29 August 2023

Ambition is the driving force that propels us toward our goals and aspirations. It ignites the fire of determination within us and pushes us to reach for greatness. In our journey through life, having ambition is not just a desire, but a necessity that can shape our path to success and personal growth.

Ambition provides us with a clear direction. It gives us a purpose, a reason to wake up every morning with enthusiasm. When we set ambitious goals, we challenge ourselves to step out of our comfort zones and strive for excellence. This pursuit not only sharpens our skills but also builds resilience in the face of challenges.

Furthermore, ambition fosters continuous learning. As we chase our dreams, we gather knowledge, seek new experiences, and develop a thirst for improvement. It encourages us to explore various fields, discover our true passions, and evolve into well-rounded individuals.

One of the remarkable aspects of ambition is its ripple effect on our community. When each individual sets ambitious goals, the collective effort creates an environment of growth and progress. Ambitious individuals inspire others, fostering a culture of innovation and determination. The achievements born from ambition not only benefit the individual but contribute positively to society as a whole.

However, ambition is not without its obstacles. Failures and setbacks are inevitable in the pursuit of big dreams. Yet, it's these very challenges that sculpt our character, teaching us resilience and perseverance. Embracing setbacks as stepping stones rather than roadblocks is a hallmark of an ambitious spirit.

We have had a lot of celebrations lately around the wonderful achievements of our Students. Students who have set goals as individuals or as teams, and those who have had dreams, desires and ambition to achieve success at some level. Subsequently, two of our basketball teams have made it through to the State competition, our Primary and Secondary Athletics teams have both won the Zone Carnivals, 7 of our Secondary Students have qualified for the CIS competition with some state records matched and broken, and our Primary Students participated in the recent IPSHAA Performing Arts Festival doing a magnificent job. We are so proud of our students achievements and efforts.

In our pursuit of ambitions, allowing God's guidance can illuminate our path. He says in Proverbs for us to acknowledge Him in all our ways. Through prayer and trust, we can find clarity in purpose, resilience in challenges, and the wisdom to make choices aligned with our values. Surrendering control to God brings humility and adaptability, while ethical ambitions rooted in faith promote unity and compassion. With God's direction, we can navigate our journey with purpose, courage, and the belief that our ambitions are part of a greater plan.

God Bless
Mr Alan Dawson | Principal 

THE CONCLUSION OF TRIAL HSC EXAMINATIONS

Year 12 HSC Trial Examinations are a big moment for our Senior learners. A summative assessment that is indicative of what the students have learnt throughout the HSC Course. This can be incredibly daunting for students who are often doing course work right up until the Trial HSC Examination period commences. They have minimal time to do uninterrupted study as they still have to keep up to date with class work, work commitments, out of school commitments and many other aspects of their lives including part time employment. As a result, students often find receiving their marks to be less than what they believe to be their best. It is important for us as educators and parents to remind ourselves that even these big, summative assessment tasks act as formative tasks for what comes next. Whilst the internal assessment of student performance has now been concluded, an even bigger task looms in the form of HSC examinations in October. Rather than wielding this impending challenge at students to worry them further, we should be helping them be future focussed on what they can improve upon to be better prepared.

Such future focus is not only a growth point for learners, it is a valuable outlook to be utilised in other aspects of life also. Equipping students to ask themselves the question “What next?” is a powerful problem solving, adversity conquering tool. You didn’t land the job interview, “What aspect of the role do I need to address to be better prepared for the next opportunity?”. You missed out on being invited to a party or social gathering, “Does this person value this friendship/relationship as much as I do?”. You missed out on Taylor Swift tickets, “Do I really need more pop in my life?”. Putting the last joke aside, it is incredibly important that our students are equipped to handle disappointment, process it and seek opportunities for growth.

YEAR 12 2024 LEADERSHIP

The Year 11 students had the opportunity to hear from Mr Dawson and myself on Wednesday to launch the student leadership process. The opportunity to sow into young people’s lives with respect to leadership is an honour and a privilege. Mr Dawson challenged students to not diminish their light and consider which choice they will take and to why they will take it, whilst the students also engaged in some fun activities with valuable leadership lessons included. It was a great time of learning and I am excited to work through the process of appointing a formal leadership team, whilst stressing to all students the importance of their leadership of the School regardless of their office.

