Welcome to Term 2!

What a great start it has been with the Cross Country held last Tuesday and coming together as a school community. After competing in the Cross Country the P&F provided the students with a pop top juice and a piece of fruit.

The P&F have some dates claimers this term with the first being the Mothers’ Day Stall. This will take place on Friday 7 May, 2021 during school time. Parent volunteers are always welcome and greatly appreciated.

The last week of the term (Friday 25 June) we are having a school disco and the Year 6 Canberra fundraising team will be providing a BBQ and some fun activities around the mango tree. This is a great way to celebrate the end of term and a wonderful family night out.

At the end of last term we provided the students and staff with a hot cross bun to celebrate the end of term and to mark Easter.

Many blessings,

Allison Stallan

President

My occupation 

Teacher assistant at St John’s

My hobbies include 

Cooking, going to the beach, watching movies, travelling, sewing and gardening/plants

Favourite colour

I love most colours, don’t really have a favoutite

My family 

My husband Stephen and daughter Mackenzie

Lived in Bundaberg all my life

If I could live anywhere I would love to live in Europe / Italy

Favourite food 

No I am sorry I could not just pick one …too many

Fun fact about me 

I love fast cars

ST JOHN’S COMMUNITY CHURCH SERVICE

We are planning to have a service to celebrate our various communities here at St John’s: our church, our school and our kindergarten. We will have morning tea and possibly and early BBQ. More details and date TBA.

BIBLE STUDIES

Pastor Greg will be leading Bible studies each Wednesday and Friday morning at 10.30 am and on Wednesday evenings each fortnight at 7.30pm. Currently we are following the apostle Peter as he sought to follow Jesus. It is a lot of fun, and we are being reminded that all Christians have highs and lows in their journey. Anybody is welcome to join us.

Students across all age groups participated in their races at the school Cross Country last Tuesday. The junior school were cheered on as they completed their fun run around Lake Ellen before the senior school moved on to their competitive races through Baldwin Swamp. All participants displayed tremendous commitment and resilience as they dug deep in their efforts to finish their events.

At the conclusion of the senior school events Biar emerged victorious scoring 94 points to Reuther’s 78. Congratulations to all participants for your outstanding efforts this year.

Congratulations to the Age Champions for this year:

9 Years: Abbey-Rose Gaston and Aiden Smith

10 Years: Isabella Pohlman and Knox Kewley

11 Years: Sebella Marano and Edward Rayner

12 Years: Aliyah Boag and Declan Roberts

Thank you to all parents and friends of St John’s who were able to join us for the day. Your support is always greatly appreciated and helps to make these events a special time for the students. Thank you to all our St John’s staff for your wonderful efforts in assisting in all aspects of this event.

Nathan Higgins

PE Teacher

Easter Raffle Winners

Thank you to all our families who purchased raffles tickets last term as part of the Year 6 Canberra fundraising.

Congratulations to our lucky winners:

1st Prize – Clifford Family (Prep and Year 4)

2nd Prize – Josie Sommer

3rd Prize – Darcy Angel (Prep)

Parent Lounge

Thank you to our families for their patience with Parent Lounge over the last two weeks. Unfortunately there were a few technical issues which did not allow parents to access Parent Lounge. We are glad to advise that this has now been resolved.

Hitz Helping Hands – Do you know of a well-deserving person in our community that could do with a Hitz Helping Hand?

Matty and Trace from Hitz FM 93.9 made a special visit to St John’s last Thursday to surprise one of our Year 5 students. Lillee’s Aunt had entered the local radio competition and was notified of her winning. It was all kept quiet until the day when Hitz turned up to school to present Lillee with a Helping Hands cheque. Congratulations Lillee!!

Save The Date – School Musical

Please save the date  – Thursday 16 September for our School Musical. This year our school is putting on the musical “When I Grow Up” by EP Music.

All students from Prep to Year 6 will will be performing onstage at the Moncrieff Entertainment Centre.

More details to follow.

It’s A Boy! Congratulations to Mrs (Carla) Robertson on the arrival of baby Arlo Robertson, born 25 April, 2021. Both Mum and baby are doing well.

Congratulations to Ruby (Year 2) on becoming a big sister and also to her little brother Chase on become a big brother!

Save The Date – End of Term School Disco!

Our end of Term 2 school disco will take place on Friday 25 June, 2021.

Don’t forget to add this into your calendar. More details to follow.

2021 Uniform Shop: – Cooler Weather 

As the mornings are now becoming cooler, we are reminding parents that winter uniforms (jumpers, track pants and jackets) are now available.

(Please note that some of the more popular knit jumper sizes are currently on back order and are due to arrive late May)

If you need to purchase items, order forms can be found on our website and can be emailed to school@stjohnsbundaberg.qld.edu.au

Alternatively, your completed order form can be sent in with your child and can be placed in the class box.

Parents will receive a text message when their order is ready for collection, or if paid over the phone, can be sent home with your child.

Should your child need to try on uniforms, please contact the office to schedule an appointment time.

The office can become quite busy in the mornings with students and telephone calls, therefore unfortunately we are unable to fill orders at this time. We will however endeavour to fill your order during the day which can then be sent home with your child.

Please note: Sports jacket is to be worn with sports uniforms only. The formal knit jumper is to be worn with the formal day uniform please.

Please note: If you knit jumper order is on back order, then children can wear their sports jacket as an interim option.

New Hair Accessories

A selection of brand new hair accessories (including scrunchies) have arrived and are available for viewing and purchase. Should you wish to purchase any, please do not hesitate to see Gillian in the office.

St John’s Community Facebook Page

Did you know we have a St John’s Community Facebook page for our families?

