31 May 2022

I came across Job 14:7-9, an interesting place to look given the troubles Job faced in his life, however, Job’s plight does take a turn for the better. Here are the verses…

“Indeed there is hope for a tree. If it’s cut down and still sprouting and its shoots don’t fail, if its roots age in the ground and its stump dies in the dust, at the scent of water, it will bud and produce sprouts like a plant.” 

To relate this Scripture to our lives in some way, we can see that when life becomes difficult and maybe even makes us feel small, there is still hope to be found. We can lean into God and place our trust in Him. He has also provided us with family and friends that we can rely on and be supported by to get us through a dark or dim season. 

To all our staff currently, I am grateful for their perseverance and commitment to our students and School. They are a wonderful team of professionals who give above and beyond to see our students achieve the best that they can.

In the last fortnight, staff have attended to Parent Teacher interviews, Primary discos, Open Days, Kindy Readiness programs and Community Connect Evenings. A contingent of our Senior Secondary staff will take part in a significant Year 11 Subject Selection Conference to ensure that our Year 10 students are prepared in their choices moving into Preliminary and HSC studies over the next two years, and in effect, preparing them for life beyond School.

We have seen a steep increase in student absence lately with a significant percentage of students having time off school due to illness. Recent social commentary continues to point to an uplift in Influenza cases this winter with many to be subjected to this virus. In response, the Government is moving to have Influenza vaccinations available for free through local GP’s. Should you feel that you would like to inoculate your children against the Influenza virus, please visit your local GP and discuss the options available to your family. 

Tonight I am looking forward to meeting with families from the Marsden Park Campus at the RJ Community Connect Evening starting at 7pm. Part of our presentation will be showing some of the plans for the introduction of Secondary in 2024. Interest and enrolments for the Marsden Park Campus continue to arrive in our enrolments’ inbox, with some of the very first enrolments for Year 7 (2024) being received already. Exciting days lay ahead for this campus as we continue to grow learners, connect hearts and build community.  

If you have friends or family who are still wanting to enrol at either of our campuses for 2023, I would encourage you to inform them that our processes are quickly coming to an end and to avoid disappointment, they should contact the School as soon as possible.

Have a blessed week.

God Bless,

Mr Alan Dawson | Principal 

For those who know my Rugby League fandom, they would probably suggest the ‘one-eyed supporter’ but that doesn’t sit well from a School-wide perspective. 

We can all be very narrow in our perspective at times, and often I am trying to look at the bigger picture, and what certain actions or behaviours could mean for the future. It is also challenging to think of different ways of learning and being able to identify what really works, as opposed to what everyone tells you “should work”. We need to think deeply about what we want to achieve, and what goals we are setting before ourselves. It will be wonderful to meet with Year 10 students on Wednesday night – I (and other staff) get to hear what students are thinking about and where they see themselves in a few years’ time. That’s a privilege! It’s the same with my Year 12 mentees – helping them find their voice and explore their vision for the future is a real joy.

We are very concerned about the number of students in Secondary who are walking across traffic areas, totally engrossed in their mobile phone. This is particularly evident in Dryden Ave, where students “scroll and stroll” without even looking up to take in their surroundings. Sometimes they are walking directly across the road without thinking. This is an accident waiting to happen. We are looking at ways to address this but ask all parents to remind their children about road safety. The NRMA produced a series of road safety campaigns in 2019, one of which was “Look Up”. It states

Distracted walking is a form of inattentional blindness – when you focus hard on one thing such as texting you might not notice unexpected things entering your visual field such as an oncoming car. Distractions can impair pedestrians’ awareness of their surroundings, resulting in slower crossing times and unsafe pedestrian behaviours.

An exciting new venture has been the introduction of an esports competition, currently being run through AEL and sponsored by ACER. We had a few glitches getting everyone onboard for Saturday’s game, but everyone should be right to participate this weekend if they have completed their registration form, which was sent by email at the end of last week. Please see me if you haven’t done so.

Stay warm and safe in this chilly weather. God bless

Mrs Jenny Clay
Deputy Principal  

NATIONAL SIMULTANEOUS STORYTIME

This national literary event was held last Friday 27 May in the Hall with students in K-6 being entertained by Gabby the Gardener and Walt the Willow tree (possibly Mrs Shannon-Duhigg and Mr Dawson!) We enjoyed the book, The Family Tree by Josh Pyke that reminded us about the passing of time and the importance of family connection.