BOOK WEEK PARADE

This year was my first opportunity to dress up for Book Week. The Primary team did a wonderful job at dressing up in the theme of Mr McGregor’s Garden. Whilst I was a lost vegetable looking for Mr McGregor so I could be returned to the garden Mr Dawson dressed as Mr McGregor and Mrs Shannon-Duhigg was dressed as Peter Rabbit. The entire Primary team did a wonderful job of dressing up, with many highlights, but my personal favourite was Mr Hunt who dressed as the sun to make all the flowers, fruit and vegetables grow. The Primary team do such a wonderful job at engaging our young learners and the sense of fun and play that they brought to the Book Week Parade is one of the great engagement points for our students. The students too came with wonderful dress ups, including a pair of T-Rexes that nearly stole the show in morning lines.

Now that we’ve crossed the halfway line for the Term, let’s work together to help our students finish well.

Mr Scott Roby
Deputy Principal 

IPSHA PERFORMING ARTS FESTIVAL STARS ✨✨

Last Monday Miss S-D, Miss Stokes, Mrs Marrable and I took a group of about 50 excited students into the city to rehearse at the Town Hall, enjoy lunch in Hyde Park, visit the Australian Museum, then return to Town Hall for a quick pizza dinner before the big performance with six other independent schools that evening. Our Cantabile Choir and Junior Dance Company gave an outstanding performance of ‘Seize the Day’ from the musical ‘Newsies’. The energy and obvious enjoyment from our RJ students was a highlight of the night. A massive congratulations to Miss Shannon-Duhigg for preparing the students so well for this big event.

AMAZING ME YEAR 6 SESSION

Last week our Year 6 students were fortunate to have a presentation from Rowena Thomas from Amazing Me with her ‘Puberty and Beyond’ session. This covered aspects that helped:

• Empower students with the knowledge, skills, values and attitudes that contribute to the formation of their identity and personal development during their journey through puberty, adolescence and into adulthood.
• Encourage students to build respectful relationships through trust, resilience, inclusion, empathy, and making informed choices and to be advocates for their own rights and for the rights of others.
• Assist students to understand the importance of decision making and the influences that can help them to make wise and well-informed decisions.
• Reinforce the important message that each individual child is unique, valued and amazing. 

We look forward to Rowena coming back early in Term 4 to run the family evening programs for Stages 2 and 3.

DRYDEN AVE AFTERNOON PICK UP

Another reminder that this pick-up area is a designated ‘drive-through’ quick pick up of students who can get into a vehicle unassisted so drivers do not need to get out of their cars. This helps keep the waiting queue of vehicles moving. Please have your child/ren enter your car from the kerb side - not walking out onto the road to get in on the driver’s side as this puts students’ safety at risk. We have also had a few students recently not picked up on time or picked up by other family members without clear communication. Please make sure you and your child know the routine each day for getting home.

COMPASSION CHILD SPONSORSHIP 

We continue to support our Compassion sponsor children from Indonesia. All classes have a donation box where students are able to donate money on any day. This is designed to take the pressure away from the need for more regular fundraising. Your child can bring coins in to donate in class. Why not chat to them about this worthwhile cause?  

CELEBRATING DADS!

This coming Thursday 31 August, we will be holding our Father’s Day stall for students to buy an item for the special father figure in their life. Students are asked to bring a $5 or $10 note to purchase one gift.

On Friday 1 September we will hold our inaugural Father's Day Sausage Sizzle breakfast from 8am. Come along to Pioneers Way near the picnic tables. Accompanying students receive a mini muffin.

Enjoy the rest of your week,  

Mrs Karen Shannon-Duhigg
Head of Primary - Oakhurst

It was a beautiful day to be outside, and we loved exploring the gardens and learning about what plants need to grow, survive, and thrive. We met one of the gardens’ expert horticulturalist team, who showed students how to care for plants. We then explored the gardens with our educator, who showed us a variety of plants and taught us about their features. We also were able to water plants in the special student-only Yellowwood Garden, and even touched and ate some of the safe-to-eat plants!

The best part of the day was when we got to plant our very own sunflower seeds and take them home, ready to be planted in our own gardens!

As always, we are very thankful for the help of the parents who gave up their time to come along and assist on the excursion. Thank you to Mrs Adhav, Mr Sharpe, Mrs Sanehi, and Mrs Lim Hernandez, who came along and joined us for the day.

We are looking forward to more exciting learning opportunities to come!

Miss Foster, Mrs Frakes and Mrs Foxall
Year 2 Teachers

Our Secondary students have excelled in a number of areas in the last two weeks, particularly at the CSSA State Athletics Carnival, with a number of students qualifying to move up to compete at the CIS level. Well done! We also took the opportunity during our recent Secondary Assembly to recognise the achievements of both individuals and teams across a range of sporting arenas. Congratulations to the boys 18+ Years State Cross Country Team, all our Athletics Age Champions, the CSSA Nepean Zone Athletics Age Champions, the Open Girls (Champions), U15 Boys (Champions) and U15 girls (Runners Up) Basketball teams and U14 Boys (Champions) Soccer team who competed and achieved great success at the Nepean Zone level. 

