This week’s Gospel:

This coming Sunday is Palm Sunday. Here is a child friendly interpretation

Today is a special day – the first special day of a very special week. We call this Holy Week.

Holy Week is both sad and happy. At Christmas we celebrate the day that Jesus was born, but during Holy Week we celebrate the days leading up to Jesus’ death – and then on Easter, his “resurrection” or return from the dead.

The story of Jesus’ death is a hard one to hear – but it’s important to remember that the very reason that Jesus was sent to Earth was to die. It was all part of God’s plan. Jesus died for us – and for the forgiveness of our sins.

Today is Palm Sunday – which is the day we hear the story of Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem.

In the days of Jesus’ life it was a custom to cover the ground when someone very important arrived. This was a sign of great respect. Instead of letting someone important walk on the dirty ground people would take their jackets or other items and place them on the ground to make a sort of carpeting.
In the Gospel of Mark it describes the people taking the leafy branches from palm trees and laying them in Jesus path. That’s why we call today, Palm Sunday.

This is a hard week, as we prepare for the story of Jesus death on Good Friday. But good news is on the way as we celebrate Easter.

Fete 2024

The weather was extremely kind, as were the crowds in attendance. I know that by naming people, I risk missing someone out, so apologies if this occurs. We would like to thank the main committee:

Gemma Cabot, Sarah Tonna, Emily Eyles, Kerrin Henderson, Cathy Bailie, Nicole Rogan, Rebecca Roberts, Monique van de Waterbeemd, Renee Tanner, Pia Watkins, Pip & Ron Asumadu

We would also like to thank the stall holders:

Brendan Mitchell, Danni and Damien Montesin, Emily Eyles, Eve Burnes, Gemma and Ben Cabot, Greg Pugh, Karen Leighton, Karina and Steve McKellar, Kathryn Lees, Katrina Howden, Nick Fairbairn, Peter Lilley and Jacinta Croker, Pia Watkins, Rebecca Ford, Renee Tanner, Vanessa Cooper and the team from Camp Australia Luke and Cody for manning the Laser tag all day! 

Finally, a thank you to both the set up and pack up crew. You played your role perfectly and meant that there was very little to tidy up during the week.

Fencing of the School

Many of you would be aware that this has been an ongoing project for the past 2 years. Reasons behind fencing the school include:

• Student safety, from both being able to leave the grounds as well as having strangers access the grounds.
• Maintenance of our Resources – We will be able to control who accesses our grounds and when. Apologies if I offend anyone, however, this will eliminate the following – Dog and human feaces, general rubbish, Syringes and broken bottles, as well as significant wear and tear on oval and playground.
• Reduction in vandalism and Security call outs.

The fence will not include the car park area, however, it will enclose all our outdoor space. At the beginning of the day, the gates will be unlocked. At the end of the day, the majority of gates will be locked by 3:30pm, with the final gates being locked when Camp Australia finish at 6pm. There will still be plenty of access time for after school play, supervised by parents.

The final approval is currently with CE, we are hoping that the initial stages of work may begin in the upcoming holidays.

NAPLAN

The majority of students have now completed NAPLAN, with just a few students doing catch ups tomorrow and Monday. Thank you for all you have done in reducing anxiety, yet reminding your children to always try their best. We wont receive the results for a while. In the mean time we will continue to involve the students in daily formal and informal assessment tasks and then modify the learning to suit their needs.

Holy Week

Next week is Holy Week and the students are involved in numerous activities as they journey through the events. Hopefully, you are also spending time in reflection on the significance of this event in our Church Calendar.

Athletics Carnival

Again we have been truly blessed with wonderful weather. Apologies to our 800m parents as we had a few minor issues accessing the grounds this morning. Fortunately, it was able to be sorted before the busses arrived. Thank you for your patience. I know that many children love this day and it is great to see them striving to be better this year than last year. Thank you to all our volunteers who assist in making today smooth.

Thank you for your ongoing support

Harmony Day

On Friday 22 March, St Jude's will celebrate Harmony Day. Harmony Day celebrates diversity, aiming to foster inclusiveness, respect and the idea that people of all different cultures can make a valuable contribution to society. Students are asked to wear orange clothing to school and may add a touch of their cultural background as well i.e hat. scarf, t-shirt etc. 

School Fees

School fee statements have been sent out. 

