Newsletter - Wednesday 15 Feb

Principals Report

Dear Parents/Carers, 

It is lovely to see our Foundation students commence full time schooling this week, they have settled into school life very well and should be proud of themselves. 

Students in grades 3 and 5 have commenced NAPLAN testing today. Testing will continue to the end of this week, we thank you for ensuring students in these grades are at school each day in order to participate. 

Last year we introduced ‘Nude Food Tuesdays’ encouraging children to bring a rubbish free lunch to school. For the uninitiated, ‘nude food’ is food that comes to school without disposable packaging – extra plastic bags, paper bags, wrappings, plastic water bottles or cling wraps. Australia is the second highest producer of waste per person in the western world! Unfortunately, school lunches are contributing to this, with the average child generating around 30 kg of litter a year. Every family can do their bit to reduce this by packing a school lunch without including any extra packaging or wrapping.

This year, we will continue this initiative, where all students are encouraged to bring Nude Food lunches. Although Tuesdays are our ‘official’ Nude Food days, we encourage students to get in the habit of bringing in Nude Food every day to ensure we do what we can to protect our environment.

Parent Teacher Interviews: (Tue 21st & Wed 22nd March) give you a great opportunity to:

• learn more about your child’s academic, emotional and social development
  
• help your child’s teacher/s understand more about your child
• make plans with the teacher about how you can both support your child
• build a relationship with your child’s teacher/s
• show your child that you’re interested in their learning needs and what’s happening for them at school

Interviews are 15 minutes in length, please ensure you are on time as we are not able to run overtime on bookings. If you do require more time, a follow up meeting can be organised with your cild's teacher. Bookings are via your PAM account and will close on Friday 17 March. 

Cultural Diversity and Harmony Day: Cultural Diversity Week is a time to celebrate the influence and stories of our rich multicultural community. Our state is home to people who speak 290 languages and have 314 different ancestries. The theme this year is ‘Our past. Our Future:’ a call to reflect on multicultural Victoria’s long history and celebrate its bright future.

Over the next couple of weeks, classes will be reflecting on the many cultures and communities that have shaped our state in the past and look to the future as a multicultural state and community.

We will also celebrate both Harmony Day and Cultural Diversity Week in conjunction with our Easter Free Dress Day on Friday 24 March by inviting students to either wear an item of orange clothing for Harmony Week or to wear traditional or cultural clothing for Cultural Diversity Week. 

PAM (Parent Access Module), Student Medical Profiles: A reminder that there are a large number of student medical profiles in PAM which have not been completed or require further information. PAM is where we now look for student medical information, contact details, excursion permissions etc - it is important that all medical profiles are complete and accurate. We ask that all parents access their PAM account and action any Notification Alert Request Reminders at your earliest convenience.

If you have any queries in relation to PAM or setting up your child's medical profile please contact Di at the office or email office@stjohnskwr.catholic.edu.au The office will also be available to assist parents with this on Parent Teacher Interview nights.

Don’t forget to sign up to our new Schoolzine App to ensure easy access to the newsletter, sign up details and link below.

Regards

Chris Dortmans, Principal

Religious Education News

It was fantastic to see friends and families join us for our Beginning of Year Mass last week, what
a wonderful way to start the year together. Thank you to Father Avinash for leading us and to the
children who participated so beautifully, particularly our new Foundation students.
This term our theme across the school is ‘Choices’. We have been learning about how Jesus’ choices affected others and how this relates to the choices we make in our lives. In our classrooms we have been focusing on our Walk with St John Expectations and finding out what it looks like, feels like, and sounds like to follow in the footsteps of St John.
Coming up we have our Ash Wednesday Mass on Wednesday 22rd February at 11:30am. All are
welcome to attend.

Alycia Matthews, Religious Education Leader

Pray Together

Raising Kids in a Digital World Webinar - Thurs 23 Feb - 7:30pm

Don't forget to register for the Raising Kids in a Digital World Webinar which has been arranged for our families in conjunction with the Inform & Empower: Digital Safety and Wellbeing sessions being undertaken by students in grades 1 to 6. Details below. 

Shrove Tuesday - Tue 21 Feb

Next Tuesday 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 21 February. 

Dietary requirements will be catered for. 

Crazy Hair Day & Camp Quality Puppet Show - Fri 24 Feb

PAM (Parent Access Module)

All familes should now have signed up to their new PAM account and created a Medical Profile for their children.

Why should you sign up to PAM:

• Parent Teacher Interviews are in March - all bookings are via your PAM account
• From Term 2 ALL excursion permissions will be via PAM - Parents must have an active PAM account in order to provide permission for excursions, bus information and various other things we usually collect via Operoo
  
• All medical and contact information must be completed via PAM 
  
• Student reports & NAPLAN results are provided via PAM
• ALL Absence reporting and application for Holidays are via PAM - Skoolbag should no longer be used for this
• The school calendar of events can be viewed via PAM
• Message your childs teacher directly via PAM (no need to remember their email address)

How to sign up to PAM:

If you have missed the sign up email please follow the instructiions below:

• Follow this link: https://pam.stjohnskwr.catholic.edu.au/
• Save the sign in screen to the Homepage on your phone
• Select Forgot Password and follow the prompts  (Note: your username is the email address the login email was sent to)
• Once you've signed in you will have a notification (little bell at the top right of the screen) asking you to complete your child's/children's medical profile

You will receive an account per parent unless our records indicate that your family have a shared email account - we ask that families action these requests at your earliest convenience. 

If you need assistance setting up or using PAM please email office@stjohnskwr.catholic.edu.au or call Di or Nancy on 03 5997 1653.  

Once PAM accounts are active we ask that all absences be submitted via PAM as this information feeds directly to the roll. 

School Fees

Fee statements will be produced and sent to all familes by the end of February - these will be sent via email (please check your spam/junk folder). Please see attached copies of correspondence sent to families in relation to 2023 fees. 

If you are yet to complete the Direct Debit form please do so and return to Nancy at the office nrintoule@stjohnskwr.catholic.edu.au - this form is both a direct debit form or provides us advice of how you wish to pay your fees if not via direct debit. 

Schoolzine App - Download Instructions

A reminder that we are now using the Schoolzine App, please follow the link below for download instructions: 

Once you've downloaded the App please search for: St John the Baptist Primary School Koo Wee Rup, to subscribe to our school. 

Please delete your Skoolbag App as this is no longer being used. 

Uniform Shop

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

Canteen - Mondays & Thursdays

Our canteen operates on Mondays & Thursdays - lunch orders via CDFpay only (see link below). 

Ordering closes at 8:45am on lunch order days - late orders cannot be accepted. 

Icypoles are available over the counter at lunchtime only - 50c each.

Gluten Free options are available - please see Gluten free section in CDFpay. 

OSHC (Out of School Hours Care) & School Holiday Program

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. 

St Francis Xavier College Open Day

Koo Wee Rup Catholic Parishes in Partnership