31 October 2023

This coming Thursday we will welcome our largest ever Year 7 cohort for 2024 on to Campus for the first of their two Orientation Days. Students from all over our region along with our current Year 6 students progressing into Year 7 will participate in a series of academic tests followed by some activities planned by our student leaders. 

They will return one week later to participate in “Year 7 For A Day” where they will experience a day in the life of a Senior school student by attending a series of different subject classes. They will all share in a BBQ lunch together before competing in some House competitions. The two days are a great way for this new cohort to get to know one another and form some friendships prior to them starting Year 7 next year.

Over the past few weeks I’ve had reason to pause and reflect on the uncertainty that just drops in front of us and can often cause us to become quite unsettled. The demonstrations here in our own city of Sydney recently have caused many to feel somewhat troubled. Two of my adult children are very much history lovers and some of the recent conversations with them have been around the current conflict in the Middle East with the Hamas attack on Israel. 

In speaking with a colleague who leads one of Sydney’s distinguished Jewish day schools, she reflected on the fear that some of her students and staff have felt since the Hamas-Israeli attacks. Feelings for them that are very real, triggering them to be reticent to catch a bus to school for fear of being attacked because of their ethnicity. Uncertainty can be the breeding ground of fear and anxiety, but in contrast, hope and trust nurtures a sense of calm and safety.

In Psalm 143:10 the psalmist writes, “Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. May your gracious Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing.”

This verse emphasises the importance of being led by the gracious Spirit of God. It signifies the recognition that we, as humans, often grapple with uncertainty, and we need spiritual guidance to navigate life's challenges and decisions. By entrusting our path to God and His Spirit, like the psalmist who was seeking a firm footing, God can certainly provide a stable foundation upon which we can build our life. 

Psalm 143:10 resonates with those of us who strive to live in accordance with our faith, reminding us of the importance of seeking God's will and allowing His Spirit to direct our steps. It encourages us to cultivate a deeper connection with the divine, recognising that such guidance can lead to a more purposeful and fulfilling life rooted in faith, righteousness, and grace. Be encouraged to trust in the Lord in times of uncertainty or fear. He will be there for us.

World Teachers Day Celebrations - Last Friday, we came together during our assembly times to celebrate World Teachers Day. From our youngest Kindergarten students to our newest Year 12 cohort, we honoured our exceptional educators who guide and inspire our students daily. Our celebration was not just about our teachers; it was a heartfelt tribute to our entire administration and support staff, who work tirelessly behind the scenes to make our school a nurturing and efficient learning environment.

Some of our students created beautiful cards, shared memorable moments, and organized a surprise video of thanks to convey their appreciation. The was a great sense of gratitude and respect. Our teachers, with their unwavering commitment and passion, are the pillars of our educational journey. They light the path to knowledge, instil values, and nurture our potential.

As we celebrated World Teachers Day, we reaffirmed our belief in the transformative power of education and the profound impact our educators have on our lives. It was a day of unity, appreciation, and the realisation that we are all part of a larger family where teachers and students grow together in knowledge, wisdom, and mutual respect within our Christian school community.

God Bless
Mr Alan Dawson | Principal 

President Harry Truman believed “In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous, skilful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better.” Whilst the value of quality leadership is undeniable and visible in many situations, increasingly there is a challenge associated with leadership in a complex age. It is not hard to see in the realm of politics, for example, that no matter what decisions are made, some people will seek to criticise and tear down both parties. Every State Premier that moves on or is voted out seems to raise alarm bells for people wondering “Why?” So why do we continue to encourage students to consider leadership opportunities? Below is just some of what we see as valuable as the community of RJ, but there’s much more.

Leadership fosters and promotes student voice: Student leaders at RJ have both the opportunity to contribute significantly to the direction of the school, and the responsibility to advocate for others with less agency. We impress upon students the importance not only of sharing their insights and leadership skills with the community, but also the need to ensure the student body is known and understood. In many ways, student leaders stand as advocates for their peers and play a vital role in ensuring staff have a good sense of the “pulse” of RJ.

