Principal's Page

'A Welcoming Community Leading the Future of Learning with Faith and Love'

A Message from the Principal

Welcome back to all of our school families, to the 2024 school year. We hope that you are all refreshed and ready to engage in another exciting year ahead. Welcome to all of our new families who are reading the newsletter for the first time. We hope that this will be a great source of information for you all, as you discover the wonderful things happening at St John's and it will be a vital source of communication between school and home. 

It was lovely to welcome everyone back at our First Day morning tea on Thursday. There were a few tears but lots of smiles, from both students and parents, as they waved their students goodbye into their new classes.

It is wonderful to see how everyone has settled in so quickly and there is definitely some great learning happening in all of the classrooms.

Our main theme for the year is Courage, which teachers will be unpacking with their students. It is a characteristic we hope to instill in our school community, in a variety of ways. Bravery has always been one of our learning dispositions, where we encourage students to take risks with their learning, having a go, trying new ways of working and not being afraid to make mistakes. We hope that this is something that you will promote at home also.

It is always exciting to welcome new staff members to our team, as they bring so much experience, knowledge and vitality. Our new class teachers are Rebecca Stuart, Yr 3/4, Cara Woolley, Prep and Joyce Qiu, Yr 5/6. Our new Learning Support Officers are Prue Forer and Louise Farrell, in the year 3/4 area. I hope that you will join me in making them feel very welcome to our school community. It is great to welcome back Emma Pattison, as our new PE teacher. Please keep Clorinda Maio in your thoughts and prayers as she has been involved in a car accident and underwent surgery last week, for a badly broken arm. We anticipate her return within 6 weeks and hope that she has a speedy recovery.

See below for a complete list of all of our staff members and their roles this year.

Staffing for 2024

Daily Schedule and Parking

This year there has been a slight adjustment to our bell times in the morning to ensure that we are keeping to the 38 hour week for our teaching staff, in accordance with the Catholic Education Multi-Enterprise Agreement.

Please note that the gates will open at 8.30am and the music will begin at 8.50am, for students to enter class and start the day with meditation.

All other bell times will remain the same. Classes will finish at 3.20pm.

Please take note of the parking signs at the front of the school and ensure that you are parking safely and within the allocated time frame, throughout the day. The parking inspectors are often visiting the area.

Parent Information Evening - 15 February, 7pm

Next Thursday Evening, 15 February, you are all invited to join us for the Parent Information Evening to learn more about the class routines and expectations and to go through the curriculum overview for the year. 

We will meet at 7.00pm in the McKillop Space, to share some of the new structures, routines and expectations and then you will go to your child's classroom to find out about their timetables, curriculum and expected learning throughout the year. This is a great opportunity to meet other parents in your child's class and to ask any questions you may have.

This Friday, the Term Overviews for each year level, will be emailed to all parents.

Updating Student Medical Data on PAM

Please update your student medical data and personal information in PAM by Wednesday 14 February, as this will be used to inform teachers of your child's needs and requirements. PAM - https://pam.sjmitcham.catholic.edu.au

Smart Watches and Mobile Phones

Students who need to bring a smart watch or mobile phone to school in order to contact their parents at the end of the day, will need to hand these in each day to their class teacher. These will be kept in a locked cupboard and returned to the students at the end of the day. 

We discourage students from bringing these devices to school.

St John's School Social Media

Our Social media promotes many great activities and events that happen at St John's. This year we are hoping to reach 500 followers so please follow us on our socials and share it with your family and friends.

Facebook       Instagram       Twitter            

Sunsmart Policy - "No hat no play"

At St John's we have implemented a Sunsmart Policy for many years. 

This SunSmart policy provides guidelines to:

• Ensure all students and staff are well protected from too much UV exposure by using a combination of sun protection measures during the day
• Ensure the outdoor environment is sun safe and provides shade for students and staff
• Ensure students are encouraged and supported to develop independent sun protection skills to help them be responsible for their own sun protection
• Support appropriate OHS strategies including; wearing hats, playing in the shade, applying sunscreen, etc. to minimise UV risk and associated harms for all

Implementation includes:

• A ‘No hat, No play’ approach during recess times from September to April, with students sitting in the Passive Play area under the shade sails, if they do not have a hat in term 1 and term 4.                                               

Tennis Lessons at School

If your child would be interested in learning tennis at school during lunchtime, please register for a free trial with HEAD COACH: Mike Prosser

BUSINESS HOURS: 0419 350 375         EMAIL: mprosser74@hotmail.com

For more details please see the Community News page.

Joke of the Week

Thank-you all for a great start to the 2024 School Year. I know that it will be a wonderful year for you and your child. I am excited about the year ahead and all of the amazing experiences that we have planned for you.  Don't hesitate to contact me if I can support you and your child in any way.  

Verona Gridley

Principal 

vgridley@sjmitcham.catholic.edu.au