PRINCIPAL’S CHRISTMAS MESSAGE

As Catholics we have just entered a new church year and will begin to reflect on the Gospel of Matthew. At Christmas we hear the story of the birth of Jesus and it allows us to know that God sees us and is with us. It is through this personal knowledge of each one of us that God shares his abundant graces and gifts with us.

As the end of 2025 draws near, I wish to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has contributed to the success of this year. Thank you to our families for your unwavering support and thank you to all the staff who work so tirelessly to ensure the success of every student. As a school community we have much to be grateful for and Christmas provides us with the ideal opportunity to reflect on our successes and give thanks to God for the things we have achieved through His guidance and love. I wish all our families a very Merry Christmas and hope that the holidays are an opportunity to take a break and recharge.

STAFFING UPDATES

We farewell Ms Emily Westendorp, who has been with us since August. We thank Emily for her hard work and we wish her all the best in her future endeavours. Emily has secured a contract at St Lawrence Derrimut and will take a short break over Christmas to visit her family in Canada.

We welcome Ms Izabela Smaza, who will be joining us in the new year. Izabela is moving from the State System and comes to us with several years of experience. Ms Smaza met her class yesterday and was very impressed with the students and is looking forward to working at St John’s next year.

YEAR 1 - 6 2026 ORIENTATION SESSION

Yesterday we held an Orientation Session for our 2026 Year 1 - 6 classes. At this session students met their teacher for next year and had a chance to work with their 2026 classmates. Please see the list below for an outline of our 2026 Class Teachers.

2026 Class Teachers

Year Prep - Mrs Tiana D’Souza, Ms Vee Bacon & Ms Chloe Ryall

Year 1 - Mrs Wendy Gonsalves/Mrs Kelly Davies & Ms Bella Nguyen

Year 2 - Ms Bianca Gomez & Ms Hannah Martin

Year 3 - Mrs Erin Webb, Ms Georgia Burston & Ms Audrey Bongetti

Year 4 - Ms Jessica Gatt, Ms Kara Lawson & Ms Izabela Smaza

Year 5 - Ms Sarah Cauchi/Mr Bill Bemelmans, Mr Keanan Van Hees & Mrs Amelia Milton/Mr Bill Bemelmans

Year 6 - Mr Cooper Trigg & Ms Carolyn Dillon

2026 CLASS LOCATION MAP

To accommodate our growing student numbers, we will be expanding our Learning Spaces next year. Next week, on Monday 15th December, we are scheduled to have several new classrooms delivered onsite. These classrooms will be located on the Embelton Av side of our current Year 2 Learning Space. During the January holidays these buildings will be fully connected to all the services and be ready for Day One 2026. Please see the image below for the location of our 2026 classes.

CONGRATULATIONS SKYLER

Congratulations to Skyler, who practises Jiu-Jitsu at Gracie Barrie Oceania School. Skyler recently attended a Jiu-Jitsu Competition and awards night in Sydney, where he came second.

CHRISTMAS NATIVITY PERFORMANCE

On Thursday 4th December, our the Year 2s presented the Nativity Story in conjunction with our St John’s School Choir. It was wonderful to see this special event brought to life in such a joyful and meaningful way. For families who were unable to attend, we invite you to scroll through the images below or check out the video link, which can be found just under the Principal's Digital Message. Thanks to all the staff who worked so hard to prepare the costumes and the backdrops, thanks also to the Year 2 teachers for preparing their students and to Ms Carla Romeo for preparing the choir.

YEAR 6 CELEBRATION BIKE RIDE

Our Year 6 students went on a Graduation Bike Ride last Tuesday 2nd December. This was a wonderful way for the students to informally celebrate their achievements of the past 7 years and everyone enjoyed a free sausage sizzle and ice cream.

YEAR 5 & 6 WATER SAFE SESSION

On Friday 28th November our Year 5 & 6 students participated in a Water Safety Session, run by Life Saving Victoria. The session took place at Altona Beach and the groups were treated to sensational weather. These water safety lessons are very timely with the Christmas holidays fast approaching.

NEW COMMUNICATION APP NOW OPEN

We have now moved fully to a new platform to communicate with parents, nForma For Parents. It is important that the email used to log in to your App is the email that is linked with the school. Going forward parents will receive all communication via this App and families can also use the App to update student medical information and emergency contacts, and to also directly communicate student absences with the school. For those who do not have the App currently, please see the downloading instructions below:

2026 SCHOOL FEES

Below is an outline of the school fees for the 2026 school year. The increase in amounts has been unavoidable and reflects advice given to St John’s by MACS (Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools), our governing body. A reminder that the 2026 Direct Debit forms were sent home early this month. Families wishing to utilise this payment method are reminded that forms need to be returned this Friday, 28th November.

Student Levy - $420 per child

Capital Levy - $300

General School Fees - Expected to be $1940 per family (unlimited children)

Parish Support (Stewardship) $5 a week (which would be $260 annually)

SOCIAL MEDIA BAN

From tomorrow, December 10th 2025, Australia's new law will require age-restricted social media platforms to prevent users under 16 from creating or keeping accounts. Platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and X are required to take "reasonable steps" to comply, facing large fines if they do not. The aim is to improve online safety for young Australians.

Click on the link below for a Letter from the team at Enform and Impower, who provide our students with Digital Awareness lessons every term.

CHILD SAFETY - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT DISCORD

The Linewize platform helps schools, students and families to develop better digital habits, while also monitoring and tracking digital usages. With St John’s now working in partnership with Linewize, our parents have access to an Online Safety Parent Hub, via the school’s website. This Hub has a wealth of tips and information for families.

With Under 16 access to various platforms being such a hot topic at the moment, we felt it was timely to draw parents’ attention to a communication platform used by many gamers. The article by Online Safety Expert Teodora Pavkovic talks about the features and known risks of communicating with others on Discord. The article has terrific tips for safe and responsible use of the platform.

ASSEMBLY LIVE STREAM

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 the 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.

Principal's Message & Videos

Principal's Message

Out & About

Year 2 Nativity Play