Week 9 Term 4

School Vision Statement: To change the world through our faith in Jesus who is our light.
Phone: 6882 2677 or 6882 2653
Email: stjohnsprimarydubbo@bth.catholic.edu.au                    
Principal: Mr. Anthony O’Leary
School Manager/Priest: Father Greg Kennedy           
P&F Meetings: 2nd & 7th Tuesday each term

Parents/guardians-Please note that photographs of students may be used in publication. Please advise the School Office if you do not approve of your child’s photo being used.

WEEK 9
Tuesday 10th December - Year 4 Art Exhibition
Tuesday 10th December -  Year 2 Christmas Liturgy S.J.Primary Hall 10.15am
Thursday 12th December - SJP Christmas Concert from 5.30pm
Thursday 12th December - Last Kindy Orientation 9.15am -10.45am 

WEEK 10
Monday 16th December - Whole School Mass 10.00am St Brigid's Church
Tuesday 17th December - Year 6 Graduation Mass and Dance 5.30pm St Brigid's Church
Wednesday 18th December LAST DAY OF TERM 4.

2025
Tuesday 4th February - Kindergarten and Year 6 Return Term 1, 2025
Wednesday 5th February - Year 1 - 5 Return Term 1, 2025

Welcome to Week 9
Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Welcome to Week 9! We are certainly getting closer to the end of the school year and what a wonderful year it has been.

This week, we celebrate the Second Week of Advent, a time of reflection and preparation as we anticipate the coming of Jesus at Christmas. During this week, we focus on peace, one of the key messages of the season. Let us take a moment to bring peace into our hearts, our homes, and our community as we prepare for the joy of Christ’s birth.

Prayer for the Second Week of Advent
Loving God,
In this second week of Advent, we light the candle of peace.
Help us to prepare our hearts for the coming of Your Son, Jesus.
Grant us peace in our hearts, peace in our homes,
And peace in our world.
May we share Your love and light with everyone we meet.
We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Final Kinder Orientation
This Thursday, we will hold the final Kinder Orientation for our 2025 Kindergarten students. These young learners have been absolutely wonderful throughout the orientation sessions, and a huge well done goes to our fantastic Kindergarten teaching team for their efforts in ensuring a warm and positive start to their school journey.

Christmas Carol Concert
Don’t forget to join us this Thursday evening for the Christmas Carol Concert! It promises to be a joyful celebration of music and community.

Date: Thursday, 12th December
Time: 5:30 PM - 6:30 PM
Location: Area 1 playground of SJP

This festive evening promises to be a wonderful celebration of the season, filled with songs and performances by our talented students. The strings, band, and choir will also be performing.

To ensure everyone enjoys the event, please note the following:

• Bring along: A picnic blanket and/or chair for seating comfort.
• Keep an eye out for a note from your child’s teacher in the coming days with more specific information.
• Playground equipment: Please ensure children do not use the playground equipment during the event.
• Parking: Kindly avoid parking in the Sports World car park to ensure spaces are available for their customers. Parking is available along Sheraton Road.
• Photos - there will also be an opportunity for some special Christmas photos.

Christmas Liturgy and Pageant
Tomorrow, Tuesday, 10th December 2024, Year 2 will be leading our Christmas Liturgy, including the much-loved Christmas Pageant. Year 2 always does a fantastic job retelling the Christmas story, and I’m sure this year will be no exception. We look forward to sharing this special moment with our school community. The Liturgy will commence at 10:15 in the hall.

Whole School Mass
Our Whole School Mass will be held at St. Brigid’s Catholic Church on Monday, 16th December, commencing at 10:00 AM. All are welcome to join this special Mass as we celebrate our year together and give thanks for our faith and community.

Year 6 Celebrations
We are excited to celebrate and honor our Year 6 students as they prepare to transition to high school.

• The Year 6 Graduation Mass will be held on Tuesday, 17th December, at 5:30 PM.
• Following the Mass, the Year 6 students will enjoy a Graduation Dance to mark this special milestone.

Congratulations to all of our Year 6 students! They have been a fantastic cohort, and we wish them all the best as they embark on their next journey.

Principal Leave Announcement
I would like to inform you that I will be on leave from Tuesday, 10th December. Mr. Foley will be Acting Principal for the remainder of the school year.

Thank You and Christmas Wishes
As this will be my final newsletter for the year, I would like to take this opportunity to thank our wonderful school community for an incredible year. Your support, enthusiasm, and commitment have made 2024 a memorable one for all of us.

I wish you and your families a joyful and peaceful Christmas, keeping Jesus in our hearts as we celebrate His birth. If you are traveling during the holiday season, please drive safely.

God bless and have a great week
Anthony

Second Week of Advent                                                                              Yesterday, we welcomed the second week of advent where we move from thinking about hope, to peace. Yesterday, Fr Nam encouraged us all to spend the week praying for peace and seeking the peace within our own lives and our wider communities and world. To look for God within others and trust that through peace, we continue to be disciples in God's kingdom.

Christmas Nativity Liturgy
Tomorrow, all parents and friends are warmly welcome to attend Year 2’s Nativity Liturgy at 10:15 in our school hall. The Liturgy will tell the story of Jesus’ birth and remind us all, of the excitement that builds as we anticipate Jesus’ upcoming birthday. We are looking forward to seeing Year 2 present their Liturgy!

End of Year Whole School Mass                                                    Next Monday 16th December, we will gather together for our Whole School End of Year Mass at St. Brigid’s @10am. All parents from K-6 are welcome to attend this Mass where we will farewell our Year 6 students with a blessing song, experience the power and emotion of the SJP Passing of the Light Ceremony and symbolically pass on our School Candle and School Bible from our 2024 Captains to our 2025 Captains. This is a really beautiful Mass to share together for the last time  this year, so we encourage all parents to attend.

Year 6 Graduation Mass and Award Ceremony                                                                                Our Year 6 2024 Graduation Mass and Award Ceremony will be held at St Brigid's Church starting at 5:30 Tuesday 17th December. All within our school community are invited to attend, however we particularly invite our Year 6 parents and relatives to this Mass, as we celebrate the achievements of our Year 6 students and bid them farewell. 

Students will leave the Church after the Mass and attend their Disco and Pizza party in St. Brigid's Hall. The evening will finish at 8pm. Year 6 parents, please have this date marked on your family calendar.

We are continuing our final SPB4L focus for the year which is ‘making sure we are meeting the SJP behaviour expectations we have talked about throughout the year’. We have been discussing what these expectations are: 

Classroom

• Listening to the teacher
• Completing work to the best of our ability
• Helping keep the classroom clean
• Using kind and appropriate language

Playground

• Moving safely around the playground
• Playing fairly and including others
• Playing in the appropriate areas
• Using kind and appropriate language
• Putting our rubbish in the bin
• Wearing our school hat.