This week’s Gospel: Matthew 25: 14-30

For even as a man going into a far country, called his servants, and delivered to them his goods; And to one he gave five talents, and to another two, and to another one, to every one according to his proper ability: and immediately he took his journey. And he that had received the five talents, went his way, and traded with the same, and gained other five. And in like manner he that had received the two, gained other two. But he that had received the one, going his way digged into the earth, and hid his lord’s money. But after a long time the lord of those servants came, and reckoned with them. And he that had received the five talents coming, brought other five talents, saying: Lord, thou didst deliver to me five talents, behold I have gained other five over and above. His lord said to him: Well done, good and faithful servant, because thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will place thee over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

And he also that had received the two talents came and said: Lord, thou deliveredst two talents to me: behold I have gained other two. His lord said to him: Well done, good and faithful servant: because thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will place thee over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. But he that had received the one talent, came and said: Lord, I know that thou art a hard man; thou reapest where thou hast not sown, and gatherest where thou hast not strewed. And being afraid I went and hid thy talent in the earth: behold here thou hast that which is thine. And his lord answering, said to him: Wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sow not, and gather where I have not strewed: Thou oughtest therefore to have committed my money to the bankers, and at my coming I should have received my own with usury. Take ye away therefore the talent from him, and give it to him that hath ten talents. For to every one that hath shall be given, and he shall abound: but from him that hath not, that also which he seemeth to have shall be taken away. And the unprofitable servant cast ye out into the exterior darkness. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Parent requests for 2024 classes

Starting next week we will begin allocating students into their class groupings for 2024. This is quite a complicated process which involves ensuring that they have a friend in their new class as well as making sure that academic and social needs are evenly spread across the year level. If you have a request, please forward it to me cameron.reed@cg.catholic.edu.au by Friday November 17. There is plenty of movement of staff across the system, as a result, staffing will probably not be finalised until just before One Up Day, so please do not put in a request for a particular teacher.

Community Council Disco

As you would be aware, the Community Council is organising a school disco to be held in St Jude’s Hall on Friday November 17. We have some further details regarding the school disco to be held in the school hall.

Two sessions will be held:

• 5:30pm – 6.15pm (ELC – Year 2)
• 6:30pm – 7.45pm (Year 3 – Year 6)

The community council are unable to offer supervision due to the numbers of students expected. It is therefore requested that parents or carers remain to supervise students. Chairs will be available inside the hall, and for those who would prefer a quieter spot tables and chairs will be made available under the shelter shed, which will provide an opportunity for the adults to socialise.

For those that have emailed and volunteered the community council will be in touch as we still require some assistance. All students need to bring is a labelled water bottle.

At the completion of each of the Disco’s our DJ will have all students sit on the floor. We will then invite parent’s and carers to collect their children. We know in the past that parents have sometimes shared the pick up, we ask that you have the other parents send you a text confirming this arrangement. This can then be shown to the Disco coordinators if required. Students will have access to the toilets, but will not be allowed outside unless accompanied by an adult.

Thank you to Gemma and Nick from the Community Council Executive for organising this wonderful event for our students and families.

School Fees

Thank you to all of our families who have been patient and understanding during the CE finance transition. School fees fund most of the learning experiences which occur at St Jude’s as such, it is important that we receive all monies in a timely manner. Please ensure that you have/are meeting your financial commitment to your child’s education. Please reach out if you need to.

Parent/Carer – Teacher Interviews and School Reports

Many of our families have regular meetings with their child’s teacher. As such, our term 4 PTIs are not compulsory. Parents/carers can request a time, as can teachers. The topic of conversation is often the school report. PTIs will be held in week 8, more information will come out either in the Newsletter or via Compass.

You will be pleased to know that comments have returned to reports. Each of the subject areas will be addressed via a tick box structure. At the end of the report there will be a general comment which will cover many of the Key learning areas. CE have placed a restriction on the size of the comment. Many of our parents have often referenced the PTI conversation as being valuable in discussing growth and areas for development.