Leadership grows maturity: Students quickly learn that the office of student leader comes with some significant responsibility. The first of which is the responsibility to be a role model in the way they conduct themselves in all aspects of schooling. Behaviour in the classroom, the way they wear their uniform, keeping an eye on unsettled moments in the playground are just some of the considerations that a student leader needs to address in order to be a leadership example.

Leadership increases capacity: Student leaders are called on to do a number of things that require them to step out of their comfort zone. Public speaking, meeting with adults, sharing and supporting unpopular decisions with their peers. These things and many more provide opportunities for students to grow in ways that they don’t expect or don’t even know that they need to.

So after celebrating our new Senior School Leaders, we look forward to celebrating our successful Junior School leaders soon. We also look forward to continuing to support and develop young people who seek the opportunity to learn and grow as young leaders and miss out on the formal title.

GRIP STUDENT LEADERSHIP DAY

In keeping with the leadership theme, our Senior School student leadership team went to the GRIP student leadership conference last week. It’s a wonderful day that gives our Senior leaders valuable tools as they commence their leadership journey. It was fantastic to hear our students discussing important ideas, roadblocks to success in their portfolio, opportunities for growth and much more. We look forward to the fruit that will come as a result of this learning opportunity.

Mr Scott Roby
Deputy Principal 

Pyjamarama, as well as being a lot of fun for the students, is great preparation for the Year 5 and 6 Camps held at Teen Ranch early in Term 1 next year. Encouraging your children to be independent, to problem solve and overcome minor fears to do with sleeping away from home, all contribute to the success of these special events that students remember fondly from their Primary schooling years.

Swim school got off to a great start in Week 2 for K-2 plus Years 4 and 6 students at nearby Little Fishes indoor pool centre. This will continue for the next two weeks. Please think about building on these learn-to-swim lessons by enrolling your child for further instruction over the summer break. Contact your Local Government-run pool and inquire about swimming lessons for children. 

BUZZY BOOKS IS BACK!

Our ‘Buzzy Books’ initiative that began last year returned this morning up in The Hive. This is aimed at our new Kindergarten enrolments for 2024 to promote the love of reading and help our newest students become familiar with their new ‘big school’. It will continue for the next few Tuesdays at 8am.

AFTERNOON PICK-UP SUPERVISION

A reminder that after school pick-up supervision finishes at 3:40pm. Please be punctual in picking up your children. Any students not picked up by 3:40pm will be taken to Primary Reception and parents phoned.

TOYS ‘N TUCKER

Thank you so much for already sending in donations for Anglicare’s Toys 'n' Tucker Christmas appeal. There are baskets in each classroom for donations of non-perishable food items and toys in good condition. The Anglicare van will collect our donations in Week 8 of Term.

ABSENCES AND LEAVE DURING TERM TIME

A reminder that any leave taken during term time that is not sickness related, must be approved by our Principal, Mr Dawson. Teachers are not required to set work for students who take leave outside of school holiday periods. Please consider carefully before taking your children out of School as catching up on missed content is not always easy. We also have a number of families with concerning high student absenteeism. School attendance is mandatory in NSW and students who continue to miss School regularly will have parents contacted by our Deputy Principal for medical certificates and/or explanations.

WHAT’S COMING UP?

Ahead in Weeks 4 and 5 we have – 

• Gymnastics (Years 3 and 5 Tuesday from Week 2) Swimming (Years K-2 plus Years 4 and 6 Wednesday from Week 2) students wear Sports uniform on these days.
• Primary Captain Interviews - Tuesday 31 October (selected Year 5 students)
• Year 7 Orientation Day - Thursday 2 November (current Year 6 students)
• House Meetings - Friday 3 November – students wear House shirts
• Year 7 for a day - Thursday 9 November (current Year 6 students)

I love this time of year in Sydney, with the beautiful jacaranda trees coming into bloom.

Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land. Song of Songs 2:12

Enjoy the rest of your week,  

Mrs Karen Shannon-Duhigg
Head of Primary - Oakhurst

The next engagement for the students of the Class of 2024 is the Year 12 Formal on Friday 10 November at Novella on the Park. This will be a great night to celebrate the completion of their HSC and reflect on their time together at RJ.

