Principals Update

 Key Events - Term 3

Term 3, Week 10

• Friday 18th September- Beanie/ Casual Day with a touch of Pink.

                                                     Fete Lolly Hunt Donations. 

                                                     Students Conclude for Term 3 @ 1pm

Key Events - Term 4

Term 4, Week 1

• Term 4 Begins on Monday 5th of October 
• Wednesday 7th October - Japanese Incursion, Year 3-6
• Thursday 8th October - Year 3/4 Camp Mill Valley Ranch & Kingston Division Athletics (Selected students). Newsletter
• Friday 9th October - Year 3/4 Camp Mill Valley Ranch

Term 4, Week 2

• Tuesday 13th October - Kingston Program - Year 6 & Reconciliation Family Evening @ 7pm (Year 2)
• Friday 16th October - Wine & Chocolate Drive (Fete). Assembly at 3pm

Dear SJV Families,

It’s hard to believe that we have reached the end of another busy and successful term here at SJV, with just one term remaining in the 2026 school year!

Over the past few weeks, our students have been involved in a wonderful range of activities and experiences, including our Father’s Day Breakfast, Book Week Parade (see photos of the parade on the Library page), District Athletics and the SEDA Footy Inflatables. It has certainly been a dynamic, exciting and memorable few weeks for our school community.

I would like to thank our staff, students and families for their continued support, enthusiasm and commitment throughout the term. It is the wonderful involvement of our whole school community that makes these events and experiences so special for our students.

I hope all our families enjoy a well-deserved and relaxing break. Take the opportunity to spend some quality time together, recharge and enjoy the spring weather. We look forward to welcoming everyone back next term, refreshed and ready for another action-packed term at SJV!

A special good luck to the AFL teams competing this weekend in the finals. It’s an exciting time of year for football fans!

Grand Final Tip – Hawks by 25 points! 🏆

Enjoy the holidays and stay safe.

Please make sure that you take the time to read the newsletter as there is much happening here at SJV.

Supporting Molly – Beanie for Brain Cancer Day 

Tomorrow (postponed from last week) will be our Beanie and Casual Fundraising Day, supporting the Mark Hughes Foundation – Beating Brain Cancer. We will hold a special Assembly at 9.15am, where we will come together as a school community to support this important cause.

Students are invited to:

• Wear casual clothes with a touch of pink and a beanie to school.
• Bring a gold coin donation to support our fundraiser.
• Join in the fun activities planned throughout the day, including a school disco during playtime with DJ Rocco (a separate gold coin donation), LEGO Club activities, colouring-in competitions and a red carpet to showcase some of the amazing beanies!

Families can also choose to purchase a Mark Hughes Foundation beanie, with proceeds going towards the Mark Hughes Foundation – Beating Brain Cancer initiative. Beanie purchases are completely optional.

Purchase a Mark Hughes Foundation beanie

Please keep Molly, her family and all those supporting her in your thoughts and prayers as she continues her treatment and recovery.

Thank you to our School Captains for initiating this wonderful idea, and thank you to our entire SJV community for the care, compassion and support you continue to show Molly and her family.

Bunnings Sausage Sizzle – A Fantastic Result!

A huge thank you to everyone who supported our Bunnings Sausage Sizzle at Bunnings Mentone last Sunday, 13 September.

It was wonderful to see so many SJV families and staff getting involved, volunteering their time and supporting the school. Together, we raised around $4,000 (profit), which is an outstanding result and a wonderful contribution to our school community.

A special thank you to everyone who volunteered, helped organise the day, cooked sausages, served our customers and, of course, came along to purchase a sausage! Your generosity and commitment make these events possible.

It is through events like these that we come together as a community, support one another and make a real difference for our students.

Please make sure you read through the whole newsletter, particularly the PFA/Fete page, as there is lots happening next term as we work towards our SJV Fete on Friday, 20th November.

Fathers Day Breakfast 

I hope all the dad's had an enjoyable Father's Day the other week. Father's Day can hold many emotions for both men and women - those who had a loving father that passed away, those who never knew their dad, those expectantly waiting to become a dad soon, and countless other situations surrounding the father-child relationship. God can use this special day to draw us closer to Himself - the one true Father who remains faithful and full of unconditional love. 

Building and Grounds Update

We are very excited that our students are now enjoying our new basketball court! 

