Principal's News

Dear Families,

Welcome back to Term 2 ! We hope that all our families enjoyed a restful and joyful break, filled with opportunities to relax, reconnect, and recharge.

As a Catholic school, we return following the celebration of Easter—the most important event in our faith. The Resurrection of Jesus is a powerful reminder of hope, renewal, and the gift of new life. May the joy of Easter continue to guide and inspire us in all that we do this term. This week our students further explored the final days of Jesus’ journey and reflected on the depth of his love and the sacrifices he made for us.

We look forward to another exciting and productive term of learning, growing, and walking together in faith. Thank you for your continued partnership and support in nurturing the hearts and minds of our students.

A Message of Hope and Compassion- Pope Francis

This week, we reflect on the words and actions of Pope Francis, a guiding light for millions around the world. Pope Francis continued to inspire us with his message of compassion, care for the marginalised, and deep commitment to peace and justice.

He reminded us that, “The world tells us to seek success, power and money; God tells us to seek humility, service and love.” As a faith-filled school community, we are called to follow this path of love, kindness, and service — values that we see every day in our students, staff, and families.

Let us continue to keep Pope Francis, his family and the Church in our prayers. May his teachings inspire us to be more understanding and to care for our community in this time of sadness. 

Most Rev Peter A Comensoli, Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne welcomes you to attend the Solemn Pontifical Mass for the Repose of the Soul of Pope Francis 1.00pm Monday 28 April 2025 St Patrick’s CathedralEast Melbourne.

Please note there is no reserved seating. For those unable to attend in person, the Mass will be live streamed andbroadcast on Community Channel C31 (Channel 44 on digital television).

Our School Review and Improvement Planning

This term, St John’s will engage in our formal School Review process—a significant and reflective time in the life of our school community. The review provides an opportunity to celebrate our achievements, examine our practices, and identify areas for growth. Through consultation with staff, students, families, and external reviewers, we will gather valuable insights to inform our next steps. 

The findings from this process will directly shape our new School Improvement Plan, a strategic roadmap that will guide our learning, teaching, and community development over the next four years.

The Reviewer, David Alibon will visit St John’s on Monday 28th April and return later in May to speak to students, staff and families.

2025 – Annual Action Plan

At St John’s, our Annual Action Plan for 2025 reflects our ongoing commitment to fostering a faith-filled, inclusive, and high-performing learning environment. This plan outlines six strategic goals, developed in alignment with our School Improvement Plan, that are designed to enhance student outcomes, strengthen community engagement, and build leadership capacity.

The six strategic goals for 2025 are:

1. To make explicit connections between the Catholic traditions and the life of students.
2. To improve Mathematics outcomes in Years 3–6, in number fluency and the four operations.
3. To improve academic outcomes in Reading, in particular inferential comprehension for Years 3–6 at and below standard.
4. To improve writing, particularly sentence structure and cohesion, including grammar and punctuation in Years 1/2.
5. To improve active teacher, student, and family connection and engagement.
6. To build leadership capacity to maximise effective collaboration in teams.

Together, these goals will guide our shared focus for 2025, shaping meaningful teaching and learning experiences and ensuring every learner is known, supported, and challenged to reach their full potential.

Welcome  Fr Tinku George Punnakkattusery Lawrence (Fr Geo)

Fr John has a new appointment at St Monica’s in Moonee Ponds. On behalf of the school we wish him all the best in his Parish. We extend a warm welcome to Fr Tinku George Punnakkattusery Lawrence (Fr Geo), who joins us as the new assistant Priest in our Parish community. Please take the time to go and say hello and introduce yourself to him.  

Congratulations to the Reynold's Family

We are delighted to share the joyful news that Annaia Reynolds and her parents, Marley Jean and Daniel, have welcomed a new addition to their family — baby Nathaniel!

Congratulations to the Reynolds family on this wonderful occasion. We warmly welcome Nathaniel to the St John's community and look forward to meeting him soon!