COOLER WEATHER

The colder temperatures have finally arrived – especially in the mornings before School. Please make sure your child has their jacket every day - clearly labelled. The School beanie is also a good cold weather addition to the uniform. We are continuing to promote good hygiene at School with regular reminders to wash hands, cough into elbows and the use of hand sanitiser. Please keep your child at home if they have cold or flu symptoms as there is a lot of sickness at the present time.

ARRIVING AT SCHOOL ONTIME

We are noticing a number of families who are habitually late in getting their children to School by 8:45am. A number of important announcements plus birthdays are made on morning lines so it is important that your child is present at this time. Please set your child up for a positive and good start to the School day by getting them here on time. Regular offenders will be referred to the Deputy of the School for follow up – this does become an habitual late attendance issue with legal ramifications.

HOUSE MEETINGS

Students are to wear their House shirts this coming Friday 3 June for House meetings to prepare for the upcoming Years 3-6 Athletics carnival on 16 June.

HOLIDAYS IN TERM TIME

A reminder that School attendance is crucial for your child’s continuing progress through the curriculum and development of knowledge and skills. We understand that with COVID restrictions now lifted and families able to do more travelling, the desire for families to be present with relatives not able to be seen for more than two years is very strong. However, please limit holidays during term time, remembering Class Teachers will not set work as it is rarely completed, and students regularly return with significant gaps in their learning. Use school holidays, where possible for major trips away.

BREAD BAGS

Our Student Forum has again  enrolled us with Wonder Recycling Rewards to collect used plastic bread bags. Once a certain weight of plastic bread bags has been collected, our school qualifies for some play equipment. Please send in any bread bags (minus crumbs!) with your child over the coming weeks.

Enjoy the rest of your week, 

Mrs Karen Shannon-Duhigg
Head of Primary - Oakhurst

A fantastic time was had by all students at the discos. It was great to be able to use the new facilities of the C block area and the plaza area as a waiting spot for parents. A special thank you to Mr Ashton Bryce who was our DJ for the evening, Teachers and staff really enjoyed the music that was on offer.  

This week just gone also saw the participation of several Marsden Park Primary students in the CSSA state Primary Cross-Country carnival. They were back on campus for the afternoon, and we were able to thank them at the end of lunch time for their great effort.  

A quick note to also say that the Marsden Park Photo day was a great success for Years K-6. The Pre-K Photo days for both the 2 and 3 day programmes are being held in Term 3, with a date yet to be confirmed, but more information will be given shortly.  

COMMUNITY CONNECT EVENING -Tuesday 31 May 7:00pm

The original date for the Community Connect event was on Wednesday 25 May which was the same date as the Junior Disco. After some deliberations, it was decided that it would be more achievable to place the event on a separate evening. The alternative date has been set for Tuesday 31 May.  

WSCS SPORT

This term was meant to represent a start to the WSCS sports season. However, as we all know the rain has significantly impacted students’ opportunity to participate in the competition. The amount of rain that we have received has also meant that the fields have been unable to be mown and used. Although difficult, a decision has been made to not start this term's sport, but rather plan a gala day for the teams. We have not yet established the date for the gala day but once we have done this, we will inform parents.  

K-2 CROSS COUNTRY AND MINI-ATHLETICS - Cross Country Monday 20 June

With rain having affected the Cross Country carnival, that was meant to occur on Monday, we have had to make a change to the routine. We are now going to put the K-2 Cross Country event on Monday 20 June. However, that also means that we must push back the Mini Athletics to later date in Term 3. The date will be finalised and published in the term letter sent to families at the beginning of next term.  

RICHARD JOHNSON PRIMARY ATHLETICS CARNIVAL - 16 June

The Primary Athletics carnival will be going ahead on the original date of the 16 June however, the venue has had to be changed because the original field that was being used is unable to be made ready in time. More information will be sent out by Mr Gavin Mitchell, the Primary Sport Leader.  

SCHOOL REPORTS  

School Reports will be handed out on Thursday in week 9. The school has made the decision from this semester onwards, to not send paper copies of reports home to families. This change aligns us with the way Secondary School families receive their reports. There will still be a facility to ask for a printed copy of the reports if required during the last week of school after reports have been published to Edumate and emailed home to families.  

ASSEMBLIES 

Assembly Schedule for Term 2 is as follows:
Parents, please arrive by 9am as the Assembly begins shortly after that time. No sign-in is required at the front office and masks are no longer required to be worn.  

