"Dear Families,

We Welcome. We Belong. We Share Hope.

This week we acknowledge and celebrate National Refugee Week. It is a meaningful time for our community to pause and reflect, recognising the courage, resilience, and hope shown by refugees who have made Australia their home. It is also an opportunity to celebrate the richness and diversity they bring to our shared community.

Each refugee story is unique and powerful. Together, these journeys form part of the broader story of Australia.

At St John’s, Refugee Week invites us to live out our Catholic faith in a tangible way—by recognising the dignity of every person and responding with compassion and welcome. As Jesus teaches us, “I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” Pope Francis also reminded us that refugees are not statistics, but our brothers and sisters who deserve our care, protection, and love.

May this week deepen our commitment as a faith community to welcome others with open hearts and to act with justice, kindness, and mercy.

Over the past two weeks, I have met with Banyule City Council town planners and Anthony Carbines MP, State Member for Ivanhoe, to discuss the proposed development in Heidelberg. These discussions provided an important opportunity to share the perspectives and concerns of our school community regarding future planning in the area, especially with regards to parking and traffic.

I was reassured that both Council and local representatives value St John’s and the role it plays within the Heidelberg community. They acknowledged the importance of the school environment and committed to taking into careful consideration matters such as building heights and the potential impact of nearby development on the amenity of our school site.

As part of these meetings, we also had the opportunity to host a school tour for visitors. It was a privilege to showcase our wonderful learning environment, including our engaged students, dedicated staff, and the vibrant learning taking place across the school. The visitors were able to see firsthand the strength of our community and the positive culture that underpins everything we do at St John’s.

I will continue to keep communication open with Council and our local representatives, ensuring that the voice and interests of our school community are clearly represented.

School Disco - "Oh What A Night!"

With colourful lights, groovy music and plenty of excitement, it was a wonderful evening filled with laughter, dancing and community spirit.

The atmosphere was full of joy as students sang along to popular songs, participated in dance challenges and created special memories together.

A huge thank you to our Parents in Community (PIC), staff and volunteers (especially Suzie) who generously gave their time to organise, set up, supervise and pack away after the event.

A huge thank you to our famous fluro bouncer Steve and our lighting experts - the Lynch family for supplying the lighting.

It was heartwarming to hear the positive feedback from families following the event.

“The disco was so well organised and so much fun. My child came home absolutely buzzing with excitement. Will there be an adult disco next time?” Parent

“Events like this are so important for building community connections. It was wonderful to see children from different year levels enjoying themselves together. My children just loved it, a real highlight of the year." Parent

"My child started off really shy then after a short while she hit the dance floor and had a great time. This should happen every year." Parent

"It was wonderful seeing the Year 6 students come together as a group and share something they will always remember.” Parent

"I had the best night of my life." Year 1 student

SRC Donut Day - Friday 19 June

Our SRC Donut Day will be held on Friday, 19 June- tomorrow. Thank you Nikki and Annette for cordinating this experience for the students.

Save the Date - Parent Trivia Night - Saturday 24 October

Help Needed

The PIC Executive Team does a marvellous job coordinating many events for families and students throughout the year. At the end of this year, the current executive team—Megan, Mel, Denise and Margie—will complete their two-year tenure, and we will be looking to form a new executive team.

If you are interested in becoming involved, meeting new people, and contributing to your child’s schooling experience, please feel welcome to speak with me or one of the current PIC members. This is a wonderful opportunity to be part of a supportive team that helps build community spirit across the school.

Events such as the School Disco and Donut Day are much-loved traditions and can only continue with the support of a functioning PIC Executive Team. We are deeply grateful for the commitment and energy of our current team and encourage new families to consider how they might contribute going forward.

Semester Reports

Our staff have been incredibly busy over the past month preparing and writing student reports. This is a significant undertaking, and we sincerely thank our teachers for the time, care and professionalism they dedicate to reflecting on each child’s learning journey and achievements.

Reports will be distributed on Monday, and we encourage families to take the opportunity to read through them together with their child. Celebrating successes, acknowledging growth and discussing future learning goals are valuable ways to support your child’s ongoing development.

Three-Way Conversations- Parent Teacher Interviews

Three-Way Conversations

Tuesday 23 June (1:30am to 5:45pm)

Early Dismissal 1pm

Wednesday 24 June (3:30am to 6:00pm)

Online Booking Site is now open

To book please visit:

https://www.schoolinterviews.com.au/code/7vcjt

Please see the guidelines for the meetings below.

Each session will run for 10-15 minutes. It is important that all meetings run on time.

Please note: We understand that some families may prefer to attend without their child. In these instances, the conversation will still focus on student growth and achievement. Teachers will ensure the student’s selected work is sent home to include their perspective.