Winter Uniform changeover

This term, students will be required to wear their Winter uniform. To ensure a smooth transition, they will have two weeks to adjust to the new attire. During this transition period, families can choose between the Summer or Winter uniform, allowing flexibility given the unpredictable Melbourne weather.

Please note that students must wear either the full summer uniform or the full winter uniform—mixing items from both is not permitted.

As part of the Winter uniform, boys are required to wear a long-sleeve shirt, not a short-sleeve shirt. They have the option of shorts or long pants.

Girls have the option to wear a winter tunic, school shorts, or pants as part of their Winter uniform.

Winter uniforms will be compulsory from Monday 5 April.

PREP Enrolments - the time to enrol is now!

Prep enrolments are now open for 2026 and we have had many new families touring the school again this week. Parents of potential 2026 enrolments (whether that is for Prep or another year level) are encouraged to enrol via our website.

If you know of someone who is yet to enrol their child please encourage them to do so ASAP. As  we are already in the planning stages and are starting our Prep interviews next week.

Please note: Prep enrolments for 2027 are now open as well.

Easter Raffle Thank You

Thank you to Marisa and the PIC for organising such a fantastic fundraiser! You could hear the excitement coming from the classrooms when the winners were announced—it was such a joyful moment.

A big thank you to everyone who purchased tickets. Your support helped make this a wonderful and successful fundraiser!

St John's Cake Stall- Saturday May 3

St John’s PIC will be holding a Cake Stall at Rosanna Baptist Church on Saturday, May 3 as a fundraising event to support our students and school community.

We warmly invite families to contribute by donating homemade baked goods or treats. Your generosity will help us raise valuable funds that directly benefit our children and their learning environment.

We would love donations of- 

Slices- Biscuits- 

Whole Cakes-

Gluten Free Cakes -

Slices - 

Any other Baked goods.

Baked goods can be brought to the school on Friday May  2 or to the Rosanna Baptist Church on the day. 

We will price items as they are collected. Please consider the following:

No refrigeration is available.

No cream, custard or raw eggs are permitted.

If you have grandparents or friends who enjoy cooking, we would love their support as well.

We also need help on the day, please email picstjohnsheidelberg@gmail.com or reach out to you ClassRep via WhatsApp if you are available for a few hours between 9am and 4pm.

PIC Mother's Day and Special Person's Stall – Friday 2 May

We are excited to announce that our Mother’s Day Stall will be held on Friday 2 May. This year, the stall will take place a little earlier than usual to accommodate the Year 5/6 Camp, which takes place the following week.

Students will have the opportunity to purchase a special gift for their mum, grandma, or a special person in their life. A variety of affordable gifts will be available, and prices will range from $2 to $10.

Each class will visit the stall during a scheduled time with their teacher. Please send your child to school with a small amount of money in a wallet/purse/ named envelope or zip-lock bag.

We thank our wonderful PIC and parent volunteers for organising this much-loved event and for helping our students show appreciation to the important women in their lives.

Mother's Day /Special Person Day Lunch

Mother's Day/Special Person Lunch

After a very successful outing last year, we are excited to announce the Mother’s Day lunch is back, to be held on Friday,16 of May. Please see the booking details in the PIC section of the newsletter.

House Athletics day - Prep-Year 6

A huge congratulations and thank you to all the athletes, volunteers, and staff who supported our Athletics Carnival on Wednesday. It was a fantastic day filled with great sportsmanship, beautiful weather, and an incredible turnout from our community. A special thank you to Ben Friggi for the time and effort he has invested in preparing our students during PE lessons, helping them build the skills and confidence to compete. We also extend our heartfelt thanks to Chris, Miguel’s mum, for providing first aid support and ensuring the wellbeing of our students at our sporting events.

Congratulations  to all involved.

Eucharist Faith night- Year Four Families

Families were warmly invited to attend a Faith Formation Night as their children prepared for the Eucharist. This important event took place in the Year 6 classrooms on Wednesday, April 23rd, at 6:30pm.

