St Johns Newsletter - 6 August 2025

Principals Report

After being away on leave, it was wonderful to come back and see everyone in such great spirits. I really enjoyed the opportunity to visit my family and escape the cold weather. A big thank you to Jacki Taylor for everything she did while I was gone, and to the entire staff for their support.

NAPLAN: Students in Grades 3 and 5 have received their NAPLAN results today, these are also available within your child's PAM profile.

An information brochure entitled; NAPLAN individual student report, Information for parents and carers, is available below. I strongly recommend that you read the brochure as it explains the purpose of the testing, the report information and how to accurately read your child’s report.

These results are only a snapshot of what your child’s achievement levels were on the day of the test and should be viewed in conjunction with their school report and ongoing assessments conducted by the teachers. Please read your child’s NAPLAN report carefully and feel free to contact your child’s teacher if you have any queries.

Parent Teacher Interviews: Thank you to families for attending last week’s parent-teacher interviews. Attending these interviews is one way of showing your child that you’re interested in their learning and their life at school while also promoting the communication lines between school and home.

Book Fair: Our Book Fair last week was a great success with total sales of approx. $5,000.  The school will receive a commission with which to buy new resources for our school library. Thanks to Megan Briganti for her organisation.

Inter School Winter Sports: Competition commenced last week with an away game at St James, Nar Nar Goon. Students competed in Football, Netball and Newcomb, please see the calendar in PAM for details of each week's matches.

• Football Blue: St John’s 21 points to James 25 points    
• Football Yellow: St John’s 47 points to James 14 points       
• Newcomb:  St John’s 0 Sets to St James 3 Sets
• Netball A: St John’s 8 goals to St James 3 goals        
• Netball B:  St John's 5 goals to St James 7 goals

This week, we play host to St Catherine’s.  

100 Days of School: Last Monday, the Foundation students celebrated 100 days of school, celebrating that the children are 100 days brighter. I also think they are 100 days kinder, 100 days smarter, and 100 days braver. The students had an amazing day of activities.

Thank you to our Foundation team for organising a wonderful celebration for our students. Thank you to our parents for their support and guidance to prepare their children to pray, learn and play each and every day.

Inform and Empower; over the next couple of weeks, students will take part in their third live stream incursion for the year on digital safety and wellbeing. These sessions will inform and empower students to become more aware, clever, kind and brave online citizens. Information sheets will be sent home after the sessions. 

Regards 

Chris Dortmans, Principal

Religious Education News

This Friday we will gather a school community to celebrate the feast day of Mary MacKillop. Mary MacKillop, also known as Saint Mary of the Cross, was an Australian nun who co-founded the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart. She is the first Australian to be recognized as a saint by the Catholic Church. Born in Melbourne in 1842, she dedicated her life to educating the poor and marginalized, establishing numerous schools and welfare institutions.

Next Friday August 15th is the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a significant feast day in the Catholic Church. This day honours the moment when Mary was taken body and soul into heaven at the end of her earthly life. The event highlights Mary’s unique role in our faith as the first disciple and the ultimate example of devotion to God. For our school community, this celebration aligns beautifully with our WALK and its underpinning connection to the Catholic Social Teachings, as it reminds us of Mary’s deep love for God and her willingness to serve others selflessly.

Pray Together

The Resilience Project - Reducing stress with breathwork

How often do you notice your breathing?

Taking time each day to focus on our breathing gives our brains valuable time to slow down from the rush of the day, reducing our stresses as we go. It involves paying attention to your breath as it moves in and out of your body, without judgement or distraction.

For the week ahead, try committing to a daily two minute practice of a deep breathing technique. Please feel free to use your own technique if you have one. For those of you who need some inspiration (like us!), try one of our favourites: Five finger breathing:

• Simply hold up one hand and spread out your fingers.

• With the index finger of the opposite hand slowly trace around the outside of your fingers beginning at the base of your thumb and moving upwards.

• As you move your finger up, take a slow breath in.

• As you move your finger down, slowly breathe out.

• Repeat for a couple of minutes or until you feel calm.

The simplicity of this method is great as you can use it anywhere, whether it’s to start your morning at home, or in between breaks at work when you need a refresh. Five finger breathing can be practised for as little as a few minutes or as long as 20 minutes. It’s an easy yet powerful technique that can be used at any time to relax your mind or bring more focus to the present moment. It can also be a very useful meditation before bed, as it helps to put your mind at ease and fall asleep.

Book Week Events Schedule - 18 to 22 Aug

Upcoming Events

Upcoming events shows events for the next 4 weeks, for events further ahead please see the calendar in PAM. 

Uniform Ordering - Beleza

St Johns uniform is sold through Beleza both in their Pakenham store and online - see links below for online shop  or shop location/contact details. 

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

To enrol in OSHC please use the online enrolment form via this link:  Enrolment Form

For all other information in regard to OSHC please follow the link below to their website: 

Out of School Hours Care | Windermere

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

Koo Wee Rup Catholic Parishes in Partnership

Community News