16 August 2022

I can tell you that I felt a little sense of excitement as I saw the crown post stamp and realised that RJ had received “Royal Mail”. Back in Term 2, Mrs McCormick and her Stage 2 Art group worked on portraits of Her Majesty the Queen for her Platinum Jubilee celebrations. These were sent to Buckingham Palace along with letters for her Majesty. It was delightful to receive a special card yesterday thanking students for their kindness, a big thank you for all students who participated in making the Queen’s special day, special.

Last Wednesday evening we celebrated the work of many of our Year 12 students through our annual HSC Showcase event. Parents, family, and students were able to sample the tasty treats prepared by our Year 12 Hospitality class, marvel at the work of our Stage 6 SDD, Textiles and Society and Culture students, and enjoy being entertained by our Stage 6 HSC Music and Drama students. It was certainly an evening to remember, and I congratulate our students on their continued hard work during the run-up to the HSC. 

It is lovely to see that many of the activities we took for granted in school before COVID-19 are now starting to go ahead. At the start of the term our Year 12 VET students were able to successfully complete their work placements and this coming weekend nine secondary students will complete their Duke of Ed hike. I wish Mr Bemrose and Mrs Reed, who will be leading this expedition, and the students involved the best ahead for their adventure. The weather is looking fine for the weekend, so it certainly seems that they are all set for an excellent time.

As mentioned in my last RJ Review, I would like to encourage our RJ parents from both campuses to attend our RJ Community Connect Evenings – tonight, Tuesday 16 August @ Oakhurst and next Tuesday 23 August @ Marsden Park. We will be hosting some special guests from the Anglican Schools Corporation on both these evenings to demonstrate to parents a single sign-in use for our Edumate Portal and Phone Apps and to explain the importance of introducing this feature.

As we head toward the mid-way point of a busy term, please may I also ask that you keep our Year 12 HSC students in your prayers as they complete their HSC trial examinations this week and approach the end of their course learning. 

God Bless,

Mr Alan Dawson | Principal 

I don’t count myself among the greatest of home cooks, so the fact that the recipe didn’t work the second time made me wonder where I went wrong. I had written the recipe out and followed it diligently. But the friands were dry, tasteless and a waste of five eggs. When I went back to the original source of the recipe, I soon realised my mistake. I’d actually copied the ingredients and the measures incorrectly – I mean, there is quite a bit of difference between 1 ½ cups of flour, and only 2/3 cup – plus the sugar…

I’m not discouraged by that experience though. Perhaps I should know better, but we all make mistakes. It’s what we do after the mistake that matters. It’s the same with learning and in building relationships. We want to encourage students to develop positive attitudes and behaviours in all that they do, even when it comes to playing together or competing with one another in the playground. Some children adopt positive behaviours naturally, and some may take time to learn them. But everyone can succeed in this, otherwise communities – local and global – fall apart, as people pursue their own self-interest. This is certainly not what God intended for humanity either. Playground behaviour should be about having fun and enjoying the company of others – not about winning at all costs or making fun of others. That’s just being mean and unkind. But if it goes any further, and becomes repeated and intended to hurt and harm, then we’ve shifted into bullying behaviours. Please encourage your children to speak to a teacher (whether in Primary or Secondary) about any concerns they have. In talking through what is happening, we can discern where the behaviour sits, and what needs to be done to address what is occurring. The “recipe” doesn’t work if there is no communication about what is wrong.

General Knowledge Winners

Congratulations to the following winners of the General Knowledge competition in Term 2! Each winner receives a medallion each term. 

Oakhurst Stage 2
Alexandra Arnott Eagles 4J

Oakhurst Stage 3
Bryne Bacorro Rams 5J

Marsden Park Stage 2
Florence Sedhom Eagles 3P

Marsden Park Stage 3
Kirat Kaur Lions 5P           

Stage 4
Mekail Minhas S4E1       

Stage 5
Dane Parica S5L2

Stage 6
Denise Tualau 12C

Smarties Award (Secondary only)
Stage 4  S4L1
Stage 5  S5L2
Stage 6  11C

Well done everyone!

God bless

Mrs Jenny Clay
Deputy Principal  

To assist this fundraising activity, Primary & Secondary families who have a small business (or have a close relationship with one) can further assist by donating products or services as Auction items e.g. Nutrimetics Pack, Cleaning Service, Art Lessons, Meal Voucher, etc. Businesses will be noted on our website where the value exceeds $50. Please forward the item to an RJ Reception area. 

Furthermore, each Pre-K and Primary class are asked to donate themed items which will be bundled to create large, impressive hampers. Items will be placed in a basket in each Primary classroom. Each Year Group has a different theme as noted below:

A cake box will be sent home to all families soon for return on Friday 16 Sept.  (Using a standard cake box helps us with stacking, recording the ingredient list, and transit.) No nuts please.