This page is a great way for parents to communicate with each other especially when it comes to pre-loved uniforms. Do you have any school uniforms (with our current logo) that you would like to sell or offer to other families? Should you have any queries, please contact Gillian in the office.

Student Awards

Australian Early Development Census

Playing our part to build a national picture of child health

In early 2021, our school, along with thousands of others across the country will begin preparations for the fifth Australian Early Development Census (AEDC).

The AEDC gives us a national picture of the development, health and wellbeing of children in their first year of full-time school. Since 2009, the census results have helped communities, schools and governments plan services and develop better policies to target support for children and families.

Children don’t miss any class time, and parents/caregivers don’t need to supply schools with any new information for the census. The AEDC gives us data at a school and community level – it isn’t an assessment of individual children.

Some teachers have also noticed that completing the assessments made them more aware of the needs of individual children and the class as a whole and that the census results are useful in planning for transitions to Year 1 and developing class programs.

Participation in the AEDC is voluntary. Parents/caregivers don’t need to take any action unless they choose not to include their children in the census. A letter was sent to all Prep families last week.

To find out more about the census and how communities are using the data to help children and families visit the AEDC website: www.aedc.gov.au

If you have any questions, you can contact me through the front administration office.

Jocelyn Bakker – Director of Learning and Teaching

How fortunate we are

Let us never underestimate the value of positive attitude and belief in ourselves and each other. Our world is truly great – even though we are often bombarded with portrayals of violence and despair. Dennis the Menace (of all people) once said, “People wait for opportunity to come along…yet it is there every morning.” Each morning that we come to St John’s Lutheran Primary School we can be thankful that we do indeed come to a terrific school where people matter.

Last Tuesday was so much fun. It was a brilliant to welcome parents back on campus for a major event, the weather was perfect, there was real coffee, and the photos reveal just two expressions reflected on students’ faces: joy and concentration. It was indeed a good day and I probably need to apologise for sending home exhausted children (and staff) at the end of the day!

We have hit the ground running in so many ways this term. In addition to Cross Country, we’ve had our ANZAC commemoration, the installation of our SSRC representatives – just to name a few! We have a busy, busy school, and this is just as it should be.

ANZAC DAY – Poetry Recital

Congratulations to Elloise Wooldridge (Year 6 Leader) for writing and subsequently being chosen to recite her ANZAC Day poem at the Bundaberg Civic Service on Sunday 25 April. Please see her poem, below. Well done, Elloise! To that end, I deeply thank all parents, staff and students who came to represent our school community at the march. Thank you for honouring the men and women who fought for our freedoms.

World War 1 started, July 28^th 1914,

Countries and countries allied as teams.

On ANZAC Day, we commemorate the people

who risked their lives for us,

So lets just sit down and think about that,

and not make a fuss.

Imagine, guns, bombs, fighting, for four years straight,

Four years without your friends, family, and, soul mate!

Imagine waking up everyday, spending every minute worrying,

that you were going to die,

Then facing that fear out in the battlefield,

feeling like you want to cry.

Imagine having to live like that without

any of your simple, everyday life things,

No devices, no nice cold water, no good

food to eat, no chicken wings!

So, lets just take a few moments to thank those guys,

As we commemorate them by watching the sunrise.

(Written by Elloise Wooldridge)

Well done to all of the students who represented our school at various events!

NAPLAN

In 2008, the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) commenced in Australian schools. Every year, all students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 are assessed on the same days using national tests in Reading, Writing, Language Conventions (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and Numeracy (calculator and non-calculator).

In 2021, these tests will take place on the 11, 12 and 13 of May. The results from the assessment program will then be used for individual student reporting to parents, school reporting to the community, and aggregate reporting by States and Territories against national standards.

Whilst the data from NAPLAN is used at a school level, it is important to note that we use this data in conjunction with many other data sets in order to develop a full and true picture of each child’s academic undertakings. Therefore, please note that each child’s current and future success, in not dependent upon the sole outcome of 3 days of NAPLAN.

Parent Communication and Information – The Essential Ingredient in a St John’s Education

St John’s encourages an environment that allows parents to feel included, valued, fully informed and knowledgeable about the school and the progress of their children. As such I encourage you to continue to speak with your child’s teachers about their academic and social development. We are committed to shaping your children’s hearts and minds

Bystanders vs Upstanders

Jesus was not a bystander. The gospels are full of stories where he stood up and said what needed to be said or did what needed to be done. As a result, he was not popular with the Jewish authorities. We don’t want our students to be bystanders either. We want a school full of upstanders. Upstanders are children who do something that prevents or reduces wrong they see. It takes courage to be an upstander, but one thing we can be sure of is that Jesus knows what it takes, and God is with every child and every adult who stands up and speaks out against wrong and any form of injustice. Thank you, God for walking the walk and giving us the courage to be upstanders in our own lives and context.

Do Not Disturb

Do you ever feel like putting up a “Do not disturb” sign – especially when the demands of life become too great?  When it seems as if everyone wants a piece of us and we feel we can’t meet all the demands and expectations that are placed on us. Sometimes we just long to have some quiet time and space from these continual demands.

God doesn’t put up a “Do not disturb” sign. In fact He does quite the opposite. He invites us to come to Him. His open invitation says: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28). His door is always open. He is always ready and waiting for us to come to Him with our needs.  He is willing to listen to our hurts and to forgive and comfort us when we are in trouble.

In Christ Jesus, God has come to us, lived among us and experienced the things we face.  He is the One who enables us to be available for others.  Think about the ways you put up “Do not disturb” signs in your life! And ask God to remove them, and help you reach out with the love of Christ to others just as God reaches out to us.

Thank you for working in partnership with us.

Grace and Peace

Chris Mallett

PRINCIPAL