Principals Update

Key Events - Term 1

Term 1, Week 5 

• Friday 28th of February - Story Dogs / Casual Clothes Day. Year 4, 5/6 Interschool sports - St John Vianney's v Mentone Park, AWAY GAME.  Clean Up Australia Day @ 2.30pm

Term 1, Week 6

• Monday 3rd of March - Halogen Leadership Day - Year 6 Students
• Tuesday 4th of March - Shrove Tuesday / Pancake Day
• Wednesday 5th of March - School Open Day tours @ 9.15am. Ash Wednesday Mass @ 12pm
• Thursday 6th of March - Special Assembly @ 2.30pm (Mark Dreyfus in attendance)
• Friday 7th of March - School Closure - Pupil Free Day

Term 1, Week 7

• Monday 10th of March - Labour Day Holiday. This is a public holiday and children are not required to attend school.
• Tuesday 11th of March -  SCHOOL PHOTOS. School Open Evening tour @ 7pm
• Wednesday 12th of March- Naplan testing begins
• Thursday 13th of March- Naplan testing continues
• Friday 14th of March -  Naplan testing continues. School Open Day tour @ 1pm. PFA Event - Barefoot Bowls

Dear SJV Families,

We are coming into a very busy time with a number of activities taking place over the next two weeks, so please take the time to check what’s on and what is appropriate to you and your family. 

Please keep free Friday the 14th of March as the SJV Parent night is taking place. All parents are invited to attend Barefoot bowling at the Mordialloc Bowls Club. It begins at 6.30pm and concludes at 9.30pm. There are special prizes on offer for new parents so please come along. The cost is $20 per person (payment can be made at the school office) which includes Pizzas (Drinks are at bar prices). So make sure you come along, meet new parents from the SJV community and have loads of fun. 

Please make sure that you read the following:

Story Dogs / Casual Clothes Day

Tomorrow, is a casual clothes day for all students.  All students who come in casual clothes are expected to bring in a $2 coin which will be donated to the Story Dogs program that we have here at SJV. Year 4- 6 students must wear their school sports uniform to school for interschool sports. They can then bring a change clothes and put them on once the interschool sports has been completed.

Clean Up Australia Day

Tomorrow, Friday the 28th February the school will be participating in the annual Clean Up Australia Day. All children are encouraged to bring a pair of gardening gloves or a pair of tongs to help with our collection of rubbish here at school. Our student Environment Group leaders will coordinate the activities on the day.

District Swimming Team 2025

Last Monday, our Swimming team participated in the Mordialloc District Swimming Carnival at the Noble Park pool where thirteen district schools participated. At the conclusion of the carnival schools are placed based on their aggregate points, in this overall standing we finished  in the top 10 which was a fantastic effort considering that a number of the schools have 500 plus students. 

Thank you to everyone who supported the team, the parents who drove them to early morning training, the teachers who assisted at training, Lauren Barrett (Cooper Barrett's mum) and especially Mrs Monottoi who coordinated the team. 

Congratulations on a tremendous team effort!

Welcome  to 2025 Family BBQ

Thank you to those who came to the Welcome to 2025 Family BBQ last week. It was a fantastic night with many students and parents in attendance. A special thanks to many members from the PFA for cooking and serving the sausages.

Ash Wednesday Mass

Next Wednesday, we celebrate Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday begins the holy season, marking the start of the 40 days leading up to Easter (not including Sundays). This 40-day period is known as Lent, and it usually includes a focus on fasting and prayer. The ashes used in the Mass yesterday originated from the burning of palms from the previous year. As we are marked with Ash, we begin our journey through Lent and prepare for the wonder of Easter. The ashes remind us that even though we don’t always live God’s way, if we ask God to forgive us, we will receive forgiveness and love. All students will attend Mass at 12pm. Parents and special friends are more than welcome to join us.

Lunch Fox

This year lunch orders are available on a Monday and a Friday. Monday's suppliers are Zagu who will be providing Sushi and Fridays suppliers are Station Stop Cafe, who provide a variety of bakery items. To order you need to down load the Lunch Fox App, select our school and set up your profile. Please note that orders need to be placed 48 hours ahead.

School Photos & Sibling Photos

School photos will be taken on Tuesday 11th March. Envelopes have been sent home. Orders need to be placed online. Please Note: All Students must be in the correct Summer Uniform for the Photos on Tuesday, 11th March. Orders for both these days must be done online via the Advanced Life School Photography Website (Link Below) prior to the day the photos are taken.

www.advancedlife.com.au

Please check out the school photos 2025 page in the newsletter for further details.

