General Information

WELCOME TO OUR 2025 PREPS

We welcomed our 2025 Prep students to the school last Thursday.  The teachers working in our Prep Centre have been very impressed with the students and the smooth way they have transitioned to St John’s.   We welcome all the new families who have joined us at St John’s this year and we also welcome those students with older siblings whom we have watched grow over the past four years from toddlers into the Grade Prep students they are today.   We look forward to partnering with you in your child’s education over the next seven years.  Below are some images from the Preps first week at school, we hope you enjoy scrolling through them!

10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS

This year sees our school mark its 10 Year Anniversary.  On Friday 14th March we will be celebrating this milestone from 4:00pm - 8:00pm here at St John’s.  Students will finish early on this day to enable us to safely construct a stage, set up the lighting and sound systems and ensure our carnival rides can be set up ready to start when our gates open at 4:00pm.  Full details of the celebrations will be outlined in newsletters closer to the date and will include information on how to purchase unlimited rides tickets.

HOMEWORK

Homework will commence the week beginning 17th February.  We like to allow the students a few weeks to resettle into the busy routines of the school term, (including going to bed early even if it’s still light outside!) before beginning homework and readers for the year.  We also find that prolonged hot weather can be very draining for some students.

ASSEMBLY LIVE STREAMS

Each Friday the students gather for a whole school assembly in the Hall.  This event is usually streamed to our Vimeo channel.  Families can view assembly by clicking on the link which is emailed via email using your Operoo profile. The email only goes to those parents who have ‘“receive correspondence” checked in their settings.

MORNING DROP OFF TIME REMINDER

A reminder to families that the school grounds are not supervised by staff until 8:30 am. Families who are dropping their child off earlier than this are required to make a booking with our Before School Program.  Information about this program which is run by Quantin Binnah from our School Hall can be found in this newsletter or by contacting the school office.  

We have noticed that there are some students who are entering the school grounds via the Hall Gate as early as 8:00am, this gate should only be used by students accessing the Before School Care Program.  Students entering the school grounds before 8:30am are unsupervised and not inline with our Child Safety Policies.  Parents will be contacted if students are in the schools prior to 8:30am and will be asked to make alternative arrangements for the morning drop off. 

BEFORE AND AFTER SCHOOL CARE

A Before and After School Care Service is available onsite and is run by Quantin Binnah. To access this service students must be registered prior to attending.  All registrations and enquiries should be directed to Quantin Binnah by calling 9742 5040 or visiting the Quantin Binnah website at 

http://qbcc.org.au for further information.

The hours of operation are as follows:

Before School Care Monday – Friday 6:30 – 8:30am

After School Care Monday – Friday 3:15 – 6:00pm 

(6:00 – 6:30 pm is also available at additional cost)

2025 SCHOOL FEES

2025 School Fees

Fee statements for the 2025 school year will be distributed via the eldest child in each family within the next two weeks.

For families who wish to set up Direct Debit payments (our preferred payment method), please contact the office at (03) 8754 4300 to request a form, which must be submitted no later than 20th February 2025.  If you have already submitted a Direct Debit Request Form, no further action is required. Payments will commence according to the Direct Debit Schedule based on your selected frequency.

For those choosing to pay over the counter at the office or via direct deposit, please note that all fees must be paid in full by 31st October 2025.

2025 Financial Assistance & Discounts

Eligible families receiving Centrelink payments and holding a Health Care Card may qualify for the following financial support:

Camps, Sports & Excursion Fund (CSEF)

MACS Concessional Fee Discount

School Saving Bonus

Application forms will be sent to families who have previously received these discounts.

We are currently awaiting further guidance from the Melbourne Archdiocese for Catholic Schools regarding the processing of the one-off School Saving Bonus. Updates will be provided via our newsletter once we receive further instructions.

If you have not yet submitted a copy of your Health Care Card, please do so at your earliest convenience, either in person or via email at office@stjatarneit.catholic.edu.au.

For any questions or further assistance, please contact the school office at (03) 8754 4300.

STAFF UPDATE 

Ms. Nicola Folan returned to Ireland earlier this month due to health concerns. While we are saddened by her departure, we fully support her decision to prioritise her well-being.

To ensure continuity of her Year 2 Class, we have arranged for two current members of our staff, Mrs. Alicia Hughes and Miss Chloe Rhyall, to step in temporarily.  We have begun the process of recruiting a permanent replacement, however, as schools across the western suburbs continue to face critical teacher shortages, it is difficult to predict how long this may take. Our priority is to find the best possible candidate, and we will provide updates as the process progresses.

On behalf of our school community, I would like to sincerely thank Ms. Folan for her dedication and contributions throughout 2024. We wish her the very best as she returns home to focus on her health.  I thank all our families for your understanding and support during this transition and I especially thank Alicia and Chloe.  Their willingness to take on this role at short notice and their professional approach has ensured that the Year 2s have had a very successful start to the year.

2025 CLASSES

Below is a list of our 2025 Class Teachers:

Year Prep - Ms Vee Bacon & Ms Bianca Gomez 

Year 1 - Mrs Wendy Gonsalves/Mrs Kelly Davies & Ms Laura Haughin

Year 2 - Ms Sarah Cauchi, Mrs Alicia Huges/Ms Chloe Ryall & Ms Hannah Martin/Mrs Kerry Lowerson

Year 3 - Mrs Erin Webb, Ms Georgia Burston & Mrs Tiana D’Souza

Year 4 - Ms Kara Lawson, Mr Cooper Trigg & Ms Audrey Bongetti

Year 5 - Mr Keanan Van Hees & Ms Jessica Gatt

Year 6 -   Ms Carolyn Dillon & Mrs Ashleigh Borg

2025 CLASS LOCATION MAP

As we grew to 17 grades this year we have restructured the areas in which some year levels work from.  Please see the image below for the location of our 2025 classes: 

LUNCH ORDERS

Students are able to place lunch orders for Mondays and Fridays through TK Tuckshop, who have a range of over 40 options priced from just $5.50. All of their meals come in packs with a selection of one or more snacks and drinks.  Download the app pictured above to view the full menu and place your order. 

CHILD SAFETY - PARKING PROTOCOLS  

School Carpark Procedures 

The school car park is open at the two busiest traffic times of the day, before and after school.  For everyone’s safety, we ask you to please remember the following:  Pedestrians should enter the school via the footpath and NOT walk through the carpark gate.  When moving between the school and the carpark, everyone is asked to use the crossing located near the front of the school.  Parents who do park in the carpark, MUST walk over and collect their child. NO student is permitted to enter the car park unless they are accompanied by their adult.  The Drop Off Zone is only active in the morning and parents MUST remain in their car, while students exit the vehicle independently.

Double Parking 

A reminder that double parking (stopping to drop off children next to a parked car) is illegal and dangerous. I ask that parents doing this make an effort to drive further to find a space to park properly so that students can exit safely and that traffic is not stopped by your vehicle.