1 August 2023

I took the opportunity at Assembly last week to prepare our K-6 students at Marsden Park for Mr Cox’s arrival explaining some of the history of RJ’s second Campus and its future direction. Mr Cox is starting to get to know our staff and students as he settles into his new role. While the Campus remains Richard Johnson Anglican School - Marsden Park until the end of the year, Mr Cox will now start to lead the second Campus with the support of the Oakhurst Campus and myself. 

We look forward to formally introducing Mr Cox at the Community Connect Evening - “Meet the New Principal” event on Tuesday 15 August, 7pm, in the Hall. Please register to attend as we look to welcome Mr Cox to the Marsden Park community: https://bit.ly/47aoCwG 

Our teaching faculty were inspired during our staff days as they sat under the tutelage of James Nottingham (from the UK) who delivered professional learning around the topic of Challenging Learning - something I will revisit in the RJ Review this term. Staff were able to reflect on their approaches to learning in their classrooms across Pre-K to Year 12 that engage students and encourage them to venture past their comfort zones. The eventual outcome is to see students taking more risks in their learning and becoming courageous learners.

The mid-year break seems like a distant memory as we find ourselves already in Week 2 of Term 3 and our students well-entrenched in learning across the School. These first two weeks already seem full with students in Years 5-10 competing in the Da Vinci Decathlon last week and both Primary and Secondary students heading out on Wednesday and Friday respectively to compete at the CSSA Zone Athletics Carnivals. Year 12 are also preparing to sit for their HSC Trials in Week 4 with Year 12 HSC Major project students across Music, Drama, Visual Arts, SDD, Social Sciences and Industrial students preparing for the HSC Showcase on Thursday 10 August at 6:30pm at Oakhurst. 

Parents, too, have been conferencing with our Primary teachers since last week at Oakhurst and Marsden Park reviewing the progress of students during Term 1 and 2. Tonight, our parents begin the same process with Year 9 teachers at Parent Teacher Interviews with other Year groups occurring over the next couple of weeks. As school and family partner in the education of our RJ students together, I encourage all of our parents to take up the opportunity to meet face-to-face with teaching staff in person or across Zoom so we can maximise the impact an RJ education can have on our students. 

As we move through this next fortnight, let’s be encouraged from the book of Ephesians 3:20 that reads, 

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.

In a time when it can be hard to make ends meet as mortgage rates and the cost of living expenses rise, let’s lean into God and place our trust in Him as His desire is to do more than we can ever ask, imagine or think in our lives. Will you place your trust in His amazing love for you and see Him work on your behalf? 

God Bless
Mr Alan Dawson | Principal 

An incredible amount of work had gone into preparing the food and the food stalls for the day. Families and staff members contributed time, money and recipes that authentically captured the spirit of eating in different nations. The students, staff and parents who looked after each stall were busy throughout lunch as students took the opportunity to sample food from many of the stalls. Many of us left with very full tummies as there were so many wonderful things to try. This followed a sporting fixture where our students formed mixed nation teams to compete in OzTag, watched by all our Secondary students.

However, the highlight for many began after lunch with our cultural fashion presentation and cultural group performances. It was truly remarkable to watch our students proudly display their cultural dress and celebrate their cultural background. It was lovely to see some of our students supporting their friends by adopting their cultural dress so that they wouldn’t have to present on their own.  

There were so many highlights from the concert that singling out a performance would do a disservice to the brilliant array of offerings from our students. In all the performances, it was evident that the amount of time that students had invested in rehearsing contributed to excellent outcomes on stage. In fact, by the end of the concert when we were looking to choose an act to perform in the end of term K-12 Assembly, we had to stipulate that it wasn’t the best act, but merely the act which we thought best suited the audience. All in all it was a staggering display and a testament to the remarkable talent, commitment and rich cultural diversity we have at RJ.  

