Principals Update

 Key Events - Term 4

Term 4, Week 1

• Thursday 8th October - Year 3/4 Camp Mill Valley Ranch & Kingston Division Athletics (Selected students). Newsletter
• Friday 9th October - Year 3/4 Camp Mill Valley Ranch

Term 4, Week 2

• Monday 12th October - Fete Meeting at 7pm
• Tuesday 13th October - Kingston Program - Year 6 & Reconciliation Family Evening @ 7pm (Year 2)
• Wednesday 14th October - Volleyball Finals (Selected Year 5/6 students
• Friday 16th October - Wine & Chocolate Drive (Fete). Assembly at 3pm

Term 4, Week 3

• Monday 19th October - Year 3/4 Future Star Boys Hoop time Final (selected students)
• Tuesday 20th October - Kingston Program - Year 6 & Prep Excursions - MOPA
• Friday 23rd October - School Tour at 9.30am. Official Opening of new building and Heart of the School at 2.45pm

Dear SJV Families,

Welcome back to the final school term of the year. I hope you all had the chance to relax and enjoy some downtime during the holidays. The sunshine and warm weather some of the time certainly made for some beautiful days and I hope your children got outside and enjoyed the fresh air. Congratulations to all of the Lions supporters on their team winning another premiership. It certainly was a great win by them.

We have another busy term coming up with a variety of events such as  the Year 3/4 camp, Official opening of the new school building and Heart of the School, Graduation, Reconciliation, school reports, Prep orientation 2027, school fete and Christmas Carols evening, just to name a few. It promises to be another exciting term with many opportunities offered to all of our wonderful students.

This term, we also welcome two news students to the SJV community. Leo will be in 1/2KD and Zac will be in Prep HF. Both have all started the term extremely well and we hope that they enjoy the number of learning experiences that we offer here at SJV.  I am sure that you will all make them feel welcomed. 

Please make sure that you take the time to read the newsletter as there is much happening here at SJV.

Official Opening of Our New School Building and Play Areas 

We are very excited to announce that we will be holding the official opening of our new school building and play areas on Friday, 23 October at 2.45pm.

This will be a wonderful opportunity for our school community to come together and celebrate the completion of these exciting improvements to our school.

Parents and families are more than welcome to attend and join us for this special occasion. More iformation to follow.

 We look forward to celebrating with you!

Supporting Molly – Beanie for Brain Cancer Day 

What a Wonderful Day!

What a fantastic day we had at SJV for our Beanie and Casual Fundraising Day in support of the Mark Hughes Foundation – Beating Brain Cancer!

It was wonderful to see our students and staff arrive in their casual clothes, proudly wearing their beanies and touches of pink. The day was filled with fun, laughter and an incredible sense of community, and it was clear just how much everyone enjoyed being involved.

Our special assembly was a beautiful way to begin the day, with our school community coming together to show our support for Molly, her family and everyone affected by brain cancer.

There was plenty of excitement throughout the day, including the school disco with DJ Rocco, LEGO Club activities, colouring-in competitions and our very popular beanie red carpet, where students proudly showcased their fantastic and creative beanies!

A huge thank you to our School Captains for coming up with this wonderful fundraising initiative and for helping to make the day such a great success. Thank you also to our staff for getting behind the activities and, most importantly, to our students and families for their generosity and enthusiasm.

It was a wonderful example of the care, compassion, kindness and community spirit that makes SJV such a special place to be.

Most importantly, thank you to everyone who contributed to supporting the Mark Hughes Foundation – Beating Brain Cancer. Your generosity will help make a difference.

Please continue to keep Molly and her family in your thoughts and prayers as she continues her treatment and recovery.

What a wonderful day — and so much fun was had by all!

Building and Grounds Update

We are very excited to share that our new basketball court is now complete and is looking fantastic!

The new court has been beautifully resurfaced and line-marked, and we are looking forward to our students making the most of this fantastic new space for sport, play and school activities.

Work is also continuing on our second basketball court, which we expect to be completed and ready for use by next Monday.

Over the School Holidays, Simon Thorne and his team from Dream Landscaping did a wonderful job creating and planting new gardens at the front of the school. The gardens have made a fantastic difference, and the front of the school is looking absolutely amazing!

