Learning and Teaching 

Digital Technolgy News

We have two very exciting things coming up at the end of Term 3. The first of which is our STEM Challenge Day! The juniors, middle and senior grades each have an age appropriate challenge to work through with their peers on Tuesday, 15th September. Please see the flyer below to see how you can help us prepare!

St John's STEM Challenge Day - 15 Sept

eSmart  Live Family Storytime 15 September 7pm

The second event is from the team at eSmart. These are the brains behind the Alannah and Madeline Foundation and they have prepared a family storytime to help families learn about safe sharing online. This also takes place on Tuesday 15th September at 7:00pm online. It goes for 30 minutes and is suitable for ages 4-12 years. Please scan the QR code on the flyer below to save your spot!

Tournament of Minds Congratulations

On Saturday the 15th August, a talented group of St John’s students travelled to Deakin University to compete against 22 other schools in the Tournament of Minds (TOM) and they WON!

Tournament of Minds is a problem solving program for teams of students from both primary and secondary years. The tournament's aim is to enhance the potential of our youth by developing diverse skills, enterprise, time management, and the discipline to work collaboratively within a challenging and competitive environment.

Our team this year consists of Isaac, Lola, George, Vespa, Isla V, Annabelle H and Charlotte. They presented in the Language and Literature section of the competition and we are incredibly proud of the way they have worked so hard together to produce an amazing presentation titled Reel to Radio: The Ultimate Audio Drama.

Tournament of Minds Reflection

We interviewed Lola and Isla from the team about how they went with their performance. 

“Our challenge was that because of the social media age limit, kids have turned back to the golden age of entertainment - radio plays!” says Lola. “So we had to create a radio drama that would be entertaining for today’s youth and replace social media’s short-form nature with the magic of storytelling.” 

“The performance was allowed to go for a maximum of ten minutes and we had to make sure there were always 4 team members in the 3metre by 3metre performance square at all times.” Isla adds. “Everyone had to have a role in our performance, and we had to make sure that we all agreed and got along.”

“We had about five weeks to prepare and respond to the challenge, make props, write scripts and create our podcast.” Lola explains. “We decided to name it ‘Gather Round the Bonfire’ and it tells the story of a young boy called Orion, who was stuck on a satellite after the evil sorceress Zalina created a deadly disease that spread throughout the galaxy. He lived with the last surviving group of humans, including Nova, his alien bestie. All goes well until Zalina discovers the satellite and invades it! It turned out that Zyra, a fellow human, had tipped them off. Orion and Nova escaped on a pod and soon after they realised that they had to stopped the disease spreading, as they went on an epic journey to find a cure.”

“Sadly,” says Isla. “We could only make and present the first 3 episodes of our podcast, which had to be two minutes or less, so we wrote a storyboard illustrating what would have happened next.” 

“Leading up to the performance, things started to get a little bit out of hand, as we were falling behind and getting distracted. A few days before, we had to perform in front of the other Year 5/6 students, and afterward we got their feedback. We used this feedback in the performance at Deakin University.”

“We all felt pretty good about the upcoming trip to Deakin.” Lola adds.

“In the end, we thought it went really well, not realising that in the next week, we would find out that we had come 1st place and made it to the state finals back at Deakin!” Says Isla. “None of us could BELIEVE IT!"

"Next, we get to be locked in a room for 3 hours straight and solve a challenge in that time. We don’t know what it is until we get there.”

“If we win, we go to the international championships to verse against Hong Kong, New Zealand and Indonesia!” Isla adds. “Even if we don’t make it, we still broke a St. John’s record so, we are pretty happy with that!”

Ange - Learning Enhancement

acrowe@sjmitcham.catholic.edu.au

Year 5 Fishing Kits

This week our Year 5 students will receive a new fishing kit. The Victorian Government is committed to increasing the number and diversity of people fishing and enjoying Victoria’s local seafood, growing healthy and sustainable fisheries sectors and contributing to Victoria’s social and economic prosperity. This is why the Victorian Government distributed 95,000 Little Angler kits to primary aged students in 2023/24, via the Victorian Fisheries Authority, as part of a $1.5M election commitment, funded via the sale of Victorian recreational fishing licences, i.e. funded by recreational fishers.

The aim of this election commitment was to continue to grow recreational fishing participation in Victoria, by actively encouraging primary school aged children to learn more about the art of fishing, marine life and the natural environment. Encouraging children to be outside and active aligns with whole of Victorian Government initiatives underway to optimise health, wellbeing, connectedness and inclusiveness in Victoria.

Following the successful implementation of the commitment, the Victorian Government will run the program again in 2026, via the Victorian Fisheries Authority, offering 82,500 Little Angler kits to primary school children in 2026.

The FREE kits provide a wonderful school holiday activity for children with their families and help ease the cost of living, providing a fun activity close to home.

Grade 5 students at all Victorian schools, including ours, will be offered the opportunity to receive a FREE Little Angler Kit. Grade 5 students have been selected based on the Victorian Curriculum focus, movement and motor development, and safety considerations.

The program is entirely voluntary. Schools were provided with the option to opt out of the program. Our school has opted to stay in the program so that parents can decide whether they want their child(ren) to receive a fishing kit.

Opt out

Parents of Grade 5 students can advise the school if they do not wish their child(ren) to participate for any reason whatsoever. We support parents in making decisions that align with their family values and beliefs.

Receiving kits

The roll out of kits will occur in August 2026 so that all participating children will have a kit in time for the September school holidays.

The kits include a rod, reel with line, tackle tray, some tackle (including fishing hooks and lead-free sinkers) and information on how to use them to catch a fish. The tackle tray will be wrapped in cardboard and placed inside a pocket inside the fishing kit bag, which will be sealed with a cable tie to discourage students from opening their kits until they are with a parent or carer. The kits will also have a safety label attached to the outside of the kit bag, recommending that students wait to open the kits until they are under the care and supervision of an adult.

Kits will be handed out to students to take home with them when the school receives them. Teachers will tell students not to open the kits until they are safely at home with a parent or carer, however parents can contact the school and request to collect their kit from the school themselves if they prefer.

More information

For instructional videos and online resources about where and how to fish, visit the Little Angler hub.

St John's Art Show