Last week I also had the joy to sit in on the first Primary Assembly for Term 3. If you haven’t yet had the chance to see our students in action, I encourage Primary parents to visit when your student’s class is performing. Last week we were treated to some wonderful role play, and even a sneaky grammar lesson, from 3W who taught us how to be patient and kind with others. Hearing Primary sing the Anthem, engage with the songs and do all the actions is a great tribute to the work being done by our Primary staff. Who knows, you might even have to do the actions as a spaceman blasting off to Mars! 

As we commence Term 3, I encourage you to engage your students with the idea of responding to challenge. As teaching staff, we have heard from James Nottingham on the ‘Learning Pit’ and we have been inspired to let students authentically engage with challenge in their learning. Perhaps as a parent you could encourage them to consider strategies to tackle some of their life experiences, as well as their learning, rather than rescuing them when they are stuck. We are challenging them as teachers to assist them in getting themselves “unstuck”.  

Wishing you a blessed and fulfilling second semester.  

Mr Scott Roby
Deputy Principal  

3W ROCK FIRST ASSEMBLY FOR THE TERM ❤

Our Friday Assemblies resumed last week with 3W bringing us a great presentation on our memory verse for the term from 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 on Patience and Kindness – aspects of Love. We can’t wait for 2F this week!

WE ARE GENEROUS & CARING  

Oakhurst students raised over $560 for Anglicare on the last Friday of Term 2 – thank you so much for your generosity. More than 500 tins were collected to add to food hampers supplied by Anglicare for those less fortunate – great effort RJ Oakhurst! 

LET'S GET TO SCHOOL – BEING LATE ISN'T COOL ⏰ 

We still have a number of students arriving after the morning bell at 8:45am. Important information is delivered at our morning lines as well as promoting a settled start to the day with prayer, so please make sure your children arrive before 8:45am. If your child is late to School for any reason, please accompany them to Primary Reception to sign in as usual. Ring at the Dryden Avenue gate closest to Primary Reception to be buzzed through. 

COME IN, SPINNER!

Year 1 enjoyed a visit from Mrs Forrester, our lovely First Aid/Receptionist to finish the topic, Farms, in our Science unit. Mrs Forrester showed the students how to turn raw wool into sewing wool by using a spinning wheel. The students could see and feel the difference between the two yarns of wool and were able to view some of the sewing projects Mrs Forrester had created. This enriching learning experience enabled the children to gain an understanding of how to turn a raw product into a useable item. Thank you, Mrs Forrester, for sharing one of your hobbies!

ARE YOU READY FOR FRI-YAY FUN DAY?   

We are excited for this special day this Friday organised and run by our Year 6 students to raise money for our sponsored children through Compassion. There will be a number of fun activities and yummy treats galore! Students are able to purchase tokens on the day and then select their activities and food.

HAVE YOU CHATTED TO YOUR CHILD'S TEACHER ABOUT SEMESTER 1?

Semester 1 Reports were made available through Edumate at the end of last term and our Parent/Teacher Interviews were held last Thursday evening and continue this afternoon/evening. Unfortunately, bookings for these Interviews have now closed. If you did not make a booking and wish to see your child’s class teacher, please email them directly.

GO LIONS, GO RAMS, GO EAGLES, GO SHARKS!

A reminder that next Friday, August 11 we will be holding House meetings so please send your children in their House shirts on that day. 

HOW TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION WITH YOUR CHILD…

Rowena Thomas returns to RJ to present her Amazing Me family sessions for students in Years 3-6 on Wednesday 16 August. There will be two presentations, ‘Bodies and Puberty’ for Stage 2 starting at 5:30pm, then ‘Bodies and Babies'; for Stage 3 commencing at 6:45pm in the Hall. Stage 3 students are welcome to attend both sessions if preferred. I highly recommend that you attend one or both of these sessions with your child. Rowena is a warm and engaging presenter who helps normalize ‘tricky’ conversation topics! 