HOUSEKEEPING  

• Absences: please email the absences email address:  [email protected] or SMS 0438 657 339. 
• Early pick up: To arrange to collect your child early from School please call the Office on the day of the scheduled pick up before 9:00am.  
• Child being picked up by another party: If your child is being picked up by any other person other than parents please call the school before 9:00am or email the names of the person/s and mobile number/s and request that they bring their Drivers Licence as proof of identity.  
• After school care arrangements: If you have arranged after school care please remind your child before dropping them to school. In an emergency please call the office to ensure the message is not missed.  

Mr Luke Sale
Head of Primary - Marsden Park

Students compete in teams of eight across 10 disciplines: Engineering, Mathematics and Chess, 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. 

Students competed online using Zoom and digital submissions. Our students set a wonderful standard of resilience and teamwork as they competed against 100s of students from schools across Sydney. Congratulations to Lily, Trinity, Maya, Georgia, Nish, Aidan, Arjun and Simeon for your diligent efforts in training for the competition and for your excellent efforts on the day.  

Mr Michael Reed
STEM Primary Teacher

Some of the highlights were:

- Getting a book signed by an author for the first time 
- Watching Nat Amoore dramatically present her 24 movie inspirations in 12 minutes! 
- Fun and interactive, lots of audience participation
- Meeting the authors
- Finding out about the life journeys of authors
- Watching an illustrator in action 

Some of the writing tips were:
- You should always write what interests you 
- You should connect with your audience 
- Take ideas and create characters from your experiences 
- Hunt for interesting stories, and think about what makes it interesting 
- Connect events, build on and layer what happens next.
- Question and imagine

Mrs Claire McCormick

It was highlighted that this a great opportunity to get involved and celebrate what it is to be part of RJ. Many groups of students have been rehearsing for the concert. Another highlight of the of the day will be the food. There will be the opportunity for students to purchase food from a range of different stalls. We are looking for students to help with the stalls, please watch out for broadcasts that will let you know how to sign up.

Something like the Heritage Festival provides all of us with an opportunity to Connect, Be active, to Take Notice, to Learn and to Give. These are the "Five Ways to Wellbeing" that the Secondary Captains have been bringing to each Secondary Assembly. I reminded the students that just like asking someone if they are OK or saying no to bullying, the Five Ways to Wellbeing is not something that we mention one day a year or think about at the start of an assembly. I encouraged them to take the time, to be intentional rather than accidental, in creating opportunities to pursue the Five Ways to Wellbeing. So my encouragement is to have students make sure that they create the opportunities to Connect, Be active, to Take Notice, to Learn and to Give. While a single event like Heritage Festival might tap into all of the Five Ways to Wellbeing for the students, the challenge is to strive to look after ourselves through the Five Ways to Wellbeing on a regular basis, for it be a normal thing for us to do.

In contrast to the encouragement that Five Ways to Wellbeing is; I raised concerns about the deliberate acts of vandalism that has resulted in damage to the facilities of the school, particularly the toilets. This is a reflection of some students treating the school community with a lack of respect. This also extends to students arriving late to class, leaving rubbish on the ground and refusing to wear the school uniform properly. I appealed to the students as individuals and members of a community to remember that what they do and how they respond to what they see reflects what they are willing to accept. "The standard you walk past is the stand you accept". Students were encouraged to speak up - to their friends and teachers - when they see or are apart of something that detracts from the great community they are a part of @RJ.

Please continue to read emails and broadcasts sent from the school in relation to the many events that are taking place for Secondary students and their families in Term Two. While most activities are going ahead as planned we have had to modify or move events due to weather and the ongoing impacts of illness within the school. Thank you for your understanding in regards to these matters.

Mr Brad Maxwell 
Acting Head of Secondary 

3-6 ATHLETICS CARNIVAL

It will be fantastic to see our second annual 3-6 Athletics Carnival. As the track at the Blacktown International Sports Park is still under repair, we need to change our venue. We will be holding the event at Peel Reserve, The Ponds on Thursday 16th June.

It would be amazing if we could have some volunteers on the day to assist. Whether that be working on one event or following your child around to their various field events to assist with a variety of jobs. Please let Mr Mitchell know if you are able to offer some assistance on the day – [email protected] . Please note  that you need to have your WWCC. If you don’t have it, it is simple to obtain. 

While we will include the Turbo Jav in the events offered, this event will be undertaken in PE lessons under the guidance of Mr Mitchell. House Points will contribute to the carnival. As this event is not offered at Zone level or higher, if your child wins the event, they cannot proceed any further in this discipline to another carnival. It has been reintroduced just at school level.

High jump will be held at school for the Oakhurst Campus students just prior to the carnival. Students will be informed closer to the date when this will occur. Their results will be recorded. The Marsden Park students will have their high jump on the day of the carnival to ensure that we have enough time for the event to take place. The heights from both campuses will be compared to see who will represent RJ at the Zone Carnival. These results may not be given out on the day of the carnival.