Canteen Manager Vacancy

We are currently seeking applications for the canteen manager position. If you are interested, or if you know someone who may be interested then please click on the link below for more information. If we don’t receive suitable candidates, we will explore other options.

https://careers.cg.catholic.edu.au/en/job/502214/canteen-manager-st-judes-primary-holder-act

Student Spotlight

It is always wonderful to celebrate the achievements /  events that our students may be involved in away from school.

Seb and Prue are both keen lego enthusiasts. Recently they participated in the Canberra Brick Show. There were over 5000 people who attended. Here are a few photos of their creations.

Ariana is the face of the Starlight Children’s Foundation Christmas fundraising campaign that is currently running Australia-wide. During the school holidays Ariana had the opportunity to participate in a photo/video shoot for the campaign. In 2022, Ariana was granted a Starlight wish and has happily shared her story for the campaign to help Starlight raise important funds so that they can continue to gift wishes to seriously ill children.  

Save the date

Friday December 8, 5.30pm. St Jude’s Carols and Xmas picnic.

As always, thank you for your ongoing support

Cameron

Mini Missions

What a wonderful day for Mini Missions! The sun was out, there was ice creams, drinks, sponge throws, a minute maze,face painting and lots more! The students all had a great time with so many laughs. Thank you to all who donated, we had a record amount raised this year - $3039! What an amazing donation for Mwamba Primary, Kenya. Thank you to the year 6 students, parents and teachers who put in a lot of time and effort to make these things happen. 

Well done St Jude's!

For information on GSP: https://www.globalschoolpartners.org.au/what-we-do

Sacraments 2024

Last weekend, the parish held a welcome Mass for all our 2024 Sacramental candidates. If you plan for your child to make their Reconciliation (yr 3), First Eucharist (yr 4) or Confirmation (yr 6) next year, please register via the parish Qkr! app. 

Christmas Eve Mass - Nativity 

Each year, Fr Michael celebrates Christmas Eve Mass with a Nativity at the Gospel. Thank you to those who have already responded. There are still plenty of places left, if your child/children are interested in playing the role of Mary, Joseph, Wise Men, Shepherds or Angels, please contact Brigitta at the school, or Danielle at the Parish (Westoncreek@cg.org.au) to let us know. There will be a practise before the end of the term. 

ELC NEWS

Happy Birthday Charlie L and Lachlan L

A mammoth thank you to Steve McKellar (Vincent’s dad) who came to teach the Lobsters all about dinosaurs. He even helped us make our own fossils. 

Mangos are coming!

Our mangos will arrive next Tuesday 21 November.  We will send a message on Compass when they arrive. They can be collected from the ELC office.

St Jude’s School Disco

Get ready to dance the night away at the school disco this Friday from 5:30 to 6:15pm (ELC – Year 2 session).  Please note that parents and carers are required to remain on site to supervise children and no food or drink will be available. 

Walk to School Day ELC

Tomorrow, 17 November is St Jude’s Walk to School Day and we are encouraging ELC families to participate. We will have a meeting point at the Weston Creek tennis courts. You can drop your child off at 8:10. We will depart at 8:20 to arrive at the primary school at 8:30 for a fruit breakfast and dance party. Preschool and Preschool Plus children are all welcome. You are also welcome to walk with us.

Gingerbread House Night at SJV

St John Vianney's run a Gingerbread House Decorating party every year. It is an evening of fun as you decorate your gingerbread house whilst listening to Christmas carols and getting to catch up with others in the SJV community.

ELC Refund

Following government funding, Catholic Education is able to provide financial assistance to families supporting the delivery of our Preschool Program in Terms 3 and 4. Statements sent this week included a refund of the $85 Resource Fee paid for Terms 3 and Term 4.

Online Triple P - Positive Parenting Program

Parents and carers are offered access to free online parenting courses developed in Australian by the Triple P – Positive Parenting Program, thanks to Australia Government funding.
The Triple P program offers a guide to specific programs and online resources, assisting with the everyday challenges parents and carers face raising calm, resilient and happy children.

