St Johns Newsletter - 7 May 2025

Principals Report

Firstly, let me wish all mothers, grandmothers, and mother figures a very happy day for this Sunday. May those little rays of sunshine – your children – bring you great joy for the day, and for every other day of the year!  Please remember our special breakfast and liturgy this Friday morning, it is a wonderful way to celebrate as a community. Thank you to Di for coordinating the breakfast, and Alycia for the liturgy.

Inform and Empower: During May the students will take part in their second 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.

Congratulations to Wood (Yellow) House on winning this year’s House Cross Country.  The Foundation children ran 250 metres, Yr 1 & 2 ran 500 metres, Yr 3 & 4 ran 3 km and our Yr 5 & 6 ran 6 kms. You should all be proud of how well your children did. A squad from Yr 3 to 6 will represent our school next week at District Cross Country. 

Sacrament of Confirmation: This week, 13 of our Yr 6 students commenced their preparation for the Sacrament of Confirmation. This sacrament completes the rite of Baptism and deepens the student’s faith and connection to the Church. Bishop Greg will Confirm all candidates from our 3 parish schools here at St John’s on Wednesday 4 June at 5pm.

Catholic Education Week: Catholic Schools in the Diocese of Sale will celebrate Catholic Education Week from Friday 16 May to Friday 23 May 2025.

This year’s theme is Pilgrims of Hope to coincide with the Jubilee Year of Hope in 2025.

Catholic Education Week is a highlight of the year for our diocese, as schools and parish communities come together to celebrate our Catholic identity and unique mission. 

To celebrate Catholic Education Week, the three schools within our Parish will be holding Combined Masses at 10am on each of the following days:

Thursday May 22 - St John’s, Koo Wee Rup to host Years 3 to 6 

Friday May 23 - St James, Nar Nar Goon to host Foundation to Year 2 

Parents and parishioners are welcome to attend.

Regards

Chris Dortmans, Principal

About the Jubilee Year 2025 - Pilgrims of Hope

 Pope Francis has declared a Jubilee Year of Hope in 2025. 

A Jubilee is a special year of grace and conversion, involving prayer, pilgrimage and sacramental repentance, held every 25 years, or during other years as called for by the Pope. Through a series of concrete rituals, acts and commitments, the goal of a Jubilee year is to inspire and encourage holiness of life among the faithful and therefore to strengthen the Church’s witness to God’s loving mercy in and for the world.The word “jubilee” is derived from the Hebrew word jobel, which means “ram’s horn”; since it was precisely that horn which was used as a trumpet, whose sound indicated to everybody the beginning of the jubilee year.  The book of Leviticus, in the code of holiness, is the source which tells us of the significance of the jubilee year, a year of liberation “par excellence,” which is at the end of seven weeks of years, the fiftieth year.

Religious Education News

This term students are exploring the topic of ‘Celebrations’ and how they are an important part of our faith and community life. Celebrations help us mark special moments, give thanks, and become closer to God and one another. Mother’s Day is a celebration where we honour and show appreciation for the love, care, and dedication of mothers and mother figures. In our Catholic faith, we also look to Mary, the mother of Jesus, as a special role model. Mary showed great faith and trust in God, and her gentle strength and loving care continues to inspire us today. She is honoured as the Mother of the Church and reminds us of the deep love that God has for each of us.

To mark this special celebration, we warmly invite all families to join us for our Mother’s Day Liturgy on Friday at 9:15am. This will be a time of prayer and reflection where we come together as a school community to give thanks to God for the gift of mothers. We hope to see you there.

Alycia Matthews, Religious Education Leader

Upcoming Dates

9/5: Mother’s Day Liturgy @9:15am 

15/5: Confirmation Workshop @5:30pm (for Confirmation Candidates and their parents)

Pray Together

Mother's Day Stall - Thurs 8 May & Raffle

Mother's Day Breakfast & Liturgy - Fri 9 May

The Resilience Project - Parent Hub & TRP@Home

TRP@Home - Scan the QR code below to access

Upcoming Events

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

Camps, Sport & Excursions Fund (CSEF) & 2025 School Savings Bonus (SSB)

Camps, Sports & Excursions Fund (CESF)

The Camps, Sports & Excursions Fund has been introduced by the State Government to assist eligible families to cover the costs of school trips, camps and sporting activities.

The 2025 CSEF amount will be $154 per primary school student.

To be eligible for the fund you must be:

• A parent or legal guardian of a student enrolled at a registered Victorian school on the first day of Term two or the first day of Term Three; and
• Hold a valid means-tested concession card or be a temporary foster parent.

Application forms are available from the school office or may be downloaded via the link below
and should be lodged with the school by 22 June 2015.

2025 School Savings Bonus

The School Savings Bonus is a State Government initiative designed to assist families with cost-of-living pressures. Under this funding, each eligible student is entitled to a $400 bonus for application towards activity levies and uniform purchases from approved supplier. Within our school, all CSEF applicants are eligible to receive this funding. All families who have a Centrelink Health Care Card and have not applied for CSEF in the past are encouraged to contact the school office and initiate an application this year. Please refer to the below link for more information:

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 below: 

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