It is now one week on since our Junior School students enjoyed some time with their Year 12 buddies. Congratulations to the Year 12 students who led the younger students through some activities before heading out to the ovals for some structured games. Seeing the younger students’ eyes light up when they are with the Year 12 students was certainly one of the highlights of the week. Our buddy program is able to run effectively due to our timetabled Formation program which runs from Year 4-12 at the College. Today Junior School students have spent their Formation time hearing from Olympian, Seve De Campo Cross Country Skiing (Winter Olympian, Beijing, 2022). I am sure there will be much to take away from the presentation.
BOOKWEEK (Week 6) – On Thursday 25 August all students in the Junior School will have the opportunity to dress up as their favourite book character. They will then participate in a parade to celebrate books and reading. This is a fun event which everyone is encouraged to be involved in so start preparing your costume soon. The theme is ‘Dreaming with Eyes Open’.
School Sport Australia Swimming Championships – Congratulations to Phillip MacNamara (6 Blue) for representing the ACT and St Edmund’s College at the School Sports National Swimming Championships in Brisbane 19-23 August. Well done and we look forward to hearing all about your adventures upon your return!
Phillip MacNamara
Snowboarding Success – Well done to Riley Fahkouri (5 Blue) who represented St Edmund’s a couple of weekends ago at the ACT Snowboarding Cup. Riley smashed his race on the snowboarding downhill course and received a silver medal for his efforts, despite terrible conditions on the mountain. Well done Riley.
South Weston Athletics Carnival – Last week we had 39 students represent the school at the regional level. St Edmund’s did really well on the day with 7 students qualifying for the ACT Carnival (Thursday 8 September at Woden Park). To do this they had to come in the top 4 on the day. A top 3 finish at the ACT Carnival will result in students being able to represent the ACT at the School Sports National Athletics Championships to be held later in the year in Queensland.
Well done to the following boys for making the South Weston Athletics team. A particular congratulations to Hugh Gibson (100, 200, LJ) and Kado Ramali (200) who came first in some of their events.
- Dolvin, Stanley (Boys 11 Discus Throw)
- Fenikitau, Fatai (Boys 12 Shot Put)
- Gibson, Hugh (Boys 8-10 Shot Put, Boys 8-10 Long Jump, Boys 10 200 Metre Sprint, Boys 8-10 Discus Throw, Boys 10 100 Metre Sprint)
- Kent, Brayden (Boys 12 200 Metre Sprint, Boys 12 100 Metre Sprint)
- Kivalu, Jayden (Boys 8 10 Shot Put)
- MacNamara, Phillip (Boys 12 Shot Put)
- Ramali, Kado (Boys 11 800 Metre Run, Boys 11 200 Metre Sprint, Boys 11 100 Metre Sprint
Father’s Day Mass – Friday 2 September. The Father’s Day Mass and Morning Tea will be held on Friday 2 September. Mass commences in the College chapel at 9:30am and is followed by morning tea in the Edmund Rice Centre. If fathers, grandfathers or carers would like to attend please register using the link https://events.humanitix.com/father-s-day-2022
Story Quest 2022 Performance – Friday 2 September. On this day we have a performance for all of our Junior School students at school in the Hall, Story Quest 2022. Story Quest 2022 promises to be an enjoyable, fun and engaging celebration of the Children’s Book Council of Australia’s shortlisted books of the year for 2022, one of which we have been reading during library classes.
Footy Food and Jersey Day for House and Home – Friday 2 September. This fundraising activity aligns with the Term 3 Social Justice model of the College to raise money and awareness for the community. The Junior School has provided support for Karinya House for 18 years and over this time has developed an authentic relationship with this organisation. Since 2018, through the Sleepout, the Junior School students have started to develop a connection with Home in Queanbeyan.
The activity encourages each student to participate in one of two ways.
First option: bringing in a gold coin or note donation and wearing their favourite sports team’s jersey for the day over their school uniform (can be AFL, NRL, NBA, Rugby, Soccer, etc.).
Second option: bringing in $10 for a recess Footy Food recess meal deal consisting of popcorn chicken or chicken nuggets, hot chips, a poppa, and a surprise sweet treat. Students can wear their favourite sports team’s jersey for the day over their school uniform (can be AFL, NRL, NBA, Rugby, Soccer, etc.).
The funds raised will allow both House and Home to do good works with those they walk beside and support every day. The boys wear their uniform and bring their team jersey to school; they can wear it during the day and take it off at the end before leaving school in the afternoon. The order forms for Footy Food recess meal deal, went home on Monday and need to be returned by Friday 26 August.
Eddies Sleepout – Friday 16 September. The annual Eddies Sleepout for House and Home is being held on Friday 16 September. Boys from Yr 4-12 are asked to sleep for a night in the College Gymnasium to gain a very small insight into what it is like to sleep rough.
On the night boys will participate in awareness raising activities around homelessness. The money we raise will go towards purchasing household furniture for the mothers and babies Karinya House supports, so the places of accommodation for these mums and babies can feel more like a home, rather than just somewhere to live.
Home in Queanbeyan has requested the money goes towards purchasing healthy food for the resident’s pantry. With the rising costs of fresh produce, it has become more difficult to ensure the residents are having healthy meals, which are vital for good mental health.
Students who would like to participate can collect a permission note and sponsor card from Ms Cusack.
Pupil Free Day – Friday 9 September – Please note that the school has decided to enact the scheduled pupil free days canvassed by Mr Garrity in communication at the beginning of the term. The reason for these extra two pupil free days is to manage teacher workload and offer the opportunity for a circuit-breaker as we manage the ongoing challenges associated with staff shortages due to Covid-19 isolations. Teachers will be involved in professional learning on Moderation Day and planning/programming on the scheduled pupil free days.
Homework Club – Mr Kelly will be running homework club from Weeks 1-9 this term on Tuesdays/Wednesdays. Please email him dkelly@stedmunds.act.edu.au with a day’s notice should you wish to book your son/s in.
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 above the shoulder in length (above the bottom of the school shirt collar) 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, dreadlocks, braids, ‘rats tails’, ‘mohawks’ or ‘mullets’ etc.
Hair should be evenly graded and/or blended, of natural colour, warn off the face and should not obstruct sight. Hair requiring to be tied back off the face may be necessary but only as a low bun.
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 September 26 to Thursday September 29 and is open to boys and girls.
Numbers are limited.
For more information, please contact team_heat@outlook.com
David Kelly
Assistant Principal – Junior School