General Information

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR SOCCER TEAM

On Friday 25th of July at Arndell Park a group of our Year 5 & 6s competed in the Division Soccer Finals.  The boys won the day and have now progressed through to the regional finals which will be on the 7th August at City Vista Reserve.  We wish the boys all the best in the next level of the competition and we congratulate them on their achievements at Arndell Park.

BISHOP MARTIN VISIT

Last Friday Bishop Martin Ashe visited St John’s to meet with the students preparing to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation later this month. Bishop Martin spoke with the students about the graces we receive through the sacraments and how they can strengthen us throughout our lives. 

NAPLAN

In the first week of the term students in Year 3 and Year 5 received their NAPLAN Results.  A really important thing for parents to know is that their child's NAPLAN results have little bearing on their school grades. The purpose of NAPLAN is to provide a snapshot of Australian student performance overall, guiding federal and state governments with decision-making about curriculum and policy.  As a school we use this data to track the progress of each cohort and to identify any significant trends.  Please be aware that some secondary schools may require your child’s Year 5 NAPLAN Report as part of their enrolment process.

YEAR 5 & 6 CAMP

Parents will notice in the calendar dates section of the newsletter, that our Year 5 & 6 Camp will take place in the first week of Term 4.  This year’s camp is an Urban camp, where students will experience life in the city, from seeing the cultural sites to navigating public transport.  Primary school camps are a wonderful preparation for Secondary school where camp attendance is an expectation.  Parents are asked to attend a Camp Information Meeting on Thursday 4th September @ 4:00 in person here at school.  The meeting will also be live streamed, but parents who attend the online format will be unable to ask questions.  An Attendance Confirmation Operoo will be sent out prior to the meeting.  All families are expected to attend this meeting either in person (where we can address any questions) or remotely.  This meeting covers very important camp information.

2025 CAMP PAYMENTS

The office will be sending home Camp Invoices to families shortly.  Current Health Care Card holders are eligible each year for support with the cost of school excursions and camps (CSEF).  Families with money still available in their CSEF account will have a reduced payment amount on their Camp Invoice.  All payments are asked to be finalised by the end of the term.

YEAR 3 & 4 WATER SAFETY & SWIMMING PROGRAM

The Year 3 & 4 Water Safety Program will be held from Monday 1st September for four days, finishing on Friday 5th September.  The five day program will be held at the Aqua Pulse Hoppers Crossing.  Each 45-minute session caters from beginners to advanced swimmers with an emphasis on fun, safety and skill development. Water safety and learning to swim is a part of the Health and Physical Education Curriculum, whilst also being an essential life skill that provides students with the confidence and skills to enjoy aquatic environments and activities safely.

THOMAS CARR MUSICAL

Thomas Carr will be presenting the musical ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz’ over two days later in August. Please see the flyer for more information. 

YEAR 7 2027 ENROLMENT

A reminder to families with a child currently in Year 5, that enrolment for Year 7 2027 closes at Thomas Carr on Friday 15th August. Please see the attached flyer for more information. 

CHILD SAFETY - YOUTUBE ARTICLE

As part of our commitment to online safety, St John’s works in partnership with Linewize. This platform helps students and families to develop better digital habits, while also monitoring and tracking digital usages.  Families have access to free parental control tools to help keep children safe while using their personal devices.

We also have our own Online Safety Parent Hub.  The Parent Hub provides a wealth of online safety resources; such as digital parenting guides, app reviews and articles, developed by a team of leading digital safety and wellbeing experts. 

In this week’s Newsletter we are drawing your attention to an article about YouTube, which is a very topical platform at the moment.  The short article written by Online Safety Educator Abi Dargan, outlines the features of the platform, known risks and what parents need to be aware of. Interestingly Dargan believes the greatest risk factor of YouTube is too much screentime. Click on the link below to access the article directly or scroll through our Online Safety Parent Hub, which can be accessed via the school website.

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.