St Johns Newsletter - 22 October 2025

Principals Report

2026 Foundation Orientation: The past two Mondays have seen the first of our five orientation sessions.  These visits give the new students and their parents an introduction to school life, it is also a great opportunity for new families to meet existing ones. We have 37 Foundation students starting next year and over 20 new families.

Italian Day: Tuesday 28th October. Students are asked to wear the colours of the Italian flag or traditional costume if they have it. This is NOT a theme/fancy dress-up day. Please see flyer below for full details. 

The St Johns ART Show is fast appropaching with students putting the finishing touches on their artworks for display and class artworks for the auction! We have food trucks again with Outback Jack's serving Hot Donuts, Hot Dogs and drinks, Twista Bros serving Deep Fried Twisted Potatoes & Boomas BBQ with Brisket rolls and Cheeseburgers available for pre-order - see order link in the Art Show ad below. The canteen will also be open for drinks & icy poles. Come along and enjoy the atmosphere with live music from "The Beat" playing favourites from the 70's, 80's & 90's. 

Grandparents Day will be held on Friday 7th November, this is one of the most enjoyable extra-curricular events on the St John’s calendar. Our students have started marching practice in preparation, families and special friends are welcome to join us for this special occasion. Please see the schedule of events and sausage sizzle ordering information below.  Please Note: One order should be placed per family for this event as it assists with orders being distributed quickly on the day. 

Class Structure 2026:  9 classes

• 3 x Foundation/Gr 1   
• 2 x Gr 2/3
• 2 x Gr 4/5
• 2 x Gr 5/6 

Shortly we will begin the process of planning our class lists for the 2026 school year. Whilst this is a complex and time-consuming task, we are blessed to have such a knowledgeable staff who are aware of student needs and work collaboratively to make professional judgements in relation to class planning and student placement.

When deciding our individual class structures, several factors are considered, which include:

• Student’s social, emotional, academic and physical development
• Student’s cognitive development
• Student relationships
• Smallest class sizes possible
• Family dynamics, eg sibling placement

If your child has a particular need or there is important information that we should be aware of when considering class placement for the 2026 school year, we ask that parents put this information in writing and submit it via email to principal@stjohnskwr.catholic.edu.au  by Friday 7th November.

It is important that requests be submitted each year as individual circumstances change. We will not be referring to requests made from previous years and we do not accommodate requests for particular teachers.

Please note all requests will be considered on merit but there are no guarantees. Any requests received after the above date will not be taken into consideration and once grades have been set there will be no changes.

Students will find out who their 2026 teacher is on Tuesday 16 December, during our ‘Meet the Teacher’ session.

World Teachers Day: This year World Teachers Day (WTD) falls on Friday 31 October. WTD provides an opportunity to celebrate teachers and all school staff within our school for the work they do in educating, inspiring and supporting our children and young people.

Regards 

Chris Dortmans, Principal

Religious Education News

On Monday we participated in ‘Crazy Sock Day’ to raise money for Socktober, an initiative of the Catholic Mission. It was fantastic to see our whole school come together in support of this fundraiser and we saw some very crazy and creative ways of wearing socks! Thank you to families for your donations and support.

This year, the focus of Socktober's fundraising efforts is on Zambia. Socktober is raising funds for communities in Zambia, to help ensure children have access to food and education, giving them the chance to build a brighter future. Our contributions can help children who truly need it to access better health, nutritional and educational outcomes, showcasing the spirit of solidarity that defines our school community.

Over the next few weeks, children will continue learning about the Socktober initiative and how we can live out Jesus’ mission through our service to our community and world.

Last Sunday, 14 students from St John’s started their preparation for the sacrament of Reconciliation. Please remember them in your thoughts and prayers over the month. There will be a Reconciliation workshop for parents and candidates on 30th October at 5:30pm in the Yr5/6 classrooms.

Pray Together

The Resilience Project

One of the most powerful tools for supporting our overall wellbeing and resilience involves building daily habits through small, consistent actions.

Try ‘mood changers’ to support you in creating and maintaining wellbeing habits.

This tool will guide you to reflect on the simple strategies and techniques you can draw on to shift or boost your mood. Once you’ve figured out what works for you, have a visible reminder to make it easier for you to put the strategies into action when you need them most.

Italian Day ~ Tuesday 28 October

In conjunction with the students Italian lessons we will be holding Italian Day on Tuesday 28 October. 
Students are asked to wear the colours of the Italian flag on this day or traditional Italian costume (if you have this). 
Activities for students during the course of the day will include:

• Special  performance
  
• Italian themed photo opportunities
• Pizza & Gelato Lunch orders (pre-order only - orders closed)

St Johns Art Show - Thursday 6 November

Grandparents Day - Friday 7 November

I Sea, I Care Ambassador Program - Lids for Kids & Junior Workshop

Our I Sea, I Care Ambassadors recently ran workshops with the junior students, educating them on different marine life and the importance of protecting our waterways and oceans.

Students were asked lots of questions to gauge their understanding about the information presented and some were even lucky to be chosen to be volunteers. 

I Sea, I Care - Junior Workshop Photos

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Friends of St Johns - Fundraiser

Students have completed their artworks and they are now available to view online, you can then order any of the products below with your child's artwork!

Great for Christmas gifts etc - all orders delivered to school between 28 Nov & 5 Dec. 

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. 

Koo Wee Rup Catholic Parishes in Partnership

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. 

Community News