Dear St John's Community,

It has been a very positive start to the school year with a large number of new students joining us across all the levels in the school. I have been joking with a number of the students about how Santa must have given them Christmas cookies to make them grow! For some reason, it seems more noticeable than ever the children have shot up over the Christmas break!

Our lovely bunch of preps have hit the ground running and seem also to be settling into their first few days of school as well.

Just to keep everyone in the loop, we have had some technical issues over the holidays related to the ICON (Integrated Catholic Online Network) which has resulted in some headaches with school lists, rolls and getting some students and staff on the system but we are working through those with MACS (Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools) to try and get them resolved as fast as possible.

We are also further behind in the grounds maintenance around the school than I would have liked but this is due to circumstances that were beyond our control over the break and we are now working to catch up.

Beyond all that, its been a good start to the year and I am really pleased at the excited buzz across the student and staff in the school and even to the parents I've been chatting with over the last few days.

I've got quite a bit to cover today so let's get into it.

A Prayer to start the year

This prayer was sent to me from a past student so I thought I'd share it with you so you can share it with your children.

Lord Jesus,

I ask for Your help as I begin this new school year.

Allow me to experience Your presence in the many blessings You put before me.

Open my eyes to the new challenges and exciting opportunities that this new school year brings.

Open my heart and mind to new friends and new teachers.

Give me a generous spirit to be enthusiastic with my studies and the courage to accept new opportunities.

Help me to be attentive to my teachers and let me experience Your presence in my new friends.

Jesus, inspire me to do my best this year! Amen

Medication & Medical Plans

A lot has changed in recent months with how schools can administer medication. Some of the key things parents need to be aware of are:

We can no longer have on hand over-the-counter medication such as panadol, telfast, etc for students. To provide this for your child, parents/guardians now need to complete a Medical Authority Form which is signed by a doctor or pharmacist (unless in exceptional circumstances).

A medical Authority Form from a parent/guardian signed by a treating doctor or pharmacist is now required for any and all medication to be dispensed at school.

Updated Medical Authority Forms will be available from the office by Monday.

Being the start of the new year I just want to remind parents to remember to update any medical plans for the school as necessary, e.g. anaphylaxis, asthma, etc.

Please make contact with the office as soon as you have these to ensure we have the latest medical plan information at our fingertips.

Family Movie Night

I'm also very excited to announce the date for this year's Family Movie Night! Check out the flyer above! Tickets on sale soon! Save the date!

Parent Teacher Meetings

Notifications went out yesterday regarding these meetings. We have made them earlier than in previous years for a few reasons; we have some new teachers who want to meet our parents and vice versa, it's a short term, and we have NAPLAN now in the weeks we'd normally have them. I realise we have offered online options previously and each time we have continued to have difficulties associated with that which is why we have opted for face-to-face this time.

If you are unable to attend an interview at the times provided, please make contact with your child's classroom teacher to discuss whether you can organise another time.

Canteen

The canteen is up and running again for this year. (Wednesday/Thursday/Friday) We have done the best we can to ensure prices remain as low as possible but even so, you will notice a few items have had to be increased in price since last year.

As per last year, if any parents are available to help in the canteen on any of those days, please make yourself known to Jeannine in the office who can direct you to Jude in the canteen.

Pilates!

Pilates for parents is back this year. Starting Monday 5th February at 9.15am in the school hall. Everyone is welcome, toddlers too!

Come in for some social exercise with our qualified instructor and parent, Francesca.

Have a wonderful weekend and we'll see everyone on the other side.

Kind regards,

Derek Bruitzman

Principal

Something funny!

By popular request, my funnies are back...though I have been asked to update some of my material! Let me know how I go!

Q: Why are magicians so good at their schoolwork?

A: Because they're good at trick questions!

Q: Why did the echo get detention on the first day of school?

A: It kept answering back.

Q: What time would it be if Godzilla came to school?

A: Time for everyone to run!

Fun Facts & Trivia

A crocodile cannot poke its tongue out
Wearing headphones for just an hour could increase the bacteria in your ear by 700 times
In 2023, the Catholic Church was the second largest employer in Australia behind Ernst and Young
Australia is the only place in the world where Kangaroos exist

School Fees 2024