5 April 2024

EVENTS

If you missed our Grandparents Welcome Day yesterday hosted by our Junior School Stage 2 classes, then you really did miss out. It was a wonderful event with delightful student performances, cherished moments of classroom visits and lively conversations over scones and jam at morning tea. The celebration of the bond between generations, fostering a lovely sense of community and memories will be treasured by all who attended. Thank you to our Stage 2 grandparents for making the effort to join us and your amazing grandchildren for the morning.

2025 ENROLMENTS

Our Kindergarten enrolments are nearing completion. Siblings who haven't yet submitted an application will be placed in our waiting pool and may miss out on a spot for next year. Similarly, Year 7 enrolments for 2025 are quickly reaching capacity. Siblings risk missing out if an Enrolment Application has not been submitted. Secure your spots now to avoid disappointment. We have a few spots available across Years 8-11 for 2025, so if you know of friends with Senior School students, then RJ may be a place they would like their children to learn, noting our next Open Day is on 8 May.

How to Enrol

Open Day Registration

LOOKING AHEAD

Today, our parent community along with staff and students, will receive a survey soliciting feedback on our current College uniform. After discussions with our College Council, we are giving consideration to refreshing our student uniform. Updating our uniform aligns with our commitment to staying relevant and fostering a sense of pride and belonging among students and our RJ community. 

We would like to create a fresh and contemporary look that reflects our innovative learning environment and modern facilities, but we want to hear from our community. Your valued and thoughtful feedback is important to this process and we invite you to complete the survey. A more detailed rationale around this review process is outlined in the letter sent to families today.

RJ Uniform Review Survey

Finally, a reminder to parents that our first day back in Term 2 is Tuesday 30 April. Our students in Years 8-10 will head off to their respective camps for three days from the Wednesday. The following week we will require all of our students both in Junior and Senior School to be wearing winter uniform as we start Week 2 with our formal Photo Days.

Following the Easter weekend, where we remembered all that Christ sacrificed to give us the promise of eternal life with Him, let us move forward this coming week and into the school holiday break with the full assurance of knowing that His love is forever with us and our future is one of hope. 

What a blessed opportunity we have to be in community here at RJ.  

God Bless...
Mr Alan Dawson | Principal 

At RJ we prioritise appropriate review of potential staff members at the beginning of, and throughout, the recruitment process. This is done by reviewing Working With Children Checks and accreditation documentation prior to interview, conducting reference checks to ensure potential employees are not currently under investigation, having probationary periods for our staff to ensure their professional practice is reviewed. Our induction process also addresses the Child Safe Standards to ensure all new staff are aware of RJ’s expectations. This also safeguards our community from potential threats and equips our staff to be on the lookout for potential threats to child safety, rather than simply relying on a few key staff members. 

In addition to ensuring we safeguard our community through the recruitment process, we are committed to supporting staff throughout their time at RJ. Staff and students are addressed in collective gatherings (e.g. Assemblies, staff devotions, community events) to encourage members of our community to uphold high expectations. The RJ Review too, serves as a vehicle to communicate to families what we expect and invite families to uphold similarly high expectations of RJ and of their networks. Staff have regular training and ongoing “refreshers” on the kind of professionalism and care that is expected and required of RJ staff. 

RESILIENCE AND THE EMOTIONAL ASPECTS OF LEARNING 

With a long Term 1 to commence the year, some members of our community have found it challenging to return from an Easter break within Term time. Senior students can struggle to maintain the enthusiasm and drive for impending assessment tasks, or conversely “run out of steam” after they complete their last assessment task for the Term. In younger students this can manifest itself in poor behaviour as they are less able to communicate their difficulty and subconsciously act it out in their day to day lives. In other students this can take the form of lethargy or passive resistance to expectations or tasks. Whilst it is healthy for young people (and adults too) to understand and “read the signs” that their body and mind are communicating to them, there is still a need to regulate and avoid experiencing these difficulties. 

One of the 5 R’s that our Learning Power framework is built upon is Resilience, which is part of the emotional aspect of learning. As part of our natural inclination to care for students, teachers (and parents too) can be overly keen to prevent our students from experiencing struggle. This can lead to us “bailing students out” before they’ve had the chance to engage with the difficulty. Students who are routinely avoiding these sorts of challenges never build their resilience “muscles” and are missing out on a key aspect of learning and growing as a young person. Students ought to be equipped with the skills to be resilient through hardship, but they are incapable of developing these skills until they have the experience of knowing that hardship and challenges do pass and that developing mental resilience is a powerful ally to bouncing back quicker. 

As we conclude a long Term together, let’s work with our students to not only develop their perseverance and resilience, but also to take the opportunity to actively teach and discuss these ideas with our students so that they can effectively utilise their challenging experiences.  