It was pleasing to see the number of our Year 11 families participating in the Learning Conferences and attending the Launch Year 12 2024 evening last Wednesday. Important information was shared for both parents/carers and students. Students who were not able to attend need to collect a booklet from the evening, this week.

This Thursday is the first of two orientation days for the Year 7 2024 cohort. There will be more than 100 students gathering near the Hall from 8:15am and collected from 2:50pm. The second Orientation Day is Thursday 9 November, which will again see an increased number of people within the turnaround at the start and end of the day. The second day concludes with an afternoon tea and meeting for parents of students in the Year 2024 cohort from 3pm near the Hall. This will see an increased number of people moving within the turnaround and also parking in the streets around the School. Secondary students and parents/carers who are not involved in the orientation events are asked to depart quickly from the School campus.

Year 7 2024 Orientation Program

Introductory for Year 7 2024 eBook

It was pleasing to see the Year 11 students who have taken on the responsibility of formal leadership positions for 2024 receive their badges during the Secondary Assembly last week. The students made a public declaration of their commitment to serve in their roles for the benefit of the School. I had the privilege to pray for the leadership team, asking that God would help the leaders be courageous and generous in their actions and that they would both learn and express servant leadership as modelled in the life of Jesus Christ. I look forward to seeing the positive impact they will have within the School community through their initiatives and service.

FINAL REMINDERS

• Students are not permitted to film or photograph each other while on School grounds.
• Students are not to have their mobile phones in their possession during the school day. Mobile phones are to be left in the student's locker from 8am until 3:10pm.
• The school day for Secondary students commences at 8:30am. Students need to be lined up for Home Group before 8:30am. Please ensure that students arrive at School with enough time for them to access their locker and be ready for Home Group and Periods 1 and 2 by 8:30am. Any student that is consistently late to school will be followed up by the member of the wellbeing team and in some situations referred to the Deputy Principal as an attendance concern.
• As mentioned in the last RJ Review the Secondary Presentation Assembly is taking place at 9:30am on Wednesday 6 December.

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

These participants had to show they were able to pack their bushwalking packs, set up tents, hike appropriate to the conditions, navigate and show group leadership. Each of them did really well and should be proud of their effort over those two days. They also were able to enjoy several views over the Nepean Valley and enjoy a campfire at night. It was a great trip and one they will remember for a long time. 

Thanks to each of the students and to Miss Hindeleh who assisted with this hike.

Mr Chris Bemrose
International Duke of Edinburgh's Award Leader

Two weeks ago, students in Stage 4 received a letter outlining the program and have been encouraged to contribute to the program by bringing in or collecting items for two of the categories each week.   

Special boxes and brochures have been sent home today for students in Stage 4. Boxes will be offered to Stage 5 and 6 students on Wednesday. All boxes do need to be returned to school, even if they are not able to be filled. There is a letter in the box with more details. 

The timeline for the project over the next two weeks is as follows:

Monday 30 October – Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes, along with a letter and brochure were distributed to Stage 4 students.

Wednesday 1 November – Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes, letter and brochure are distributed to students in Stage 5 and 6 who are keen to be involved in the program.

Monday 13 November - Students in Stages 4, 5, and 6 bring the shoeboxes back to school. If at all possible, please include a $12.50 donation to cover the cost of freight.

Tuesday 14 November - Students meet together in the Hall to check boxes and add additional items that may be necessary. These items are items that are surplus and donated by staff. No items will be taken from a student’s shoebox to fill any other boxes.  

Thursday 16 November - All shoeboxes are transported to the Samaritan’s Purse Processing Centre in Seven Hills. 

The process for collecting gifts to pack into a shoe box is as follows:

• 1. Choose whether your box will be for a boy or girl.
• 2. Choose an age group 2-4, 5-9, 10-14.
• 3. Fill the box with new gifts that fit into the following categories. We are asking that students bring in or collect one item from two categories each week. 
• While donations of whole boxes would be wonderful, you don’t have to fill a whole shoebox if that is not possible. Any donations of new items from the different categories would be greatly appreciated. 