Information was emailed out last term. Booking link below: 

https://www.trybooking.com/CIZMP

Enjoy the rest of your week,  

Mrs Karen Shannon-Duhigg
Head of Primary - Oakhurst

In other news this week students from Years 3 and 5 will be receiving their NAPLAN results. There are often questions or clarifications regarding these results so please don’t hesitate to contact Mrs Karen McLeod our Primary Curriculum Leader. I wanted to say that I am very proud of the achievement of our school in NAPLAN, and it represents not just these years but several years’ worth of learning across the life of a primary age child. There are guides online to help understand what the results mean for your child.  

HOW TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION WITH YOUR CHILD… 

Rowena Thomas returns to RJ to present her Amazing Me family sessions for students in Years 3-6 on Wednesday 16 August. There will be two presentations, ‘Bodies and Puberty’ for Stage 2 starting at 5:30pm, then ‘Bodies and Babies': for Stage 3 commencing at 6:45pm in the Hall. Stage 3 students are welcome to attend both sessions if preferred. I highly recommend that you attend one or both sessions with your child. Rowena is a warm and engaging presenter who helps normalise ‘tricky’ conversation topics!  

Information was emailed out last term. Booking link below:  

https://www.trybooking.com/CIZMP

PRIMARY BOOK WEEK – WEEK 5   

Primary Book Week, where teachers and children dress up as book characters, has been scheduled for Friday 25 August (Week 5 of Term 3). Our theme for this year is Read, Grow, Inspire. You may like to start talking with your child/ren about what book character they would like to dress up as. Emails/Seesaw/Broadcast/RJ Review posts with further details will follow.  

PARENT-TEACHER INTERVIEWS 

A separate communication has been sent to allow parents to book an interview time to discuss the semester one report. These reports are available to be viewed on Edumate parent portal, please note that these are only available on a non-mobile browser. Dates are available in the term dates sections of this article.  

COMMUNICATION  

Please note that the following forms of communication to the RJ Families apply when we are distributing information regarding events. Not all forms are used for the same event. Please also refer to the RJ App / Calendar for upcoming events and Term dates refer to the calendar on the School website.  

1. A broadcast via the Newsfeed on the RJ App is used for whole section events such as Book Week and Easter Hat Parade. 
2. The Fortnightly RJ Review (Newsletter) – which is emailed to parents and can be found on the home page of our School website. This also outlines events that are happening throughout the term.  
3. From time to time, we will use Emails /or SMS to highlight changes that may occur that affect events. Such as parent parking.  

SCHOOL BAN ON NUTS 

A friendly reminder that a very serious allergy towards peanuts for some of our students has prompted the School to ban peanuts, peanut butter, Nutella, peanut sauce, nut biscuits and fruit and nut mixes, as well as any other food product which contains peanuts. Please note that products which have ‘traces of nut or peanuts’ have not been listed - these are acceptable. We ask parents to be very cautious about this School directive. The health and safety of every student is of paramount concern for the whole School community. 

WSCS – YEARS 3-6 SPORT 

Students in Years 3-6 will recommence on 9 August in the Western Sydney Christian Schools (WSCS) Interschool Sport Competition or School Sport with students from the Oakhurst Campus and will conclude on 13 September. Students selected in a team will receive a note home, with further details provided. 

INCURSIONS/EXCURSIONS 

During Term 3 there will be several incursions and excursions for all grades throughout the School. More information will be given to each of the grades as we confirm the plans across the term. 

Assembly Class Dates for Term 3 

Events for your Diary

Additional event information will be provided closer to events through the RJ App. Please continue to read the fortnightly RJ Review for updates throughout the term. 

We appreciate your prayers and support for the remainder of the school year. 

Yours sincerely, 

Mr Luke Sale
Head of Primary - Marsden Park 

Students compete in teams of eight across 10 disciplines: Engineering, Mathematics, Code Breaking, Art and Poetry, Science, English, Ideation, Creative Producers, Cartography and Legacy. The Decathlon is designed to celebrate the academic gifts of Australian youth by providing a stimulating and challenging competition run in the spirit of an Olympic Decathlon.

