No images? Click here JPC Key Message Week 1, Term 3 2020From the PrincipalDear Parents and Carers, Welcome back to Term 3. Though our mornings continue to be frosty it is lovely to see the sun rising that little bit earlier each day and knowing that spring is on its way. The students have settled back into school after the term break and are working well in classes and in ILT. I think they have a new appreciation of school after their experience of remote learning! My straw poll from the students I have been talking to this week is that they are glad that we have moved PC back to the beginning of the day. We would really appreciate parents ensuring that students are here for this important part of the day. I am very aware of the amount of traffic that is coming into the school and parents dropping off students rather than them catching public transport so I would highly recommend that you arrive at school ten minutes earlier (school commences at 8.55 am) to allow for this traffic congestion. We also recommend that if you are picking up your child from school that you arrive after the buses have gone or arrange to pick your child up at the playing fields car park. This might also be a good place to consider dropping your child off in the mornings to beat the congestion of our car park. I was hoping that with the new Term that we would be able to continue on our progress of having the school return to more and more normal routines. Sadly, with the spike in COVID-19 cases, we are having to continue with many of the restrictions that we already have in place. One of the main impacts for you as parents and carers is that we need to continue to limit the number of adult visitors/volunteers on school sites. Could I please ask that if you are picking up your student that you wait outside the building and only come into the school if you need to bring something in. Sadly, it also means that events, where we have welcomed parents to participate, have had to be curtailed. Next week is our Awards Assembly and we will be doing the awards in smaller groups of students and offering the opportunity for parents to ZOOM in to watch their child receive their award. Invitations and links to the Zoom meetings have been sent to the parents and carers of students receiving awards. Students getting off the bus and going to the shops is an ongoing problem – not only from a supervision concern but also because of the added risk given our current COVID circumstances. Could I please ask that you reiterate to your child that for their own health and safety and also for the health and safety of the school community that once they arrive at school students must not leave the school premises. We will continue to reinforce this message here at school. Report Update I wish everyone a safe and restful weekend. Stephanie O'Meara Locker SecurityDon't forget to put a lock on your locker! The beginning of this semester we have noticed many lockers that do not have locks on them. The school recommends the use of a combination lock to ensure the safety of student belongings. Combination locks can be purchased at the College office for $12.50 or you can purchase one from any retailer. In and Around JPCLiteracy and Numeracy TutorialsThe first series of literacy and numeracy tutorials began this week during ILT. Students were identified through data (ACER testing scheme), which was collected by the school at the beginning of the year. Parents of these students were advised by email. We understand that there are some discrepancies between the ACER data and end of Semester 1 results. If you believe your son or daughter has been wrongly allocated to a tutorial, please contact Mr Patrick Wood at your earliest convenience. The current tutorial series will continue for a total of 5 weeks, with students focusing on the development of a specific skill or understanding. The tutorials are designed to support students with their learning, the completion of their Independent Learning Tasks, and the comprehension of their assessment tasks. The focus areas for the tutorials are as follows: Patrick Wood IT Systems UpgradeOver the holidays the CE undertook a major upgrade of the CE schools IT systems which impacted 54 schools. One of the results of this is that some staff have encountered problems with their emails over the holidays and into this week. If you have sent a teacher an email and have not heard back from them then it may be that they are having ongoing issues with emails. These issues should be resolved by the end this week. Thank you Staff Professional LearningThe staff at JPC started term 3 off with a staff meeting on the first Tuesday back. Our meetings focus on professional learning for teaching staff and this week the focus was on the Classroom Teaching Continuum. This document can be used in lesson observations and also as a way for teachers to reflect on their practice and set goals to continue improving and learning. The session involved small group work, completing puzzles and writing all learning on butcher’s paper. Teachers then shared ideas and discussed parts of their practise they could improve on. Each teacher wrote goals and will work through these with their teaching mentor throughout the semester and into the future. The engagement and willingness to learn is highly evident in the staff at JPC and I thank all the teachers for their involvement. Kelly Candy Remembrance Day 2020Do you have a relative who served in World War II? We have a special installation for Remembrance Day this year and we will be honouring and remembering our JPC family members who served in WWII. This is open to all JPC families and to all Nationalities. Please send through any relevant information you know about your family member, including:
Please send to vicki.walsh@cg.catholic.edu.au Arts Up FrontNew Guitar TeacherTerm 3 sees the welcoming of a new guitar tutor to our ever growing co-curricular music program. Lachlan Coventry is renowned professional guitarist who calls Canberra home. Lachlan is a graduate from the ANU School of Music specialising in Jazz Guitar, he has been a sideman and session player around Canberra and nationally for the last 20 years. During the last few years he has worked at the ANU School of Music Jazz Department as a guitar and class tutor. We are very fortunate to have him teaching at our school. Lachlan covers all styles from Jazz to Blues to Rock. If you were thinking of having your child begin guitar lessons, now’s the time! Click here to sign up! Aron Lyon CareersWhite Card/AsbestosAll students who completed this course last term should have now received their Asbestos card. For instructions on how to apply for the White Card through the ACT Government, please check your emails fo from careers.jpc with instruction on how to get your card. Defence Force Information SessionOn Wednesday during Period 2, a member from Defence Force Recruiting will be coming in to talk to students about job opportunities in the Defence Force. JPC Career’s Community – Work ExperienceJPC is looking to create a career’s community to assist student’s in gaining placements for work experience. If you work for (or own) an organisation or business and are interested in hosting students for work experience and developing a relationship with the college, please email careers.jpc@cg.catholic.edu.au Thank you! Mrs Teena Zorzi From the College officeFees for Term 3 - Due! |