Mr Scott Roby
Deputy Principal

BANDAGED BEAR DAY 

This popular day will be held on Tuesday 9 April with a Teddy Bears’ Picnic for K-2 students and their parents plus fun bear themed lunchtime activities for all grades to enjoy. Bandaged Bear Day supports the vital work of the Westmead Children’s Hospital. All students and teachers are encouraged to bring a bear to school for the day and wear a bandage. Further details on your child’s class Seesaw posts.

EASTER HAT PARADE

Our K-2 Easter Hat Celebration of New Life Parade was held last week in the Junior School Courtyard. Many family members joined us for a wonderful parade of elaborate hats and enthusiastic performances from our youngest RJ students.

STAGE 2 GRANDPARENTS WELCOME DAY

Yesterday we welcomed the Grandparents of students in Years 3 and 4 to RJ with performances in the Courtyard, classroom visits and a yummy morning tea. Thank you to those who joined us and we hope you enjoyed your visit. In Term 2 we will have Years 5 and 6 hosting their Grandparents and in Term 3 it will be Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2.

JUMP OFF DAY

The last day of Term, 12 April will be the culmination of our Jump Rope for Heart work this Term. The students have all improved greatly with their skipping skills and RJ continues to raise money for the Heart Foundation through sponsoring our students. We are looking forward to each grade showing off their skipping skills. Check your child’s class Seesaw posts for photos as this is an in-College event.

SCHOOL MEDICATIONS AND EXPIRY DATES

A reminder from our Reception/First Aid team in the Junior School to keep medications stored at the College up to date. This includes Ventolin puffers and Anaphylaxis autoinjectors. You will be contacted to replace any medications that are past their expiry dates. Please remember that asthma and anaphylaxis plans must also be updated annually by your GP. A number of students have had vomiting bugs recently. RJ follows the NSW Gov. Health guidelines which state that students who vomit at school must be kept at home for a minimum of 24 hours.

HEAD INJURY MONITORING SYSTEM

In Term 2, we will be trialing an improved monitoring system for students who incur a head injury but appear well enough to return to class. These students will wear a yellow wrist band noting the date and time of the injury. This visual prompt will ensure supervising staff during the day can monitor them accordingly, redirecting them to the Sick Bay if they become symptomatic. Parents are to remove the band once they have collected their child.

JERSEY ROAD CROSSING

Just a reminder for parents who pick up their children at the field/rear of the Courtyard to please walk down and use the lights for crossing busy Jersey Road. Thank you for your co-operation.

Start of Term 2 - Tuesday 30 April

Students can return in Summer Uniform for the first couple of weeks in Term 2 before the change over to Winter Uniform in Week 2.

Monday 29 April is a Staff day at RJ with students back on the Tuesday.

I wish every RJ Junior School family a safe and refreshing break as Term 1 concludes next week.

Enjoy your weekend, 

Mrs Karen Shannon-Duhigg
Head of Junior School

UPCOMING EVENTS

Monday 8 April 

• Student Forum Meeting 

Friday 12 April - Last Day of Term 1

• RJ's Got Talent 
• Locker Clean Out 

Locker Clean Out takes place in Period 4 on Friday of Week 11. All students are to leave their lockers empty and locked at the end of each Term. Students are encouraged to take home any resources they will not need for the last two days of Term earlier in the week. This will ensure that their bags are not too heavy on the last day of Term.

REMINDERS

• Term 2 commences for students on Tuesday 30 April
• Years 8 to 10 Camps take place on Wednesday 1 May to Friday 3 May
• Full Winter Uniform must be worn on Monday 6 May for Senior School Photo Day - please see pages 21-23 of the 2024 Student Diary regarding expectations of the College's Winter Uniform.

STUDENT UNIFORM

As the Term draws to a close, some of our Senior School students need to get a haircut to ensure that they continue to meet the College Uniform and Presentation Policy as we move into Term 2. For all students "hair must be clean, kept tidy and well-groomed. Hair should not hang/fall across the face or eyes". For boys, it must be above collar length, for girls shoulder length or longer needs to be tied back. Please remember when getting a haircut the clippers need to be no.2 blade or above and that skin fades or similar are not permitted.

While it would be unfortunate to see this happen, students who do not follow the College Uniform and Presentation Policy will not be permitted to represent the College. This could be due to incorrect hairstyle and/or Uniform and would potentially impact their participation in the Senior School Assembly as well as excursions and similar events. In some situations where the choice not to meet this policy is ongoing and deliberate, students have been sent to have the concerns addressed before returning to the College.

As the weather starts to change and the mornings become cooler Senior School students are reminded to wear the College jumper or the College blazer and scarf/tie. Students are not permitted to wear the sports jacket combined with the Summer Uniform.

TAKING OF VIDEOS/PHOTOS OF RJ STUDENTS

Any filming/photographing of RJ students on Campus, on excursions and while on camps is not permitted. Please see points 9.16 and 9.17 on page 7 of the 2024 Student Diary for additional information. At College events, there are staff appointed to take photos and videos.