Our students set a wonderful standard of resilience and teamwork as they competed against 100s of students from schools across New South Wales. It was exciting to be joined for the first time by a team from our Marsden Park Campus creating a great spirit of friendly competition. 

Congratulations to our

Oakhurst Team: Riley B, Emily C, Dhivya E, Diana F, Brandan M, Ridhima P, Shubhi V and Moriah V. 

Marsden Park Team: Hannah C, Hayden D, Leah J, Keira L, Alicia M, Dhruva S, Ahempreet S and Ravnoor S

Here are some of the student’s reflections on the day.

'Something that was challenging was being able to just stay put and focus because there were pretty hard questions. We would have three or four sections to complete at once and there were only eight of us. By using teamwork, we were able to finish every question and not worrying too much. So, teamwork was really helpful and useful.' -Riley

'In the Creative Producers challenge, our task was to make a 1 minute mime about a historical event. Shubhi, Emily and I overcame that challenge by working together and practising our mime which was Neil Armstrong on the moon and we tried our very best.' -Brandan

'It was very hard, and yes, we were in the pit the whole day, especially during Art and Poetry when we had only a few minutes left and still had a long way to go, but we also strategised how to get out of the pit. Everyone stopped what they were doing, helped out and, in the end, we got everything done and were very proud of all that we had accomplished.' -Emily

'As Team Captain it was tough to keep track of time and I saw that teamwork could get us through any challenge that could be thrown at us. We all worked together, worked to our strengths and had time to reflect on what we could improve. Altogether it was an amazing day!' -Ridhima

Mr Michael Reed
Primary Wellbeing Leader 

Crusaders took overall responsibility for the Camp, providing leadership, the fantastic program, advertising, bookings, and the Christian Discovery activities. Oakhurst Anglican Church provided helpers who co-ordinated the delicious food that the Campers enjoyed throughout the week. 

The CRU Day Camp ran from 8:00am to 6:00pm each day, with a fabulous range of activities in which the Campers could participate. Some of the activities included laser tag, Nerf wars, scooter ball, the carnival, sport, art/craft, dance activities, the entertaining Science Incursion, craft, K-2 visit to the Zoo, 3-6 visit to the CRU Campsite at Galston and the fabulous Christian Discovery sessions.

It was very exciting this year to have one of our former RJ students, Nikita K directing the Camp. Nikita was a student leader at CRU Blast while she was at RJ and has been one of the Senior leaders at the Camp over the past few years. Nikita did a wonderful job directing the Camp, ensuring that all present had a great week. 

We were also blessed to have Miss Mahaffey and four of our former students, Erica H, Micah G, Hannah D and Kartik K returning as Senior leaders on the Camp. It was wonderful to see our former students using their many gifts and talents throughout the week. Students in Years 9, 10, 11 and 12 were Assistant Leaders during the week, organising and running activities, assisting during the Christian Discovery time through singing, music, drama and helping in discussion groups where the Campers discovered more about God’s amazing promises.

The Assistant Leaders from RJ did a fantastic job during the week, being involved every day from the start to the conclusion of the day’s activities. We had 25 Secondary students from the School involved as Assistant leaders, which is a testament to the servant hearts of the students of our School. Along with the actual camp, the students also attended up to four meetings and training sessions. The Camp provided many opportunities for the students to develop and exercise their leadership skills along with the opportunity to develop and share their faith with the Primary students. The Assistant leaders showed great care, enthusiasm, organisation and commitment during the week and played an integral role in helping the Primary students have a thoroughly enjoyable week with many very positive and lasting memories. 

My thanks to Mr Dawson and the School for supporting the CRU Blast Camp, Nikita K and the other Crusader leaders for their wonderful leadership and facilitation of the Camp, to Miss Mahaffey for being a wonderful support during the week, and doing a fantastic job of co-ordinating the food for the 120 people on the Camp, to our RJ Senior leaders for their commitment, enthusiasm and encouragement and to Rev Ramsay and Mrs Ramsay from Oakhurst Anglican Church for their commitment and efforts during the week. 