• Auction Security - General supervision of hampers and items/vouchers (9:00am to 1:00pm)

• Auction Finale - Contacting of successful bidders, processing payment, distribution of items (1:00pm)

• Children Activities – Supervision of Giant Jenga, Giant Connect 4, Table Tennis (9:00am to 2:00pm)

• Children Craft Activities – Setup and supervision - Origami/Sand Art/Plaster (8:00am to 2:00pm) - Limited availability

• Cake Stall – General sales (Saturday 9:00am to 2:00pm) - Limited availability

• Canteen – General sales (10:00am to 2:00pm)

• Setting Up (8:00am to 9:00am), Pack Down/Clean Up (2:00pm to 3:00pm)

Please click the above volunteers link to let us know how you can help, confirming your preferred area and availability. As per policy, you will be required to have a current Volunteer WWCC.

Rides currently include: Dodgem Cars! Round Up! Body Rock! Super Slide! Auto Racer! Cup'n Saucer! Rocket Ride!

• Early bird discounted tickets available until Friday 16 Sept, 1:00pm

• *25c Trybooking admin fee

• Rides open at 10:00am

• $30 ride tickets on the day, individual rides $6 and $9 each

One of these events was the Anglican Schools Corporation Choral Festival that was held on the 3rd of August at Penrith Anglican College. RJ was represented by the Cantabile choir from Oakhurst, VOX choir from Oakhurst Secondary and Singstars from Marsden Park. It was a wonderful day of celebrating joyous music-making and our students gave outstanding performances. A special thank you to Miss Shannon-Duhigg for her training of the Oakhurst Cantabile choir.
In the coming weeks we are starting to think about leadership for next year with the start of the Primary Leadership Program or PLP for short. If your child is in Year 5, encourage them to think about whether or not School leadership might be something that they are interested in 2023. 

PARENT/TEACHER INTERVIEWS 

Thank you to the many parents who took part in the recent Parent/Teacher interviews at RJ. Unfortunately, we did have a number of families who booked to see staff then did not show up for their interviews. Please be respectful of Staff time and if you are unable to make an appointment let us know via an email or phone call to Primary Reception.

K-2 MINI ATHLETICS

Last Thursday our youngest students gained inspiration from the recent Commonwealth games and took part in an afternoon of mini-athletic activities. These included the turbo javelin, the bean bag shot put, mini-hurdles and sprints. It was a great time of participation and House spirit. Thank you to Mr Mitchell for his organisation of this event and the K-2 staff plus House leaders for running the activities.

CONTACT DETAILS

If you have recently moved or changed phone or email details, please update these either on the Parent Portal on Edumate or by contacting Primary Reception. Having the correct parent contact details on file at RJAS is essential for efficient communication, especially in an emergency.

PHOTO/ART 25 YEARS COMPETITION

Thank you to all the students who entered the RJ 25th Anniversary Photo/Art competition. This has now been judged and the winners were announced yesterday on morning lines. All entries will be on display at the RJ Community Connect evening tonight at 7pm in the Oakhurst Hall.                                   

Congratulations to our Stage Winners and Highly Commended entries – 

ES1 

• Winner – Sophie L KR
• Highly Commended – Oliver C KS and Violet A KJ

Stage 1

• Winner – Olivia C 2R
• Highly Commended – Isabel N 2R and Hannah A 2J

Stage 2

• Winner – Eden T 4R
• Highly Commended – Kai G 4R and Sahil C 3R

Stage 3

• Winner – Diana F 5J
• Highly Commended – Valentina F 5J and Ridhima P 5J

LION KING JNR TICKETS

Yes – they are now on sale! Don’t wait – secure your seat today for our Primary Musical on either 13 or 14 September. Don’t miss it!
Book Online: www.trybooking.com/CBNKZ

BOOK WEEK CELEBRATION DAY

We are getting excited about our upcoming Celebration/Disney Day for Book Week on Friday 26 August! The Staff are busily coming up with an array of Disney character costumes for this day. Start getting your child’s costume ready too! Parents can come and view the Year group parades from 9am. Don’t forget about the Book Fair open to parents to purchase books before and after School from Monday 22 August situated upstairs in F6 classroom (near Yr 6 rooms).

BOOKS FOR BREAKFAST
Book online: www.trybooking.com/CBSBN

Have a great week, 

Mrs Karen Shannon-Duhigg
Head of Primary - Oakhurst

Mr Dawson and I will be participating in the parade enjoying the opportunity to speak about the importance of reading throughout life. In the coming weeks, we are starting to think about leadership for next year with the introduction of the Primary Leadership Program or PLP for short. If your child is in year 5 encourage them to think about whether school leadership might be something that they are interested in.  