It is also important to note that these meetings are about your child, not other children in their class. The teacher will not be discussing any details about another child.

MACSEYE will be available from 1pm on Tuesday, 23 June and Friday 26 June (last day of Term Two).

Sacrament of Reconciliation

Our Year 3 students will also commence their preparation for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Families will participate in a Presentation Mass on Thursday 30 July at 9.15am, followed by a Family Faith Formation evening on Wednesday 9 September at 6.00pm. The Sacrament of Reconciliation will be celebrated on Thursday 15 October at 6.00pm.

Year 6 Students - Confirmation

Congratulations to our Year 6 students on publicly stating their commitment to their faith over the weekend. This is an important milestone in their faith journey as they continue to grow in their relationship with God and their understanding of the Catholic faith.

We ask our school community to keep these students in your prayers as they continue their preparation for the Sacrament of Confirmation next term. May the Holy Spirit guide and strengthen them as they take this significant step in their faith journey.

Family Faith Formation - Wednesday 19 August @ 6pm
Sacrament Celebration - Friday 28 August @ 6pm held at Mary Immaculate Ivanhoe

Congratulations Olivia - 6 M and Spencer - 6G

We are thrilled to share some exciting news with our school community. Olivia (6M) has been selected in the Australian Football, 12 Years and Under Girls State Team – an outstanding achievement and a testament to her dedication, skill and hard work.

Being chosen to represent Victoria at a national level is an incredible honour and a wonderful recognition of Olivia’s commitment to her sport. She will travel to Canberra in August with the team to compete in the National Championships, an experience that will no doubt create lifelong memories and provide invaluable opportunities both on and off the field.

We are incredibly proud of Olivia and excited to see her represent her state on the national stag. The entire St John's community is cheering you on and we wish you every success as you prepare for this exciting journey to Canberra. We look forward to hearing more about your experience in the months ahead.

Congratulations to Spencer Depetro in Year 6 for achieving First Place in the 2026 Young Voices Awards – Junior Photography category for his outstanding entry, “The Tree That Did Its Own Thing (and Why You Should Too)”. Spencer’s creative and thought-provoking photograph responded to this year’s theme, “To Go Boldly: The Path of Faith and Justice.”

This is a remarkable achievement and a wonderful recognition of Spencer’s artistic talent, creativity and ability to communicate a powerful message through photography. His work thoughtfully explored the importance of courage, individuality and standing up for what is right, reflecting the values of faith, justice and compassion that we encourage at St John’s

St John's 2026 School Performance: "Paint Outside the Lines" Ticket Sales Information 🎭

Ticketing Schedule 2026

We are getting organised for families to purchase tickets for the show of the year, St John's school performance, "Paint Outside the Lines!"

To ensure all families have the opportunity to purchase tickets, tickets will be released in stages. In the first release, each family may purchase up to three tickets at a cost of $20 per ticket. Subject to availability, families will then have the opportunity to purchase additional tickets during subsequent sales periods.

Proposed Ticketing Schedule 2026
Friday 17 July - tickets open 10am	3 tickets per family $20 tickets each
Friday 24 July - tickets close 10am
Monday 27 July - tickets open for additional ticket	1 per family $20 tickets each
Thursday 30 July - tickets close 10am
Friday 31 July - tickets open for remaining tickets	Unlimited $20 each

We will let you know about costume requirements at the start of next term.

Feedback - SAC

Feedback about how we do things at St John's is always welcome. We would love some feedback on our House Athletics day. Did your children enjoy it? Were you able to help out and be part of it? How can we improve it?

Please provide feedback to myself - principal@sjheidelberg.catholic.edu.au or email a SAC member.

Prep - Leon Stavrou - prepsac@sjheidelberg.catholic.edu.au

Junior - Aidan Depetro - year12sac@sjheidelberg.catholic.edu.au

Middle - Mel Mahady - year34sac@sjheidelberg.catholic.edu.au

Senior - Mary Molloy - year56sac@sjheidelberg.catholic.edu.au

Additional Parish School members - parishrepsac@sjheidelberg.catholic.edu.au

Laurette Kairouz, Wendy Hernandez

As this will be the last newsletter for the term. I wish you all a great finsih to what has been a wonderful term.

A prayer for the end of the term

Dear God,

As we come to the end of another term, we thank you for being with us.

Thank you for giving us joy all this term.

Thank you for surrounding me with Your peace and thank you for another term to start over again.

We ask you to please bless our learners, their families and our staff.

Hope everyone recharge and refresh during the holidays. Amen

Have a great week

Alison Dean

Community News

Veneto Club Functions