We will be checking the boxes at School on Tuesday 14 November, so please return all boxes to school by Monday 13 November.

As mentioned before, along with buying goods to go into the shoebox, any donations towards the cost of distributing the boxes around the world would be gratefully received. Samaritan’s Purse have suggested that $12.50 would help greatly towards distributing one box to a child.

Thank you so much for being involved in this program that brings great joy to so many young people throughout the world. If you would like another box, please send a message with your son/daughter and I will supply them with another shoebox. 

If you have any questions, please contact me at school via email or phone. 

Mr Stewart Rowe
Director of Service Learning/Ministry

I wanted to give an update on the Kiss and Drop line in the afternoon as well. Firstly, thank you for your support of this change in procedure. Staff, students, and families are all becoming accustomed to the process which has made the whole system run more smoothly than when we first started. The addition of a microphone has helped immensely as well. The one big change is that for younger children who are still in car seats, we are asking parents to help children into those seats rather than staff. We have found that this again is the safest way of doing it and is faster than a staff member fastening the seat. We will continue to adapt the procedure heading forward for the best interests of all involved.  

There was also a communication sent to all families discussing the end of year events I have copied that information here to make sure that who needs it is able to see it.  

Tuesday 31 October - Community Connect Evening  

6:00pm in the Hall  

We are excited to share with you the Vision, Mission, and Values of Marsden Park Anglican College.  

Friday 17 November - Recognition Assembly  

Pre K-2 at 12:15pm (including Year 1 violin performances)  

Years 3-6 at 1:45pm  

Parking will be available off Clifton Rd on the grass area.  

The Recognition Assembly is a chance for each student to be recognised for their progress throughout the year.  

Friday 24 November - Pre K-2 Twilight Event at 5pm  

Parking will be available off Clifton Rd on the grass area.  

The performance starts with our Pre K students singing a song. They will then join their families to enjoy the rest of the show while Years K-2 will perform a scene from the nativity with each class presenting a song and other items.  

Thursday 30 November - Year 6 Graduation Ceremony at 12:00pm  

Parking will be available off Clifton Rd on the grass area.  

We are so excited to host our first Year 6 Graduation Ceremony. Following the service there will be light refreshments for families and a time for photos to remember this special occasion.  

Tuesday 5 December - Marsden Park Presentation Event at 1pm  

Parking will be available off Clifton Rd on the grass area.  

This year’s event will be held onsite in the Marsden Park COLA area. This event will be when all awards are handed out. Parents whose children are winning awards will be notified the week prior to the event.   

AMAZING ME  

A huge thank you to all parents and students who attended the Amazing Me event hosted by Rowenna Thomas on 10 October this Term. There was a high level of engagement with the topic and both the Stage 2, and 3 presentations were well represented. Marsden Park is expecting to have Mrs Thomas back again next year for more parent presentations.  

A CHANGE FOR YOUR CALENDERS

Marsden Park will be holding their Assemblies on a Friday afternoon at 1:45 pm. We have made this decision because we believe it is in the best interests of the students at school. Parents are more than welcome to attend the Assembly if their child is participating in part of the Assembly. I am really looking forward to the rest of Kindergarten participating in their first Assembly.  

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 the 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. 

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

Yours sincerely, 

Mr Luke Sale
Head of Primary - Marsden Park 

All students who competed in the competition received certificates for participation, with the following students achieving higher certificate levels.

LEVELS OF ACHIEVEMENT:

High Distinction: Top 1%

Distinction: Next 10%

Credit: Next 25%

Merit: Next 10%

Participation: All remaining participants

The football clinics will finish on Thursday 9 November for the Years 1-2 group and on Friday 10 November for the Years 3-6 group. 

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.

advancedlife would like to express our appreciation to Richard Johnson Anglican School for placing your trust in us. Please remember we offer a 100% money-back guarantee on our products to ensure your peace of mind. We would also love to receive your feedback or resolve any issues you may experience, to ensure your satisfaction. If you have any questions, comments or feedback relating to your advancedlife experience, please contact us at www.advancedlife.com.au/contact