructions and are unsure what they should be doing. Every minute counts. Thank you for helping.

Dance Spectacular

The students and staff are ready. The canteen is fully stocked and today it happens. A big shout out to our librarian, who apart from having a full time teaching load, has also managed to spend tens of hours organising the seating. This is/was a mammoth job. Thank you also to the staff who were able to assist. Thank you also for your assistance. Little children having 2 late nights can exacerbate challenges at home. I’m sure, once you see it, you will agree that it was definitely worthwhile.

St Jude’s Facebook

As you would be aware, our staff take every opportunity to promote all the wonderful things we are doing. If you have a facebook account but have not yet followed our St Jude’s page, I would encourage you to do so.

NAPLAN 2023

NAPLAN results will come home next Monday. If you have any queries, please reach out to your child’s teacher.

Thank you for your ongoing support.

 Cameron

Prayer and Service peer group

Yesterday our wonderful Prayer and Service leaders prepared and led ELC, K, 1 and 2 in our first Liturgy for the term.

The students sang beautifully and year 2 were exceptional in modeling expectations to the younger years. 

Students are given the opportunity to change peer groups for semester 2. Here is our new Prayer and Service peer group!

Confirmation

On Tuesday, 15 of our year 6 students met at the SJV church to begin their journey towards Confirmation. This Sacrament is the final initiation Sacrament in the Catholic faith, where candidates receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit to draw on in their life for the service of God and others. 

Please keep these students in your prayers

If you missed the information night, you can contact the parish for registration.

ELC NEWS

Happy Birthday to Nora S, Isla C

We were very excited to begin our Mura Gadi program on Tuesday. The Stingrays and the Turtles watched the Acknowledgment of Country Playschool episode before heading out to their first destination to say their own Acknowledgment of Country. After that, children enjoyed rolling down the hill, making Gunyahs (indigenous word for hut or home) drawing in the dirt, meditating, spotting birds and insects and so much more. Each week we will explore a new area in our local environment.

What an exciting week of theatrical performances for the Turtles and Lobsters with our dance concerts and the excursion to Canberra Theatre to watch Hiccup! Please ensure that you arrive on time on Friday so we can get to the theatre on time.  If you would like to collect your child after the dance concert matinees on Thursday or Friday, please remember they will need to be signed out at the ELC as usual.  With such a busy day, we ask that you please do not have lunch orders this Friday.

Mens Shed

Jacinta Putt’s dad, Brian Charge, volunteers at the Hall Men’s Shed. The Mens’ Shed movement has become one of the most powerful tools in addressing health and wellbeing, helping men to connect with each other and connect with other members of our community. Brian and his merry band of willing helpers made and painted five hobby horses, complete with wheels, to add to the learning experiences in the ELC outdoor space. This type of play allows the children to think creatively, collaborate their ideas and develop literacy skills during play with stories they tell. Thank you to Brian and all the volunteers for your time and resources.

Interoception

This week our ELC staff attended Professional Learning about interoception. Most of us have heard of the five basic senses, touch, smell, taste, sight, and hearing, but few of us know the term interoception. It is the process of sensing signals from the body, like the heartbeat, breathing, hunger, or the need to go to the toilet. Whilst this sense usually develops naturally in most bodies, others can need assistance in identifying their body’s needs. This PL has provided greater insight to the ELC staff to help some of our little people better understand their bodies and the signals they send through interoception awareness.

Lids4Kids

At the end of last term we held a Lids4Kids incursion where we learnt about recycling plastic lids that will then be repurposed into loose part toys. We have set up a sorting net in our front foyer, please consider collecting all of your plastic bottle tops and bringing them in to add to our collection.

Term 3  Week 2

This term Kinder, Years 1 and 2 are borrowing a book with a medal sticker on them as well as a free choice. These books are past shortlisted books from CBCA Book Week and represent good children’s books. Please read them with your children and discuss the importance of the medal stickers. ELC children are also borrowing medal sticker books.

Reading Challenge - Winners Congratulations!

KB – Eli P      

KF – Everly P

1B – Noah B 

1LC – Jesse S

2E – Owen W and Ariella B

2S – Wlliam B and Annabel S                      

2T – Bill C

3M - Callum N and Scarlett O   

3R - Willow M

3S - Aurora R

4C – Abby M

4HK – Eve L

4G – Alice B

5L - Grace L

5S- Samantha D

6K – Brody C         

6T – Nia O  

6VS – Sam M

*Wanted for craft this term ~ round clear plastic lids     (like on Chinese food containers or margarine lids)

Happy reading! Verna Comley

St Jude's Athletics Carnival

Below are results, from our St Jude's Athletics Carnival, which was held last term. Congratulations to all students who participated in the carnival. It was a wonderful day of outstanding effort and sportsmanship with many students trying events for the very first time. Parents are invited to a short assembly next Friday 4 August at 2.30pm where ribbons will be handed out to the first 3 placegetters as below. Ribbons will not be presented to students turning 5,6 or 7 years old this year.  

South Weston Athletics Carnival 

The South Weston Athletics Carnival will be held on Thursday 17 August at Woden Park, Phillip. Students turning 8 or 9 years old this year are eligible to compete in the 70m sprint and 100m sprint ONLY. This has been determined by School Sports ACT. Students who have qualified to represent St Jude's at this carnival will be bringing a note home tomorrow with further information and their events. The first 2 placegetters from our school carnival have been nominated in each of the events offered. Parents will need to provide transport for their child to and from Woden Park. 

Ribbon Assembly for Athletics Carnival will be held Friday 4 August at 2.30pm in the school hall. Parents are very welcome to come along. 

Canteen Volunteers – Week 3

Wednesday 2 August– J. Long & one more volunteer please

Thursday 3 August– L. Gardiner, K. Lees & R. Buckley

Friday 4 August – S. Monges, S. Devonport, G. Cabot & E. Eyles

If you would like to volunteer in the Canteen in Term 3 please email Katrina.howden@cg.catholic.edu.au

Unfortunately the uniform shop will not open this week due to the Dance Concert and lack of space around the hall/canteen corridor. Receiving orders and packing continues as normal though. 

As always, for any and all uniform needs, orders can be placed via the Uniform Shop tab on Qkr!, or via email to: uniform.stjudes@gmail.com for any second hand items. **Please do not make payment for secondhand items, until we reply to your request confirming stock is available. 

If there is ever an issue with an order, please email the uniform shop and we will endeavour to fix this as soon as possible. Similarly if items are missing from QKR or marked 'stock not available', please let us know and we can order stock with relatively quick turnaround times.