We were fortunate to have Fr. Elio Capra facilitate the session, providing valuable insights and guidance for both parents and children. We thank all the families who attended and participated in this enriching experience as we supported our students on their spiritual journey.

First Eucharist Sacrament

• 4P: Saturday, 17 May at 1:00pm
• 4MT: Saturday, 17 May at 3:00pm

ANZAC Day Commemoration

Today, our school community came together at 10:45am on the top yard for a special ANZAC Day Commemoration. This important occasion gave us the opportunity to reflect on the sacrifices made by Australian and New Zealand servicemen and women in times of war, conflict, and peacekeeping.

A sincere thank you to Connie  Bandiera and our Year 6 student leaders for their thoughtful preparation and leadership in running this morning’s reflection service. We are grateful for your efforts in helping us honour the ANZAC spirit with respect and reverence.

Anzac badges can be purchased at the office.

Anzac Services in Banyule

Friday 25 April

• 6am Watsonia RSL dawn service @ Morwell Avenue Memorial, Watsonia
• 6am Greensborough RSL dawn service @ Greensborough War Memorial, 203 Henry St, Greensborough
• 6am Montmorency-Eltham RSL dawn service @ Eltham Cenotaph, 903 Main Rd, Eltham
• 7am Heidelberg Community Service @ Burgundy and Studley rds.
• 8.30am Greensborough Anzac Day march from Greensborough RSL to Greensborough War Memorial
• 10.10am Watsonia RSL traditional service @ Morwell Avenue Memorial, Watsonia
• 10.30am Montmorency-Eltham family service @ Petrie Park, Ripper St, Montmorency
• 11am RSL on Bell Service @ the cenotaph off Miller Street.

Confirmation  - Year 6

Year 6 families are reminded that Confirmation Presentation Masses will be held during the Parish weekend Masses on:

• Saturday, 3 May at 6:00pm
• Sunday, 4 May at 8:30am or 10:30am

We encourage all families whose child is receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation this year to attend one of these Masses as an important part of their preparation.

AFL Auskick Program at St John’s in Term 2!

We are excited to announce that St John’s has been chosen to host an AFL Auskick program in Term 2! This fantastic opportunity will run for five weeks, providing students with a fun and engaging way to develop their football skills.

📅 Dates: May 14th – June 11th (Wednesdays)

 ⏰ Time: 3:30pm – 4:30pm 

📍 Location: St John’s Oval 

👦👧 Who can join? Prep – Year 6 students

For a small fee, each participant will receive their very own Auskick pack, which includes a brand-new football and pump!

To book contact Alex Federico on 0499499956

Don’t miss out on this exciting program. Please note that an adult needs to be there to supervise their child as it is not run by St John's staff.

St John’s Specialist Italian Carnivale (June 26)

We are excited to be celebrating our Specialist Italian Carnivale on Thursday, June 26, and we’d love your help to make it a truly special day!

We’re reaching out to all our wonderful Nonnas, Nonnos, Zias, Zios, Mums and Dads who may like to contribute their time and talents. If you have a passion for cooking, or would like to help run some Italian games (perhaps as part of a lunchtime club on the day), we’d love to hear from you!

Whether you can share a traditional recipe, help with an activity, or just lend a hand, your involvement will make the day even more memorable for our students.

Grazie mille!If you're interested in helping out, please let us know - Adean@sjheidelberg.catholic.edu.au

School Advisory Council (SAC) Feedback Form 2025

The SAC provides a forum for discussion and discernment, where the parent / guardian voice and perspective inform and support the decisions made by the principal and parish priest for the good of school and parish where the wellbeing and outcomes for students is paramount. The St John's SAC invites parent feedback, suggestions and constructive comments enabling a wide range of perspectives to be shared. Please see below for the link to your level Feedback email. 

Feedback 

We are always looking for ways to improve our school community - please email our principal Mrs Alison Dean- principal@sjheidelberg.catholic.edu.au with any suggestions.

Warm regards,

Alison Dean