General Information
Information which you need to be aware of
IMPORTANT FEE STRUCTURE INFORMATION FOR 2027
Last week families were notified of changes to our fee structure for 2027. Previously, fees were made up of a Family Fee and Capital/Building Levy, together with individual Student Levies and Camp Levies where applicable. Following direction from Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS), we will move to the following tiered fee structure.
We understand that household budgets are under pressure and appreciate that any increase in school fees can be difficult. This decision has not been made lightly. We remain committed to supporting families wherever possible. A range of payment options is available to help spread payments across the year. Families who hold a ‘Service Australia Health Care Card’ may also be eligible for the means-tested CSEF discount and the MACS Concessional Fee Discount. Please contact the school office confidentially if you would like to discuss payment arrangements or available assistance.
The clips below have full amounts and examples of payment options:
TERM 3 SAFETY DRILL REPEAT
After recently completing our Term 3 Safety Drill, we repeated the process last week, to refine some of our student responses. We reflected that students needed practise remaining still during the alert sound, when on the yard. This would be particularly important in a real emergency scenario during playtime, where students would need to hear instructions and be able to quickly evacuate to a designated location.
PARENT TEACHER INTERVIEWS
Tonight we will be holding our final Parent Teacher Interview Session between 3:30-7:30 pm. It was wonderful to see all our parents at the interviews and a big thanks to staff for working on two nights until 8:00pm. Your dedication and hard work is greatly appreciated.
SWIMMING PROGRAM
Our Year 3s & 4s attend a Water Safety and Swimming Program in Term 4. The program commences on Monday 19th October and goes for the week . This program is an important aspect of the students being able to develop an awareness of water safety and an ability to manage themselves in a variety of aqua environments. Permission notes will be sent to families early in Term 4.
YEAR 2 EXCURSION
On Thursday 3rd September, our Year 2 students enjoyed a visit to Eureka Skydeck as part of their Geography unit, Connecting Country and Place. They had a wonderful time exploring Melbourne from a different perspective and taking in the sights from high above the city. The visit allowed our students to connect their classroom learning with the world around them while enjoying this wonderful experience together.
CELEBRATING BOOKWEEK @ ST JOHN’S
MacKillop College Band Visit
To launch Book Week, we welcomed students from MacKillop College for a live music performance. They performed 10 songs featuring popular Disney and Pixar tracks, and our students enjoyed singing and dancing along. Some students also had the opportunity to join in and play instruments. Thank you to the students and staff from MacKillop College for visiting and helping us start Book Week with a fun morning of music.
Staff Performance - Return Of Thelma The Unicorn
On Thursday 27th August, our staff performed The Return of Thelma the Unicorn as part of our Book Week celebrations. Thank you to all the staff who gave up their lunchtimes to rehearse and to those who helped organise the props and costumes. The students enjoyed seeing their teachers bring the story to life and it was a great addition to our Book Week celebrations.
Book Week Parade
On Friday 28th August, we concluded Book Week 2026 with our annual Book Week Parade. Students and staff enjoyed dressing up as characters from their favourite books, with lots of creative and colourful costumes on display. Thank you to all our parents and carers for supporting students with their costumes and helping make the day a success.
CHILD SAFETY - - WEBINAR ON AGE APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY USE
All St John’s parents have access to our own Online Safety Parent Hub. The Hub provides a wealth of online safety resources, such as digital parenting guides, app reviews and articles. These have been developed by a team of leading digital safety and wellbeing experts. Parents also have access to free parental control tools to help keep children safe while using their personal devices.
This week we draw your attention to a free Webinar on ‘Appropriate Technology Use’. Scroll down to the lower half of the article for the full Webinar Link. Areas covered include understanding how to use the Qustodio app for day-to-day support of your children. It also unpacks what the term “Age Appropriate” actually means and looks at how kids today are spending their time online.