A Hive of Activity at the College Dear Parents, Students and Friends of John XXIII College This is the last Newsletter from the College for Semester One, 2011 and its amazing how time has gone so fast! I extend to you my best wishes for a safe and relaxing holiday. Before the holiday commences, there is still much to happen next week and I highlight a few of those: Queen of the Bees The Year 3 students under the expert direction of Mr George White have been working hard to perfect their roles in the musical “Queen of the Bees”. It has all the signs of being a magnificent and joyful production. NAIDOC Week NAIDOC Week commenced today and will continue next week. I am delighted to invite you to a special “Welcome to Country” next Thursday morning at 7.45am in the College Chapel. This will be a unique and privileged experience and I hope that many families are able to join in this special celebration. St Vincent de Paul Winter Sleep Out Some very brave Year 11 Students and Staff will spend Monday night at the WACA learning about homelessness. The temperature forecast for Monday night is only 4 degrees, so it will be a very challenging experience. It is hard to believe the scope of Perth Homelessness given the wealth and infrastructure of our city, but it is a real and growing problem. Capital Development Projects There are many packing boxes around the campus as Staff pack up and move teaching and office space in preparation for the refurbishments next Semester. Mary Ward Primary will move to the MacKillop Room Xavier Wing (Learning Enrichment and RE) A new Kindy room will also be constructed during Semester Two. A separate letter will be emailed to parents in Pre Primary and Kindy because during construction there will be changes required regarding parking and the children’s playground. Congratulations to the Year 9 and 10 students who presented outstanding drama productions this week. The standard of acting and musical theatre were exceptional and gives me great optimism about the future of Performing Arts at John XXIII College. Similarly the John XXIII Issue 20 July 01 2011 Eisteddfod saw individual and ensemble performances of very high quality. I look forward to seeing the winners of each section perform again at the Twilight Soiree on Sunday night!. Congratulations to one and all. Together let us seek justice. Yours sincerely Semester Dates Semester 1 will conclude for all students on Thursday 7th July, 2011. Mrs Anne Fry - Principal Semester II will commence for all students on Wednesday 27th July, 2011. Vinnies School Sleep out It’s hard to believe in an affluent state like Western Australia that tonight approximately 13,500 people will be homeless and of that group 33% are children between 12 and 18 years old. As one of Perth’s leading resource centres for street present young people, Vinnies has invited John XXIII College to be part of a special event, the inaugural Vinnies School Sleep out, to be held at the WACA on July 4th, 2011. The 2011 Vinnies School Sleep out will be an overnight event coordinated by the St Vincent de Paul Society and supported by the Catholic Youth Ministry Perth. The event aims to bring students together for a unique opportunity that, for one night only, gives them the experience of what it may be like to be without a home. John XXIII College has a team of 23 attending the Sleep out consisting of 18 students and 5 staff. We hope to raise awareness of homelessness in Perth but also to raise funds. Twenty three people from our school will be sleeping out on the WACA from 7pm to 7am on Monday 4 July 2011. They are asked to bring just a sleeping bag and pillows, cardboard will be provided. They are given a cup of hot soup and a roll for dinner and nothing else. We ask all our John XXIII College Community to support our Sleep Out participants by donating to our cause. You can make a donation by visiting our donations page at http://www.everydayhero.com.au/john_xxiii_college_1 Rainbows Grief and Loss Program for Primary School Children Last week an email was sent to all families with children in years 1 to 6 to explain the Rainbows Program. I have also spoken to all year 1 to 6 classes last week about the Rainbows program and I have asked the children to speak to their parents if they are interested in attending. The program is for children in year 1 to 6 who have experienced the death of someone close to them or the separation of their parents. The program explores the thoughts and feelings that arise for children when these events occur and they are introduced to strategies they can use to manage these thoughts and feelings. They also learn they are not the only one who has experienced these thoughts and feelings. If you would like your child to be part of the Rainbows Program for 2011 please complete the form included in the email and return to me via the class teacher by Monday 4th of July. If you have any questions please contact me at the College via email [email protected] or phone 9383 0400. Daniel Moylan - Primary School Counsellor Tuesday Prayer Group at St Thomas Please Come...Tuesdays....Prayer Group @ St Thomas If you are looking to connect with other like-minded women, who share a Christian spirituality, then please feel welcome to come along to our Prayer Group. First we enjoy a cuppa, chat and then share moments with God in prayer. It is very casual and there are no expectations...we are happy just to be with God for about 1 hour a week, in fellowship with other women. You may be struggling with a situation, or just want to give thanks, it is refreshing to hand it over to God. “No experience required”. Where: St Thomas meeting room (adjacent to church). College Rd Claremont. When: We meet every Tuesday 9am for a 9.30am start. Queries: 04385 58788- Julie Around the Primary Today we gathered together as a primary school community to celebrate our final Mass for the term. A big thank you to Fr Gaetan, Mr Casey, Mrs Scott and Year 6B for preparing this lovely Mass. The children from Year 6 thoroughly enjoyed participating in the Winter Lightning Carnival at school yesterday. It was wonderful to see over five hundred children from 9 different schools participating in the various sports. Well done to all the competitors! Our appreciation is extended to Mr Alderman for organizing this sensational sporting event and to all the hard-working staff and helpers. It is hard to believe that there are only four more sleeps until ‘Queen of the Bees’. It is wonderful that so many families are supporting this musical extravaganza on Tuesday 4th July at 7pm in Roncalli Hall. I’m sure all parents and friends are going to be amazed at the talents of our Year three children. As we come to end of semester one, it is time to farewell our music teacher, Ms Annamaria Paolino. We thank Annamaria for sharing her musical skills and talents with the primary school community and we wish her every success with her future endeavours. Kind regards, Antoinette De Pinto Head of Primary The John XXIII Primary football team has once again won the Eagles Cup for our local area. They defeated All Saints 7.5(47) to 1.0(6), Newman College 5.8(38) to 5.4(34) and Tranby 4.6 (30) to 0.2 (2). Congratulations to the talented team and Mr Casey (coach) for their three wins over tough opponents. This makes the College victorious in three of the last five years: 2007, 2008 and 2011. Elija Meegan completed in the State Gymnastic Championships last Sunday and performed extremely well. He received three gold medals on individual apparatuses, high-bar, rings and parallel bars and a silver medal on vault. He also won a trophy for being overall State Champion in Men’s Artistic Gymnastics for WA 2011. Congratulations Elija -We are so proud of you! Just a reminder, our Kindy and PrePrimary children and their siblings are not permitted to play on the playground equipment before or after school. Why? Because there is no teacher on duty in these areas at these times and your child may at risk of an accident. IMPORTANT REMINDER: Saturday 2ndJuly Year 3 Musical Rehearsal (2-5pm) & Sunday 3rd July Year 3 Musical Dress Rehearsal (2-5pm) Primary Student Absentees If your child is going to be absent from school please email [email protected] or call 93830401 by 8.30am. Medical Information Update Parents/Guardians are requested to notify the College immediately if there is a change in your child/rens medical information and/or a change in your contact details. College phone: 9383 0400 Email: [email protected] Tournament of Minds competition 2011 Students from years 7, 8, 9 and 10 are offered the opportunity to extend themselves in the annual Tournament of Minds competition in the areas of Language Literature, Maths Engineering, Social Sciences and Applied Technology. This competition is open to schools across Australia, New Zealand and Singapore and historically we have been very successful in this competition winning the State finals 6 times in the last 10 years. Students will be involved in problem solving and finding a creative way to present their solution to judges in a presentation which involves scripting, acting, singing and costume design culminating in the finals in Hobart in October.