Lastly, but definitely not least, a huge thank you to our Secondary Student Leaders for everything they did leading up to, and during the Camp. They are a great group of young people who worked tremendously well as a team and were fine ambassadors for our School and their families. 

Our wonderful students were:   

Mr Stewart Rowe
Christian Ministry Service Learning

CRU Blast took place in the last week of the holidays, a great opportunity for young children to participate in great activities and also learn about God's love for them shown in Jesus. Thank you to the students from RJ who were leaders on CRU Blast and also to Mr Rowe and Miss Mahaffey for their involvement and oversight of the event. 

The Learning Conferences for Year 9 and Year 10 take place this week, Tuesday 1 August for Year 9 and Wednesday 2 August for Year 10 in the SLC and also with the option of Zoom meetings, from 4pm.

From 6:30pm on Thursday 10 August, next week, the annual HSC Showcase is taking place. This is a great opportunity to take in the major works from our Year 12 students, with works on display from Industrial Technology Multimedia, Industrial Technology Timber and Visual Arts. Our Drama and Music students will be performing their major works on stage. Light refreshments will also be served during the evening. While the event is free please look out for a link to reserve your seat via the RJ APP.

This term will see the Refurbishment of the Science labs A5 and A7, resulting in the need to move a number of lockers and also construction fencing around the Science labs. Everyone is reminded not to attempt to access this area and keep on the correct side of the fencing. I do look forward to seeing how the new labs will help in the teaching and learning of Science subjects at RJ.

Two table tennis tables have been made available for Secondary students to use during recess and lunch, which is a great way for students to be active during their break times. Students who wish to use table tennis tables will need to go to Student Reception to sign a register to borrow the four bats and a ball per table, which must be returned at the end of the break time. I do look forward to seeing the table tennis tables used by a range of students, and possibly see them linked to an inter house competition in the future.

Reminder: Communication from the School to Secondary parents and carers. While the School can communicate via a number of electronic means, SMS, email, RJ Review and the RJ APP, where ever possible information for Secondary parents/carers will be sent via the RJ APP. Information such as permission for excursions, Trybooking links for events, communication regarding the release of academic reports and general reminders will be sent via the RJ APP. Absence reminders will be sent to relevant individual parent/carers via SMS. In some circumstances where email is the only option, such as booking details for Learning Conferences, an email will be sent to parents and carers with a reminder sent via the RJ APP. Please ensure that you have the RJ APP installed on your mobile phone so you receive relevant communication from the School.

I shared with students all of the events that will take place this term during the Secondary Assembly last Friday, and there are many. I encouraged the students to participate, to support their peers and to try something new. I also issued them a small challenge, to see if they were focussed on all that was being done for them or if they were thinking about how they could help, how their involvement could move from observing to serving. The Heritage Festival last term is a great event but is successful due to students and staff willing to give their time and effort. Other examples where student involvement makes a great difference is the learning challenges set in the classrooms and incursions for specific subjects. I look forward to seeing more students moving from passive participants to active contributors to all that we do at RJ this term and in to Term 4 echoing the challenge given in 1 Peter 4, where we are encouraged to use our gifts and abilities to serve others. 

Finally parents and carers are reminded that if you have any questions or concerns in relation to your child's wellbeing or a question about a specific subject area please reach out to their Home Group teacher as first point of contact. Parents wishing to meet with a staff member are reminded to contact the School via Main Reception to organise an appointment. 

Mr Brad Maxwell
Head of Secondary

NETBALL GALA DAY

Our Oakhurst Stage 2 and 3 teams will be representing the School at the CSSA Gala Day on Thursday. They qualified due to results in the WSCS competition earlier this year.

