Key Dates & Reminders
IMPORTANT DATES
Below is a list of some of the main dates on the school calendar for the coming few months:
March Dates
Tuesday 4th March - School Advisory Council
Wednesday 5th March - No school for Preps
Wednesday 5th March - Ash Wednesday
Monday 10th March - Labour Day PUBLIC HOLIDAY NO SCHOOL
Tuesday 11th March - School Closure for Staff Professional Development NO SCHOOL
Wednesday 12th March - NAPLAN Commences
Thursday 13th March – Sacrament of Reconciliation Parent Meeting @ 7pm School Hall
Friday 14th March - 12:30 FINISH FOR STUDENTS to prepare for Anniversary Celebrations
Friday 14th March - St John’s 10 Year Anniversary Celebrations 4:00pm - 8:00pm
Thursday 20th March - School Photo Day 1
Thursday 20th March - Sacrament of Reconciliation @ 7pm in the School Hall
Friday 21st March - School Photo Day 2
Friday 21st March - National Ride2School Day
Saturday 22nd March - Community Mass @ St John’s Hall
Wednesday 26th March - School Mass
Thursday 27th March - 12:30 FINISH FOR STUDENTS due to Parent Teacher Interviews
April Dates
Tuesday 1st April - Parent Teacher Interviews after school
Friday 4th April - End of Term 1 12:30 FINISH FOR STUDENTS
Sunday 20th April - Easter Sunday
Monday 21st April - Easter Monday PUBLIC HOLIDAY NO SCHOOL
Tuesday 22nd April - Term 2 Commences
Friday 25th April - ANZAC Day PUBLIC HOLIDAY NO SCHOOL
REMINDER NO SCHOOL NEXT MONDAY & TUESDAY
A reminder to families that the school will be closed next Monday 10th March for the Labour Day Public Holiday and Tuesday 11th March for our scheduled School Closure for Staff Professional Development.
SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION PRACTISE & INFORMATION EVENING
Baptised Catholic students in Year 3 are invited to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation this year. A reminder that we will be holding an important Practise Session & Information Evening in the School Hall next week on Thursday 13th March at 7:00pm. At this meeting students will practise the process of going to Confession and parents will receive information required for the celebration of the Sacrament on Thursday 20th March. A reminder that we require all students to attend this meeting with one parent. We look forward to working with you and thank you once again for your continued support.
EARLY FINISH FRIDAY 14TH MARCH
A reminder to families that next week on Friday 14th March, students will FINISH EARLY @ 12:30 in order to prepare the school for Anniversary Celebrations that commence at 4:00pm. This early finish allows us to set up the stage and for the trucks transporting the carnival rides to safely enter the school grounds. We look forward to seeing all our families throughout the evening.
NATIONAL RIDE2SCHOOL DAY
On Friday 21st March, students all around Australia are encouraged to ride to school. This is a particularly important day for us at St John’s because we are in the unique position of having a Bike Ed Program here at school. Join more than 350,000 students across the nation who will be riding, walking, scooting or skating to school on this day.
SCHOOL ADVISORY COUNCIL
The St John’s School Advisory Council was established in 2022. The role of this group is to support the Principal, Parish Priest and leadership team of the school. Thanks once again to our Advisory Council members for their ongoing commitment to our school community.
The members of the council give voice to the parent body in advising the principal about important matters related to the ongoing education of the students. Below are our current council members:
Chairperson - Adrian Smith
Parent Representative - Melissa Campbell-Matulich
Staff Representative - Carolyn Dillon
Parish Representative - Ruth Avena
Secretary - Michelle Dobai
Principal - Simon Dundon
Parish Priest - Fr Albert Yogarajah
The Advisory Council will meet six times over the year. Our first meeting for 2025 is TONIGHT @ 7:00 pm here at school.
Below are the scheduled meeting dates for the year:
Tuesday 4th March at 7:00pm
Tuesday 29th April at 7:00pm
Tuesday 27th May at 7:00pm
Tuesday 29th July at 7:00pm
Tuesday 26th August at 7:00pm
Tuesday 21st October at 7:00pm
2025 SCHOOL CLOSURE DATES
All Catholic Primary Schools within the Archdiocese of Melbourne have school closure days each term for staff to attend professional development. A reminder that our first school closure day of the year is next week Tuesday 11th March and abuts the Labour Day Long Weekend. Please see the table below for this year’s scheduled School Closure dates:
FINAL PREP REST DAY
Tomorrow, Wednesday 5th March is the final rest day for our Preps. We thank families for working with us to accommodate these rest days. The transition to school involves an enormous amount of new learning for children and these rest days are very valuable in helping the students to adapt successfully to full time school life.
10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS
This year sees our school mark its 10 Year Anniversary. On Friday 14th March we will be celebrating this milestone from 4:00pm - 8:00pm here at St John’s. Students will finish early on this day to enable us to safely construct a stage, set up the lighting and sound systems and ensure our carnival rides can be set up ready to start when our gates open at 4:00pm.
10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY RAFFLES
We are thrilled to announce our upcoming school raffles, which will be an exciting part of our 10 Year Anniversary Celebration. We will be creating themed Prize Baskets that will be raffled off during the celebration on Friday 14th March. Families are invited to donate items for the raffle and to please ensure all donations are BRAND NEW not second hand. Below is a list of what your child’s class is being asked to bring:
Prep: Sweet Treats Theme
Suggested items: Packet of lollies, chocolate box, lollipops, biscuits/cookies etc
Year 1: Girls Theme
Suggested items: Hair/self care products, scarfs, small bags etc
Year 2: Cooking and Baking Theme
Suggested items: Muffin/cake mix, utensils, apron etc
Year 3 (Ms Burston & Mrs Webb’s class): Easter Eggs Theme
Suggested items: Chocolate eggs, Easter Bunny ears etc
Year 3 & 4 (Mrs D'Souza & Mr Trigg’s class): Arts and Craft Theme
Suggested items: Paint packet, pencils, texters, drawing books etc
Year 4 (Ms Bongetti & Ms Lawson’s class): Sports Theme
Suggested items: Balls, bats, sport socks, caps etc
Year 5: Boys Theme
Suggested items: Hot Wheels car, Lego, beanie or cap etc
Year 6: Summer Beach Theme
Suggested items: beach ball, cricket set, sunscreen, beach towel etc
Please note that these are just suggestions, and any new items related to the theme will be gratefully accepted! If you are able to donate, please bring your contributions to the school by the 7th of March.
Your contributions will also provide your child with the opportunity to win a small prize for their entire class, all children who donate will go into a draw to win this prize. Thank you for being a valued part of our school community. We truly appreciate your generosity in supporting this important fundraiser. We can’t wait to see the wonderful raffle baskets filled with creativity and excitement!
PRE-ORDER WRISTBANDS FOR RIDES
As part of our 10 Year Celebration on the 14th of March 2025, we will be having Carnival Rides. These rides have been specially selected and are suitable for primary-age children. Our rides are:
The Cha Cha, Action Racer Slide and a Chair-O-Plane.
Wristbands will be available for pre-purchase which will entitle children to unlimited rides on the day. Pre-ordered wristbands will be $30 or you can purchase one on the day for $35.
Single ride purchases will also be available on the day.
Prices for single rides are:
$10 - Cha Cha
$7 - Action Racer Slide
$7 - Chair-O-Plane
To order your $30 unlimited ride wristband please contact the office, rather than sending your child to school with large amounts of cash. EFTPOS Purchases can be made over the phone. Ride wristbands are to be collected at the celebration and will not be handed out prior to the event.