Principals Update

Key Events

Term 4, Week 9

Friday 1st December - SCHOOL CLOSURE DAY

Term 4, Week 10

Monday 4th December - Whole school Advent Liturgy in the MPR, 8.50am

Tuesday 5th December - Big Day Out - Year 6, DRI Program - Selected Year 5 students

Wednesday 6th December - Online Presentation - Their Care

Thursday 7th November - Year 6 Graduation Dinner & Celebration @ 6pm in the MPR

Friday 8th December - Year 5/6 Life saving Day

Term 4, Week 11

Monday 11th December - Whole school Advent Liturgy in the MPR, 8.50am & Moving up session, transition to 2024 Classes

Tuesday 12th December - End of Year School Mass @ 12pm & Carols Night - 6pm in the MPR

Wednesday 13th December - Year 5/6 Life saving Day & Reports shared with parents

Friday 15th December -  Whole school Advent Liturgy / Final Assembly in the MPR, 11.15am. Students Conclude at 12pm

Dear SJV Families,

Well the day has come and gone. All the build-up and preparation and then before you know it the day has passed and the 2023 FETE is over.  Friday the 17th of November was a great night for St John Vianney’s with so many of our families coming together to create an event that means so much to our community. The weather Gods were smiling upon us again, the crowd was amazing and the atmosphere was electric!!!

A massive thank you to Nate Viviani and his amazing FETE committee for the planning and coordination that went into the night, the stall holders who gathered/made items for their stalls, the people involved in packing up and packing down and to the community for attending.

The net result is that we had a community event where parents, children, staff and the broader community enjoyed the efforts of St. John Vianney’s school and in the process we raised $36,000 to support the development of programs and activities here at SJV. Some of this money will be used to place smart TV's in the Year 1/2 classrooms and to re-surface the oval over the Summer holidays. Congratulations to all involved as it’s an amazing effort that everyone should be proud of!!

Japanese - 2024

Next year at SJV we are introducing the language of Japanese to the students with a weekly lesson. In the past, Indonesian has been the language taught here at SJV but as Japanese is a language that many of the Secondary Colleges are offering to their students, the Leadership Team and the School Advisory Council felt offering Japanese would be a better language of choice.  Rachel McAllister who is currently teaching PE is also an experienced and qualified Japanese teacher and will be teaching this language in 2024.

Important Reminders

• The next newsletter will be sent to families Thursday 14th of December.

Staffing 2024 

I am very pleased to advise the class teachers and staffing for 2024. CAN I PLEASE ASK THAT THERE ARE TO BE NO REQUESTS FOR SPECIFIC CLASSROOM TEACHERS.

PREP (FOUNDATION)

Deb O’Shannessy (3 days) & Jill Hannan (2 days)

Catherine Osadnik

YEAR 1/2

Fleur Peppard 

Kylie Kostense

YEAR 3/4 

Luke Brownhill 

Taigan Evans (3 days) & Chloe Lawlor (2 days)

YEAR 5/6 

Kerry Slater (2 days) & Laura Heiberg (3 days)

Daniella Cortese

PHYSICAL EDUCATION  - Rachel McAllister

VISUAL ARTS / STEM - Gabbi Davoren 

PERFORMING ARTS - Catherine Weekes

LIBRARY & LITERACY - Vicki Dagher

JAPANESE - Rachel McAllister

NUMERACY & LITERACY SUPPORT & EXTENSION (DATA ANALYSIS) - John James

LEARNING DIVERSITY - Mary Moor

LEARNING SUPPORT

Julia Mascali

Melissa Hanson

Beth Wallace

Lyn Saunders

Kath Murley

Naomi Nolan

Susan Birell

Lina Greco

Phil Daidone

Gary Kruger (new)

Sophie Mackey (new)

OFFICE MANAGER

Nicole Davies

LEADERSHIP TEAM 2024

TEACHING & LEARNING  / ICT LEADER - Laura Heiberg

NUMERACY LEADER - John James

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION LEADER - Kerry Slater

LEARNING DIVERSITY LEADER - Mary Moor

WELLBEING LEADER - Chloe Lawlor

DEPUTY PRINCIPAL / LITERACY LEADER - Jill Hannan

PRINCIPAL - Mick Schinck

Classes 2024 

Organisation of classes at St John Vianney's follows these steps. 

1.  Students name 5 fellow students that they believe they will work well with. 
2. Teachers then create classes for next year taking into consideration

• Separations recommended by previous teachers 
• Separations recommended by current teachers 
• Balance of boys and girls 
• Balance of academic abilities with particular focus on spread of children with specific learning needs 
• Balance of different personalities
• Students choices 

1. Once these classes are created they are checked by our Leadership Team against the data they have on the students to ensure academic balance. 
2. The class lists are then checked by the classroom teachers to ensure an equal balance across all areas.
3. The completed lists are then provided to Jill Hannan and I for a final check.

As you can see this is a long detailed process that takes a number of weeks. The process does not have a place for parents to request specific teachers, student pairings, student separations or for parents to request changes once classes are decided. I hope this gives background for the detailed process that we follow here at SJV.

Our commitment is to always put the students in the best learning environment possible. While friendships are relevant they are the final consideration when creating classes. Ultimately parents choose St John Vianney's because they believe in all we provide and that our commitment to our students will always be our focus.

Moving Up Session / Transition 2024

On Monday 11th of December we will be having our Transition to 2024 classes where children will meet their 2024 teacher and classmates. We will notify parents of their child’s classroom teacher on that day. As we will have a number of students from other schools visiting, EVERYONE is free to wear casual clothes on this day so no one stands out as being new.

Jordy Thomson Colour Run / Picnic

Last Friday the students participated in the Jordy Thomson colour fun run here at SJV.  It was a magnificent event that all of the students thoroughly enjoyed. A special thank you to John and Julie Thomson (Jordy's parents) who attended. Both Sam & Lachie had a wonderful afternoon and enjoyed being splashed with colour!!

Year 6 Graduation

Next Thursday the 7th of December, our Year 6 students and their parents will have the opportunity to celebrate their Graduation. Please keep these students in your prayers as they conclude their time here at SJV. We look forward to celebrating this special occasion.

Reports

All reports will be sent home digitally like the previous report, to families on Wednesday 13th of December. Information will be sent shortly regarding access to these reports.

End of Year Mass

On Tuesday 12th of December at 12pm we will be celebrating our end of year Mass in St. John Vianney’s Church. This is a special mass to celebrate our school year as well as having our senior students share the Light of Leadership for the 2024 school year. Parents are welcome to attend.

OSHC

School Closure / End of School Year 

Please note that the next School Closure Day for Term 4 is:

• Friday 1st of  December (Planning and Preparation for 2024). 
• The end of the School year will finish for students at 12:00pm on Friday, 15th December.

Start of the School Year 2024

Students first day here at St John Vianney's in 2024 will be Tuesday 30th of January.

Regards

Mick Schinck

Principal