Due to the late distribution of fees, the due date has been extended. School fees are now due on Friday 29 March (end of week 9)

Scholastic Book Club Issue 2

ELC NEWS

Happy Birthday Henry C and Sophie H

We had a great day at the St Jude’s athletics carnival today.  We enjoyed lots of games and activities and ended the day with a big race. Thank you to those parents who were able to come along to help.  Have you noticed our TV display screen is up and running in the ELC foyer with lots of happy ELC faces?

Fete Thank You!

A big thank you to everyone who contributed and helped to make our fete great!  It was a wonderful community day and raised significant funds for our school.

Mystery Reader

The children are very excited that the Mystery Reader program is now up and running. Parents, grandparents or other family members are invited to sign up on the timetables located on the classroom doors. Bring a favourite book from home to read to the class. The Mystery Reader time is set for 2:45pm but if you would prefer a different time please organise with the classroom teacher.

Lids4Kids

The ELC will be a collecting plastic lids from milk bottles and yoghurt pouches so please drop in your lids for recycling. You can either sort the lids into the collection netting or drop them off and the students will sort them.

Open Days

Enrolments are now open for 2025. SJV Open Day is on Wednesday 1 May from 9:30am to 6pm and there will also be an online Open Day on Saturday 4 May at 10am. Check the website for details. The ELC and St Jude’s primary school will be open on Wednesday 8 May 9:15am to 11am and 4pm – 6pm. If you know of any local families with children approaching preschool/school age, encourage them to come along and have a look.

Week 8

This week celebrates Harmony Week with Harmony Day on Friday 22 March. Traditionally, orange is the colour associated with Harmony Day. It signifies social communication and meaningful conversations. It also relates to the freedom of ideas and encouragement of mutual respect.

Kinders made orange paper chains in the Library, joined to show our connection to each other. Some staff and students are wearing orange on Friday.

A couple of great books to read to children that promote Harmony:  

 Happy reading!  Verna Comley

Thank you to everyone who helped cook the sausages at the athletics carnival.

Canteen Volunteers - Week 8

Wednesday 27 March - Judy

Thursday 28 March - Scoviah, Annette & one more volunteer please

Friday 29 March - Good Friday

We are in need for more volunteers for the Canteen.

If you would like to volunteer in the Canteen in Term 1 please email office.stjudes@cg.catholic.edu.au

For any and all uniform needs, orders can be placed via the Uniform Shop tab on Qkr!, or via email to: uniform.stjudes@gmail.com for any second hand items. **Please do not make payment for secondhand items, until we reply to your request confirming stock is available. 

Community Council Meeting – Tuesday 26 March 6pm

Our next Community Council meeting will be held in the school hall and online. The focus of the meeting will be the fete, so any feedback is very welcome.

Thank You

I think we can all agree that the fete was a wonderful success. There was so much hard work behind the scenes to put this event together, and I couldn’t let the opportunity pass without saying a massive congratulations and thank you to Sarah Tonna, our fete committee chair, it just wouldn’t have happened without you!

Cybersafety Webinar

On Tuesday 26 March the eSafety Commissioner is running a 30-minute cybersafety webinar. This session provides an overview of different types of parental controls and how to set them on smart devices and computers, in apps and on gaming platforms for your child’s safety. It's suitable for parents and carers of children and young people in primary school.

Register here: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/3100911298333648471

The hoppiest Easter fundraiser of all!

https://www.gingerbreadfolk.com.au/discount/STJUDES2024

Our group will receive a 20% commission from every sale using the discount code STJUDES2024, plus you will receive a 5% discount!

• These are premium quality, gluten and dairy free so something for every bunny and a great alternative to chocolate.
• Orders ship 24-48 hours after an order is placed (weekdays)
• Add absolutely anything from our full range to your Easter basket. Everything added to the cart attracts a discount and a commission!
• Free Shipping for orders over $100.
• Order with enough time to reach you before Good Friday!
• Orders are shipped direct to your door.

Many thanks,

Gemma Cabot

Stjudes.scc@gmail.com

Thank you for everyone who contributed to our Fete last Saturday. 

Weather was perfect and looks like a great day was had by all!

Overall our fundraising efforts raised a total of $30,000 towards the refurbishment of the school oval. 

Congratulations to the winners of our raffle prizes. If you have not yet collected your prize, you have until Tuesday 26 March to make arrangements to do so from the Primary School Front office before the prizes will be redrawn.

1^st Julia Jolley

2^nd Meredith Blundell

3^rd Prachi

4^th Lily N

5^th Clare Farr

6^th Ariah H

7^th Livvy

8^th Steve D

9^th Vincent N (ELC Turtles)

10^th Scarlett Ora

If you would like to share any feedback on this year’s Fete or considerations for future Fetes, please join the School Community Council next Tuesday 26 March, 6pm in the library or online via Teams.