Link: https://www.triplep-parenting.net.au/au/triple-p/

There are only 2 more weeks of borrowing from the Library for this year; after that it will be returns only for Weeks 8 & 9. Library will be closed in Week 10 for stocktaking.

*Two weeks ago we had a team compete in the Readers Cup Challenge, held at St Monica’s school. We have now received their results and they came a creditable 11^th out of 28 participating teams. Congratulations to Sam, Emmett, Ell, Owen and Jonah! This is only our second time participating and everyone enjoyed the experience very much. Thank you to Mrs Gordon for attending with me and thank you to parents who collected their children from the venue.

*Somebody kindly loaned me 2 teatowels (Holland + Paris) in Term 2 during our Reading around the World theme but I cannot remember who. If these might be your items please contact me in the Library.

*Thank you to the Hamilton family for donating some books.

Happy reading! Verna Comley

YEAR 5/6 NETBALL GALA DAY 

On Tuesday 14 Year 5/6 students participated in the Southside Netball Gala Day at Calwell Netball Courts. The most fun part of the day was playing against each other, as St Jude's was lucky enough to enter 3 teams. The students showed great resilience inspite of the warm weather and came away with a mix of wins, draws and losses. Special thanks to Elsa R's dad for helping out on the day.

Sushi available to order – Wednesdays in Week 8 & 9

Sushi will be available to order for lunch on Wednesday 29 November and Wednesday 6 December.

A Sushi Roll and a Juice can be ordered for $6.00, with additional rolls $4.00.

Sushi Roll Options:

• Cooked Tuna Roll (GF)
• Crispy Chicken Roll
• Avocado Roll (GF & Veg) 

Orders are being supplied by Mr Sushi and need to be placed via Qkr! by the above cut off dates. No late orders will be accepted. 

End of Term Meal Deal – Thursday 14 December

Watch this space for the end of term meal deal!

Please be mindful that some items may become unavailable towards the end of term.

Canteen Volunteers – Week 7

Wednesday 22 November – E. Dimanoski & S. Auhl

Thursday 23 November – S. Tonna & two more volunteers please

Friday 24 November – S. Monges, S. Devonport, E. Eyles, R. Arnold & one more volunteer please

Uniform Shop Open  

Friday 17 November, 8.30am - 9.30am

 ***THE UNIFORM SHOP TABS ARE UPDATED - CHECK THEM OUT ON QKR!***

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. 

School Disco – Friday 17 November

It’s party time! The school disco is just around the corner. 

• 5:30pm - 6:15pm (ELC - Year 2)
• 6:30pm - 7:45pm (Year 3 - Year 6)

This disco will be held in the school hall. Parents and carers need to remain on site to supervise students. Chairs will be available inside the hall, and for those who would prefer a quieter spot tables and chairs will be made available under the shelter shed, which will provide an opportunity for the adults to socialise.

When a session ends, the DJ will instruct children to remain in the hall until parents/carers collect them. Please note there will be no food or drink available.

Thanks for those who have volunteered, you should now have been contacted with further details. If you think you might be able to assist by monitoring an exit door during one of the sessions, please get in contact.

Community Council Meeting – 28 November

The final Community Council meeting will be held in week 8. If you have anything that you would like added to the agenda please email by COB Monday 20 November.

Important Dates

Many thanks,

Gemma Cabot

Stjudes.scc@gmail.com

Save the date:   Saturday 16 March 2024

Our fete committee are gaining momentum as we approach the end of the year in preparation for our Family & Community Fete for 2024. 

If you are interested in helping out in any capacity (big or small) the committee would love to hear from you!

WANTED:           

Our Plant Stall Coordinators are seeking donations of:

• potting mix,
• spare 14cm pots,
• cuttings. 

Trash & Treasure are hoping to seek donations of:

• Excess plastic painters drop sheets for storing our lovely donations ahead of the fete

Stall coordinators 

Fete Site Coordinator 

If you have anything to donate there are now two permanent drop off points setup at the front office of the Primary School and the ELC. (black milk crate with sign) 

If you are able to help out with any of the above, please reach out to our Fete Coordinator Sarah Tonna 041453311