This week’s Gospel:

John 1: 6-8, 19-28

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to give testimony of the light, that all men might believe through him. He was not the light, but was to give testimony of the light. And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent from Jerusalem priests and Levites to him, to ask him: Who art thou? And he confessed and did not deny: and he confessed: I am not the Christ.  And they asked him: What then? Art thou Elias? And he said: I am not. Art thou the prophet? And he answered: No. They said therefore unto him: Who art thou, that we may give an answer to them that sent us? What sayest thou of thyself? He said: I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Isaias. And they that were sent, were of the Pharisees. And they asked him, and said to him: Why then dost thou baptize, if thou be not Christ, nor Elias, nor the prophet? John answered them, saying: I baptize with water; but there hath stood one in the midst of you, whom you know not. The same is he that shall come after me, who is preferred before me: the latchet of whose shoe I am not worthy to loose. These things were done in Bethania, beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

Staffing Update

On Monday afternoon Catherine Smith accepted a teaching position at Sacred Heart in Pearce. We wish Catherine well in continuing her teaching journey. I am hesitant to say that staffing is now finalised, especially with a nationwide teacher shortage, however, I will keep you informed of any further developments.

One Up Day

We had the privilege of all our new students joining us for a short period yesterday. All students were able to join their 2024 teacher and class in their new rooms. Our new Kindergarten students were very excited. This will hopefully assist with any anxiety or uncertainty which otherwise may have occurred over the holiday period.

A busy end to the year

There has been significant classroom movement and all teachers are now settled in the classrooms they will be in for 2024. This has been of great benefit, especially for some of our more anxious students.

Last Friday evening we held our joint school and Parish Christmas BBQ/picnic. There were well over 250 people in attendance and our choirs did an amazing job promoting and sharing the Christmas spirit. Thank you to all involved in this wonderful event.

On Tuesday night we held our Graduation Mass and awards. Although it was fairly warm it was a beautiful celebration of a culmination of Primary years schooling. It was great to spend a little time reflecting on the past 12 months. Our Year 6 students have been amazing role models and I am proud to have spent time with them across their journey.

Yesterday, our Year 5 and 6 students and staff had a great day at the lake, eating pizza and bouncing on the inflatables. A fun time was had by all.

Today is our last day with students and we celebrate a thanks giving Mass at 12:00. We will also have our candle ceremony as part of this celebration.  

Thank you

It is always dangerous publicly saying thank you as I worry about leaving someone out. We have had such a large group of contributors to building community and continuing to make our place the fantastic community that it is. I would like to thank our Community Council Executive, especially our Chair Gemma who have gone above and beyond. Our Canteen and Uniform shop team, working tirelessly in a voluntary capacity. Kim for all your assistance from a music perspective, our Camp Australia team led by Will. Nic and Pete our cleaners, Anthony our Gardener, Sonia for her work with the parent contacts and our awesome fete committee. Thank you also to our volunteers in the library, anyone who helped at a carnival or an excursion, we could not have done it without you.

Apologies if I have missed anyone, I genuinely appreciate all that is given to our community by everyone.

My final thanks go to Fr Michael, for his spiritual guidance, our school executive for their collegiality, support, lateral thinking and willingness to go above and beyond. Thank you to Natalie, Renee, Katrina and Belinda in our front office, you have been both my left and right hand and I could not have survived without you. To my executive, Kerrin, Brigitta, Karen, Kerri and Brendan, I could not wish for a more supportive and forward-thinking group. My last word is to the amazing staff at St Jude’s school and ELC. You are a special group of professionals who continue to work tirelessly for the benefit of our students. Thank you for all you have done, rest up and prepare for a bumper 2024.

Christmas Mass Timetable

Click Here

To all of our families, thank you for your ongoing support. We have a very diverse community and yet we continue to unite to ensure that our students are receiving the best possible educational experience. There are lots of wonderful schools in Canberra, however, we are unique. When you walk through the doors and become part of our community you know that you belong. Thank you to the families who are departing St Jude’s, you will always be a part of our community.

Wishing you a rest filled break, time with those you love, joy and peace throughout the holiday season.

Warm regards

Cameron

ELC NEWS

Happy Birthday Callum B, Ava B, Isabelle W, Charlotte S, Grayson B and Zoe D

Thank you to our 2023 ELC community for making it such a wonderful year.  We wish the children well for their transition to St Jude’s, SJV or further afield. They have grown so much this year and we know how ready they are for new adventures. We thank our year 5 buddy classes at St Jude’s and SJV for building wonderful connections with our ELC children.  It has been lovely to see so many big buddies drop into the ELC this week with Christmas wishes for their little friends.  We wish everyone a safe and happy Christmas and a relaxing break.