A final shoutout to our amazing sponsors and donors:

Luton Properties – Team Burke

Weston Dentistry

Enhanced Plumbing and Gas

JD Homes

Weston Asian Grocery

Book Cow Kingston

Apex Novated Solutions Pty Ltd

Barac Personal Training

My's restaurant

Harry hartog

Shaw Wines

Raiders Weston Club

The Canberra Distillery

Tiny creatures and Co

Deanne’s Calisthenics

Cooleman Court beauty therapy

Sports Care Weston

Flip Out Majura

Cockington Green

Questacon

Tuggeranong Bunnings

Freddy Frapples

Home Grown Meats

Erin's Mini World Terrariums

Cataldo’s Hair

Kanga training

Coffee Guru Weston

Chapman Supaexpress

Pac Le'Mond

Thank you to performances from: Aunty Matilda, Our School Choirs, Dare to Dance, Deanne’s Calisthenics, Canberra Martial Arts and our furrylicious Judy! 

A special thank you to our Fete Committee and stallholders for their amazing efforts and the countless hours they contributed to the success of the day

The 2024 Fete Committee, included: Gemma Cabot, Sarah Tonna, Emily Eyles, Kerrin Henderson, Cathy Bailie, Nicole Rogan, Rebecca Roberts, Monique van de Waterbeemd, Renee Tanner, Pia Watkins, Pip & Ron Asumadu

Stallholders: Mr Brendan Mitchell, Danni and Damien Montesin, Emily Eyles, Eve Burnes, Gemma and Ben Cabot, Greg Pugh, Mrs Karen Leighton, Karina and Steve McKellar, Kathryn Lees, Katrina Howden, Nick Fairbairn, Peter Lilley and Jacinta Croker, Pia Watkins, Rebecca Ford, Renee Tanner, Vanessa Cooper and the team from Camp Australia Luke and Cody for manning the Laser tag all day!

Thank you to our teaching cohort for their support, with special mentions to Mr Cameron Reed and Mr Brendan Mitchell for all their heavy lifting and driving efforts to collect Sheltas and tables, to Mrs Kerrin Henderson for her involvement, support, guidance and coordination efforts and for all their support overall (including with printing and other activities), Mr Richard Kaltner (MC), Mrs Katrina Howden, Mrs Renee McKee, Mrs Karen Leighton, and Mrs Belinda Charles!

A thank you to our students for the efforts helping out both before during and after the day, moving furniture, cutting fete mates, making announcements and selling and distributing showbags!

Thursday of Week 9 (28 March) will be our whole school Ride2School Day. It is an initiative supported by the government to encourage both students and their parents to be more active and healthy in their daily commute to school and work. 

St Jude’s will be participating with a whole school walk and ride to school morning on the day. While we encourage riding, we also welcome any wheels and walkers too. We will have teachers stationed from 8:10am at the locations marked on the map. They will wait and meet students and parents and depart those locations by 8:20am to walk and ride along the marked routes to school.

At school, the groups will be met with some great tunes pumping, a fruit station and some prizes for participants too.

We will have some of the team at the Trek Store in Phillip to provide free bike safety checks and simple safety maintenance on any bike present in the morning, providing a list of further maintenance recommendations beyond what they do in the morning.

It’s going to be a great morning and we look forward to seeing as many people as possible getting involved in the action.

Below is the map of meet locations and the routes they follow to get to school - you can meet at a meet point or along the way, the more the merrier.

What is the main message -  Join more than 350,000 students from almost 900 schools around Australia who will be registered to participate in this year’s National Ride2School Day Why Ride2School?

• Bike riding is the easiest way to get healthy: It is recommended that children get 60 minutes of physical activity every day to maintain their health, and riding a bike to school is an easy and fun way to make sure they are hitting this target. It’s also a great way for parents to spend quality time with their children.
• It improves physical activity rates: In the 1970’s, 80% of all school children rode or walked to school but now more than two-thirds go by car. Thanks to Ride2School that trend is reversing – schools that participate in the Ride2School Program report an average active travel rate of 54%. 
• It helps build confidence: Riding, walking, skating or scooting to school will make your students feel more self-sufficient, build resilience and helps them to develop an awareness of road safety and the environment around them.
• Students perform better in class: Being active on the school journey has a much greater impact on student concentration than having breakfast before school. A Danish study has shown that children who walk or ride to school display improved concentration for 4 hours longer than those who are driven.