We thank you Lord, for this term. For our challenges, our successes, and the mistakes from which we have learnt. Be with us as we spend our time with family and friends.

Give us strength and courage to do what is right: to be witnesses of our faith. Help us to be a practical Christian these holidays, to appreciate what others do for us, to give time and effort to help others. To be peacemakers in our family.

Keep us safe in our activities; give us good rest and good fun. Bring us back refreshed and ready for a new term. We thank you for our classmates, teachers, parents and a community that cares for us.

May we always be conscious of you in our lives.

We ask for your richest blessings over Mrs Stewart during her sabbatical next term and Mr Doepel as he takes some time to welcome a new baby into their family. Surround them all with your loving care, keep them safe and return them to us, renewed and refreshed.

Amen

Dear Parents and Carers,

Thank you to all families for your support across a busy term at St John the Apostle Primary School. What a wonderful Semester we have had for all our students especially our little people in kindergarten, who have settled so well into life in Primary School. So much has occurred and we appreciate partnering with you to support your children to connect, strive, learn and flourish.

I am sure that after 10 weeks of school life you are all ready to rest and re-energise.  I trust that the next fortnight will enable everyone to spend some valuable time together with loved ones.

 

 

The Resilience Project

Mrs Leighton, Ms Dess, Mrs Fear and Mrs Hudson spent their Wednesday at the Resilience Project Conference in Sydney. They heard from inspirational speakers and had the opportunity to meet with Teachers from many different places around NSW and discuss how the Resilience Project works in their schools. Their highlight of their day was meeting with Hugh Van Cuylenburg and Martin Hempell, both well known for their podcast The Imperfects and as agents for change in the area of Wellbeing for both children and adults: Their Mission is to Inspire Happiness and Change Lives. They are excited to share what they’ve learned with the SJA Community especially opportunity to explore practical strategies to build gratitude, empathy and resilience in our school and community.

  

Semester 1 Awards 

A huge congratulations to all the students who were recognised at our Semester One Awards Assembly. Your hard work, growth, and achievements is something to be very proud of. Thank you to our wonderful families for your ongoing support, it was so lovely to have you join us in celebrating our students' successes.

	Discipleship	Discipleship	Academic	Academic	Consistent Effort	Consistent Effort
KB	Nathan Adimonye	George Gao	Krzysztof Orzelek	Samuel Mullins	Davina Borscz	Iyla Grey
KM	Kai Knight	Maisie Hudson	Rishaan Banerji Dash	Isaac van der Ploeg	Emmett Byrne	Isobel Bradbury
1B	Adaline Jozwiak	William Huskisson	Evelyn Wijnberg	Clelia Nielfi	Prasidhi Malla	Aria Wood
1M	Zara Fearne	Grace Garang	Harper Ollevou	Wells Lomax	Joseph McCabe	Benjamin Cassar
2B	Grace Riley	Ava Suthern	Kingsley Onyekaike	Henry Bradbury	Roscoe Moulds	Sean Ojo
2M	Edie Brennan	Jennifer Ngyuen	Emmanuel Amrado	William Miles	Harry Stone	Emma Perkov
3B	Addison Irvine	Abel White	Beau Carr	Rinchen Ongmo	Julia Tran	Joseph Hedges
3M	Evelyn Wedd	Cameron Broadhurst	Jacob O’Donnell	Zara Afridi	Max Munro	Sophie Clifford
4B	Nathaniel Garang	Mackenzie Knight	Anna Tilija	Reedhee Pandey	Logan Campbell	Aavin Hassan
4M	Kate Riley	Erick Leiva Lainez	Simon Pham	Mariam Hameed	Piper Abbott	Roger Patrazelek
5B	Alex Sandrai	Ashley Clifford	Lachlan Stephens	Viliami Maka	Katie Wedd	Marian Le
5M	Sam O’donnell	Rasksha Nair	Edith Bradbury	Theo cockburn	Sophie Peisker	Eli Barrie
6B	Aradhana Aravind	Ileana Rozario	Henry Ton-That	James Thurbon	Sophie Khadka	Emmanuel Deng
6M	Josie Absolon	Thayoee Norbu	Hayley Greenhalgh	Charlie Wise	Will Watman	Sophia Clark

On behalf of the community, I wish Rebekah Brown abundant blessings as she moves into the office. Bek will be working with all schools, and she will no doubt continue to have a special connection with SJA!

My sincere thankyou to all the staff for their tireless efforts their professionalism and care across the term. I felt very supported by our wonderful school community, the school leadership team, staff, students, parents, community council and Parish priests. Thank you!

