Principal's News
We acknowledge the Taungurung people, the traditional custodians of this land and we pay our respect to their elders past, present and emerging.
Dear Parents,
The days are flying so quickly with our Foundation students now attending school full time from this week.
Family Night
On Thursday we have our Family Evening at 5:30pm. Linc McKernan and Nic Asquith will be running a games session for all to enjoy. This is a lovely opportunity to connect with old friends, meet new friends and spend time with other families from St John's. You are welcome to bring a picnic to enjoy, due to Child Safe regulations, please no alcohol.
Curriculum Night
Our Curriculum Night has been scheduled for Wednesday 12th March at 5:30 in the Mercy Centre. If you have not completed the RSVP sent home last week, we ask that you do so and indicate if you require care for your children. We would like to see every family at the evening. We know how precious time is, so we will endeavour to do our very best to finish on time. It is important to know if you wish for your children to be cared for, so we have adequate staff in place. Several of our LSO's will be looking after the children.
2026 Enrolments
Our enrolments for Foundation 2026 are now open. Our advertising boards are going up this week at the front and back of the school. A very big thank you to Brendan and Sophie Allen for sponsoring our boards. If you have a child that will be starting school next year, please ask Bek in the office for an enrolment form. If you know of any other families who would like the opportunity to visit for a school tour and a chat, please let them know about our school.
Pupil Free Day
Thursday 13th March is a pupil free day at St John's. The staff will be working at St Brendan's in Shepparton with three other Catholic schools from the region, as we continue our learning with the Magnify platform. The focus is The Knowledge Society, we will be discussing and working on the implementation of a common, evidence- informed Behaviour Curriculum which focuses on calm, orderly and reliable learning environments. We have already started this work at St John's and are looking forward to the next steps. We can have the best curriculum in the world but without calm, orderly and reliable classrooms there is reduced impact for student achievement and teacher effectiveness.
Ash Wednesday
This Wednesday, we mark Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, a special time of reflection, prayer, and preparation for Easter. During this season, we are called to be kind, thoughtful, and generous in our words and actions. At St. John’s, our students will take part in a whole school Mass where they will receive the ashes, reminding us to open our hearts to others and grow in faith. We encourage families to take this opportunity to reflect together on how we can show kindness and compassion in our daily lives. Mass is in the Church at 12:30.
Today is Shrove Tuesday, also known as Pancake Day, is the day before Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent. Traditionally, it was a time to use up rich ingredients like eggs, milk, and butter before the Lenten season of fasting and reflection. Today, many people celebrate by making and sharing pancakes. It’s a wonderful opportunity to reflect on kindness, gratitude, and preparing our hearts for Easter
School Uniform
Wearing a school uniform fosters a sense of belonging, pride, and equality among students. It creates a positive school identity, helps minimise distractions, and ensures that all children feel included. Uniforms also encourage responsibility and prepare students for future expectations in life and work. At St. John’s, we appreciate the support of families in maintaining our uniform standards, helping to create a respectful and focused learning environment for all. A few points to note: - children should only be wearing studs and small sleepers in their ears for safety reasons. Nail polish is not permitted on school days. There are many choices for the children to wear the uniform that is most comfortable for them.
Sick Children
If your child is unwell, please keep them at home. There are quite a few bugs around at the moment. If your child is away, please let us know either through Simon Everywhere or a phone call to the office.
School Photos
School photos day is on Thursday 27th March. Time to make sure everything is ready for the big day. All children with longer hair need to have it tied up as per usual wearing their summer uniforms. This year we are using a new company; all transactions will be digital and through the company. Don't worry, information will be sent home closer to the date.
Equestrian Interschool Event
Last week 4 St John's students competed at the Albury Equestrian Centre for the Scots Interschool Sports. Lexi Koroma, Harry Leech, Lillian Halsall and Charli Leech completed in classes - Showing, Dressage, Jumping, Spoking Horse and Handy Mount. The children did extremely well with places in all classes. A very big congratulations to the children and a very big thankyou to their parents for the organisation of this opportunity to represent St John's in an Interschool Event! The points for each event were calculated out of the 25 schools that competed. St John's team was the Reserve Champions. Very proud of you all.
- Lillian won 45cm Show Jumping Championship and had places in Showing and Sporting horse
- Lexi placed in Dressage, Showing and was 4th in the Show Jumping. She also placed 3rd in the Handy Mount.
- It was Harry's first time competing at Equestrian Interschool Sport and he did a great job remembering the Sporting Horse competitions.
- Charli won the 75cm Show Jumping Championship and also won and placed in Sporting horse and Handy Mount and was the Reserve Campion in the Primary Rider competition.
Swimming Interschool Sports.
We have had 7 students qualify for Regional Swimming to be held in Shepparton tomorrow.
Congratulations to Jaeger Saxon, Matilda Eddy, McKenzie Hamill, Ella Kelly, Zoe Pretlove, Chloe Harvey- Bredden and Olivia Kelly. We wish them all the best for tomorrow as they represent our school at the next level!