St Johns Newsletter - 31 January 2024

Principals Report

Dear Parents/Carers

Welcome to the 2024 school year!  We hope everyone has had a great holiday and will have a rewarding and successful 2024. We noticed a lot of smiles on the first day (mainly parents!) and the classes have all started brilliantly!  We are sure it will continue this way and look forward to a busy and happy year at school.

Congratulations to Harper Hill and Jena Chol on receiving a Koo Wee Rup Junior Citizen Award on Australia Day. We are all very proud.

We have our Beginning of Year Liturgy on Thursday 8th February at 9:15am. Families are welcome to attend, this is a great opportunity to celebrate as part of the St John’s community and children always look forward to seeing you there.

Our first assembly will be on Friday 9th February, commencing at 9:00am: The change of day to a Friday allows teachers and students time to organise their class item. Hopefully the 9am time encourages parents to stay after drop-off and having it in the morning will not clash with afternoon sports events.  We value parents at our assemblies and we hope the changes will cater for more to attend.

Friends of St John’s Committee: The first meeting was held today where planning commenced for 2024 events and fundraising. New members are always welcome and we invite you to attend our next meeting on Thursday 29 February at 2pm. 

The Friends of St John’s first event will be the Family Picnic on Friday 9 February, see full details below. 

Canteen: Our canteen will open from Thursday 8 February, student lunches can be ordered via CDFpay. Canteen days are Mondays & Thursdays with orders closing at 8:45am on these days.

School Website: I would ask all parents/carers to take the time to visit our website. Under the tab ‘Our School’ you will find general information about school and links to our School Policies. You will notice that the majority of these policies relate to child safety and wellbeing. Child safety and wellbeing is something we take very seriously, with all staff recently completing online training on Mandatory Reporting and this week completing our CPR training.

Yard Supervision:The yard is supervised by school staff before school from 8:30 - 8:50am and after school from 3:10 - 3:20pm. Students should not be arriving at school unsupervised by a parent/carer prior to 8:30am. Students not collected by 3:20pm will wait in the office and parents contacted.  Before and after school care is available on site through Windermere Services, contact details below. 

Car Park: To assist with parking during drop off and pick up times, our ‘Drop-off’ zone is located along the yellow bollards in the parent parking area. We ask all families to please observe the Drop-off area rules to ensure safe and efficient student drop off. If you need to help your child from the vehicle or wish to walk your child in or be in the grounds to pick them up, please use the other parking spaces.

‘Drop-off Rules:

• Drive to the furthest available spot.
• The driver must remain in the vehicle.
• Encourage disembarking on the passenger side of the vehicle.
• Use the parking area if children need assistance with bags etc.

NB: The car park is open from 8:30am to 8:50am and again from 3:00pm to 3:20pm

Student Mobile Devices: In accordance with the Dept of Education Mobile Phones Policy, issued by the Minister for Education, personal mobile phones must not be used by students at School during school hours, including lunchtime and recess. Mobile devices (including phones, ipads and smart watches) owned by students are considered valuable items and are brought to school at the owner’s (student’s or parent/carers) risk. Student mobile devices are to be handed into the office upon arrival to school and collected at the end of the school day.

Parent Teacher Interviews: On Tuesday 13th February and Wednesday 14th February, we will be holding 10 minute ‘Meet the teacher’ interviews with parents/carers. This time will be an opportunity for you to meet your child’s teacher/s, discuss how they have settled in and share information about your child that you think will assist their teacher to support them throughout the year..

Bookings via PAM will be open on Thursday 1 February, please ensure bookings are made at your earliest convenience before Friday 9 February. 

Professional Development and Closure Days: Closure Days for 2024: Ongoing Professional Development and Planning is vital for staff as it allows time to improve our knowledge and also reflect on current practice and trends in education. Throughout 2024 we will have a number of Professional Development (PD) days focusing on improving our teaching and learning. Under the new enterprise bargaining agreement for teachers we also have a number of closure days classified as ‘Time in Lieu (TIL)’ for school staff.  Please note the following pupil free days in your calendars.

• Friday 8 March (PD)
• Thursday 16 May (PD)
• Tuesday 11th June (TIL) 
• Friday 28 June (Planning) 
• Monday 15 July (PD)
• Tuesday 23 July (PD (am) and Parent Teacher Meeting (pm))
• Monday 4 November (TIL)
• Friday 15 November (PD)
• Wednesday 18 December (PD)
• Thursday 19 December (Planning) 
• Friday 20 December (TIL) 

Tuesday 13th February is Shrove Tuesday (or Pancake Day as it has come to be known), this day represents the last day of feasting and celebration before the commencement of Lent, a time of fasting and a time of thinking of others.

Pancakes will be provided to all classes during the morning on Tuesday 13th February, dietary requirements will be catered for. The following day we will be celebrating an Ash Wednesday Mass at 11:30am, families are welcome to attend.

Regards

Chris Dortmans, Principal

Religious Education News

Our theme for Term 1 is the statement, ‘We can change the world’. Through a religion lens, we will be exploring the world around us and looking at ways we can care for God’s creation. Each year level will be learning about our own roles and responsibilities within our community and how we can all make a difference to the lives of others and our world. Through the Catholic Social Teaching Principle of ‘Stewardship of Creation’, we will learn how we are called to protect people and the planet. 

On Thursday 8th February, all are invited to join us for our Beginning of the Year Liturgy, held in the Church. We will gather to celebrate coming together as one community as we begin a new year as part of the St John’s community. 

Alycia Matthews, Religious Education Leader

Upcoming dates

Thurs 8/2: Whole School Beginning of the Year Liturgy @11:30am

Weds 14/2: Ash Wednesday Mass @ 11:30am

Pray Together

PAM Parent Info ~ How to apply for Holidays, Students Absence , Emailing your childs teacher etc

Uniform Shop & Canteen

Canteen

Our canteen will open from Thursday 8 February and is open on Mondays and Thursdays for lunch orders, all orders must be placed via CDFpay prior to 8:45am on canteen days. Please note: Late orders cannot be accepted. 

If you have any queries in relation to canteen please email canteen@stjohnskwr.catholic.edu.au

Uniform Shop 

Uniform orders are processed on Monday & Thursday, orders must be placed by 2pm on these days via CDFpay (uniform shop is online only please follow the link above to access CDFpay). 

For exchanges or general enquiries in regard to sizing, second hand uniform etc please email Belinda:  uniform@stjohnskwr.catholic.edu.au 

Exchanges: After emailing the details of your exchange requirements please drop the item at the office with your name attached, exchanges will be processed on the next uniform shop day. 

Please note: All items being exchanged MUST be unwashed with tags still attached. 

As we are a ‘Sun Smart School’ we also require the children to wear a school hat from September to April with the ‘No Hat-No Play’ policy strictly enforced during 1st and 4th terms. 

School uniform guidelines are in the process of being updated and will be available shortly.

Friends of St Johns - Welcome Picnic - Friday 9 February

Upcoming Events

OSHC (Out of School Hours Care)

After School Hours Care operates out of the St Johns hall before and after school.

Please contact OSHC directly for all enquiries:

• 1300 946 337
• EnrolmentsOSHC@windermere.org.au

Alternatively you can visit them in the hall before or after school to enquire. 

Koo Wee Rup Catholic Parishes in Partnership