Term 3 Starting Date – Tuesday 22^nd July

Monday 21^st July is a pupil free day in all Catholic Primary Schools in Canberra. Teachers will be working together to enhance our planning and teaching strategies. All students will commence Term 3 on Tuesday 22^nd July.

 

Blessings to all families.

Jo Reed

Congraultations to the following students who will receive a Brag Tag Award - presented on Friday 25th July.

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.

On Wednesday, Kindergarten welcomed special guest speakers—Mr Cresswell, Mrs Close, and Ms Blythe—from Daramalan College. The students had a hands-on experience learning about life in Jesus’ time. They dressed in clothes like Jesus would have worn, tasted foods such as grapes, figs, dates, and grape juice, and discovered what houses looked like in that era. All three visitors are Religious Education teachers, and we’re so grateful for the engaging and meaningful learning they shared with us! 

The pop-up Christmas in July display has been a huge hit and the children have enjoyed reading Christmas Books. The teachers were also in there piking their favourite out to read to their classes.

Colouring Cart

The Colouring Cart offers children who enjoy colouring an opportunity to sit with friends, to connect and to share their artistic flair with the use of different colour. The cart will have different types of drawing implements on it on a rotational basis - some time there may be oil pastels or crayons, different lead pencils, charcoal and water colour pens. We are always exploring ways in which we can enrich children's experiences at school. 

Tournament of Minds is a gifted and talented program that challenges students to think creatively and critically as they work collaboratively to solve complex problems. This year, we are proud to be running a Year 6 team at St John’s.

Our team has been working on a sample Language Literature challenge and recently performed their solution to our Year 6 cohort. The students have demonstrated impressive teamwork, problem-solving and performance skills throughout the trial process.

The official Tournament of Minds challenge will be released on the first day of Term 3, and from then, students will work intensively to develop a solution over the course of six weeks. Scheduled meeting times have already been arranged and communicated with parents. These will take place before school, after school and during break times, with both myself and Ms McDonald supporting the group throughout the journey.

The tournament presentation days are scheduled for August 30 and 31 at Lake Tuggeranong College. On the day, students will present their long-term challenge solution to a panel of judges and also take part in a spontaneous problem-solving challenge.

If you have any questions or would like to volunteer at the tournament, please don’t hesitate to contact me at cara.clarke@cg.catholic.edu.au.

We are incredibly proud of our team’s creativity and commitment and look forward to seeing them shine in Term 3!

Opening Hours

We have a grandparent Wanda Klinicki who along with her husband have been covering the books for us for a while . 

Wanda also makes bookmarks from the damaged books and covers them with the leftover contact of which the kids absolutely love. 

Because of all their continued support and kindness the students can access the books so much faster. 

How to Keep Kids Safe: Body Safety Conversation Every Parent Must Have

In the past two days, terrifying revelations have appeared in our news feeds:

A Melbourne childcare worker (26-year-old Joshua Brown) has been charged with 70 counts related to the alleged sexual abuse of young children in his care. 

Because these are allegations, we must be careful about what we say on this platform. But make no mistake, these are the most serious allegations, including sexual penetration and producing child abuse material for use through a carriage service. (Additionally, this man – if we can call him that – has tested positive for a sexually transmitted disease, so over 1200 preschoolers now need to be tested as well.)

This comes hot on the heels of last year’s horrendous news story about another guy in a Brisbane childcare centre, Ashley Griffith, pleading guilty to over 300 charges related to child sexual abuse. 

For parents, this news fundamentally erodes trust in childcare. For men working in childcare, it intensifies the pressure to be beyond reproach.

To parents, I want to convey one central message: This is not your fault. You did nothing wrong. You couldn’t have known. Unless your child directly informed you of abuse and you ignored it, this burden is not yours.

If your child has been affected by trauma, your role is to provide the support, love, and guidance they need to flourish. Abuse survivors consistently demonstrate incredible resilience, and with your loving support, your child too can overcome this experience.

The majority of people reading this are unaffected by the circumstances described above – today. But EVERY parent needs to know how to talk with their children about body safety. Because we live in an imperfect world where people lie, deceive, and exist with horrible motivations, these conversations are not luxury items – they’re must-haves.

So what do you say to your kids? How do you keep them safe?

I’m going to share five central ideas, and then I’m pointing you to the best resources I know that can help. (If you know of anyone or anything I’ve missed, let me know in the comments and I’ll add them to this post.)

