Principal Updates

It was great to welcome back the whole school community at our First Assembly last Monday. It was a time to initiate the Preps and celebrate the students who are showing respect, responsibility and safe behaviours. It was also exciting to congratulate our Year 6 school leaders and present them with their badges. Each Year 6 student will take on a leadership role this year in an area of interest, to guide and lead the school.

Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) aims to set the benchmark for excellence in teaching and learning by delivering a coherent, academically competitive education for all students, regardless of their background. Our Vision for Instruction and Vision for Engagement outline how we will fulfil this commitment and achieve the MACS 2030 goal: that every student is inspired and enabled to flourish and enrich the world.

This Thursday we are excited to present to you our Curriculum Information session which will highlight our vision, what we teach and how we teach. St John's students thrive when their parents work in partnership with the school. They feel safe, connected and engaged, to achieve their very best. Our twin Vision statements provide system-wide frameworks for teaching excellence and optimised learning environments. Grounded in global research and teacher expertise, they represent a holistic Catholic response to the challenges facing our students today.

We hope that you can join us at the early Curriculum Information session at school, on Thursday at 3:45pm, where student supervision is available.

Our later session will be online at 6:00pm. This interactive session will be live.

This second session will also be recorded so you can watch it again later. Class Teachers will provide the link for the online sessions.

We are having our first School Closure Day on Tuesday, 10 March. Staff will be participating in First Aid Training. You are welcome to book your child in for a Full Day of Care with Camp Australia - https://pp.campaustralia.com.au/

This Friday will be Naomi Ryan's last day before commencing maternity leave. Naomi and her husband are excited to welcome their 3rd child in a couple of weeks. We look forward to sharing their special news. We are grateful for Naomi's support at the start of this year.

Founders Day Mass This Sunday

You are all invited to join us this Sunday at 9.45am Mass to celebrate our Founders Day Mass. The children will be involved in singing, prayers and readings. Following Mass we will be hosting a BBQ and sausage sizzle. This is a very special event for our whole Parish Community and the staff will be looking forward to seeing all of our students there.

Raising Kids in a Digital World - Parent Webiner Thursday 19 March at 7.30pm

To help support and educate our St John's families in Safe Internet use and to understand the dangers of the digital world, we are running a webinar for all families - "Raising Kids in a Digital World".

This Webinar will compliment what the students will be learning in class. Last Year we offered an in person session with Marty and Carley McGauran and this year we wanted to reach a wider audience so we have opted for the online session. It will provide you with vital information about keeping your child safe online and helping them navigate the internet and cyber world safely.

Here is the link for all parents to register for the webinar: bit.ly/19march2026

Delivery: Community Webinar - Online

Presenters: Martin McGauran & Carley McGauran

Date: Thursday, 19 March

Time: 7.30pm (90 mins)

Parents Association 2026

Our first Parents Association meeting for the year will be on Tuesday, 10 March. Everyone is part of the Parents Association so you are all welcome to come along and share your ideas to help make this a big year of Social Events, Fundraising and Outreach.

Please join us in the Staffroom at 7.00pm on Tuesday, 10 March.

Snack Bar Friday is Back This Week - Order Online!

Zooper Dooper Snack Bar Fridays - This Week!

Parents need to order online through CDF by 2pm Thursday, 19 February. This is a cashless fundraiser this year.

This Friday, 20 February will be our First Snack Bar Friday
You can pay $7 for the Term - To order use the link CDFpay app:
Funds raised will support the Parents Association Projects and Graduation
We need Parent support to help distribute the Zooper Doopers each Friday at 3.00pm - Can you help? Please indicate via CDFpay at the time of purchase

Scholastic Book Club

The latest issue of the Scholastic Book Club Catalogue is out now!

Each order will help earn books and teaching materials for our classrooms at St John's.

CLOSING DATE: Please place your orders at scholastic.com.au/LOOP by Monday 16 February 2026.

Unfortunately no cash or late orders can be processed.

For queries: Jessica Kruisheer - 0407 837 924.

Class Reps for 2026

Thankyou to the Parents who have offered to be the Class Reps for this year. For any new families who would like to join the Whatsapp group for your child's Year Level, please email the contact for your level and share your Phone Number with them. This is a great opportunity for all parents to communicate and support each other, however it is optional and all school communication will be via the newsletter and PAM.

Our Class Reps for 2026 are

PREP - Sarah Dela Vega <sarah.dela.vega11@gmail.com>

Felicity Hadden <felicity.hadden@gmail.com>

Year 1 - Nick and Joelle McKay <nick.joelle.mckay@gmail.com>

Year 2 - Olivia Kwong <oliviakhy@yahoo.com.au>

Year 3 - Kate Beattie <katebeattie@hotmail.com>

Year 4 - Emily Boyd <emily_and_josh@hotmail.com>

Year 5 - Nick and Joelle McKay <nick.joelle.mckay@gmail.com>

Year 6 - Emily Boyd <emily_and_josh@hotmail.com>

This Whatsapp group needs to be used and managed in accordance with the MACS Code of Conduct for Parents.

Clean Up Australia

On Friday, 27 February, at 2:20pm we will be participating in Schools Clean Up Day. We will pick up rubbish in all of the outside areas of the school then we will complete some activities based on what we have found. Students will be wearing gloves as they collect the rubbish.

Reminder to Label Items

As students get back into the habit of keeping track of their items at school, we would like to remind families to please ensure that everything coming to school has a name tag so we can help return them home. The most lost items are:

Jumpers
Water Bottles
Lunch Bags
Containers/Lunch Boxes

Working Bee - 13 March

Our first Working Bee for the Year will be on Friday, 14 March at 4pm.

We will be:

Topping up the mulch under the Adventure playground
Weeding Garden Beds
Trimming Hedges
Sweeping Paths
General Tidying up

Please mark this in your calendars and come along with your shovels, wheelbarrows, secateurs, rakes and brooms.

All families who participate will get a $50 school fee discount!

Joke of the Week

Q: Why did the broom quit on Clean Up Australia Day?

A: It was tired of being pushed around!

I hope that you all have a great week ahead and please don't hesitate to reach out if I can support you or your family in any way.

Verona Gridley

St John's Primary School Principal

principal@sjmitcham.catholic.edu.au

NAPLAN 2026

Information for Parents and Carers