General Information

YEAR 3-6 ATHLETICS CARNIVAL

Last week on Monday 24th February our Year 3 - 6 students travelled by bus to the Vic Uni Athletics Track in Hoppers Crossing.  The students are to be commended for the way they embraced the day and had a go at all the different events on offer.  The results from today help Mr. Geisler select students who qualify for the District Athletics Competition held in August.  As you can see from the pictures a great day was had by all!  

SWIMMING CONGRATULATIONS

Congratulations to Nina who competed at the recent District Swimming carnival. Nina won both of her events and progressed through to the Division finals on 6th of March. Congratulations Nina and good luck.  

SHROVE TUESDAY

Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Day is the day before Ash Wednesday.  The word ‘Shrove’ comes from the old word 'shriving', which means to listen to someone's sins and forgive them. On this day traditionally Christians would go to confession in preparation for Easter.  The tradition of eating Pancakes comes from people using their leftover eggs, milk and sugar in preparation for the fasting element of Lent.  Warm Pancakes were delivered to everyone in the school today.  Thanks especially to the Year 6 students who prepared and delivered this treat under the guidance of Ms Paula.

NAPLAN SCHEDULE

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is an assessment that all Australian students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 sit each year.  This year NAPLAN will be completed during March.  Students complete the assessments at school, with all of the tasks being done online, except for the Year 3s Writing Task which is completed on paper.  Below are the dates when students will be completing their four NAPLAN Assessments:

Wednesday, 12th March - Writing (Year 3 & 5)

Thursday, 13th March - Reading (Year 3 & 5)

Monday 17th March - Language Conventions (Year 3 & 5)

Tuesday, 18th March - Numeracy (Year 3 & 5)

Wednesday, 19th March - Thursday, 20th March (Catch Up Tests)

Teachers are often asked by parents how they can best prepare their child for these assessments.  In class the Year 3s and 5s are completing activities which provide the students with opportunities to practise reading and completing tasks similar to those they will encounter on their NAPLAN Tests.  We know that students perform best when they are well rested, have eaten breakfast and do not feel under undue pressure.  If you find your child is becoming anxious about the assessments, reassure them that they are a very small part of each day and that the teachers will be there to help them feel calm.

THOMAS CARR FLYER FOR YEAR 7 2027 & 2028 

Thomas Carr will be holding an Information Session and Tour on Tuesday 18 March 2025 starting 4.30pm.  Any Year 5 Parents interested in enrolling their child in Thomas Carr for Year 7 2027 are invited to register online 

FLOURISHING LEARNERS STAFF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 

St John’s is now in the second year of our involvement in the curriculum project Flourishing Learners, which is offered to Catholic Schools in our region.  Through Flourishing Learners, schools are encouraged to use evidence-based teaching resources and high impact teaching strategies.  The program also strongly recommends the regular use of assessment data to identify starting points for student learning, to drive teaching and to monitor student growth.

At St John’s we were well placed to join the Flourishing Learners Project due to our Junior Literacy Program (InitiaLit) and our use of whole school assessment tools from the PAT Assessment Suite. Our next scheduled Teacher Professional Development session is Tuesday 11th March, which will be a SCHOOL CLOSURE DAY.  

PROJECT COMPASSION

Spanning across the six weeks of Lent each year, Project Compassion brings thousands of Australian schools, parishes and supporters together to raise funds for Caritas, our Catholic Aid Agency. These much-needed funds help alleviate poverty, promote justice and uphold dignity in the most vulnerable and marginalised communities in the world.  Each class has their own Project Compassion Box, where students can put their donations.  This is a terrific opportunity for children to use some of their pocket money to give to others in the world who are in need of some support.

ONLINE SAFETY  

In 2025 students will take part once again in Inform & Empower’s Cyber Safety & Digital Wellbeing Program. Students participate in engaging and interactive live-streamed incursions each term. Developed by qualified teachers, these incursions are designed to help create safer and more positive online experiences for our students.

These Sessions will focus on:

• Healthy Digital Habits
• Critical Thinking
• Digital Citizenship
• Cyberbullying
• Digital Literacy
• Safety & Security
• Consent
• Upstanders

Below is a link to a short video introducing the team at Inform & Empower:

As part of our partnership with the Inform and Empower team, parents can access Tip Sheets.  We strongly recommend families have a look at these as they can be a great springboard to important discussions you can have with your child.  Below are links to the Parent Tip Sheets:

ASSEMBLY LIVE STREAMS

Each Friday the students gather for a whole school assembly in the Hall.  This event is usually streamed to our Vimeo channel.  Families can view assembly by clicking on the link which is emailed via email using your Operoo profile. The email only goes to those parents who have ‘“receive correspondence” checked in their settings.

Parents are welcome to join us in person each Friday afternoon at 2:30pm in the hall. Space is limited so you may find that there is standing room only. Please enter via the school office if you wish to join us.

CHILD SAFETY - ONLINE SAFETY PARENT HUB

As part of our ongoing commitment to child safety, we have an Online Safety Parent Hub. The Parent Hub provides a wealth of online safety resources such as; digital parenting guides, app reviews and articles.  These are developed by a team of leading digital safety and wellbeing experts. Plus, families have access to free parental control tools to help keep children safe while using their personal devices.  Content on the hub is constantly updated and added to, so parents should try to get into the habit of visiting this regularly especially as new online social media platforms and games are released.

To access the Online Parent Hub, simply go to the Student Wellbeing Tab at the top of our School Website and click on the Online Safety Parent Hub.  The bottom of this page is where you enter the Hub.

LUNCH ORDERS

Students are able to place lunch orders for Mondays and Fridays through TK Tuckshop, who have a range of over 40 options priced from just $5.50. All of their meals come in packs with a selection of one or more snacks and drinks.  Download the app pictured above to view the full menu and place your order.