Key Dates & Reminders
CALENDAR DATES
Below are list of some of the main dates for Family Calendars for the next couple of months:
June Dates
Tuesday 25th June - Vinnies Winter Appeal Casual Clothes Day
Wednesday 26th June - School Mass
Friday 28th June - End of Term STUDENTS FINISH @ 12:30
July Dates
Monday 15th July - Term 3 starts for Students
Wednesday 24th July - School Mass
Thursday 25th July - Sacrament of Confirmation Family Meeting
Saturday 27th July - Community Mass
Tuesday 30th July - School Advisory Council Meeting
CASUAL CLOTHES DAY
MESSAGE FROM OUR YEAR 6 SOCIAL JUSTICE GROUP
Below is a special message from our Year 6 Social Justice Group about some upcoming fundraising events:
Dear Families,
We will be having a CASUAL CLOTHES DAY to support the St Vinnies 2024 Winter Appeal. Students may wear Casual Clothes Day TUESDAY 25TH JUNE which is the last Tuesday of this term. Students are asked to bring to school on this day a non-perishable grocery item, which we can then give to our local Vinnies chapter. The requirements for items being donated are that they are non-perishable and long lasting such as canned foods and dried food such as pasta or rice. Other donation options include toiletries, such as hand cream, sanitiser, toilet paper, shampoos and conditioner.
Bringing in these items will help many families to be warm and to have food during this hard, cold winter time. We can’t wait to see how much St John the Apostle can donate during this year’s Winter appeal.
We can't thank you enough.
Year 6 Social Justice Team
FEAST OF THE SACRED HEART MASS
Our final school Mass for the term on Wednesday 26th June, will be dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. At this Mass we offer assistance to the poor by donating non perishable grocery items. These will be brought forward with the offertory procession and will then be handed on to the St Vincent De Paul Society who will distribute the goods to needy local families.
SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION INFORMATION
The celebration of our 2024 Sacrament of Confirmation will take place during Term 3. To help parents prepare their children for this important Sacrament we will be holding a Family Night on Thursday 25th July @ 7:00pm in the St John’s Hall. At this meeting Fr Albert will chat with families about the importance of the Sacrament your child is preparing to receive.
It is expected that all Confirmation Candidates attend this meeting with a parent. During the meeting we will be discussing church requirements such as who is eligible to be a Confirmation Sponsor, the significance of the saint’s name your child chooses to take in Confirmation and the dress code for the celebration.
Below is a list of important dates, in the lead up to celebrating the sacrament. You may wish to mark these on your family calendar:
Confirmation Family Meeting
Thursday 25th July
7:00pm @ St John’s School Hall
Sacrament of Confirmation
Friday 23rd August
7:00pm @ St Andrew’s Church Werribee
SEMESTER ONE REPORTS
Teachers are currently collating all assessment results and will be finalising the students' Semester One Reports. Families will be sent a link to access a digital copy of their child’s Semester One report for 2024, during the final week of this term.
NATIONALLY CONSISTENT COLLECTION OF DATA (NCCD)
Schools complete the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD) every year. It counts the number of students who receive additional adjustments or “help” at school because of a disability. The NCCD helps governments and schools plan for the needs of students with a disability. For further information click on the link NCCD Information Sheet.
CHILD SAFETY - ONLINE CHAT PLATFORM
In this week’s Newsletter we are drawing your attention to a great article on Omegle which parents can access through the St John's Parent Online Safety Hub . If your kids are going to be gaming online over the holidays, we strongly suggest you check out this article. Your child may be using Omegle to communicate with other gamers and as a parent we think you should be fully informed about the platform.
First launched in 2009, Omegle is a free online chat website that has recently seen a resurgence in popularity, since the pandemic. The site's tagline is 'Talk to strangers!' and that's exactly what visitors to the site are doing when randomly paired with a complete stranger to text or video chat anonymously. The premise alone raises many red flags, so how does Omegle work and is it safe for children? The link below will take you directly to the article.