Dear Parents and Carers,

Remembering Principal Dennis Sleigh

It is with great sadness that we advise of the passing of Alumni Dennis Sleigh overnight in Wagga Wagga. Dennis was a respected educator and former Principal of St Anne’s Central School (Temora), St Peter & Paul’s (Garran), and St John the Apostle (Florey).

We hold Dennis’ wife Margaret, children Paul, Tim, and Anne-Maree, and granddaughters Beth, Dan, and Rose in our prayers at this time. May we remember and give thanks for his lifelong dedication to education and service to others. Further details regarding funeral arrangements will be shared when available.

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and may perpetual light shine upon him.
May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

                                                                   o0o

I extend a warm welcome back to all our St John the Apostle School family. We especially welcome the following new students and their families to SJA this term: Yuhe W (Kinder M), Sofia H (3M) and Mikael(3B) and Anna (6M). We extend our welcome to new staff, Mr Chris Evans (REC/ Year 4M), Miss Elizabeth Millband (Kinder Blue), Mr Robert White, Ms Romey Marie and Ms Maia Koenig (Relief), Annette Smith, Yan Shen, Jack Mitchell and Sabrina Orellana (Learning Support) to the SJA family.

Abundant blessings to James Doepel and Lousie Osborne-Goldsbrough and their families as they both await their arrival of their beautiful bundles of joy.

The 2025 NAIDOC Week theme is "The Next Generation: Strength, Vision & Legacy". This theme celebrates the past achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples while looking forward to the future, emphasising the strength of the next generation and the legacy they will build. Our students have been learning about culture, history and achievements, this has inspired them when responding usual visual arts and multi-media, these works will adorn our corridors as an art instillation in the next few weeks. 

Community Council Cookie Dough Fundraiser

Thank you to Belinda Clifford, Kellie Bradbury and Kelly Wooden for organising the Cookie Dough Tubs as a fundraiser. There were over 401 ($1604.00) tubs sold which is a testament to our wonderful supportive community. I look forward to seeing the students enjoy and compare their cookies in lunchboxes next week. No doubt many of our furry friends will be happy too! If you had placed an order, pickup will be today 25 July between 2.30pm – 4.00pm in the school hall.  

Enrolments for 2026

Please let your friends know we have a few spaces in Year 1, Year 3 and Year 4 left in 2026.

Lost Property & Uniform Shop Update – Thank You!

A huge thank you to our wonderful parents Belinda Clifford, Kellie Bradbury, Wanda Klinicki and Sam Bronar who continue to offer their time to ensure we have smooth running of our Uniform Shop. They have also sorted through our lost property and kindly washed second-hand uniform items. Your time and care make a big difference in keeping our school tidy and helping families access quality pre-loved uniforms and be reunited with lost items!

We’d also like to remind everyone of the importance of labelling all items clearly, especially hats, jumpers, lunch boxes, and drink bottles. Unlabelled items are much harder to return and often end up in lost property or needing replacement.

Did you know?
Each year, schools across Australia report hundreds to thousands of dollars’ worth of lost items that go unclaimed. A simple name label can save families money and reduce waste!

Let’s work together to keep our belongings safe and our lost property bins empty. 

Holiday Happenings

During the holidays there were a number of upgrades to our school facilities and resources, these include:

• New ocean blue round guttering on the front of the hall and downpipes
• Internal painting of walls in K-2 and 5-6 areas
• Painting in the portables internally around the boards
• Autex (fluffy carpet) on all walls surrounding the new interactive classroom boards
• New gates around the green soccer field
• Gardening, edging and planting of a new rose garden
• Upgrade of back downpipes
• Delivery of $2000 of de-codable readers

Upcoming:

• New paint and carpet in the Uniform shop
• External painting
• New pergola near the rainbow top

Your contribution to the building fund has enabled many of these projects to occur in a timely manner. Your continued support and contributions to the fund make a huge difference to the lives of our students, thank you.

Floriade at SJA

As you walk in the entrance of SJA, you may notice some bulbs poking through the soil. There are hundreds of colourful bulbs planted and no doubt in the coming months we will enjoy a sea of colour. These were planted during the Community Council Working Bee by Rhiannon and a few of our Year 4 helpers.

  

Sports Days

Kindergarten - Tuesday and Thursday

Year 1B - Monday and Wednesday

Year 1M - Tuesday and Thursday

Year 2 - Tuesday and Thursday

Year 3 - Tuesday and Friday

Year 4 - Monday and Wednesday

Year 5 - Monday and Thursday

Year 6 Tuesday and Thursday

 

Lost Property & Uniform Shop Update – Thank You!

