Principal's News

Dear Families and Carers,

End of the 2024 School Year Prayer

God of wisdom,

As we come to the end of this school year, 

we voice our gratitude for the good things you have done in us, 

and we praise you for all who have shared in the work of this school.

We thank you for all the gifts you have given us throughout this school year.

We ask that our time with family and friends during this Christmas season be filled with love, happiness and comfort for all your peoples around the world.

We ask that you bless them in your love and give them peace.

We praise you, God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns forever and ever.

Amen.

Dear Parents and Carers 

What a fantastic year 2024 has been with our St John's Parish school community, as we have celebrated, learnt, worked and played together. Throughout the year, we have been inspired by the growth and success of our students, grateful for the support of their families and blessed to be part of such a dynamic school community. 

St John’s school vision, “An inclusive Catholic community, fostering a commitment to faith and nurturing a love of learning” guides and drives the work that we undertake as a school. This vision is central to our work as we provide for faith formation and design engaging learning. My heartfelt thanks to our incredible staff for their trust, respect and support over the 2024 school year.  I thank our staff for the care that they have shown our students as they grow as learners and people of faith.  A particular thank you to Elizabeth Whiting for helping the transition of a new principal be a smooth and positive one for the school community.

Thank you to Fr Vinh  and Fr John for their pastoral leadership of our school as students celebrated sacraments and attended school and parish Masses. It has been wonderful to come together as a Pastoral Leadership team and serve those in our care.  Please see the Christmas Mass times on the Parish page below.

It's been an honour to work with our St John’s Year 6 students as they complete their final year of primary school. This year our Year 6 students took on student leadership roles, supported their Prep Buddies, participated in Inter School Sports, attended Camp and led our Tabloid Sports  I thank our school captains Tiago and Cleo for their enthusiastic and inspiring leadership this year and it has been a pleasure to have them represent our school. I also thank the Student Action Team Leaders for their commitment to our school community in promoting student engagement and belonging.

Wellbeing Charlie 

Faith and Social Justice Isabella

Fire Carrier Simi

Cultural Diversity Max & Angela

Environment Sinead

STEM Isla & Sebastian

Creative Arts Diego

Sports Mietta, Oscar, Emma & Lewis

I trust that we have prepared our students well for Secondary School and that they will all reach their full potential. I am confident that they are ready to transition from the familiar faces and surroundings of Primary School, to the new routines, teachers and classmates of Secondary School. 

Good luck and best wishes to all graduates.

We thank and farewell the following families for their time at St John's.  We thank them for this contribution to the St John’s school and parish community.

Year 6 leaving families

Boysen

Caminiti

Chetcuti

Doyle

Ferguson

Gazzola

Javier

Joseph

McKirkle

Murphy

Scott

Stefanetti

Stone

Uliana

Villegas

Wojciechowski

And finally thank you to each and every St John’s student from Prep through to Year 6. It has been a privilege to see you all grow and develop over the 2024 school year.  Well done on a great year and your many achievements as learners and friends. St John’s is a very special place and we are most blessed to be members of this community.

BIG DAY OUT - Year 6 

It was with great excitement and tradition that our Year 6 students enjoyed their Big Day Out on Monday 11 December. They thoroughly enjoyed spending their last primary school excursion with their teachers and friends at Funfields in Whittlesea.

Prep Picnic - End of Year Celebrations

Our Prep students also enjoyed their end of year picnic. Squeals of excitement were heard throughout the school as they had a special visit from Santa.  Thank you to the parents who attended Possum Hollow.

Year 6 Graduation Mass, Awards and Supper 2024

On Monday, we celebrated and congratulated our 2024 Year 6 cohort. Fr Vinh led a beautiful Mass, allowing students and families o reflect on their time at St John’s. A particularly special moment during the Mass was the Passing of the Light Ceremony, where Tiago and Cleo, our 2024 School Captains, passed the light to Clara and Jack, our 2025 School Captains. In this symbolic act, Tiago and Cleo reminded Clara and Jack that they share in the life of Christ, who is our guiding light. By nurturing this life in Christ and using their gifts in service to others, they too can become a light for the world.

Following the Mass, we held the award ceremony to recognise and celebrate the achievements of our students. Congratulations to the following students on receiving awards:

We thank Shane Thompson, Hollie Goad, Connie Bandiera, Elizabeth Whiting and staff for all their preparation for this important evening. 

Year 5 Parents continuing a tradition of St John’s Community Spirit in Action 

We thank our Year 5 parents, especially Lexie and her hard working team for continuing our community tradition of providing decorations and supper for the Year 6 graduation. We thank these parents for ensuring that the students and guests enjoyed some yummy supper. Their contribution was another example of the great community spirit at St John’s.

Congratulations to our 2025 Student Leaders 

Congratulations to all of the Year 5 students who went through the process of applying for Student Leadership positions in 2025. We are blessed with another exceptional group of young people who will step up into leadership roles next year.

School Captains

•  Clara H
•  Jack F

House Captains

• Roberts: Harper R
• Streeton: Olivia C
• McCubbin: Joshua T
• Withers: Isaac F

Leadership Roles

• Faith & Social Justice: Nevaeh H & Joshua O
• Student Wellbeing: Isla V & Daniel T
• Environmental: Jax P
• Creative Arts: Elizabeth H
• Cultural Diversity: Charlotte M & Fabian M
• FIRE Carrier: Chloe S
• STEM: Aisling O & Oscar S 

We look forward to presenting them to our community early 2025.

Class Teachers 2025

Class Teachers 

Prep - Mrs Marianne Di Fabio and Mrs Wegner/Mrs Anna O'Grady

Year 1 - Miss Brooke Davis, MissCristina Menegas

Year 2 - Mr Robert Orme, Mrs Tracey James/Mrs Laura Ciavarella

Year 3 - Mrs Catherine Carrick, Miss  Krissy Hales

Year 4 - Mrs Simone Porthouse, Mr Paul Tarabay/Mrs Elise Mears

Year 5- Mrs Sue Lee Kew/Mrs Anna O'Grady, Mrs Penny Baynes, Miss Alexia Marian

Year 6 - Mr Shane Thompson, Miss Hollie Goad

Specialists

Performing Arts - Mrs Maria Buttifant

P.E - Mr Ben Friggi

STEM - Mr Frank Cotela

Italian - Mrs Maria Veronese

School Commencement 2025 

The 2025 school year commences for St John’s staff on Tuesday 28 January with professional learning in Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL). PBL is a whole-school framework that promotes positive behaviour across a school and helps schools develop safe and supportive learning environments. 

We will then have testing for students A-L on Wednesday 29 January and Thursday 30 students M-Z, with Prep students testing on Wednesday 5, 12, 19, 26 February and 5 March. Some families have been asked to come on a different day due to balancing numbers so please read the letter sent home with your child to confirm your testing day. All students commence on Friday, 31 January, including Prep students.  Please join us for a cuppa and chat (coffee van) from 8:30am.

2025 Supplies - please bring

As you are aware classroom stationery orders have been organised by the school. Families are asked to bring the following items on student testing days.

1 Packet Chux

2 Boxes of Tissues

1 Packet of Antibacterial Wipes 

On behalf of all the staff I wish you and your loved ones a safe, joyous and blessed Christmas filled with peace and love.

Warm regards

Alison Dean

Principal