Week 10 Term 1 2024

I hope you all enjoyed the Easter break. Last week our children led the community during Holy Week, the sixth and last week of Lent. Our Reception children led us in liturgy to acknowledge Palm Sunday, when Jesus arrived in Jerusalem. The Year 1-2 children led the community in liturgy for the Last Supper, Jesus sharing a meal with the twelve disciples. We ended the week with our senior children leading a moving Good Friday liturgy, where Jesus was crucified. I want to thank the children and teachers with their preparations for Holy Week. 

I invite family and friends to join us for our Easter Mass on Wednesday 3rd April at 9:00am in St John Bosco Church led by Fr Long Hai and the Year 3-4 children.

St John Bosco School is a proud multi-cultural and multi-faith community. A big thank you to all the families that contributed to making Harmony Day a huge success. It was amazing to have so many of our families donating traditional cultural food for the children and staff to enjoy. Leah Bellifemini brilliantly coordinated the day ensuring we had plenty of food and food allergies were taken care of. Harmony Day 2024 truly celebrated our inclusive multi-cultural community.

Staffing

We are thrilled to welcome Madeline Bellinger to the St John Bosco staff, Maddie will be our Mid-Year Reception teacher. She is familiar with our community as she was a student teacher in an early year’s class back in 2022. Maddie will be working closely with Jenna Weber our Little Boscos Transition Program teacher to ensure continuity is in place for the children and families.

Last week we farewelled Viki McGregor, Viki is an Educational Support Officer who has been working in our community since 2021. Viki will be greatly missed by the staff, children and families. We wish Viki well with her new endeavours.

New building

Last week we were officially handed over the new building by the builders and architects. We look forward to hosting Miss Willoughby’s class assembly in the new hall this Friday, 5th April at 9:00am.

At this stage OSHC will still operate from their current premises, while we eagerly await approval from The Education Standards Board (ESB) to approve our OSHC and Vacation Care Service to move over to the new building.

Parents and Friends

A big thank you to all the families for the donations for the Easter Raffle. We had many happy winners who left school last Thursday loaded with many goodies to enjoy on Easter Sunday. The raffle raised over $600.00 making a healthy contribution towards raising funds for new playground equipment for our children.

School Uniform

As the cooler weather begins, I would like to remind families if you are adding tights and skivvies for warmth, we ask you to stick to bottle green. Skivvies are not to be worn alone they are only to be worn under official St John Bosco uniform pieces.

The school holidays provide a good opportunity to check your uniform and visit Devon Clothing if you need to make some purchases to get you through the winter. Online ordering is also an option for families, with delivery directly to your home available.

Sports Day

We look forward to welcoming family and friends to our upcoming Sports Day on Friday 12th April. Dino and Mace have been fine tuning the children’s skills during Physical Education lessons in readiness for the big day. I would like to remind families that an early dismissal is scheduled for 1:00pm on the day. Mirella is taking bookings for OSHC from 1:30pm with the normal afternoon rate being charged. Please contact Mirella asap if you require a booking for your child.

Wishing you all a wonderful final two weeks of Term 1, 2024.

Kate Turner

MSP Photography will be onsite on Friday 5th April 2024 in the morning to take photos of all our new staff and children. If your child was not attending St John Bosco School on the 28th September 2023 they will be included in Friday's photo shoot. These photos are essential for our documentation and records. 

MSP Photography will be back on site to take photos of every child in September 2024, this is when families will have the opportunity to purchase class photos and individual shots.

Sacraments  

Five children from St John Bosco School, along with children from Tenison Woods Catholic School and other Parish members, celebrated the sacrament of Reconciliation on Tuesday 19th March at St Aloysius Catholic Church, Richmond, with Fr Long Hai. They will begin their preparation sessions for the sacrament of Confirmation on Tuesday 11th June. 