A very special thank you to Simon and his team for their hard work and for helping to make our school grounds look so welcoming and beautiful.

Works to the oval are not scheduled to commence until December. Further information about the oval works and the anticipated timeline will be shared with families as we get closer to the commencement of these works.

A big thank you to everyone for your patience, understanding and flexibility while these significant works have been undertaken. We are incredibly pleased with the progress and look forward to seeing the final stages completed over the coming months.

School Fete - FRIDAY NOVEMBER 20th @ 3:30pm.

Fete Meeting - Monday the 12th October in the Conference Room at 7pm

Please note the following dates for donations for the fete:

Term 4

• Wine & Chocolate drive - Friday the 16th of October 
• Lucky Jars & Lolly Hunt - Friday the 6th of November

Please refer to the PFA Fete Page for further details.

Summer Uniform

From the start of Term 4 all students can begin to wear their School Summer Uniform. The full transition to Summer Uniform will be by Monday 19th October (Week 3, Term 4).

Please note that as we are a sunsmart school, all students are required to wear their school hats from the first day of Term 4 whilst outside.  There will be a 1 week grace period for this.  

At the start of Week 2, Term 4 all staff will be enforcing the 'no hat, no play' policy.  

School Closure Dates - Term 4

• Monday the 2nd of November - Report Writing Day
• Tuesday 3rd of November - Melbourne Cup Public holiday
• Friday 4th of December - Planning Day 2027
• Tuesday the 15th of December - Term 4 concludes for students at 12pm

Classes for 2027

As we begin the process of planning ahead for 2027 classes, I ask any families who know that they will not be returning to St. John Vianney's in 2027 please inform me as soon as possible. principal@sjvparkdale.catholic.edu.au

Term Letters 

The term letter for your child’s year level was sent via email on Tuesday. It details plans for the term. Please make sure you take the time to read it so you are aware of what is happening in your child’s class.

Prep 2027 Parent Information Evening

We are excitedly preparing to welcome our 2027 Prep families and students for their Orientation program. This program continues to be a highlight of the year, as these children take their first big steps into school life. While some students already have a sibling at SJV, we cannot underestimate how this can still be quite an overwhelming experience as the children transition away from a very small Kinder/Early Learning Centre setting into a significantly larger one. For our new (and not so new) Prep parents, we look forward to welcoming you on Wednesday 28th October at 7.00pm in the MPR. This information evening is a wonderful opportunity to meet new families and teachers who will work with your children.  

Our Prep 2027 Orientation Sessions are as follows:

• Thursday 19th November 9:15am-10:45am

• Wednesday 2nd December 9.15-10.45am

2027 Enrolments 

Our Requests for School Tours continue. Enrolments for Prep 2027 are now open and we encourage all families to submit their applications as soon as possible. If you have a child or you know someone wanting to tour schools for their child, please encourage them to book a school tour by contacting Nicole in our front office. 

Uniform Shop

Our Uniform shop is open every Monday at 3.15pm for sales. If you cant make it at that time, pop into the office and fill in an order form.

Second Hand Uniforms are coordinated by one of our parents, Sahara. Please log on to Brisbane Terrace SJV Secondhand Uniform on Facebook. Sahara will approve you joining the group and you can access second hand sales through this group.

Instagram- We now have an SJV Instagram page on social media. So please make sure you follow and share: @sjv_parkdale

Reminders

• The next school assembly will be on Friday 16th of October in the MPR at 3pm

• Dogs - Please note that for the safety and wellbeing of all members of our community, no dogs are permitted inside the school grounds and they must not be left unattended tied up at the gates. Adult supervision and holding of the leash is so important around vulnerable places such as schools.  We love dogs but we do have to take care of all members of our community.

• Bikes and Scooters - Please walk bikes and scooters when moving through the school grounds.

• Punctuality - It is expected that all students are to be at school by no later than 8.45am and not any time up to 9am. From 8.45am to 9am is crucial for students to get themselves organised, start the day with Meditation, prayer, take the roll and ready to commence their day promptly. Formal lessons begin at 9am. Any child who arrives at or after 9am is to be signed in at the office by a parent/guardian. I ask all parents to make sure that you adhere to these times.

Regards

Mick Schinck

Principal