Dear Families

I hope you all had a restful and enjoyable long weekend. Hopefully, this mini-break offered you and your family a well-deserved opportunity to unwind and enjoy each others company. It is hard to believe we are past half way through Term One already!

While we missed all the students on Thursday and Friday, our staff remained busy preparing for our upcoming Review and completing First Aid, Asthma, and Anaphylaxis certifications. These important preparations ensure we continue providing a safe, supportive, and high-quality learning environment for all students.

As we enter this sacred season of Lent, we are called to deepen our faith, open our hearts to God’s love, and prepare for the joy of Easter.

In his Lenten message, Pope Francis reminds us that this Year of Jubilee is a time of renewal and hope. He invites us to journey together, support one another, and embrace meaningful change that draws us closer to God. It has been wonderful to hear and see our students learning about Lent and that through prayer, acts of kindness, and a spirit of hope, we nurture our faith and strengthen our connection with God and our St John's community.

Catholic Education Week

Catholic Education Week commences next week. Catholic Education Week is an opportunity for all Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Melbourne to celebrate their Catholic identity and the pivotal role that Catholic Schools play within their local community and the wider sector. The theme for 2025 is Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you (Is 60: 1).

As part of the celebrations we will be taking a number of student leaderes to attend the Catholic Education Week Mass at St Patrick’s Cathedral on Friday 21 March 2025. Following the Mass, students will also attend a concert in the park.

Our St John's students will celebrate this important week through their participation in the Ride to School Day event Friday 21 March, Harmony Day celebrations and our Term One Better Buddy Day Monday 24 March. All students are invited to wear a touch of orange or cultural costume. Please refer our school calendar for school events and put these dates in your diary.

District Football

A huge thank you to Ben Friggi and the families who supported St John's student in the Ivanhoe District AFLW Football competition last Friday. Your encouragement and enthusiasm made the day even more special! It was fantastic to hear that the players displayed outstanding sportsmanship, with plenty of spirited cheering from the sidelines.

Congratulations to everyone involved on an incredible effort and an inspiring display of teamwork and determination. Go Eagles!!

Update for Year 4 Water Awareness times next week

The Year 4's will commence their Water Awareness Program next week. Please note the update to the timetable.

4 P- 1:45pm

4 MT- 2:15pm

St John’s Parent Engagement 2025 requirements

Education is a partnership between the school and the family. At St John’s, parent support is considered to be vital and we encourage parents to involve themselves as fully as possible in the life of the school.

Avenues for participation include:

Parents in Community (PIC)
School Advisory Council (SAC)
Class Representative
Sacramental preparation
School and parish liturgies
Sporting activities - coaching and organisation
Excursions
Classroom volunteers

One requirement to be involved is to have a current WWWC and attend the Parent Helpers/Volunteer Induction Session 2025 including Child Safety Standards at St John's on Friday 14 March at 2:30pm. We look forward to seeing lots of parents and carers at our session.

School Advisory Council (SAC) Feedback Form 2025

The SAC provides a forum for discussion and discernment, where the parent / guardian voice and perspective inform and support the decisions made by the principal and parish priest for the good of school and parish where the wellbeing and outcomes for students is paramount. The St John's SAC invites parent feedback, suggestions and constructive comments enabling a wide range of perspectives to be shared. Please see below for the link to your level Feedback email. These email will be live from next week.

	SAC Parent Representative	Feedback email 2025
Prep	Aidan Depetro	prepsac@sjheidelberg.catholic.edu.au
Junior - Year 1/2	Kate Ruddell	year12sac@sjheidelberg.catholic.edu.au
Middle -Year 3/ 4	Mel Mahady	year34sac@sjheidelberg.catholic.edu.au
Senior - Year 5/6	Silvana Micallef	year56sac@sjheidelberg.catholic.edu.au
General/Parish	Laurette Kairouz	parishrepsac@sjheidelberg.catholic.edu.au

Feedback

We are always looking for ways to improve our school community - please email our principal Mrs Alison Dean- principal@sjheidelberg.catholic.edu.au with any suggestions.

Ride2School - Friday 21 March

On Friday, March 21, St John’s will be participating in Ride2School Day, a wonderful opportunity to promote an active and healthy lifestyle. We invite our school community to join in by riding, skating, or scooting to school from one of the following pick-up locations:

🚴 De Winton Park – Corner of Cape Street and St James Road, Rosanna

🚴 Albert Jones Reserve – Mount and Durham Streets, Eaglemont

🚴 Banyule Cricket Club – Beverley Road, Heidelberg

🚴 Warringal Cemetery – Corner of Powlett and Darebin Streets, Heidelberg

We encourage as many students and families as possible to take part in this fun and environmentally friendly initiative. Parents and guardians are also welcome to join the ride or assist as volunteers.

For more details, please check the Wellbeing section of the newsletter. Let’s make this a great community event—see you there! 🚲🎉

NAPLAN 2025

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is a literacy and numeracy assessment that students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 sit each year. It is the only national assessment all Australian students have the opportunity to undertake.

We are very proud of our Year 3 and Year 5 students this week for being resilient and making the most of this experience. They will complete the final two tests on Friday and Monday. It is important to remember: NAPLAN is just one aspect of a school’s assessment and reporting process. It does not replace ongoing assessments made by teachers about student performance, but it can provide families and teachers with additional information about students’ educational progress.

ICYPOLE DAY - This Friday- Easter Raffle

This Friday icypoles will be sold for 50 cents. All the money fundraised will go towards purchasing our Easter raffle Prizes.

Hop to It! Get Your Eager Egg Raffle Tickets Now! 🐰🍫🎟️

Easter is just around the corner, and that means it’s time for our Eager Egg Raffle! This is your chance to win some egg-citing chocolate prizes while supporting our school community.

How to Enter: Purchase your raffle tickets now on School Square https://st-johns-pic.square.site/ Tickets are $2 each.🍫 The more tickets you buy, the better your chances of winning!🐣 Winners will be drawn just in time for Easter!

Every ticket sold helps support our school initiatives, so spread the word, get your tickets, and cross your fingers for a sweet surprise.

A huge thank you to Marisa for orgaising the raffle.

School Photos – 25th March.

School Photos – 25th March.

Please ensure your child is in full summer uniform for our school photos. If it is your child's sports day, they must still wear their school uniform but may bring a spare pair of runners.

Regional Bishop Visit - Most Reverend Bishop Thinh Nguyen

Our new Regional Bishop, Bishop Thinh will be celebrating Mass on Sunday 23 March at 8:30 and 10:30am Masses. All are welcome to attend Mass and meet him at Morning Tea.

Wonderful feedback from one of our students - Arianna.

Arianna, a Year 1 student at St. John’s, has beautifully expressed her love for learning in a recent piece of writing. She shares how happy and grateful she feels in the classroom, always eager to explore new topics—especially in art and writing, her favorite subjects.

Arianna also highlights the confidence she has gained at St. John’s, both in her learning and in making new friends.

We are so happy to hear how much she enjoys her time at school! Her enthusiasm and positive attitude truly embody the welcoming and supportive environment we strive to create for all our students.

Well done, Arianna—keep embracing your learning journey with joy and curiosity!

Blessings to all

Alison Dean

School Photo Day Information