Welcome to 2024.

I would like to warmly welcome the whole community to the 2024 year, in what is sure to be an exciting period for John Paul II Catholic School. We have had an excellent start to the 2024 school year. Students and staff have settled into the year well and we have commenced a lot of academic and extracurricular activities. A lot of work was completed over the summer break. Promethean smart screens were installed in every classroom, the administration area was painted, a new fence was installed at the back of our property and of course, our library build continued.

Staff News

• Welcome back to Miss Haidee Green, who is teaching 5/6 Huon.

• Welcome back to Mrs Emmalise Gowlland, from parental leave. Emmalise is teaching

Grade 4 Myrtle.

• Welcome to Mr Luch Brighella, who is our sustainability teacher in 2024, working one

day a week.

• Welcome to Mrs Jessica Foster, who is a new teacher assistant in Kindergarten.

• Welcome to Miss Zali Beddoe, who is a MacKillop student working as our Art support for the 2024 school year.

Library Construction

Our library construction continues with a finish date of sometime in early March. There will be approximately two weeks work setup in the new space before it will be available for use. I expect there will be some delays with materials. The hope is that we can use the new library after Easter. The building works include two new rooms for small groups, a large library space, two break out rooms, a teacher resources section, a library office, and a new toilet with full disability access. Just as Emmaus allowed a major change in the day to day running of John Paul II, these building works should do a similar thing.

John Paul II Play Equipment Upgrade

We are making significant upgrades to some of our play equipment, including a section of the Kindergarten Playground. I am hoping we can get this completed in the next five months. Manufacturing of the playground equipment takes approximately 3-4 months. The playground spaces will be a significant upgrade of the existing spaces.

School Lunch Program

Despite an error in our billing, our school lunch program has started well, following up from the successes of 2023. 90.5% of our families are participating in 2024. A survey was conducted as per the Board request, and the results were extremely positive. The main piece of feedback from parents was to ensure that the menu is sent out on a weekly basis. Thank you to families who have dropped off excess produce to the Little Dove Café.

We made jam from the peaches, the rosemary we use for roasting, and the tomatoes are going into our spaghetti bolognese. Please feel free to drop produce off as we will use it!

Construction of a New Strategic Plan

Our Strategic Plan concluded in 2023. Our school is currently in the process of developing a strategic plan, which will serve as a roadmap for improving student outcomes over the coming years. The consultation and input from parents, staff, and students are integral to this process, aiming to gather diverse perspectives and ensure inclusivity. As we move forward, we intend to align our strategic plan with the imperatives set by TCEO, as well as any state or national requirements, to ensure its effectiveness and relevance.

The strategic plan will be designed to be simple for clarity of purpose, and it will be collectively owned by all stakeholders involved. Various working groups will be established to facilitate the development and implementation of different aspects of the plan. Currently, we are in the initial stages of this process, and our strategic planning cycle is set to conclude in 2027. We are eager to involve the Board and all members of the community in discussions about their potential contributions to shaping the future strategic direction of our school.

A few helpful reminders:

Just a reminder that dogs are not allowed on school property without written permission from the Principal.
Please ensure that you can receive Compass notifications. This is our main point of contact with families.
Please find attached our Parent Information Booklet for 2024.

Brendan Gill

PRINCIPAL

__________________________________________________

KINDER ENROLMENTS - 2025 & BEYOND ARE NOW OPEN

Kinder enrolments for 2025 are now open and we are filling up! It might be an opportune time to remind any families or friends that are interested. We have very strong interest, so it is likely we will have large numbers as per the demand this year.

Anyone interested can pick up an enrolment pack from the office or just fill out this form: https://johnpaul.tas.edu.au/enrol/how-to-enrol/

________________________________________________________________________________

Cooee

KEY DATES

Key Dates · 21 Feb 2024

In this issue