To ensure that the field events run on time, there will be qualifying distances/height. While every student is able to have a jump or throw, only jumps or throws which are fair and go beyond the qualifying distances will be recorded. This will be done to ensure that everyone is able to hopefully have more than one attempt in the half hour timeslot that the students are allocated to their field event.

Some age groups will be split into group A and group B, dependent upon how many students are in each age group. Under 8’s and Under 12s will run by themselves but Under 9, 10 and 11 will be split into two groups, similar to last year, where they will undertake their field event in their group. All distances and heights will be compared across both groups to determine who finishes in the top two places.

Relays will be determined by the House Captains prior to the carnival. Students who would like to go into the junior relay (under 8,9 and 10 combined) or senior relay (under 11 and 12) will conduct trials for their respective Houses at each campus. This way, we will have 8 lanes filled with one relay team per House per Campus.

NEPEAN ZONE FOOTBALL (SOCCER) GALA DAY 

This Thursday, a combined team of Stage 2 boys from both campuses and a Stage 3 team from both campuses will represent RJ at a Nepean Zone football gala day. If either of the teams finish in the top two places in the draw, they will progress to the CSSA State Gala Day held in Term 3. Good luck boys!

CSSA STATE GYMNASTICS

We wish Edyn S all the best as she competes for RJ this week at the CSSA State Gymnastics Event. 

WSCS

Dear Families,
As we have had an unprecedented weather pattern since the commencement of this term, the WSCS competition will be cancelled this Term. Blacktown Council has advised that they are having great difficulty getting onto many of their fields due to it being so soft underfoot and need several weeks of dry conditions before they can maintain their fields. We are hopeful that we may be able to offer two Gala Days in Term 3 for the Term 2 WSCS sports and Term 3 WSCS sports. We look forward to hearing back from our fellow schools about this proposal. Sport for the remainder of term will be conducted at school.

K-2 CROSS COUNTRY

It was great to see the Oakhurst K-2 take place recently despite the looming threat of showers. A lovely afternoon was had by all.

We look forward to holding the K-2 Cross Country for the Marsden Park Campus later this term, weather permitting.

K-2 ATHLETICS CARNIVAL

The K-2 Athletics Carnival for the Oakhurst Campus will take place on the 9th June. It will be great to see the boys and girls learning some athletics skills.

Due to the unfavourable weather conditions, the Marsden Park K-2 Athletics Carnival has been postponed until Term 3, as the K-2 Cross Country still needs to be undertaken this Term.

Mr Gavin Mitchell
Primary Sports Leader

They'll enjoy the experience of camp, with the chance to participate in exciting outdoor activities and explore a Christian worldview, whilst still going home to sleep in the comfort of their own bed.

The dates for CRU Blast are: Monday 18 July – Friday 22 July (the 3rd week of the July School Holidays). 

The registrations have commenced and students will receive a brochure soon. The link to register for the camp is: https://crudaycamps.com.au/cru-blast#cru-blast-introduction 

We’d love to see your child/children at CRU Blast this year. If you have any questions, please contact Stewart Rowe at School by phone 9677 2455 or email – [email protected] 

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

The Sleepout is on again this year and it will be held from Friday evening June 17 to Saturday morning June 18, so if you are in Year 6-12 grab a permission form and return it with the receipt from TRY BOOKING.

The TRY BOOKING link is: https://www.trybooking.com/BZVII 

Closing date for registration for the Sleepout is on Tuesday: June 14 

If you are keen to attend, please get your forms in early as numbers may have to be limited due to COVID restrictions.

The cost of the evening is $10 per student, paid through TRY BOOKING which will be donated to Father Chris Riley’s Youth Off the Streets Program. Cardboard boxes are the go for the evening , so start collecting your bed for the night!! Permission notes are available from Student Reception, D Block Staffroom or your child’s Home Group teacher.

Important: The permission note must be returned with the TRY BOOKING receipt.

If you have any questions, please contact Mr Rowe at school by email- [email protected] or by phone.

We will be finalising our promotional material soon and inviting other community stallholders to apply for a spot thereafter. Preference will typically be given to stalls operated by RJ families. If you have any questions about the event, please let Mrs Stephanie Ghali know: [email protected]

General Market Stall Application

• Spring Festival Market Application Form

Food Market Stall Application

• Spring Festival Market Application Form - Food Stall

Please email the application supporting documents to [email protected]