From the Principal

From the Principal

COURAGE

I’ve been pre-occupied in my thoughts of late with the virtue and disposition of courage. Being courageous has often been associated with heroic acts like firemen running into a burning building, but it can be as simple as saying sorry and admitting when you are wrong. Some may even say that the greatest act of courage is to be and to own all of who you are— without apology, without excuses, without masks to cover the truth of who you are. 

Principal's Awards

Principal's Award

Congratulations to the following students for receiving Principal's Awards at recent Assemblies:

From the Deputy Principal

Mrs Jenny Clay, Deputy Principal

From the Deputy Principal

Two weeks ago, the Secondary Student Leadership Day focused on Courageous Leadership. During the sessions, students were challenged to consider three things:

Primary Matters

Mrs Karen Shannon-Duhigg, Head of Junior School

From the Head of Primary - Oakhurst

K-2 SWIM FUN DAY

On Wednesday 9 March, Oakhurst students in Years 1-2 enjoyed travelling by bus to the Little Fishes Indoor Swim Centre for a great pre-swimming practice session plus a fun slippery dip slide. The students in small groups rotated around several skill building activities using kickboards, noodles and chasing ping pong balls. The students thoroughly enjoyed their time at Little Fishes and I would strongly encourage parents of Stage 1 students to use the Government First Lap voucher and enrol your child in swimming lessons. Many thanks to the Staff and parents involved in making it such a worthwhile day. 

From the Head of Primary - Marsden Park

This past week was a busy one, with students involved in multiple fundraisers including Bandaged Bear activities and B Kinder Day. Bandaged Bear Day provided funding for the Children’s Hospital at Westmead. Thank you to all those students who did an amazing job raising money for this worthy cause. Following on from that we also had a mufti day where students spent time reflecting on how we can be kind to one another. Both events showed the generosity of our community in serving one another.

Secondary Segments

Mr Brad Maxwell - Head of Senior School

From the Acting Head of Secondary

AMAZING ASSEMBLY

Assembly on Friday 18 March was a great opportunity to celebrate the creativity and success of Secondary students at RJ. We were able to watch bridges made by students in Engineering Studies under go stress tests (to the point of breaking) and be informed about Run4Bibles through a great video made by the Service and Sport Captains.

Mr Stewart Rowe, Director of Christian Ministry/Service Learning (7-12)

Run4Bibles

Run4Bibles is an exciting opportunity for our students in Years 7-12 to take the message of the Bible and share it with South African students, who have very little opportunity to have their own Bible. Over the past few years the students at RJ have participated in the Run4Bibles project during the School Cross Country.

From the Head of Academics, Learning & Innovation

Mrs Julia Scrimshaw, Head of Academics, Learning and Innovation (P-12)

NAPLAN Practice Testing

We will be completing the NAPLAN Practice testing over the next two weeks with our students on both Campuses in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. These sessions are carried out to ensure that the NAPLAN online system is fit for purpose, but also to provide students who have yet to experience online testing the opportunity to rehearse and be prepared for the real testing in May. Students will complete two tests in the next week - a Practice Writing test and an Omnibus test (a combination of the Conventions of Language, Grammar and Numeracy Test). 

Sports Reports

Mr Gavin Mitchell - Junior School Sports Leader

Primary Sports Report

CSSA STATE SWIMMING CARNIVAL 

On the day of the last RJ Review, the CSSA Primary State Swimming Carnival was in full flow. It was great to see our swimmers give it their all at the Blacktown Aquatic Centre. Our State Swimming squad included: Hannah and John C, Paityn E, Leah J, Alexis-Jae L and Nate T. 

 

Mr David Hyde, Secondary Sports Leader

Secondary Sports Report

HOUSE COMPETITION

During Term 1 we have been competing in a Mixed Netball Competition to earn House Points. With the restrictions of separating the Stages (4, 5 & 6) we still have seen a good turnout for the games. Over the two lunch times on Thursday and Friday, the competition has seen many play in the matches and more supporting from the sidelines. This week will see the catch-up games completed with the finals to take place in Week 9. I would like to thank the RJ Secondary Sports Captains who have dedicated their time to getting this competition running in Term 1.

Meet the Staff

Kyra Kuitert - Marsden Park Teacher

Get to know RJ's Marsden Park teacher, Mrs Kyra Kuitert:

 

 

 

 

Sara Muzzatti, Secondary Learning Support

Sara Muzzatti - Secondary Learning Support

Get to know RJ's Secondary Learning Support Teacher’s Aide, Mrs Sara Muzzatti:

Dates to Remember

School Fete Volunteer Working Group Invitation

We are delighted to be welcoming back our School Fete on Saturday 17 September (held at our Oakhurst Campus). Of course, many hands make light work and we would like to establish a School Fete Volunteer Working Group to assist with organising the event. Volunteers will primarily be working with Mrs Ghali, Head of Enterprise & Culture, to ensure the event is a success and enjoyable by all.

Announcements

RAHT Kits

Families who have not collected their student’s allocated RAHT kits, will have until Friday 25 March to collect them from their Campus Main Reception. After this time, they will no longer be held for your child and redistributed.

If you have any queries, please contact Mrs Ghali, Head of Enterprise & Culture, sghali@rjas.nsw.edu.au

Lost Property - Must be collected by end of Term

If your child is missing any items, please check the relevant Primary or Secondary Lost Property box. Any property remaining at the end of this Term will be given to the Op Shop next door as per our usual practice.

 

Canteen - Earlier Cut-Off Time to 8:45am from Term 2

Further to a review of the Canteen operations, the cut-off lunch order time will change to 8:45am (from 9:15am) from Term 2. Please note this change accordingly as late lunch orders will not be processed. 

Offers of Enrolment for 2023 are underway – don’t miss out

Do you have a child you haven’t enrolled at RJ yet for 2023? It is sometimes easy to overlook enrolling a younger sibling in the busyness of life. If this is you, please complete an application for enrolment online ASAP to avoid disappointment - https://enrol.rjas.nsw.edu.au/student/enrolment

Whilst enrolment priority is given to RJ families, once offers are made, a vacancy may no longer exist. Please email enrol@rjas.nsw.edu.au if you have any questions.

 

Autumn Vacation Care Program - NWCC

Got Feedback?

The School endeavours to continually improve the RJ experience and welcomes encouraging and/or constructive feedback from parents on events, activities, or RJ life in general. Please email parentfeedback@rjas.nsw.edu.au and your input will be considered accordingly. Thank you for your time.