A message from Emily

Dear parents and carers,

On Tuesday night the children from St John's, Christ the King Primary School and Holy Family Parish, who are preparing for the Sacrament of Eucharist, gathered with their parents at Our Lady's hall for a family faith night. Children heard stories from their parents about their own experience of receiving the communion for the first time and the process of transubstantiation. As the children continue to prepare for we keep them in our prayers.

Lord Jesus, 

As our children embark on this beautiful journey towards receiving the Sacrament of the Eucharist, we ask for Your blessing. 

Guide them as they deepen their understanding of Your love and sacrifice. May their hearts be filled with anticipation and wonder as they prepare to encounter You in a new and profound way. 

Strengthen their faith as they learn about the Mass and Your presence within it. We pray that they will open their hearts to receive Your grace and grow in holiness. Be with them always, Lord, and lead them closer to You. 

Amen.

Last week I joined the 5/6 Hub on camp in Anglesea. I arrived to blue skies and the children having a wonderful time. Children came up to me sharing what they had been up too and what they were loving about camp so far. The chicken and rice for dinner the previous night was a big hit with staff and children. By the end of the second day, all were feeling tired from the day of adventure and as children then staff headed off to bed, it was all quiet and everyone asleep as I did my final rounds at 10:30pm. Unlike Tuesday morning, there was no one up at 5am so Amy took great delight in waking the children at 6:45am for a 7:15am breakfast. I cannot emphasise how amazing all the children were while on camp. They showed bravery and risk taking when giving things a go that were completely out of their comfort zone; they interacted and had fun together and the camp staff commented on what a great group of children they were. This was something the St John's staff also agreed with and I witnessed myself. It made the experience one of joy for everyone. The crisp but sunny blue skies also contributed to the high spirits.

Last Thursday the School Advisory Council (SAC) met for Term 3. Key agenda items were Prep 2025 enrolments, recent professional learning opportunities staff had been a part of, the upcoming school review and NAPLAN 2024 results. The SAC team identified the Reading and Writing results were very positive for both Year 3 and Year 5. However it was noted that Numeracy, especially Year 3, showed a wider spread of ability. Spelling was identified as a potential focus area for future improvement.  We talked about the things the school had implemented over the last couple of years and what our initial thinking for future improvements could be based on the professional learning that leaders have been a part of recently, notably the Science of Reading with Professor Lorraine Hammond and the MACS Vision For Instruction Network. 

Once we have completed our cycle of school improvement through the review process, I look forward to sharing the St John's strategic plan for 2025 - 2028. One final agenda item for the meeting was putting to the SAC team that their 3 years of commitment was coming to an end. We were in agreement that we don't want a whole new team but gave the option for any members who were wanting to step down at the end of 2024. It was also decided that I would put a call out for expressions of interest from the parent community to indicate if they would like to apply to be a part of this team in 2025. I have attached two key documents below for interested parents to read when considering the commitment and purpose of the SAC. Click here to access all the policies connected to SAC. Applications and the induction process become an item for our agenda when we meet next term. Please email me  econroy@sjfootscray.catholic.edu.au your expression of interest and I will provide further information before Friday 6th September.

St John's School Review is fast approaching. Kylie Graham is our external reviewer and will be onsite Monday 26th August to review our VRQA and Child Safety Standards to ensure we are compliant as a school. Kylie will then return on 28th and 29th August to conduct two days of School Review focus group meetings. It is during this time that she will meet with staff, children, SAC, Fr Gerald and a parent representative group. I am calling for interested parents who would be available on Wednesday 28th August at 2:10pm to be a part of a group (6-8 people) for a 40-minute focus group meeting with Kylie. There is no preparation needed. Kylie will have a range of questions that she will put to the group to respond to about our school. If you are interested and are available to come to school at this time please email me before Friday 16th August -  econroy@sjfootscray.catholic.edu.au. I will respond to interested parties on Friday 16th August to confirm.

Next Community Conversation : Reporting, Wednesday 4th September at 5:30pm

This will be an opportunity to hear from leaders but also share input in what reporting to parents could look like moving forward in 2025. If you are unable to make this session in person there will be a survey share to the community to capture a range of parent voice. A similar process will be conducted with staff. This will then be documented and presented to SAC in Term 4 before being shared with the school community.

Warm regards

Emily