House Meetings  

House meetings are an excellent opportunity for students to demonstrate their leadership potential. Each of the house leaders had organised a craft activity to represent their houses. We had a wonderful meeting with the houses on August 4, this was our first time using new classrooms for house activities which proved a huge hit amongst the students.

K- 2 Mini Athletics  

Students had a great time yesterday competing in the Mini-Athletics Carnival. There was much jumping, throwing, and running on display. These events are always great community events. The attached photos are a cross-section of the fun activities over the afternoon’s events.  

PHOTO/ART 25 YEARS COMPETITION 

Thank you to all the students who entered the RJ 25th Anniversary Photo/Art competition. This has now been judged and the winners were announced yesterday on morning lines. All entries will be on display at the RJ Community Connect event.                

Congratulations to our Stage Winners and Highly Commended entries –  

Early Stage 1  

• Winner – Anika L (KC) 
• Highly Commended – Nesha S (KC), Ved P (KC) 

Stage 1  

• Winner – Charlotte F (1M) 
• Highly Commended – Savannah S (1M), Piper S (1M) 

Stage 2 

• Winner – Maya H (4M)
• Highly Commended - Avik S (4M), Ivy C (3/4P) 

Stage 3 

• Winner – Hayden D (5/6P) 
• Highly Commended - Alicia M (5/6P), Hannah C (5/6P) 

COMPASSION CHILD SPONSORSHIP 

Over the coming weeks we hope to contact the students and get to know them better and put in place a system where students will be able to donate money on a class basis. This is designed to take the pressure away from the need for more regular fundraising.  

Overview of Compassion 

Compassion is a Christian, international, holistic child development organisation. Through our Child Sponsorship Program, more than 2 million children are currently being released from poverty in Jesus’ name. With over six decades of experience, Compassion’s unique approach to solving poverty works: research proves it. For more information  

Compassion.com.au  

Primary Book Week – Week 5   

Primary Book Week, where teachers and children dress up as book characters, has been scheduled for Thursday 25 August (Week 5 of Term 3). Our theme for this year is Disney, as we tie in with our upcoming Primary Musical, ‘The Lion King Jr’ later in the term. You may like to start talking with your child/ren about what book character they would like to dress up as. Emails/Seesaw posts with further details will follow. 

LION KING JNR TICKETS

Yes – they are now on sale! Don’t wait – secure your seat today for our Primary Musical on either 13 or 14 September. Don’t miss it!
Book Online: www.trybooking.com/CBNKZ

Upcoming Term 3 Events  

Please see an overview of Term 3 events below.

• Year 5 Leadership Program 
• RJ Community Connect 
• Learning Celebrations & National Science Week 
• WSCS Gala Days 
• Book week Parade and CBCA Book Performance 
• Primary Musical – The Lion King 
• Father’s Day Stall and breakfast
• Pyjamarama (Year 4 Sleepover now postponed until early term 4)   

ASSEMBLIES

Assembly Schedule for term 3 is as follows: -  

We will be looking specifically at Colossians 3:12 during assemblies this Term.  

CORRECTION FROM START OF TERM LETTER 

There was an error for one of the dates in the most recent communication sent to parents regarding the start date for Term 4 to confirm with parents that day one of Term 4 is Monday 10 October. I apologise for the confusion that this may have caused.  

Parents, please arrive by 9 am as the assembly beings shortly after that. 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:  absences@rjas.nsw.edu.au 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

Thank you to the students from Drama, Music, Society and Culture, Software Design and Development and Textiles and Design for their willingness to share their work with the appreciative audience. The hard work and support from their teachers and families is also appreciated. Thanks also goes to the Year 12 Hospitality class for the amazing food they prepared for the night and the Service Team who helped distribute the food during intermission. The outdoor lighting helped set the tone for the night and the outdoor heaters were highly sought after during the intermission break.

We invite the school community to uphold our Year 12 students in prayer as they complete their Trial HSC Examinations over the next week and a half.

Students and their Laptops

Quite a number of laptop bags are being left around the playground during break times, resulting in the laptops being put at risk of being damaged during recess and lunch. Students have been reminded to use their lockers to store their laptops and not leave them around the playground. I do hope that students make better choices in using their lockers at break times, hopefully avoiding awkward conversations at home regarding a damaged laptop.