Any student who is a willing participant in any film or photos taken by their peers is not meeting the College's expectations in this matter. Additionally, any videos or photos containing RJ students in uniform/on RJ events are not be shared via any digital means, whether via airdrop, message service or any social media platform. While this is in contrast to what takes place in social settings for some members of the RJ community, it is an expectation we have had for our students before I commenced at RJ in 2016.

The College has a firm position regarding this type of behaviour to protect and maintain the privacy of our students and the privacy and reputation of the College as well. Sadly in the last few weeks, we have had several students learn through experience the lack of control they have over any digital image/video once it has been shared and/or posted on social media. While the College will work through any situation as outlined above and issue consequences where relevant, the support of Parents and Carers concerning these expectations is both helpful and appreciated.

TERM BREAK

I hope that all families within the RJ Community have a safe and enjoyable break. I am looking forward to Term 2 and the amazing opportunities it will provide for our students to be engaged and make meaningful contributions to the College.

Mr Brad Maxwell
Head of Senior School

Students were invited to create a portrait of someone who has had a deep and significant impact on their lives. Entries were to be created using a variety of mediums such as drawing, painting, watercolour, and mixed media, on A4 or A3 paper. (See entries below)

Our Club students met regularly at lunchtimes to work on their artworks while learning and developing various specialist skills in portraiture. The results have been amazing. We congratulate all the students for their diligent efforts and are proud of their accomplishments.

The finalists and honourable mentions will be announced on 30 May 2024. The Young Archie exhibition will be on display at the Art Gallery of NSW: 8 June – 8 Sept. 2024.

In other news, one of our Club participants Eden HL entered the Arts & Crafts Competition in the Leather Work Student Division at the recent Easter Show and received an Overall First Place with her amazing work on a one-of-a-kind leather bag, all handmade. The highly accomplished degree of technical skill and attention to detail was astonishing and reflects her unique design skills.

We look forward to seeing what new and inspirational work will emerge from our budding artists!

Mrs Sarah Key 
Senior School Teacher 

The students are getting excited for the day and their skipping skills are improving week by week. Next Term, there will be an invitational skipping group run by Mrs Evans where selected skippers will get the opportunity to learn new tricks with Mrs Evans, who is a past national champion from her student years. Under her expertise we are hoping to build a team for a CSSA competition which is likely to commence in Term 4.

WSCS TRIALS FOR TERM 3 SPORTS

Trials are continuing for the Term 3 WSCS sports. Just a reminder that your child needs to be at school on time each Wednesday as Years 3-6 go to Hanna Reserve in the morning session.

Teams for Term 2 will be announced in Week 11 to provide enough time for any boys who haven’t purchased football boots or shin pads to acquire these. All other rep sports don’t require specialised equipment.  

WSCS VOLUNTEERS

It is time to start thinking about whether you have some free time to donate to our College on Wednesdays’ in Term 2 and 3. Starting in Week 2 of next Term we will have our WSCS competition in Boys Football, Girls Netball, Girls Oztag and Mixed Tee Ball. To volunteer, you would need to have your WWCC. We would like assistance with refereeing games or possibly helping out with some coaching on the day.

The competition takes place at Heber Park or Popondetta Park between 12pm and 1pm. Please be aware that your child will inform you if they have made the Term 2 team next week. 

CSSA GYMNASTICS

If your daughter competes in gymnastics and does the WAG Level 3 or higher, or if your son does any MAG level, please notify Mr Mitchell as there is a competition in Term 2 that they can attend. gmitchell@rj.nsw.edu.au   

Mr Gavin Mitchell
Junior School Sports Leader

Congratulations to the following students who competed and did both themselves and the College proud. Zoe B, David D, Paityn E, Kaitlin G, Owen G, Dilan G, Eden H, Mark H, Rableen K, Alexis-Jae H, Sean M, Grace M, Matthew N, Aeden P, Jonathan P, Braxton R, Oakley S, Chelsea T, Jouvania T, Chelsea D, Avani N, Sirat K, Johan C, Alexander G, Jackson M, Daniel H, Charlie P. 

This week our 15s Boys and Opens Girls Basketball teams play their Semi-Finals, and our Opens Boys have theirs next week. We pray every success for our teams.

Students have had the opportunity to nominate to be a part of representative sport in Term 2, with Boys Soccer teams, and Girls Netball. More information regarding these teams and trials will be out shortly. 

Another reminder that students are not permitted to wear street and leisure shoes for Sport and PE. These shoes do not provide adequate support for the movements taking place. Students need to be wearing sports shoes that flex with their feet and provide this support. Please see some examples below, but not limited to these. 

Please send through all sporting achievements to tmillard@rj.nsw.edu.au so we can celebrate your success.

Mrs Trish Millard
Faculty Leader PDHPE & Sport

Please contact Mrs Stephanie Ghali if you are able to assist: sghali@rj.nsw.edu.au. A WWCC clearance is required. A light morning tea will be provided.