A huge thank you to our wonderful parents Belinda Clifford, Wanda Klinicki, Kellie Bradbury and Sam Bronar who have sorted through our lost property and kindly washed second-hand uniform items. Your time and care make a big difference in keeping our school tidy and helping families access quality pre-loved uniforms and be reunited with lost items!

We’d also like to remind everyone of the importance of labelling all items clearly, especially hats, jumpers, lunch boxes, and drink bottles. Unlabelled items are much harder to return and often end up in lost property or needing replacement.

Did you know?
Each year, schools across Australia report hundreds to thousands of dollars’ worth of lost items that go unclaimed. A simple name label can save families money and reduce waste!

Let’s work together to keep our belongings safe and our lost property bins empty. 

 

Blessings to all families.

Jo Reed

Welcome back to school for Term 3. I hope you have enjoyed the rest from the school routine. Hasn’t the time just flown by? We have an exciting second half of the year ahead and we’re going to hit the ground running.

Are you aware St John the Apostle has a Facebook page? We are trialling sending weekly event updates to keep you all in the loop and prepared for the school events for the week ahead. If you haven’t already please consider following our page https://www.facebook.com/sjaalltheway

 Anxiety in young people is a prevalent mental health concern characterised by excessive worry, fear, and unease, which can significantly impact daily life. It can manifest through various physical and behavioural symptoms and is often influenced by factors like academic pressure, social dynamics, and family history. 

Don't miss out on hearing from Australia's leading expert on child and teen anxiety, Karen Young. Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/.../reg.../WN_1F2ru7CCQy-Ey1hGpbn-vw

AI & THE DIGITAL GENERATION

In today’s connected world, parents play a powerful role in shaping safe and healthy digital habits. This practical session is designed especially for busy parents who want to:

- Cut through the overwhelm – Clear, up-to-date info without the tech jargon

- Know what your child’s using – AI chatbots and tools explained simply

- Start the chat with confidence – Easy ways to talk about deepfakes and fake news

- Guide safe, ethical use – Practical tips to support smart choices online

Monday 11th August 2025 - 7:30pm, via Zoom. bit.ly/AICSP25

Community Council Corner

The Community Council is an opportunity for parents to meet, volunteer, and work together to support the school. We have an active Community Council who take a keen interest in supporting and planning for the whole of the school community. The role of the Community Council is to work closely with the Principal to support the mission of Catholic Education at St John the Apostle. It provides particular support in the development of the Catholic ethos, pastoral care, financial matters, strategic planning and the promotion of the school in the local community.

We currently meet weeks 3 and 8 on Wednesdays at 6pm at the school. Our next meeting is August 6 at 6:00pm – feel free to come and see what Community Council is all about ?

We will be updating the community via the newsletter every week on our activities. Please reach out to Community Council Executive members if you are curious about Community Council or are interested in getting involved. More information about Community Council and who the executive are can be found at this link: St John the Apostle Primary School - Florey

This week, St John’s has been acknowledging NAIDOC week, which was celebrated in the holidays. Staff have engaged in prayer and reflection on the theme: “The next generation: Strength, Vision and Legacy”. Students have been exploring the theme and First Nations cultures through stories, art and connecting to Country through practicing dadirri, a spiritual practice of deep listening, reflection, and connection to Country. Today, Mrs Leighton attended the NAIDOC week mass with some students and families at St Christopher’s Cathedral in Manuka.

As teachers, we often reflect on how we can nurture our students spiritually, intellectually and emotionally so we have found that the theme this year has really resonated with us. Our calling to work as teachers means that we have a responsibility to guide the next generation, developing their strengths, keeping a strong vision, so that we can leave a legacy in our communities.

Year 6 research on First Nations artists:

Please remember:

Friday 1st August - School Hats back on.

Happy Birthday to Esther Deng, Joseph Hedges, Isabella Speechley, William Mullins, Sylvie Reni, Ivy Juskevics, Nathaniel Garang, Eli Barrie, Chelsea Badenhorst, Asher Mutinhima, Sophia Clark, Oliver White, Kinley Tshultrim, Alexander Richardson, Rigyel Rinchen Phuntsho, Abel White, Vincent Nott, Lily Park, Lily Nguyen, Sophie Clifford, Darci Del Guzzo, Liam Lester, Nicolas Lester, Tymon Amrado, Hazel Chambers, Prasidhi Malla, Zyva Mohamed Jabir, Isadora Misev, Karaket Bowler, Benjamin Gard, Rita Tran, Emma Perkov, Theodore Cockburn and Kate Han who all celebrate a Birthday in July.