End of Year Fees

There is often a small difference between the CCS estimated on your account and the CCS actually approved for your child, resulting in small amounts owing at the end of the year.  We have sent follow-up statements and will process an autocharge today.  If your account is more than $100 in arrears we will give you a call before we process the autocharge.  CCS is also reviewed after the enrolment ends so we will contact you in the new year if this effects your account.

Week 10

If you still have books outstanding, don’t worry too much as I’m sure they will turn up over the holidays. Do your best but don’t stress!

Please note : I am very happy to reimburse families the cost of lost books if they are found over the holidays and returned in good condition next year.

Holiday time is a good time to visit the local Library, join up (it’s free!) and make use of their resources!

St Jude's Swimming Carnival 2024  

The St Jude's Swimming Carnival will be held at Stromlo Leisure Centre on Monday 5 February 2024 (Term 1 Week 2). Students who are currently in Kinder to Year 5 will attend. 2024 Kindergarten students will not be participating in the carnival as it is so early in the new school year.

Consent and race nominations were due yesterday. Compass will be open until midnight tonight if you are yet to give permission and nominate your child/ren's races. The carnival is a compulsory event and students (Year 1-6 in 2024) will require permission to attend. There will be no supervision at school on the day, except for Kindergarten 2024 students, which will be a normal school day. 

We are unable to take nominations for race entries at the beginning of 2024, due to the quick turn around of school starting and the early carnival date. Students new to St Jude's in 2024 will be sent a Compass notification in early January to give permission and nominate for races. 

Nominations for events longer than 50m will be taken in time for the South Weston Carnival next year. 

Please contact Brendan Mitchell and Kerrin Henderson if you have any questions. 

WALKATHON

A huge thank you to families for your support in helping to raise $14,000 for go towards new flooring in the shelter shed and resurfacing the netball courts. This work will happen over the school holidays. Thank you to the following businesses who  supported our walkathon in the way of donating prizes.

• Canberra Raiders Football Club
• That Gelato Place - Cooleman Court
• Flip Out - Majura
• BOUNCE inc - Belconnen

THANK YOU

Brendan and I would like to say thank you to all families for your support with sport in 2024. We have had amazing support in terms of parents coaching teams, assisting at swimming, athletics, cross country and walkathon carnivals and transporting students to and from sporting events and Gala Days. School sport for your child/ren would not be possible without your support.

Canteen 2024

In 2024, the Canteen will open on a Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from Week 2 (Wednesday 7 February 2024) onwards.

A big THANK YOU to all the volunteers who have helped in the Canteen throughout 2023. The Canteen would not have been able to operate without volunteers, so thank you!

Some fun facts from 2023:

• 1474 Macaroni Cheeses in lunch orders
• 1283 Sausages Rolls cooked
• 2532 pizza scrolls in lunch orders (plus more over the counter)
• 5681 drinks in lunch orders
• 721 burgers made on Fridays throughout the year
• 207 apples made into slinkys

I couldn’t have done it without the AMAZING volunteers who help each week.

Wishing everyone a wonderful Christmas and holiday break with your families.

We will be open back for 2024 on Sunday the 28th of January from 9:30am-10:30am

If you have any second hand uniforms to donate over the Christmas break, a box will be left outside the uniform shop (across from the school hall) where donations can be placed. This will be open on days when vacation care is on.

All orders placed AFTER 8pm Wednesday 13 December 2023 will be packed in the new year.

A HUGE thank you, and well wishes to our beautiful Sara and her family. Her tireless work over the last few years in re-establishing the efficiency of the shop is greatly appreciated. We can’t wait to see her back in two years time.

***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.

Christmas BBQ

Thank you to all that attended the Christmas BBQ last Friday. It was a lovely afternoon and both choirs performed beautifully.

Community Council Minutes

The draft minutes for the last meeting are now available (https://stjudesps.act.edu.au/cc-meetings).

AGM – 13 February

Our AGM will be held 13 February. The executive positions of Chair and Treasurer will be vacated and I encourage anyone interested in these positions to reach out for further information. An official call for nominations will occur prior to the AGM.

Important Dates

The Community Council wishes everyone in the St Jude’s community a very merry Christmas and a wonderful holiday break.

Many thanks,

Gemma Cabot

Stjudes.scc@gmail.com

Save the date: Saturday 16 March 2024

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

WANTED:

Stall Coordinators

Fete Site Coordinator

ADF members in the community to support an ADF stall

Trash & Treasure

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 0414533117

It’s been another busy and fun term in the Indonesian space at St Jude’s. To help us learn and remember the Indonesian language, we continue to use games, props, stories, drawing and labelling activities, songs and dance. The children are fantastic language learners. Ibu Reed has really enjoyed teaching St Jude’s children all about Indonesia.

Selamat Hari Natal dan Tahun Baru. (Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year)