Dear Families,

At St John’s, there’s always something happening that enriches our vibrant learning community. From our Preps celebrating their first 100 days of school to students embarking on exciting excursions, Book Week activities, Bullying- No way activities, performance rehearsals and our Year 6 students receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation, our students are truly fortunate to experience these memorable milestones and growth opportunities.

This week marks a significant milestone in the Sacramental journey of our Year 6 students. On Sunday at 2pm, they will receive the Sacrament of Confirmation at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in East Melbourne, completing their initiation into the Catholic Church.

In preparation, our Year 6 students gathered on Thursday to explore the profound elements of this sacred Sacrament. They reflected on the real-life challenges they will encounter, the rewards of living a life modeled after Jesus, and the responsibilities that come with becoming adult members of the Church.

We pray for these St John’s students and catechists as they receive the Sacrament and are confirmed with the fullness of the Holy Spirit. We thank parents, carers and sponsors, Fr Vinh, Elizabeth Williamson, Hollie Goad, Shane Thompson, Connie Bandiera and St John’s staff for their presence and commitment to these young people’s faith journey.

CONFIRMATION PRAYER

Lord, You send out Your Spirit to touch the hearts of all people,

so that they may believe in You and in Jesus whom You sent.

Look kindly on all candidates for Confirmation as they listen to Your voice.

Open their hearts to Your Spirit and bring to fulfillment the good work that You have begun in them.

As we prepare these children for Confirmation, make each of us an instrument of Your love.

Teach us to appreciate what is holy in others, and to be patient with what we do not understand.

Deepen our faith in the Gospel and help us to pass it on by our example.

We pray that You will continue to guide us and sustain us.

Through Christ our Lord, Amen.

2025 planning

Believe it or not, planning for 2025 has already begun. If your child is currently in Prep to Year 5 and you know they will not be returning to St John’s in 2025, please email Alison at principal@sjheidelberg.catholic.edu.au.

As many of you have noticed, there has been a steady stream of enrolments across all year levels over the past 12 months. This growth reflects the positive sentiment among our current families and reinforces that St John’s Parish School is becoming the school of choice in the Heidelberg area.

Student-Free Day - 30th August

This year our staff have been dedicated to enhancing student engagement and participation, particularly in Literacy and Mathematics, through Daily Reviews. It fills me with pride to walk through our classrooms and witness such high levels of evidence-based instruction and active student involvement.

Thank you to the families who attended our Parent Information Session last week. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, and many parents expressed a clearer understanding of what happens in Years 3-6 classes, and how our approach aligns with the MACS Vision of Instruction.

To further our professional development in this area, our teachers will participate in a professional learning day on August 30th. Please note that students will not attend school on this day.

Upcoming Father's Day events

St John’s PIC Father’s Day Stall - Thursday, 22nd August 2024

The St John’s PIC Father’s Day Stall will take place this Thursday, 22nd August. A big thank you to Melinda Sciotto and her team of volunteers for making this event possible. Please remember to send some money with your children on Thursday, so they can purchase a special gift.

Father's Day Night out

To all the men in our community - Dad's, Uncles, Godfather's and Grandfather's, you are invited to attend our special Father's Day Dinner on 5th September at the Sir Henry Barkly Hotel. Come along at 7.30pand meet new people and see those you already know. A big thank you to Danni, Mary and Meredith for organising it. It's sure to be a fabulous night.

St John’s Learning Powers- We need your creativity!

Learning Powers are key dispositions—habits of thinking and doing—that learners need to become successful, future-oriented, lifelong learners. After extensive discussion, data analysis, and research, the St John’s staff have identified the essential Learning Powers we believe our students need to thrive: Perseverance, Curiosity, Collaboration, Responsibility, and Reflection.

We are inviting students and families to design characters that represent each of these Learning Powers, making them relevant and meaningful to our St John’s students. These characters will help establish a shared language for learning across the St John’s Parish School community and will be nurtured within our learning environments to ensure everyone understands what it means to be an effective learner.

If you’re interested in creating/designing these characters, please reach out to Alison. The final designs will be voted on by the students, ensuring that everyone’s voice is heard.

Free afterschool Footy Clinic at St John's

West Ivanhoe FC has offered to run a footy clinic on our oval for anyone who would like to give footy a go. The weekly clinics will run on...

21 August
28th August - NOT THIS WEDNESDAY DUE TO THE PERFORMANCE
4th September
11th September
18th September

Sessions will commence at 3:30pm. Parents are required to supervise their child while the session is running.

Everyone is welcome but please register by using the provided link.

Video of our Dodgeball Dreamers

Costello videographers will be recording our performance on Thursday at 4:30pm. If you would like to order a USB of the performance for $40, please collect a form from the office and return it to the school by August 30th. Some forms will also be available on the nights of the performances.

Dodgeball Dreamers Tickets and Oshclub

The ticket booking site is now open for those who wish to purchase additional tickets for the school performance, Dodgeball Dreamers. You have the opportunity to purchase as many additional tickets as you like at $20:00 each. There are seats available on Thursday 29 August at 4:30pm. Please note the Prep 'Passing of the light' ceremony is only on the two Thursday sesions.

Just a quick reminder: On August 29th, our school will have an early finsh with the service starting at 1 PM. OSChclub is be happy to escort your children to OLMC at 4 PM. If you’d like them to do this, please fill out and return their permission form (early release and transportation form) as soon as possible. Remember, they won’t be able to walk your child to OLMC if they don’t receive the form by the deadline.

MACSSIS Survey - Parent and Student survey

Feedback is crucial for any organisation, and it is especially important to us at St John's. The Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic School School Improvemnet Survey (MACSSIS survey) provides an opportunity for our community to share their thoughts on various aspects of our school community. We will be sending out survey links and personal codes at the start of September and encourage you to take some time, perhaps with a cup of tea, to complete the survey.

Additionally, we will be hosting a MACSSIS Morning Tea for parents and carers who wish to complete the survey on site. Further details will be provided soon.

Finally, a heartfelt thank you to everyone who attended our St Mary MacKillop Mass on Saturday night. Archbishop Comensoli expressed his deep gratitude to all who participated, particularly noting how beautifully our choir sang during the service.

Have a great week and enjoy the sunshine.

Alison Dean

Community News