FETE 2026 - SAVE THE DATE

The next St John the Apostle Fete has been confirmed for Friday 13 March 2026. The Fete Working Group will meet for the first planning meeting on Thursday 31st July at 6:30pm at the Raiders Club in Belconnen. This will be the initial planning meeting so if you would like to come along and see what the working group is all about, please come along! Your involvement can be as little or as much as you like, many hands make light work! The working group will meet monthly for the rest of the year  (meeting location will be decided at the first meeting), then more regularly commencing next year as we get closer to the date. If you would like more info, please reach out to Stephanie Juskevics on 0476 572 323 or at stephanieh1978@hotmail.com

Opening Hours

Save the Date!! Trivia Night - Thursday 14 August

The Community Council will be holding a Trivia Night at The Raiders Club in Holt on Thursday 14 August (6.30pm for a 7.00pm start). This is a free event and hot finger food will be provided. Please RSVP by Monday 4 August. 

Please RSVP at the following link: 

There are two options available when you RSVP:

• Option 1 - You would like to be included on a table organised on behalf of the Community Council. 
• Option 2 - You wish to organise a table and nominate 8-10 people to be on the table. Please list the names of all people to be added to the table.

Please note this is an ADULT ONLY event. 

The Community Council would love to see you there. 

The Liking Gap: Helping Kids Feel More Confident in Friendships

When I wrote my book about teen girls, “Miss-Connection: Why Your Daughter “Hates You”, Expects the World, and Needs to Talk”, I was astonished at how insecure girls felt in their relationships. 

“I wonder if my friends really like me”, one girl confessed. She was not alone.

It turns out that it’s a very human challenge. We meet someone (or catch up with someone), and walk away from an interaction wondering if we said something silly or if the other person even liked us. This is incredibly common—not just for adults, but especially for kids.

Psychology researchers call it “the Liking Gap”—the tendency we have to underestimate how much others like us after an interaction. And research shows this gap starts young. Even children as young as four or five experience it – boys and girls.

Why it matters for your child

Think about your child at school:

• They meet new classmates.
• They wonder if they’ll be liked.
• They say something awkward—or worry they did.
• And then, they assume the worst.

This can lead to anxiety, loneliness, and even social withdrawal. Many kids believe their peers tolerate them rather than truly like them. Another girl in my book told me, 

“I have a massive fear that everyone around me is just putting up with me until I leave them alone.”

The tragedy is, most of the time, this belief is wrong. The science is clear: people generally like us more than we think.

What the research shows

A recent study from the University of Toronto found that across thousands of conversations, people consistently underestimated how much their conversation partners liked them. And the more anxious or insecure a person was, the bigger the gap.

In other words, your child is probably more liked than they realise—but they don’t know it.

So what can we do?

3 Things Parents Can Do to Help Close the Liking Gap

1. They’re Likely More Liked Than They Think

Children from about age 5 onward tend to underestimate how much others like them. When your child worries “nobody likes me,” they’re probably wrong! They won’t believe you, but if you tell them to reverse it and ask them how much they like other people, they’ll get your logic. When they understand the science, they are more likely to believe it.

Remind them that their natural tendency to miss positive social signals from peers becomes more pronounced as they get older, making tweens and teens especially vulnerable to social insecurity.

2. Focus on connection, not perfection.

Teach your child to stop keeping an invisible “friendship scorecard” in their head. Encourage them to focus on being present—listening, showing interest, and sharing kindly. Those are the traits people like most.

3. Build their confidence at home.

Self-esteem plays a huge role in the liking gap. Children who believe they have something valuable to say are more likely to connect with others and feel good doing it. Let your child’s voice be heard at home. Ask their opinions. Validate their thoughts. Confidence in relationships starts in the lounge room before it shows up in the classroom.

One final thought

Most kids aren’t struggling with being unlikable—they’re struggling with believing they’re likable. That’s a mindset shift we, as parents, can gently guide.

Your child is probably doing better socially than they think. Let’s help them see it.

Written by Dr Justin Coulson

A friendly reminder that St Johns is a nut free school. Thank you.