MIXED OZ TAG GALA DAY

There will be a mixed Oz Tag Gala Day in Week 4. This team will be selected by Mr Mitchell as we didn’t have any prior competition matches between the two Campuses. I’m sure that they will have a lovely time.

WSCS

Our WSCS competition recommences next week. If you have your WWCC and would like to assist, please notify Mr Mitchell at gmitchell@rjas.nsw.edu.au 

Mr Gavin Mitchell
Primary Sports Leader

It has been exciting to hear our Year 1 students make such progress for the first half of the year. Violins are available in a whole range of sizes, which makes them a viable instrument even for very small children. The violin has no frets or keys, which allows children to focus on the sounds the instrument produces.  This helps them learn to play in tune and develop an ear for pitch and sound. Mrs Duncan will also commence teaching our many string students across both Campuses.  

If you would like your child to commence instrumental lessons please use the link: https://forms.office.com/r/FFM68WiyUH    

What is your favourite food?

Chinese food – fried rice, chicken and cashew nuts. 

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

I enjoy spending time with my kids, gardening, sewing and sleeping. 

When and why did you come to work at this School?

As a Christian, I fully support the ethos of an Anglican School and Richard Johnson looks like a caring and loving School. I hope to begin at the end of July 2023. 

What do you think you will enjoy about your role in the School?

I love teaching children. I love helping children find their strengths and it’s a joy for me when they love coming to School. 

Describe a wonderful experience you’ve had which you will never forget.

Camping by a river in the north of Madrid. 

Why did you become a Christian?

I grew up in a loving, Christian home and when I was a teenager I made the decision to accept Jesus as Lord of my life.  

What is your favourite bible verse and why?

Psalm 46:10. It reminds me that God is in control no matter what happens in my life. 

What is something you want to achieve?

Walk the Camino de Santiago in Spain. 

If you could meet any person in the world at the moment who would it be and why?

I’d like to meet Angela Strawbridge from ‘Escape to the Chateau’. She seems very creative, caring and adventurous. 

What is your favourite food?

Sushi

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

Painting portraits for the Archibald Prize. 

When and why did you come to work at this School?

I started in 2023 as a Secondary Visual Arts teacher to share my love and passion for art and to teach in a strong faith-based community. 

What do you think you will enjoy about your role in the School?

Teaching the students at RJ and helping then reach their full potential and immersing myself in the School community. 

Describe a wonderful experience you’ve had which you will never forget.

When my students achieved Band 6 in Visual Arts and were chosen for Art Express.

Why did you become a Christian?

I was baptised as a baby having grown up in the faith alongside my family and bring my children up in the Christian faith. 

What is your favourite bible verse and why?

Psalm 27:1. It reminds me that God is the strength we need and that with God we never need to be afraid.

What is something you want to achieve?

I would love to win the Archibald Prize. 

If you could meet any person in the world at the moment who would it be and why?

I would love to meet actor Anthony Hopkins. He has an amazing ability to transform into a character and connect to the audience.

Influenza symptoms may last for more than a week and can include:

• Fever and chills
• Cough
• Sore throat
• Runny or stuffy nose
• Muscle aches
• Joint pains
• Headaches
• Fatigue
• Nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea (more common in children than adults).

Similarly to COVID Management - to stop the spread of influenza, there are effective measures that students and families can take:

• Stay at home when sick with cold and flu symptoms.
• Cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue and sneeze into your elbow instead of your hands.
• Wash hands often with soap and water, especially after coughing or sneezing, or use sanitiser.
• Avoid touching eyes, nose or mouth.
• Clean frequently touched surfaces particularly when people are sick.

If you have any concerns or questions about your child’s health, please seek medical attention from your local GP. For more information about influenza, go to: 

https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/factsheets/Pages/influenza_factsheet.aspx

Hear from Chris Braga, Senior Minister of Gracewest Anglican Church about the connection between burgers and Jesus. While also making and eating some great burgers!

Book online www.trybooking.com/cjwsb before 27 August.