While there is only four weeks left of Term there are certainly many opportunities for our Students to be involved and make significant contributions to their learning and the RJ Community as a whole, Secondary Talkfest and HCIES G&T Camp this week, Year 11 Exams in Weeks 8 and 9, HSC in a Day across Weeks 8 and 9, Year 12 Reflection Day in Week 8 and of course Year 12 Graduation on Friday 22 September. Our Year 11 students also have the opportunity to apply for 2024 leadership positions with their applications due over the next two weeks.

During a recent Secondary Assembly I encouraged students to be mindful of the choices they are making. Students were challenged to make sure their choices are beneficial to their learning and that they are building up and encouraging our community. Students were also encouraged not to follow others in unhelpful behaviour choices and were reminded that not being seen, or later found out, acting in an unhelpful way does not make it right. Three areas of choices/behaviour were also identified as areas of improvement for some of our Students - uniform, rubbish on the playground and management/use of mobile phones. I do hope that Secondary Students as a whole can be consistent in these areas, creating a positive and safe environment at the School.

Parents and carers are reminded that if you have any questions about upcoming events 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 please contact the School via Main Reception to organise an appointment.

Mr Brad Maxwell
Head of Secondary

Pictured below are dishes created by the students, some from their most recent Assessment Task. CJ M demonstrated other skills during one lesson drawing a ”kitchenscape” on the whiteboard even showing what could be seen outside through the windows. Accompanying this illustration is a photo of the kitchen from a similar angle. These students are nearing the end of the Preliminary course and preparing for their final exams and then the HSC course begins next Term. 

Ms Ruth Mahaffey
Secondary Teacher

We also held the Book Fair all week which again was a raging success. Thanks to those parents who donated books to help stack our library shelves with quality literature. We raised over $1500 dollars to be able to purchase extra books for our own catalogue.  

FATHER'S DAY STALL – FRIDAY 1 SEPTEMBER - VOLUNTEERS NEEDED 

We are delighted to offer our Pre-K and Primary students the opportunity to buy a small gift from our fundraising Father’s Day Stall on Friday 1 September. Students are to bring a $5 or $10 note (no coins please). Please note Mon/Tues Pre-K students had the opportunity to purchase a gift on Tuesday 29 August. 

HOW TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION WITH YOUR CHILD… (Postponed to 10 October) 

Rowena Thomas was to return to RJ to present her Amazing Me family sessions for students in Years 3-6 on Wednesday 16 August. However, we have made the decision to postpone the event so that families will be able to watch the World Cup Semi-final. The sessions and times are unchanged but will now be moved to Tuesday 10 October. If this time doesn’t work for your family please speak to the office and we can make arrangements for a full refund.  

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

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.  

TERM 3 IMPORTANT DATES AND ACTIVITIES FOR YOUR DIARY

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 

Congratulations to the eight students who will go on to compete at CIS Athletics Championships on September 19. 

Owen G - 13 Boys 100m

Joyce O – 12 Girls Discus

Susahna P – 13 Girls Shot Put

Rihana P – 14 Girls 100m

Johan T – 13 Boys Discus

Jackson M – 16 Boys 100m and 200m

Alex I – 16 Boys Triple Jump

Charisma V – 17 Girls Shot Put

Special mention to Jackson for equalling the 16 Boys 100m record of 11.08 seconds, and setting a NEW STATE RECORD for the 16 Boys 200m, with 22.43 seconds. CONGRATULATIONS!

We pray for these students as they train in the upcoming weeks for this event, and that they may do their best as they represent RJ and the Nepean Zone.

Mrs Trish Millard 
PDHPE & Sport Faculty Leader

The Junior team were in a pool with four schools and the Senior team were in a pool with five, playing a total of five matches throughout the day! All students tried their best and displayed great courage and sportsmanship on the day. Mr Robertson and Mrs Smith were very proud of the persistence of both teams, and their skills improved immensely as they played more games. 

Mr Gavin Mitchell
Primary Sports Leader

Images can also be viewed by visiting www.advancedlife.com.au entering the code: 6XD Y14 W8K and clicking on “Group Photos”.

• Sports and co-curricular group photos can only be purchased online, PLEASE DO NOT return payment to your school.
• If your child's group or team is scheduled to be photographed at a later date, you will receive an additional email notification when the images are ready to be ordered.
• Photos will be returned to your school for distribution approximately six weeks after the discounted early order period has closed.
• Past years' photographs including sports, co-curricular and representative groups are also available at your school's advancedorder and your child's advancedyou photo sites.

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