Paul Cockrem Senior Learning Centre 

The current Year 12 cohort have been on a tour of the Paul Cockrem Senior Learning Centre and were quite excited about being able to use the amazing facility for the rest of the term. I expect to have Year 12 move into their new locker area shortly after they complete the Trial HSC examinations. Students have also expressed that they are looking forward to having some of their lessons in the new classrooms for the second half of this term, as well as accessing the common area in the building.

PHOTO/ART 25 YEARS COMPETITION

Congratulations to our Stage Winners and Highly Commended entries to the RJ 25th Anniversary Photo/Art competition. All entries will be on display at the RJ Community Connect evening tonight at 7pm in the Oakhurst Hall.
Congratulations to -

Stage 4

• Winner – Mishaal B
• Commendation – Inara T

Stage 5

• Winner – Emma C
• Commendation – Kiara F

Stage 6

• Winner – Samantha H

Final thoughts on building community

It has been pleasing to see students going out of their ways to help others when there has been an obvious need. These acts of generosity and care certainly go a long way in building our community. In conversations with students over the last week I have challenged them to uphold what is sometimes called the "Golden Rule" found in Matthew 7:12, when Jesus says that we should act towards others in ways that we would have them act towards us. While it may seem simple, having this view of our interactions with others can only result in positive interactions within the community.

An extension of this is found in the way that students use or treat the facilities provided for them at RJ. Given the recent misuse and damage to some of the bathrooms in the Secondary section I challenged students to apply the "Golden Rule" not just to people but also the buildings and equipment provided for them at the school. I expect all students to treat our facilities with respect, we do not need additional cleaning and repair to the Schools resources.

Mr Brad Maxwell 
Head of Secondary 

Our day started with a simple lecture, where students had the opportunity to speak, one-on-one with a real-life archaeologist who has dug both at the Rocks dig site, but also oversees in Angkor Watt. The archaeologist went through the new and amazing scientific technology being used on archaeological sites and how these new methods have been used to learn more about the people, places, and lifestyle of the time. To add to this amazing experience, students were then led into the investigation room and taken on a tour of the site.  Students put their investigative hats on and began analysing artefacts found on the site. The artefacts were amazing and ranged from broken vases, jewellery items and even fragments of animal bones. To end our day, the students were given permission to go down a very steep, underground tunnel leading to the newly discovered Gun Powder Magazine. A site, which for many years had been left undiscovered under the Sydney Harbour Bridge. It was an absolute joy seeing our students return from the tunnel looking mesmerised by the artefacts found below and learning more about Australia’s hidden past.  

While the day was filled with some solid investigations and discussions, our students felt like real life Indian Jones’s for the day. Such a fabulous day spent for all involved. 

Mrs Voula Viatos
Secondary Teacher

The Stage 3 girls improved by far from the last Gala Day by scoring many more goals than before. The Stage 2 girls worked well as a team and had a lot of fun playing games.

Zone Athletics Carnival

On Monday 22 August, the Nepean Zone Athletics carnival will occur. Students will be notified after the event if they have qualified for the CSSA State Athletics Carnival. The CSSA State Athletics Carnival will be held on Friday 2 September.

CSSA State Football Gala Day Finals

Unfortunately a venue was unable to be located due to recent ground closures for the football gala day finals that our Stage 2 team qualified for. This event has been regrettably cancelled for this year.

Mr Gavin Mitchell
Primary Sports Leader

Join us at 7:00pm for light refreshments in Block A and spend time sharing with other parents, and members of the RJ Executive (Mr Alan Dawson, Mr Luke Sale and Mrs Stephanie Ghali).

During the night, parents will be able to view the 'Imagine 25' items submitted by MP students. Parents will also learn about the new single sign-on procedure for the RJ digital platforms (Edumate, RJ App, Seesaw, Canvas). This new procedure will simplify access for parents by removing the use of different login requirements. Partial rollout will occur later this Term.

Parents will also learn more about the upcoming RJ Spring Festival, and any other topics of interest noted when registering (where time permits).

The event will conclude by 8:15pm

Please register your attendance to assist with planning before Tuesday 23 August, 10:00am -

https://bit.ly/3SU9oFg

If you would like your child to purchase a gift, please send $5 or $10 (single note preferably) on 

• Marsden Park: Tuesday 30 August 
• Oakhurst: Friday 2 September 
• Pre-K students who only attend Wed/Thurs/Fri will also be given an opportunity to purchase on Wednesday 31 August. 

Students are limited to one gift, although an exception is made if a child has two fathers (e.g. a stepfather). Please avoid sending coins to avoid them being lost on the day and to assist with end of day cash handling and counting. 

Volunteers are needed to help at both Campuses
Marsden Park 8:15am - 11:30am
Oakhurst 9:15am - 2:00pm
Please email Mrs Ghali if you can assist on the day SGhali@rjas.nsw.edu.au