A message from Emily

Dear parents and carers

TOMORROW: Mother's Day Celebrations

• 8am: Gates Open
• Coffee van & Pastries will be in Joan's Yard or Innovation Hub if wet
• 9am: Prayer Gathering in Hubs and via Zoom link
• Mother's Day Stall

As Mother's Day approaches, let's take a moment to celebrate the extraordinary women in our lives who nurture, guide and inspire us. From mothers to grandmothers, aunts, sisters and all maternal figures, their love, sacrifice and wisdom shape us profoundly. Let's also recognise the educators, administrators and co-educators in our school community who embody the spirit of maternal care, fostering an environment where every child feels valued and supported. Thank you to all these remarkable women for your unwavering love, compassion and dedication. Happy Mother's Day!

Building Update: This week I have continued to work with ROAM Architects and Luke from MACS Planning and Infrastructure team on developing a school masterplan and solution for the hall roofing issue. What has come to light, after many reports and investigations, is there are significant repairs required for the hall. This does open up possibilities around improvements that could be made to the hall beyond just repairs, but we will require an application be submitted for a Supplementary Funding grant before next Friday. In order to meet this timeline, we would like to run community consultation around the hall next week for your input and feedback. If you would like to contribute to the conversation, I invite you to join Rod and Amanda from ROAM Architects in the Innovation Hub on Tuesday at 8:35am. Rod and Amanda will also consult with staff and children from Year 3-6 to inform our next steps. 

Parent Engagement: 

We are hearing that there are lots of questions and wonderings around St John's and our approaches to learning and teaching and what this means for your child compared to children in other schools. There is also a lot online and debates about different approaches in particular around teaching literacy. If you are wanting to know more about the learning and teaching at St John's, make sure you check out the Learning and Teaching page of this newsletter each fortnight (including previous newsletters), or come and chat to one of the school's leaders to discuss your questions. Please don't resort to parent chat groups or parent catch ups for the answers but instead give us a call or send an email. We will be more than happy to share the amazing learning that is happening at St John's and how we meet the Victoria Curriculum and your child's needs through our design time as educators. Thank you to the parents who were able to attend our recent parent sessions on Yr 3-6 Discovery and Community Projects and Cultivating a Community of Writers. We look forward to offering further opportunities like these next term.

We will be offering a Community Conversation focusing on communicating with families on Wednesday 22 May at 8:15am. For families unable to attend this conversation, a survey will be sent home so we can gather a range of voices as we evaluate current practice and actions moving forward.

As a staff, we are beginning to move into our assessment cycle for Semester One. As educators are beginning this process in preparation for reporting, we ask that families do not request parent meetings about child's growth as this will be shared at the upcoming Learning Conversations on Monday 24 June. We have extended the time for these meetings from 15 to 20 minutes to provide additional time for parents to discuss their child's learning with the educator. Educators will reach out to families if a conversation is needed prior to the Learning Conversation. The link to make a Learning Conversation will be sent home in the coming weeks. Families requiring a PSG booking will receive a link from Kate next week.

Parents of Year 4 and 5 children, please make sure you check out the Noticeboard page of this newsletter for information around secondary school enrolment and open days. For enrolment at a Catholic secondary school for Year 7 2026, applications need to submitted this year. An older sibling at the school does not guarantee you a place for your other children, so please ensure you read the information about each school's enrolment process.  Parents of Year 6 children who are enrolling for Year 7 2025 in at a State secondary school, applications close TOMORROW. Our local Catholic secondary schools are full for Year 7 2025 except Simonds College, who may still have some places for boys. If you have any questions about enrolment for secondary school please reach out to Karen Dodemaide. 

Please note there is no afternoon prayer gathering tomorrow afternoon due to our Mother's Day prayer gathering at 9am.

Warm wishes

Emily Conroy