Principal's Report
International Women’s Day
International Women's Day is celebrated around the world on the 8th of March each year as a focal point in the movement for women's rights. The theme this year is titled #ChooseToChallenge calling for individuals to take responsibility for our thoughts and actions and work towards creating a more inclusive world by calling out when we see gender bias and inequality.
We Pray Together :
Women are a reflection of the glory of God.
Today we honour the women of all times and all places:
Women of courage.
Women of hope.
Women suffering
Women mourning.
Women living fully.
Women experiencing joy.
Women delighting in life.
Women knowing the interconnectedness of the human family.
Women honouring the sacredness of the relational, the affective.
Women quietly tending the garden of human flourishing.
Women boldly leading the transformation of unjust global structures.
Women seeking Wisdom.
Women sharing Wisdom.
Women receiving Love.
Women giving Love.
Women: life-giving.
Women: the image of God.
Loving God, we celebrate your faithfulness and love. On this day we commit ourselves to the promotion of the full humanity of all women everywhere. We know that whatever denies, diminishes, or distorts the full humanity of women is not of God.
Help us to be faithful to your call to love.
Amen.
2021 SJRC Aquatics Carnival
After a break in 2020 due to COVID our first major Sporting Carnivals took place last Tuesday at the Doveton Swimming centre. Despite the chilly conditions , students were eager to participate and a strong house spirit was evident with students sporting an array of house colours and leading the House Chants with enthusiasm. I congratulate the individual winners in each age category and look forward to them representing St John’s at the SIS Carnival in term 2. This year Leonis House took out the shield for House Spirit and the overall Champion House was Delphinus. I congratulate their House Captains , House Leaders , Students and Staff for taking out these awards in 2021. I also thank the Sports Co-ordinator Mr Alexander, the PE team and all staff for assisting in the smooth running of our 2021 carnival. It was certainly a good feeling to be able to enjoy our carnival once more.
1st Delphinus - 384
2nd Leonis - 371
3rd Columba - 294
4th Monoceros - 223
5th Aquila - 173
6th Phoenix - 129
House Spirit
1st Leonis
2nd Aquila & Delphinus
3rd Phoenix
4th Columba
5th Monoceros
Student Leadership Dinner
On Wednesday the 24th of February, the student leaders, their families and their leadership mentors gathered to celebrate their investiture and to begin their journey of servant leadership for 2021. They had the opportunity to work with ex-student leaders Kalows Abdalla and Jeremy Nyerenyere from St John’s as they shaped their goals for this year and discussed how the newly formed Student Representative Council would work . It was wonderful for our students to hear from Ms Gabrielle Williams the State Member for Dandenong and the Minister for Women, Minister for Prevention of Family Violence and Minister for Indigenous Affairs who had returned for a second year to attend our Student Leadership Dinner. She spoke about the leadership and resilience our students had shown throughout the lockdowns last year and encouraged our young people to continue to be courageous in the way they lead and to use their voice.
I thank Mr Van Es , Chef Karla , Chef Van Der Laan and the Hospitality team for their preparation on the night and our staff who will act as Leadership Mentors and work closely with our Student Leaders throughout the year.
Gala Soccer Day 2.0
Our Gala Soccer Day has returned after being cancelled in 2020 and will now take place on May 3rd. On this date 226 students from our 9 Primary Schools will play off for the annual Paul Wade Cup. Paul Wade is an ex-student of St John’s and a former Captain of the Australian Socceroos. Paul has accepted our invitation to return to St John’s to present the trophy named after him.
The round robin tournament will be played on our new soccer pitch and will be facilitated by students involved in our Year 9 Soccer Academy Program under the supervision of Mr John Loonstra and our community partner Olympiakos who run a Soccer Identification program at St John’s each weekend.
Staffing News
I advise our community that staff member Mr Madhu Kashyap has resigned from St John’s after 10 Years’ service . Mr Kashyap has been an excellent teacher of Physics , Chemistry , Science and a supportive Learning Mentor in Aquila House. I thank him for his services to St John’s and wish him well on the next stage of his career.