1. Always use proper terms for anatomy. If your child ever needs to disclose something, the words ‘penis’, ‘vulva’, ‘anus’, or ‘breast’ should always be considered safe and appropriate.
2. Always remind them that areas of their body covered by swimwear – as well as their mouth and face – are private parts of their body and NO ONE should ever touch them there. Ever. (If they’re still wearing nappies, you may need to dilute that message a little bit for practical reasons… but the only people who should be touching them are ONLY doing it for cleaning and hygiene purposes and must have parent permission to do it.)
3. Always remind them that touching can either be “safe” or “unsafe”. If they don’t want to be hugged or kissed or touched, they should be allowed to say “no” and have that respected. The term “my body, my rules” is a vital one here.
4. Always ensure your child understands that there is a difference between a “secret” and a “surprise”. As Jayneen Sanders says, “Some secrets should never be kept”. This is something to remind our children about regularly.
5. If a person says anything to me or does anything to me (or my body) that leaves me feeling bad, yucky, or guilty, I should tell my parents – even if I’m scared about it.

Let me finish with one quick story from many years ago…

When a family friend was a young girl, she told her mum that she had been sexually abused by a relative. The mother listened to every word from her young daughter’s mouth. After taking it all in, the mother slapped the girl in the face and warned her never to say anything about that incident again.

Such an attitude cannot be allowed to continue. Our children have a right to protection. Please, keep them safe.

Here are a few resources that I recommend:

Jayneen Sanders

Jayneen has written extensively about keeping kids safe. Her books include:

• Some Secrets Should Never Be Kept
• No Means No!
• My Body! What I Say Goes
• Body Safety Red Flags

These books are ALL picture books for children. I love them and recommend them.

Jay also has loads of free resources on her site, Educate2Empower, including posters to guide your conversations with your kids. Visit her here: https://e2epublishing.info/

Holly-ann Martin

Holly-Ann is a dynamo. With an OAM for her service to the community, her resources, much like Jay Sanders, are about life being “Safe4Kids”. 

Holly-Ann’s website is stacked full of her own books and those of others as well. Definitely take a look. https://safe4kids.com.au/

Jill Starishevsky

Jill has written a fun rhyming story called My Body Belongs to Me. It’s a great resource with illustrations that provide a sensitive way into a conversation about body safety. http://www.mybodybelongstome.com/

Michelle Derrig

I’m a fan of “Only For Me”, by Michelle Derrig. Act For Kids endorses the book, and it’s going to be useful for your conversations with your kids. Check it out here: https://www.onlyforme.com.au/

Kayelene Kerr

Lastly, Kayelene is brilliant in this space and has loads of resources for you at esafekids.com.au. 

For more info about resources or to get help, google government services in your local area. 

If you are concerned that your child has been harmed, or if you are aware of a child who has been abused, visit NAPCAN for help.

Extra Resources Shared By You!

In partnership with the Australian Federal Police-led Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation, Project Paradigm have developed a practical guide called ‘It’s Never To Early Early‘ filled with tips, advice, affirmations, and best-practice research and guidance. This guide has been created to help parents and carers navigate the tricky world of abuse prevention.

Bravehearts – Bravehearts is an Australian child protection not-for-profit organisation, solely dedicated to the prevention and treatment of child sexual abuse.

The song ‘Private Parts’ which is catchy & contagious song to sing to kids – making it a socially acceptable ethos to have.

Tricky People by Crystal Hardstaff The Gentle Counsellor 

The Conversation With Kids Body Safety Cards  – by Kristi McVee (Child Safety Expert)

Written by Dr Justin Coulson

We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has supported the Entertainment Fundraiser so far in 2025. Your generosity is making a real difference, with 20% of every sale going directly to our school! Every Entertainment membership sold contributes directly to this effort and has a meaningful impact!

Winter School Holiday Activities

With the winter holidays fast approaching, we wanted to highlight just a few of the fantastic offers available through your Entertainment membership. On the reverse side, you'll find only some of the winter activity deals - using just these featured offers will pay for the membership itself!

Everyday Savings 

Did you know your membership also offers everyday discounts to help with the rising cost of living? For example, the average Australian family of four spends around $11,000 a year on groceries. By using the exclusive 4% discount on Woolworths gift cards, you could save approximately $440 annually - an excellent return on a $70 membership!

You’ll also find incredible buy-one-get-one-free or 25% off deals at popular restaurants, plus family-friendly venues and casual dining options. New in 2025 is the Travel section, where you can save big on everything from caravan and motorhome holidays to flights, hotels, and cruises. 

I encourage you to download the Entertainment app from the App Store or Google Play and browse the offers - there really is something for everyone and new offers are being uploaded weekly!

Thank you once again for your continued support.

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. 

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