Gospel, Matthew 17:1-9

Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There in their presence he was transfigured: his face shone like the sun and his clothes became as dazzling as light. And suddenly Moses and Elijah appeared to them; they were talking with him. Then Peter spoke to Jesus. 'Lord,' he said, 'it is wonderful for us to be here; if you want me to, I will make three shelters here, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.'

He was still speaking when suddenly a bright cloud covered them with shadow, and suddenly from the cloud there came a voice which said, 'This is my Son, the Beloved; he enjoys my favour. Listen to him.' When they heard this, the disciples fell on their faces, overcome with fear.

But Jesus came up and touched them, saying, 'Stand up, do not be afraid.' And when they raised their eyes they saw no one but Jesus. As they came down from the mountain Jesus gave them this order, 'Tell no one about this vision until the Son of man has risen from the dead.'

Dance Spectacular

What an amazing performance and production. A significant thank you to all staff for going above and beyond. Here are some photos from the event:

St Jude’s Staff Uniform

You may have seen, or heard about our new staff shirts. They were designed by a staff committee led by Lachlan Eveston 2E in conjunction with some local Aboriginal artists.

Here is an explanation of the symbolism shared with the students:

The Ngunnawal totem – the wedge tail eagle – is the main piece of the artwork. By having the eagle on our uniforms, we are acknowledging the rich history of the Ngunnawal people, paying our respects to their elders, as well as acknowledging that we live, learn and play on their country. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have a unique role in looking after their totem animals. In that way, we acknowledge the efforts that Ngunnawal people have made in looking after this nation, and the plants and animals within. We honour those efforts by making our own pledges to do the same – caring for and protecting Ngunnawal country and all creation that calls it home.

The cross and meeting place symbol – Alongside our connection to Ngunnawal country, the cross acknowledges the connection to our faith. We are a Catholic school and aim to live out our faith in the service of others. The cross represents this, as well as our continued efforts to grow in truth and love. The cross is also surrounded by the Indigenous symbol for ‘a meeting place’ – which are the coloured dots surrounding the cross forming a yarning circle. Yarning circles are places where everyone is listened to and understood. This represents our efforts as teachers and a collective staff, to listen to the ideas of others, (staff and students alike) and help each other in a supportive, safe and truly inclusive environment.

Colour choice - Our school colours – green and gold are seen throughout the artwork. They represent the connection to our school, as well as to the students we teach. By wearing the same colours as our students, we are showing that we are a welcoming school community, and that the needs of our students are at the forefront of our minds.

Song lines – the dots arranged in a line represent Songlines – or dreaming pathways. Songlines describe the features and directions of travel, that First Nations people would include in song, and memorise, so that a traveller could find their way home. No matter how lost you were, if you remembered the song you’d always be able to find your way home. Having these displayed on our uniform represents the journey students undertake while learning at St Jude’s. Further, how we strive as a school community to make this a safe and positive learning environment, so that no matter how lost we (staff) or students may feel, we can find a ‘home’ at St Jude’s.

Lachlan Eveston

Year 2 Teacher – St Jude’s Primary School Holder

Proud Gamilaraay and Dharug man

Student Voice

As you would be aware, we have 5 Peer Leader groups in Year 6. They often present ideas and as a school, we often implement them. One of their latest ideas has a fundraising focus. Next Friday we will be holding a fundraiser focussing on both Motor Neuron Disease and Cancer. The Community Council will sponsor a sausage sizzle and students are invited to wear a colour linked with one of these illnesses. We have had several families impacted by both MND and Cancer in the past 12 months so they are very close to our hearts. We are asking that each family donate what they can afford. We understand that many families are experiencing financial challenges. You may have lost a loved one or have a survival story which is close to your heart. Please send in what you can afford, and we will divide the funds equally between MND and Breast Cancer.

Thank you for your ongoing support.

 Cameron

Tuesday 8 August Mary Mackillop Feast Day - Thank you to year 5 who are preparing our liturgy, 2:15pm in the Church if you would like to join us.

Tuesday 15 August Feast of the Assumption - We will celebrate the feast day with a Mass at 12pm. All families are welcome to join us.

ELC NEWS

Floriade Gnomes

Each year the ELC supports the Canberra Rotary Club’s Floriade Gnomes. We have purchased gnomes from Rotary for the children to paint in the lead up to Spring.  We are looking forward to creating our own gnome wonderland in the gardens around St Jude’s for our whole community to enjoy. 

Gymnastics Term 4

We always receive great feedback from children and parents when we participate in the gymnastics program at Woden Valley Gymnastics Club. The ELC children completed a 9 week program in Term 2 and have an opportunity to complete a second program in term 4. A form has been left at the front desk to seek your input.

Lids4Kids

Our plastic lids collection is starting to grow. Please continue to bring in your milk bottle lids so that we can send them to Lids4Kids for their recycling program and prevent them going to landfill. 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.

Hats

Now that we’re getting closer to Spring, please ensure that your child has a labelled hat in their bag. We monitor the UV rating closely. When UV is 3 or more we must wear hats as part of our sun protection policy.

*Thank you to the Nokes family for their donation of some books.       

They will always find a good home somewhere here!

Here are 3 more sections of books that are CBCA shortlisted for 2023.

Wanted for craft  for next week! ~ round clear plastic lids (like on takeaway food containers or margarine lids) Thank you to people who have sent some in already!

*Year 4 reminder to bring one for yourself if possible!

Happy reading! Verna Comley

St Jude's Athletics Carnival Ribbons Assembly

Congratulations to all students who participated in our school carnival. It was a wonderful day of outstanding effort and sportsmanship. Parents are invited to a short assembly this Friday 4 August at 2.30pm in the school hall, 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 olds. 

South Weston Athletics Carnival 

The South Weston Athletics Carnival will be held on Thursday 17 August at Woden Park, Phillip. Students who have qualified to represent St Jude's at this carnival have received a note, containing the details of the carnival as well as a permission note, which needs to be returned to the school office with $10 payment by Wednesday 9 August. This payment goes to the running of the carnival, hire of the ground and use of the equipment. 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. Parents are very welcome to come along on the day and watch, but must not enter the track or field event arenas at any stage during the day. Please let me know if your child will not be participating so the next competitor can be offered the event/s. 

Futsal 

Congratulations to our girls Futsal team who won the grand final! 

Uniform shop open—Friday 4 August 8:45am-9:30am

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. 

Friday 11 August

The regular canteen menu will not be available on Friday 11 August, due to the MND and Breast Cancer Fundraising Lunch.

Canteen Volunteers – Week 4

Wednesday 9 August– E. Dimanoski & one more volunteer please

Thursday 10 August–  K. Lees & R. Buckley

Friday 11 August – S. Monges, G. Cabot, E. Eyles & more volunteers please

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