ICT Information Evening
On Monday 1st of March an ICT information evening was conducted for new parents to St John’s. Our ICT Systems leaders Ms Maria Nasioulas and Deputy Principal Dr Janine Biggin introduced our Learning Management System - SEQTA system which provides the curriculum resources for our students along with teacher feedback on assessment and student learning progress. One of the benefits of SEQTA is that parents will have access to information about student progress throughout the semester and will not have to wait till the end of semester reports to have a conversation with their sons and daughters about their learning. In addition to teacher feedback, parents will have access to information on student goal setting and attendance, providing the opportunity for a wide range of timely conversations on learning progress with their children. I thank Ms Nasioulas and Dr Biggin for their professional input and parent assistance on the night.
Opening College Assembly – Available on Facebook
The recording of our opening College Assembly highlighting the investiture of new student leaders and the celebration of our high achievers is now available on our school Facebook page. I thank Media Teacher Mr Paul Boswell and his class of media students for the professional filming and editing of this project.
The Eagle Magazine 2020
I thank staff members Mr Aaron Bailey , Ms Leana Bailey and Mr John Rhynehart for their input into the production of the 2020 school magazine the Eagle. A historic year , which made it all the more important to capture but also a difficult one due to the confines of lockdown. I thank all staff and students who contributed to the Eagle in 2020 and in particular Mr Aaron Bailey for the skillful way that he brought this edition together to tell the story of our community coming together in ways we would never have dreamed of.
Evacuation Drill 24th February
As part of our Emergency Management Protocols, students and staff took part in a practice evacuation drill last week to ensure that all new members of our community are familiar with the procedures and location for an evacuation should it be required. It took approximately 15 minutes to evacuate the entire school population and I congratulate all members of the community for the calm and purposeful way the drill was completed. A second impromptu drill will take place later this year to test our completion of the drill without prior notice or warning.
Primary Principals & Parish Priests Lunch – 26th of February
On Friday the 26th of February the Primary School Principals from St Kevin’s , Resurrection Keysborough , St Marys , St Paul Apostle South , St Paul Apostle North joined with Fr Brian , Fr Brendan and Fr Martin along with staff from St Johns gathered in our Graduates Restaurant to hear about the programs and facilities that St John’s can offer our Primary Schools . As a Regional College , St John’s is owned by the parishes of St Marys , St Paul Apostle, Resurrection Parish, St Anthony’s and St Kevin’s and therefore the educational and community partnerships between our schools is very important in the development of the young people in the Dandenong region. We are excited to see Primary school students accessing a range of programs and facilities at St John’s including science , literacy and our newly completed sports precinct which will play host to the Holy Family and St Paul Apostle North school sports later this term.
Congratulations Aaron Bailey
Staff member Mr Aaron Bailey has been shortlisted for the Zart Art Teachers . This is a wonderful achievement with over 300 entries submitted and the final short list being selected by renowned contemporary artists Del Kathryn Barton and Henry Ward. The National Teacher-Artist Prize 2021 is a national contemporary two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) art prize sponsored by Zart Art. It aims to encourage, recognise and celebrate the visual arts practice of primary and secondary school educators. At the prize exhibition in April, guest judges Del Kathryn Barton and Dr Henry Ward will announce the overall winner plus seven state-based Highly Commended prizes.
You can view the work of all finalists on the following link :
https://www.zartart.com.au/zartstatic/page/national-teacher-artist-prize
St John’s School Tours - Enrolment Applications for 2022 & 2023
Our next open morning will take place on the 18th of March at 9.15am . This is an opportunity for Parents and new families to hear from senior staff and take a tour of the student facilities with our student leaders. Each term we will conduct 2 open mornings with a focus on 2022 & 2023 enrolment information and parents can book a place by contacting our College reception on 9791 3366 or via the try bookings link on our school website. All enquiries are to be directed to our school Registrar Ms Symone Goodwin.
