A message from Emily

Dear parents and carers

Welcome back for Term 2! It has been a lovely return to school, enjoyed alongside some beautiful autumn weather.

Our staff began the term with a professional learning day led by Carlie Anderson, which focused on our school’s patron saint, St John the Evangelist. As St John’s feast day falls on 27 December, when the school year has concluded, we have historically celebrated St Mary MacKillop, whose order—the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart—opened our school.

During my pilgrimage last year, I was fortunate to visit the island of Patmos, where St John lived in exile. This experience allowed me to learn more about who he was and the significant role he has played in our Catholic faith. Reflecting on this, I felt it was important for our school community to better understand John: his teachings, his personal experience of knowing Jesus, and how his legacy led to our school being named in his honour.

While on Patmos, I visited the Cave of the Apocalypse, considered one of the most sacred sites in Christianity; it is the place where St John wrote both the Fourth Gospel and the Book of Revelation. On Monday, Carlie led us through the history of the Gospels, including that of St John. St John—who is also known as "The Theologian"—is celebrated on 8 May and 26 September in the Eastern Orthodox Church. The children will learn more about St John during their upcoming faith units as we continue to build a stronger sense of connection to our school’s name.

Tomorrow, families are invited to the our ANZAC prayer gathering at 2:45pm in Joan's Yard.

Michele Hayes is retiring!

After 45+ years of teaching in Catholic Education, Michele is finishing her career with us at St John's on Thursday 7th May. We want to celebrate all her contributions especially those at St John's over the last 10 years. 

We are inviting families who would like to create a short video to contribute to the special surprise we are planning. 

Video provocation: What is something that has resonated with you about Michele or the impact she has had? 

Please keep your video to under a minute and email it to admin@sjfootscray.catholic.edu.au no later the 9am Monday 4th May.

We will be holding a special assembly on Thursday 7 May at 10am and all are welcome to join. In the afternoon families are also invited to join us at 3pm to wave Michele goodbye and good luck!

Ways of Working:

One of our school priorities this year is wellbeing, specifically our behaviour curriculum and procedures. This week communication was emailed to families for your input about our St John's Ways of Working. In only a couple of days we have already received 22 responses so we are very thankful that parents have already taken the time to respond. We would love to hear from every family. You can access this google form via your email or this link here

Local footpath upgrades:

We have been notified that the council is updating the footpath along our school boundary along Essex Street. You may have noticed some line marking between Gates 1 and 2. We have been advised that we may be impact for nine days while this working is taking place for both pedestrian and car traffic. We haven't been provided a date for when this will commence but we will inform the community once we know more.

Hall Update:

I have also had an update over the holidays around the electrical upgrade that was required before the next stages of our building project can commence. The first thing to happen will be replacement and upgrade power poles and install a new service pit. This work will be undertaken by Jemena. Once I am informed of a start date I will communicate this with the school community as well as any safety process we need to put in place for dropping off and picking up children while these works are undertaken.

Fundraising:

In our last newsletter, I shared the incredible amount raised during our Term 1 fundraising events. I am pleased to see that the funds already invested in new yard games are being enjoyed by so many children. Additionally, we are now offering extra library time during break times for children seeking passive play activities, such as puzzles, card games and board games—items we purchased using funds raised last year.

I am also excited to announce that we are using the money raised last term to invest in a new 3D printer for the school. Our old printer is ten years old, and after many attempts to repair it, we determined that the cost of fixing it exceeds its value. Jessie and Bess have done the research, and a new 3D printer is already on its way. We look forward to sharing the items created with this new machine, which will feature the designs the children developed during their Term 1 Innovation learning sessions with Jessie.

We had a slight misfire with our Thursday Treat today and had to cancel selling zooper doopers at break time. This has now been resolved and the freezer is fully stocked so we are all good to go next week. We will be selling Zooper Doopers for $1 every Thursday. Once the weather becomes cold we are planning on offering a different treat to replace the Zooper Doopers.