Parents & Friends Association

Thank you to the parents who attended last Tuesday night’s PFA meeting. We had a great attendance with many great events planned throughout the year. 

The next PFA Meeting is on Tuesday the 29th of May at 7pm in the staff room (office area). 

Please keep Friday the 14th of March free as the PFA are hosting a

Bunnings BBQ

Thank you to those who have already volunteered some time to support the Bunnings BBQ. We still need:

• 2 people to assist with the 2-4pm
• 2 people to assist with the 4pm to close

If you are able to assist with these times could you please click on the link below and sign up:

https://volunteersignup.org/LK8H3

SEDA Inflatables

During the week, all of the students participated in the Cricket SEDA inflatable activities. The students absolutely loved it and demonstrated some very impressive cricket skills.

2026 Prep Enrolments 

Our Requests for School Tours have begun already! Enrolments for Prep 2026 are now open and we encourage all families to submit their applications as soon as possible.  If you have a child or you know someone wanting to tour schools for their child, please encourage them to book a school tour by contacting Nicole in our front office.  If you are not able to make these tours please note that you are also welcome to call to make a time that does work for you. 

SJV School Tour Dates

Thursday 27th February @ 9.15am

Wednesday 5th March @ 9.15am

Tuesday 11th March @ 7pm

Friday 14th March @ 1pm

Thursday 3rd April @ 9.15am

NAPLAN 2025

NAPLAN will be held in the coming weeks. All Year 3 and 5 students will complete the NAPLAN tests  between the 12th of March and the 24th of March. If any families in Year 3 or Year 5 have holidays booked during this time, could they please let the school office know, so we can factor this into our planning.  We use NAPLAN to provide us with feedback about how we can improve our teaching, whilst parents are provided with a snapshot of how their child is progressing. For us, it is one assessment that makes up a thorough Assessment Schedule and should not present any stress for students, as they are well versed at completing online assessments.

Our Naplan assessments will be held on:

Wednesday 12th March- Writing 

Thursday 13th March - Reading & Language Conventions

Friday 14th March -  Numeracy

Monday 24th March- Catch up session 

Catch up assessments will be completed for students who are absent on the day of a test.

nForma App for Parents

All parents are registered on nForma. If you haven't downloaded the app or you are new to the school this year, please do so now. This is what we use to communicate with you, to give permission for excursions and how we send SMS messages and emails about First Aid incidents. Use your email address that you have registered with the school and then set up a password. Any difficulties, please see Nicole in the office. Please make sure student medical details are up to date on this system. 

School Fees and Direct Debit Forms

 At the end of last year we sent home Direct Debit forms for School fees. This is a great way to stay on top of your fees for 2025. Please fill this form in if you would like to take up this payment method and drop it into the office. If you have misplaced it, please call in to collect a new one. Accounts will be issued next week. New families, please feel free to call in and collect a direct debit form. 

Asthma and Anaphylaxis plans

If your child requires Asthma medication, an Epipen or medication for allergies including Hay Fever, this must be supplied to the school. All medications are kept in the First Aid Room. Management plans for Asthma and anaphylactic reactions need to be signed by a doctor and supplied to the school.

SJV Facebook Page

Year 5 / 6 Upcoming Canberra Camp

The Year 5/6 Canberra Camp is scheduled for Week 8 of this term on Monday 17th March to Friday 21st March. Information will be shared with Year 5/6 families early next week. My sincere thanks to the school staff who are attending this camp as it enables our students to access this amazing opportunity.

Reminders

• School Closure Term 1 - The school will be closed on Friday the 7th of March as there will be a professional development day for all staff focusing on Numeracy. This is the Friday of the Labour day long weekend. Theircare (OSHC) will be operating on that day.

• Dogs - Please note that for the safety and wellbeing of all members of our community, no dogs are permitted inside the school grounds and they must not be left unattended tied up at the gates. Adult supervision and holding of the leash is so important around vulnerable places such as schools.  We love dogs but we do have to take care of all members of our community.

• Bikes and Scooters - Please walk bikes and scooters when moving through the school grounds.

• Punctuality - It is expected that all students are to be at school by no later than 8.45am and not any time up to 9am. From 8.45am to 9am is crucial for students to get themselves organised, start the day with Meditation, prayer, take the roll and ready to commence their day promptly. Formal lessons begin at 9am. Any child who arrives at or after 9am is to be signed in at the office by a parent/guardian. I ask all parents to make sure that you adhere to these times.

• The next Newsletter will be shared on Thursday 13th of March.

• The next school assembly will be on Thursday 6th of March @ 2.30pm in the MPR

Regards

Mick Schinck

Principal