As I write this edition of the Junior School News, most of our Year 5 students have now completed their NAPLAN testing. The new time, earlier in the year, is designed to give schools earlier access to data to inform curriculum decisions/directions. As a school we look forward to receiving this data each year to help guide us in innovating our teaching and learning program.
We have enjoyed some exciting weeks in the Junior School, including the athletics carnival and the Year 5 balloon car heats and finals. Next Thursday we look forward to our cross country carnival, the last of our major school sports carnivals for 2024. Please see below for details about our athletics and swimming age champions. Please note that due to Open Evening next Tuesday there will be no Debating or Homework Club on Tuesday 26 March.
Well done to all students for their participation in our Harmony Day celebrations. It was a great day and we had a huge take up in Junior School of the meal deals on offer. Thank you to Ms Day and Ms Cusack for their wonderful organisation of this important event.
School Sport ACT Representative 12/U Opportunities – School Sport ACT has changed the process for applying and participating in Sporting Trials.
Anyone interested in trialling for the various regional sports, now need to log onto the ACT Sports Website and register for the sport that your child wishes to trial. It is the responsibility of parents/carers to monitor the website for any upcoming sporting events, if your child is interested in competing in the regional competitions.
Please also note if your child is successful in being selected for an ACT team to participate in a national or regional tournament, a formal written letter is required, addressed to the College Principal to seek permission for absence from school during this period. Once the College has received such a request it can then be formally approved for your son’s participation in this activity with School Sport ACT. Secondly, we will also be able to acknowledge his achievement here at school.
Year 4-6 After School Homework Club
Tuesday after school (this week no homework club on Tuesday due to Open Evening)
3.30pm – 4.30pm
Junior School Library lab
Boys are to bring work with them that they may need assistance with. This could be homework, assignments, extension work or additional work set by their classroom teacher. Email hellem@sec.act.edu.au and sign your son up on clipboard should you wish your son to attend.
Year 6 Runners Program – As a part of our Year 6 into High School transition program, we will be enlisting the assistance of Year 6 students to help as runners. As runners, the students will get to know the school layout very well ahead of Year 7. The students will work in pairs for a full day (learning remotely between jobs). The students will rotate through on a daily basis.
Junior School Swimming Carnival. Congratulations to O’Brien House who were able to take home the top prize from our Junior Swimming Carnival. Full House order: O’Brien, Mulrooney, Rice, Haydon, Tracey, Clancy. The following boys were named Age Champions:
10 Years – Laith McPhan (Runner up Jensen Gagliardi)
11 Years – Owen Evans (Runner up Oliver Winn)
12 Years – Billy Unsworth (Runner up Nathaniel Davidson)
Mr Fox will soon announce the team selected to represent the school at the South Weston regional carnival, to be held on Friday 5 March at Stromlo Pool. A notification will be sent home to parents/carers and you will be asked to provide consent online. Please note that travel will be by own means on the day.
Junior School Athletics Carnival. Congratulations to Mulrooney House who won the carnival this year. Full finishing order: Mulrooney, O’Brien, Haydon, Clancy, Rice, Tracey. Well done to our age champions:
9 Years – Patrick Gane (Runner up Blake Erwin)
10 Years – Jake Smith (Runner up Oliver Amey)
11 Years – Tom Gibson (Runner up Jarvis Wind/Oscar Wightman)
12 Years – Hugh Gibson (Runner up Clay Thompson)
Cross Country Carnival – Thursday 28 March. Students may wear house colours or PE clothes to and from school on this day. We will also have an Easter Liturgy before recess on this day.
11.25am – 12.55pm on Owens Oval and school perimeter
11.25am 9 Years – 1500m
11:45am 10 Years – 2000m
12:05pm 11 Years – 3000m
12:35pm 12 Years – 3000m
Please note times are approximate only.
Tuesday 26 March – Open Evening. If you know of any current Year 3, Year 4, Year 5 or Year 6 students interested in coming to St Edmund’s, please feel free to draw their attention to our Open Evening Information on our various social media outlets. We will be asking our Junior School students if they are interested in helping out at this important College event.
Sacramental Program
A letter was sent out to interested families on Monday. If you are interested and did not receive this information, please contact Ms Bridget Cusack on email: bcusack@sec.act.edu.au
Team HEAT Holiday Program – St Edmund’s College Junior School will be hosting a fun and exciting Team H.E.A.T holiday program in the upcoming school holidays. This will take place on Monday April 15 to Wednesday April 17. All activities are facilitated by Team HEAT staff and Team HEAT is an external provider, although staff are known to the school. Siblings of current students (boys and girls) are welcome to attend. Numbers are limited. For more information, please contact team_heat@outlook.com
Hair Policy – Thank you to all parents/carers for keeping your son/s haircuts in line with the school’s uniform and hair policy. At times barbers may make mistakes. If they are informed of their mistake, many will fix the haircut (in line with our policy) at no extra charge. Could I please ask that all parents/carers familiarise themselves with the hair policy so that students can get about their daily work without teacher’s asking them about their haircuts. Thank you for your assistance with this.
Hair should be kept neat, tidy and clean at all times and not grown or styled into an extreme or exaggerated fashion.
Hair should be even in length and no shorter than a number ‘two’.
Students are not allowed to have lines or designs shaved into their hair nor grow long sections of hair that can be fashioned into ‘top buns’, plaits, undercuts, braids, ‘rats tails’, ‘mohawks’ or ‘mullets’ etc.
Student Drop Off and Pick Up – Please do not use the staff carpark (off Canberra Avenue) to drop or collect students before and after school. This is a dangerous place for our students
to be moving through and we would like to keep this area for staff only. Thank you for helping to keep our community safe.
David Kelly
Assistant Principal – Junior School