The new court is looking fantastic and will provide our students with a wonderful space to play, socialise and enjoy some active time throughout the school day. 

There is still some work to be completed, and we will be using the upcoming school holidays to undertake a range of additional works around the school. 

This will include:

• Painting and fencing works around the new basketball court and other areas of the school
• Line marking and final finishing of the basketball courts
• Landscaping and garden works to further enhance our school grounds
• Additional maintenance and finishing works across the school

These works will help complete the transformation of our grounds and ensure that our facilities continue to provide attractive, safe and functional spaces for our students.

Works to the oval are not scheduled to commence until December. Further information about the oval works and the anticipated timeline will be shared with families as we get closer to the commencement of these works.

A big thank you to everyone for your patience, understanding and flexibility while these significant works have been undertaken. We are incredibly pleased with the progress and look forward to seeing the final stages completed over the coming months.

School Musical - Westall 66

MACSSIS SURVEYS

In 2026,  St John Vianney's is participating in Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools – School Improvement Surveys (MACSSIS). MACSSIS is an annual process whereby schools listen to the thoughts and feelings students, families and staff have about how their school can improve. These surveys help inform the ongoing improvement of schools across the Archdiocese of Melbourne and in particular here at SJV.  We would love as many parents as possible to complete this survey when it is shared with you in the first week of September.

Lolly Hunt - 18th September

Just a reminder that we would like everyone to bring a packet of wrapped lollies tomorrow for the Lolly hunt  at the SJV Fete. Please see the flyer below for suggestions of what lollies to bring in.

School Fete - FRIDAY NOVEMBER 20th @ 3:30pm.

Please note the following dates for donations for the fete:

Term 3

• Lolly Hunt - Friday 18th September

Term 4

• Wine & Chocolate drive - Friday the 16th of October 
• Lucky Jars & Lolly Hunt - Friday the 6th of November

Please refer to the PFA Fete Page for further details.

Summer Uniform

From the start of Term 4 all students can begin to wear their School Summer Uniform. The full transition to Summer Uniform will be by Monday 19th October (Week 3, Term 4).

Please note that as we are a sunsmart school, all students are required to wear their school hats from the first day of Term 4 whilst outside.  There will be a 1 week grace period for this.  

At the start of Week 2, Term 4 all staff will be enforcing the 'no hat, no play' policy.  

School Closure Dates - Term 4

• Monday the 2nd of November - Report Writing Day
• Tuesday 3rd of November - Melbourne Cup Public holiday
• Friday 4th of December - Planning Day 2027
• Tuesday the 15th of December - Term 4 concludes for students at 12pm

Classes for 2027

As we begin the process of planning ahead for 2027 classes, I ask any families who know that they will not be returning to St. John Vianney's in 2027 please inform me as soon as possible. principal@sjvparkdale.catholic.edu.au

2027 Enrolments 

Our Requests for School Tours continue. Enrolments for Prep 2027 are now open and we encourage all families to submit their applications as soon as possible. If you have a child or you know someone wanting to tour schools for their child, please encourage them to book a school tour by contacting Nicole in our front office. 

Uniform Shop

Our Uniform shop is open every Monday at 3.15pm for sales. If you cant make it at that time, pop into the office and fill in an order form.

Second Hand Uniforms are coordinated by one of our parents, Sahara. Please log on to Brisbane Terrace SJV Secondhand Uniform on Facebook. Sahara will approve you joining the group and you can access second hand sales through this group.

Instagram- We now have an SJV Instagram page on social media. So please make sure you follow and share: @sjv_parkdale

Reminders

• The next school assembly will be on Friday 16th of October in the MPR at 3pm

• Dogs - Please note that for the safety and wellbeing of all members of our community, no dogs are permitted inside the school grounds and they must not be left unattended tied up at the gates. Adult supervision and holding of the leash is so important around vulnerable places such as schools.  We love dogs but we do have to take care of all members of our community.

• Bikes and Scooters - Please walk bikes and scooters when moving through the school grounds.

• Punctuality - It is expected that all students are to be at school by no later than 8.45am and not any time up to 9am. From 8.45am to 9am is crucial for students to get themselves organised, start the day with Meditation, prayer, take the roll and ready to commence their day promptly. Formal lessons begin at 9am. Any child who arrives at or after 9am is to be signed in at the office by a parent/guardian. I ask all parents to make sure that you adhere to these times.

Regards

Mick Schinck

Principal