Our next PFA meeting is on Wednesday 29 April at 9am in the staffroom. If you would like to join us as we plan Term 2 fundraising ideas just come along.

Mother's Day Celebrations: 

We invite all mothers and significant women in the lives of our children to join us for our Mother’s Day morning on Friday 8th May starting at 8:00 am. A coffee van will be onsite, offering a complimentary coffee to all our mums. We will also be hosting a special prayer gathering beginning at 9 am.

We will also have our Mother's Day stall for children to purchase a special gift. Children will need no more than $10

Please click the link below to RSVP so that we can ensure we cater appropriately for the event. - RSVP Attendance

Important Parent Webinar: Raising Kids in a Digital World Webinar: Presented by Inform and Empower's Martin McGauran

SAVE THE DATE: Raising Kids in a Digital World - Thursday 14 May

We strongly recommend that all families register for this Inform and Empower webinar, even if you have attended one in the past. Marty consistently updates his content to reflect the latest statistics, trends and challenges faced by families navigating the digital world.

Marty is highly knowledgeable about the various platforms children are currently accessing and provides practical tips and strategies to help keep your child safe. Information and knowledge are power; it is essential that parents remain proactive, not only regarding the challenges associated with social media and gaming but also their positive aspects.

Registering for the Webinar: 

Registration link for parents and carers: bit.ly/14may2026

We recommend parents and carers register for the webinar even if you are unable to attend as your registration will ensure you are emailed a link to the replay.

Sustainability Initiative:  BYO Lunch Boxes for Lunch Orders

As part of our sustainability measures, and in conjunction with DT Fuzions who supply our lunch orders, we are asking for your support in reducing our general waste.

Students are invited to bring their own lunch box for lunch orders. Lunch boxes must be clearly labelled and an appropriate size to fit the order.

In addition, we are considering making Monday a "nude food" day.  More information to come.

Thank you for your support in helping us care for our environment.

Athletics Day Friday 1st May 2026

Next Friday, we will be holding our school Athletics Sports Day. We will bus the children to the Moonee Valley Athletics Track in the morning, and all families are warmly invited to come along and support the day. I have included the program provided by Michelle below so that you can plan your arrival.

Thank you to all the parents who have already completed the permission form via PAM. If you intend to take your child home directly from the track at the end of the day, please ensure you indicate this on the permission form so we can accurately plan the number of buses needed to transport the children back to St John's. 

What's on at the Farm?

In Term 2 we will have working bees at the Farm every second Friday between 9am-12pm.

These are open to all parents and carers within our St John's community. Bring a hat and a drink bottle, come along and make some new friends! If you would like to join the working bees the dates for these are the 8/5, 22/5, 19/6.

See you there, Mish

Please see a link to our Term 2 Dates. 5/6 families please note a change of date to the open afternoon. A hard copy of this calendar was sent home with the eldest child of each family this afternoon, so check their bag so you can pin it up somewhere at home.

God Bless,

Emily

What's coming up:

• ANZAC Day Assembly - 2:45pm Friday 24th April
• SJ Athletics Day - Friday 1st May at Moonee Valley Athletics Park

Reminders:

• Log into PAM an review and update all areas including Connect Fields and Connect Surveys

• Complete the form to let us know if you would like to support the PFA via donations, time or skills : https://forms.gle/nP8qUdxtAUyVuSfq8 

   

OUR IMAGE OF THE CHILD

‘At St. John’s, we strongly believe that children are at the centre when given authentic and meaningful experiences. They flourish when their passions and interests are acknowledged and valued. Children are empowered when they take ownership for their learning. They have a right to develop autonomy through discovery.’

(St. John’s Staff, 2018)

We respectfully acknowledge the Wurundjeri People of the Kulin Nation as the owners of the land on which we live, play and learn at St John's Primary School, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.

All students attending St. John's Primary School have the right to feel safe. The care, safety and wellbeing of children and young people is a fundamental responsibility of all within our school.