Learning 

Learning & Teaching

Community Project:

As part of our Term 4 Whole Group Project, If the Land Could Speak, our Prep Hub and One Hub children will embark on excursions this week. Our Prep children will use the lens of Geography to explore the natural landscapes of Williamstown Beach.  Our children in One Hub are going on a short walk to the West Footscray Library. They will use the Field Study Process to investigate their connection to our local place of Footscray. We look forward to hearing all about their discoveries!

Our 3 to 6 children have begun their discovery into Geography by looking at our land and our planet and the impacts of climate change.  This can be a sensitive issue that will be explored through the Field Study Process considering multiple perspectives and innovative solutions.

Seesaw:

This term we are grateful to be able to share with  you snapshots of learning each week from our learning hubs.  You will see posts of your children engaging in target groups, discovery, projects, and collaborative tasks.  We love to see feedback through the commenting function and lots of likes! 

Daniela De Luca & Lauren Davis

(Literacy Leader and Numeracy Leader)

ddeluca@sjfootscray.catholic.edu.au 

ldavis@sjfootscray.catholic.edu.au 

Wellbeing

‘Collaboration’ has really been a buzzword around St. John’s the past couple of weeks. Students have been exploring how we work with others, negotiate and positively contribute to teams and groups. Our younger children have been practising these skills, transferring them into Discovery.  

This week, our Final Year students (Grade 6) participated in a ‘Transition to High School’ day. The day was planned around developing skills and addressing ‘worries’ that the students had raised around moving into high school. We were lucky enough to have Ceci Tankey (psychologist) come and speak with the children, offering tips and tricks for navigating relationships in high school, bullies and celebrating difference and self. We thank Ceci for generously sharing her time and expertise. Students also participated in workshops to further develop organisation skills, reading timetables, making friends with new people, conversational skills and identifying their personal character strengths. Students were also able to speak with staff from Caroline Chisholm Catholic College who gave an insight into life and learning at high school and answered questions from our students. We are currently gathering feedback from our students on what they enjoyed and found useful from this day to help us in future transition planning.

Ashlee Owen

(Wellbeing Leader)

aowen@sjfootscray.catholic.edu.au

Faith

I’d like to wish everyone a happy first week of Advent here at St John’s. As we enter into a new liturgical calendar on the 28th of November, we are reminded to reflect on the previous year, and look forward with hope and optimism, as we prepare and anticipate the coming of Jesus. 

This Friday, our 5/6 hub will be leading the first of four liturgies to mark the beginning of Advent. Weather permitting, families of the 5/6 hub are invited to come and watch the liturgy in Joan’s yard. However, if it is scheduled to rain, we will need to move the liturgy into the hall, which will unfortunately mean families will not be able to attend (due to density limits), and instead a recording of the liturgy will be uploaded to Seesaw. Mitch will notify families via Seesaw on the day. 

The schedule for the remaining Advent liturgies are as follows:

• Friday 26th November: 1/2 Hub hosting ‘Love’ liturgy
• Friday 3rd December: Prep Hub hosting ‘Joy’ liturgy
• Friday 10th December: 3/4 Hub hosting ‘Peace’ liturgy

Sacrament of Eucharist:

We are delighted to announce that on the 12th of December, 13 of our St John’s candidates will be receiving their First Communion, as they celebrate the Sacrament of Eucharist. Our children will be engaged in a family faith evening to prepare them for their very special day. Please keep the following students in your prayers for well wishes: 

• Bosco Ngaou
• Angus Fowlie
• Manoj Atmakuri
• Violet Zabala
• Baydah Tankey
• Ethan Tang
• Maliko Ssemaganda Mulindwa
• Audrey McNamara-King
• Aaron Joseph Albert
• Wren Jaworski
• Liam Guye
• Harriet Cassar

Mitch Hayes

(Faith/REL Leader)

mitch.hayes@sjfootscray.catholic.edu.au

Woiwurrung Word of the Week

St Johns has purchased the Woiwurrung Language Resource for the Early Years.

Woiwurrung language was traditionally spoken and is being reclaimed today by the Wurundjeri people, who inhabited the land along the Yarra and Maribyrnong rivers.

The Woiwurrung Language Cards have been produced by the Wurun Child and Family Place and Yarra Ranges Council with permission from key Wurundjeri Elders.

Acknowledging and celebrating Aboriginal culture and its connection to spirituality and language, family and kinship, land, country and community is important in protecting and developing inclusion and equity. Language in particular is recognised as a precious part of cultural strength and pride.

Each newsletter we will share with you a new Woiwurrung word of the week, we hope that this will provide you with a chance to read, speak, and talk about it with your family.