St Johns Newsletter - 14 February 2024

Principals Report

Dear Parents/Carers

Student Leadership: Student leadership roles for a variety of positions have recently been elected, congratulations to our leaders for 2024

School Captains:  Isla O’Neill and Hugh Quinn

House Captains:          

Cremin House: Harper Leontini and Jordan Fraser

Mackillop House: Alexis Fay and Antonio Pace

Wood House: Chloe Bertuna and Tyler Gauci

Scott House: Laylah McCauley and Corey Miller

Social Justice Leaders: Sebastian Mulhall, Tianna Thornhill, Jena Chol, Ava Nicholls, Jessica Mitchell

W.A.L.K Ambassadors: Lyla Hancock, Mia Tavares, Phoenix Ferguson, Harper Hill

SRC Representatives from senior classes will be announced next week. 

Parent Teacher Interviews have been rescheduled to Tuesday 27 & Wednesday 28 February. These are very important in establishing the home-school relationship,  your participation and feedback indicates the close connections we have established are highly valued. Bookings will open later today. 

Little Learners Love Literacy (LLLL) Parent Information Session:

            When: 21st February, 3:30pm - 4:10pm           Venue: Senior Building 

Little Learners Love Literacy is an explicit and sequential literacy program that teaches ALL children to read, write and spell with confidence. Created from evidence-based research, it includes phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary knowledge, fluency and comprehension. The principles of this program will be integrated into our Junior Literacy Program and therefore we invite all parents of children in Foundation to Yr2 to a Parent Information Session.

Raising Kids in a Digital World: (Parent Information Webinar) 22nd February 7:30pm: Last year we provided students and families with access to the ‘Inform & Empower; Digital Safety and Wellbeing’ program. We are delighted to be continuing this for 2024. I invite you all to take the opportunity to attend the upcoming webinar. 

There is the link for parents/carers to register for the webinar :    bit.ly/22feb2024

Once you have registered (with an email address and name), you will be emailed a link to the webinar. You will also receive reminder emails. The day after the webinar, you will receive a link to access the replay. Therefore we recommend that even if you are unable to attend the live webinar, you register to ensure access to the replay which will be available for 30 days.

School Advisory Board: St John the Baptist School Advisory Board operates as the principal’s consultative and advisory body in the school. This body acts as an advisor on strategic planning, school renewal and policies, and general leadership, its sole purpose ultimately being to serve and work toward the mission and vision of our school. Our first meeting will be held next Wednesday 21st February.

The members of the board are:

Chairperson: Chris Dortmans                                 Deputy Chair: Jacki Taylor

Parish Priest: Fr. Avinash George                          Secretary/Teacher Representative: Alycia Matthews 

Parent Representatives: Amie Parker, Kerryn Feltham, Natascha Jopp

Sacramental Program Information Evening: Parents of students  wishing to undertake the Sacraments of Reconciliation (Gr3) First Eucharist (Gr4) and Confirmation (Gr 6) are required to attend the information night:

            Wednesday 6th March, 6:00pm - St James Catholic Church, Nar Nar Goon

Our guest speaker will be Fr Elio Capra, please note the information night is for parents only. 

Further details and a Sacramental Enrolment form will be forwarded to families in due course. 

Sacramental Co-ordinator: Leonie Hester

Preferred contact:  lhester@bunyip.catholic.edu.au         Mobile: 0417 551 402

Regards

Chris Dortmans, Principal

Religious Education News

On Wednesday we gathered as a school for our Ash Wednesday Mass. Ash Wednesday is a holy day that marks the start of our Lenten season. Lent is a 40-day period that represents the Temptation of Christ, and Christians honour it by fasting, praying and almsgiving. Lots of people, including non-Christians, will choose to give up a bad habit or a vice for the period of Lent in much the same way as many people choose to set resolutions for the New Year.

Many Christians receive a cross of ashes on their foreheads on Ash Wednesday. This marks the beginning of our journey through Lent, a time to reflect on Jesus’s life and suffering and the ways he continually showed compassion to those around him. The cross of ashes signifies that we are ready to also reflect on our own lives, to change, and to make efforts to set our lives firmly on the path of Christ.

Lent is a season of reflection and preparation before we celebrate Easter. It is also an opportunity to reach out to those in need. This week, our Social Justice Leaders will distribute Project Compassion boxes and will be collecting donations of small change throughout Lent. The money collected will be donated to Caritas, the international aid and development organisation of the Catholic Church. In classrooms, students will be learning about Project Compassion and the ways in which they help communities around the world. You can see the work of CARITAS on their website: https://www.caritas.org.au/project-compassion/ 

Alycia Matthews, Religious Education Leader

Pray Together

2025 Sibling Enrolment - Please respond before Thursday 22 February

If you have a sibling who will be starting with us in Foundation in 2025 (currently attending 4-year-old kindergarten), we kindly ask you to complete the below Google Form. This will ensure an enrolment pack is sent home once they are ready.

We ask that once enrolment pack is received the forms are completed and returned at your earliest convenience to ensure your child's position for 2025.  

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

Upcoming Events

Uniform Shop & Canteen

Canteen

Our canteen 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. 

Koo Wee Rup Catholic Parishes in Partnership

St Francis Xavier College - Open Day

St Francis Xavier College will be holding their Open Day on Saturday 16 March - see flyer below. 

They will also be holding Talk & Tour sessions for those interested in enrolment. Please see their website www.sfx.vic.edu.au for further information and to register your interest. 

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. 

Community News - Nyora Netball Club & Catani Football Club