Start of the New Term Prayer

Lord, as we prepare for the coming of a new term make us ready,

attentive and available to hear you.

Thank You for the gift of being able to rise each day

with the assurance that You walk through it with us.

Thank You for the gifts of creativity and uniqueness,

and the energy to put them to good use.

May all that we are today, all that we try to do today, may all our encounters,

reflections, even the frustrations and failings all be place in your hands.

May the work we do and the way we do it, bring new hope, new life,

and courage to all we come in contact with this semester.

We thank you, Lord.

We make this prayer through Christ Our Lord, Amen.

Welcome Back to Term 3

Welcome to Term 3 2024. Although the weather was chilly in the holidays we hope that the you all got to spend quality time with each other and are recharged and ready to go for a great term ahead.

During the holidays, while heading to school, a lady stopped me and asked if I was affiliated with the school. Proudly, I replied yes. She went on to share a heartwarming experience she had with several of our students last term. These students had helped her with directions and assisted in picking up her belongings. A family also offered to help her by getting her a coffee. She was deeply impressed by our caring and well-mannered students.

This encounter exemplifies the type of leadership we strive to cultivate in our school community. True leadership is about caring for others beyond oneself, and our students demonstrated this beautifully. It is moments like these that make us proud and reinforce our commitment to developing compassionate, responsible leaders for the future.

As you can see, this week's newsletter is in a new format. We will be trialling this format for the rest of the year and hope you enjoy it. Your feedback is welcome.

NAIDOC Week

Wominjeka! Last week was NAIDOC (National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee) Week, with a theme of Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud & Proud. NAIDOC Week is an opportunity for all to learn about First Nations cultures and histories. Aboriginal Elders have played, and continue to play, an important role and hold a prominent place in communities and families. They are cultural knowledge holders, trailblazers, nurturers, advocates, teachers, survivors, leaders, hard workers and loved ones. Thank you to Miss Brooke Davis, Simi, Cleo, Polly and Rachel for leading learning at St John's as we work towards Reconciliation.

Thank you Semester One SRC students

On behalf of Marianne Di Fabio, Rob Orme, Hollie Goad (SRC Teacher Reps) and myself, I would like to say congratulations thank you to our Semester One 2024 SRC students; -

PD	Charlie
PWG	Annika
1D	Holly
1M	Jack
2CF	Sofia
2O	Allira
3H	Louis
3JC	Grace
4MT	Rebeykah
4P	Oliver
5B	Oscar
5L	Leonardo
6T	Saihge
6G	Noah

Thank you to each of these students for their attendance to our meetings, contributing to a safe and respectful St John’s school community. We have enjoyed working with the students as we engage voice in actions taken across the school.

SRC Nominations

Nominations are open for SRC Student Representative Council Semester 2 2024. Students are invited to fill out the proforma provided by their classroom teacher and present their speech at a time nominated by the classroom teacher. All students that have not been in the position of SRC representative in 2024 are welcome to apply. Please speak with your child’s classroom teacher for further information.

Parent Teacher Interviews

Thank you to the 31 families who participated in the parent-teacher interviews this week. I will bring these numbers to the SAC for discussion to determine if there is a need to provide these additional interviews. The low attendance and feedback given suggests that families are very satisfied with the current communication practices of Student Led Conferences. Here are some quotes from families about the Student Led Conferences:

“We found them so insightful and wanted to commend you and the teachers for continuing to provide parents with opportunities to see firsthand what our children are learning.”

“Wow, what a great opportunity for children to have a voice and share their learning. I wasn’t expecting them to be so articulate about their strengths and challenges.”

“I work full-time, so it is wonderful to have the opportunity to see and hear what is happening in the classrooms during the day. Thank you for making this happen.”

Please rember you are welcome to contact your children's teachers anytime to arrange a meeting if you have any concerns or questions.

Changes to First Aid Notification

Currently, your child brings home a white piece of paper notifying you that they have visited First Aid that day. Starting next week, we will transition to electronic notifications via email. The email will be sent to one of the addresses provided in your child’s enrollment forms. This email will include the date, time, reason, and type of first aid given. Please note that this is for your information only; there is no need to panic or call the school. Rest assured, if your child experiences a head injury, serious injury, or illness we will contact you by phone, as per our current practice.

Athletics Carnival - Year 3-6

The St John’s Athletics Carnival will take place on Wednesday, 31st July, 2024 at Tom Kelly Athletics track - Rieschiecks Reserve 125A George St, Doncaster East. All Year 3 to Year 6 students will attend and will compete in a number of track and field events in their appropriate age groups. Year 3-6 students will depart school at 9:00am and return to school at approximately 3:00pm. Parents are welcome to attend our Athletics Carnival. If any parents would be interested in assisting with an event please let Ben Friggi know. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Year 3-6 Parent Engagement Night- Wednesday 7 August

We are excited to invite Year 3-6 families to a Parent Engagement Information Session on August 7 at 6:30 PM. This session will provide insights into how your children learn in Literacy and Maths. We will discuss the MACS “Vision of Instruction” and what it looks like in Years 3-6. We are doing wonderful things in these areas to support your children’s learning. We encourage all families to attend to learn more and ask questions.

100 days of Prep

We have been counting up the days to our 100th Day of Prep at St John’s and we are nearly there! On Monday 5 August the Prep students and teachers will be celebrating this exciting event, by having a day of fun activities. There is no question about it they are definitely 100 days BRIGHTER!!!! Thank you to the families and Prep teachers for working together to ensure this will be a highlight of the year.

Warm regards

Alison Dean

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to the following students