Rite of Christian Initiation of Adult (RCIA) 

During the Easter Vigil Mass on Saturday night, Sameera Sekhon received the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist. Her sacramental journey began when she was accepted into the Order of Catechumen on Sunday 18th February, in the St John Bosco Church. She was then welcomed by Archbishop Patrick O'Regan at Saint Francis Xavier Cathedral and took part in the celebration of the Rite of Election, which was presided by Archbishop Patrick. We congratulate Sameera on this significant milestone in her life. May God's blessings continue to guide and enrich her life abundantly. 

Harmony Day 

On Thursday 21st March, the SJB community celebrated Harmony Day. The children were encouraged to wear cultural dress, or the colour orange. Families were also invited to donate a cultural dish, for the children to taste. The children engaged in Harmony Day activities in their classrooms and with their buddies, and taste-tested foods from different cultures at lunch time. 1/2K led the school in a Harmony Day Liturgy at the end of the day.  A sincere and heartfelt ‘THANK YOU’ to all the families who generously donated food from their culture. By sharing dishes from respective cultures, we not only celebrated our heritage but also created opportunities for cultural exchange and appreciation. It sure made our day special. 

Holy Week Liturgies  

Last week, we embarked on the journey of Holy Week. Holy Week marks the final week of Lent, leading up to Easter Sunday, and it commemorates the events leading to the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. On Monday, Reception G and Reception R led us in a beautiful Palm Sunday liturgy, symbolising Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem, where crows greeted him with Palm Branches. The Year 1/2 community continued our liturgies with a Holy Thursday Prayerful Gathering on Wednesday, symbolising The Last Supper Jesus had with his disciples before his crucifixion. The 5/6 community led a beautiful and sombre Stations of the Cross Prayerful Gathering on Thursday afternoon, taking us on a journey of Jesus’ death. We will conclude our Easter celebrations on Wednesday 3rd April, when we will gather as a whole-school community for the Resurrection Mass at 9:00am in the St John Bosco Church, led by the 3/4 learning community. 

Project Compassion  

Thank you to everyone who donated to Project Compassion during the season of Lent. Please ensure your Project Compassion boxes are return to the Front Office as soon as possible. You can make any final donations by visiting  https://schools.projectcompassion.org.au/leah-bellifemini.  

In 3/4H, we have been exploring the Easter story and delving deep into the Catholic meaning and teachings of Holy Week. The 3/4 Learning Community have been preparing for hosting the Easter Sunday Mass, which will be held on Wednesday, the 3rd of April.

During Lent, we have been in deep discussion about the teachings of Jesus and preparing for the resurrection of Jesus. Here are some of the artworks created by the children about the resurrection of Jesus, along with reflections from the students, about their favourite thing about Easter:

Spending time with family. - James

Seeing family.- Cooper

Having time at home. - Basit

Going to Church to reflect about and pray to God, reflecting of Jesus’ life. - Terry

My favourite thing about Easter is having fun with my family. - Prabhbir

Spending time with yia-yia and walking a mile around church with a candle to remember Jesus’ journey to the cross. - Ilia

Having fun with friends. - Hooraem

Sharing kindness to my neighbour and cleaning up the house. - Elliana

Having fun with my family. - Kes

Spending time with Mum, dying eggs for Greek Easter, decorating them with crosses. - Ruby

Spending time with my cousins. - Caleigh

During Orthodox Easter, I enjoy going to the Church before school to have communion. - Alexis

I get to spend time with my family, preparing for Greek Easter. - GiaSpending time with my family. We celebrate Greek Easter soon. - Michael

Relaxing at home. - Zidane

I get to go away with my cousins and family. - Camden

I spend time with family and will be celebrating Greek Easter. - Alex

I get to spend time with family. - Camilo

Spending time with Grandma, seeing my cousins and spending time with my brothers.- Paolos 

Easter is not about the Easter Bunny, but actually about Jesus dying on the cross and rising again. - Sebastian 

 Spending time with family and relaxing. - Russell 

Jesus teaches us about loving-kindness and being good to people. At Easter, we need to showing loving-kindness to everyone and make people belong. - Junior

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