Principals Update

 Key Events - Term 1

Term 1, Week 2 

• Thursday 5th February - Pastoral Meetings 3.45pm to 4.50pm
• Friday 6th February - Year 4, 5/6 Interschool sports - St John Vianney's v Parktone AWAY GAME

Term 1, Week 3 

• Tuesday 10th February - Opening Year School Mass @ 9.15am and Pastoral Meetings 3.45pm to 4.50pm
• Wednesday 11th of February- Prep Testing day (No Prep students attend school)
• Thursday 12th February - Pastoral Meetings 3.45pm to 4.50pm & Swimming Training (Interschool swimming squad) - 7.15am-8am (Waves Leisure Centre)
• Friday 13th February - Swimming Training (Interschool swimming squad) - 7.15am-8am (Waves Leisure Centre). Year 4, 5/6 Interschool sports - St John Vianney's v Mentone Park AWAY GAME. Assembly at 3pm in the MPR. Welcome BBQ in the Park 5pm - 8pm

Term 1, Week 4 

• Tuesday 17th February - Shrove Tuesday (Pancake Day)
• Wednesday 18th - Ash Wednesday Liturgy at 2.30pm in the Church. Prep Testing day (No Prep students attend school)
• Thursday 19th February - Pastoral Meetings 3.45pm to 4.50pm & Swimming Training (Interschool swimming squad) - 7.15am-8am (Waves Leisure Centre)
• Friday 20th February - Swimming Training (Interschool swimming squad) - 7.15am-8am (Waves Leisure Centre). Year 4, 5/6 Interschool sports - St John Vianney's v Mordi Beach AWAY GAME. PFA Function Barefoot Bowls, 6pm - 9pm

Dear SJV Families,

Welcome to 2026!  We hope you enjoyed a restful break with your family and friends and are looking forward to an exciting year ahead.

We warmly welcome all 36 Prep students and their families into the school community. Thank you for choosing St John Vianney’s and placing your trust in the school. We look forward to working in partnership with you. Our Preps have managed their first week at school with an amazing calmness and keenness to take in everything! The feedback from all staff has been so positive - they have adjusted to school life so quickly and confidently. My sincere thanks to our amazing Prep team - Mrs Hannan, Ms Osadnik, Mrs Fahey and Mrs Hampton for ensuring that they settled in smoothly for their first day of Primary school. Special thanks also to our LSO team of Mrs Hanson and Miss Julia for their dedication and support to our students as well.

We warmly welcome a number of new children and their families to our school, from Grade One through to Grade Six. We look forward to getting to know you and sharing the year ahead together. With these new enrolments and our strong Prep numbers, we now have a total of 192 students attending our wonderful school.

It was a pleasure to see so many parents, grandparents and special friends walking their children into school on Wednesday. Students entered their classrooms with great enthusiasm and have settled into school life extremely well. If the first few days are any indication of what lies ahead, we are certainly in for a fantastic year of learning and opportunities.

Thank you to all parents for ensuring your children were so beautifully presented in their school uniforms. Please continue to encourage your child to take pride in their appearance and remind them of the importance of wearing the correct uniform, including hats, as our No Hat, No Play policy is in place. Students are also expected to walk into school carrying their own school bags.

I have been most impressed by the students’ manners when entering and leaving the school each day, greeting staff with a cheerful good morning or good afternoon. We have truly hit the ground running and are ready to ensure this term is an engaging one, full of learning and growth.

Each year we have a whole school theme. Last year we had Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths! This year, our whole school theme is Use Your Gifts for Good. This theme ties in with our Vianney's Values with a specific focus on Excellence. More will be shared on our 2026 theme throughout the year.

Staffing News

This year we welcome on staff to SJV:

• Ms Clare Wrigley (Year 1/2 Teacher, Thursday & Friday)
• Mrs Bec Hampton (Prep - Tuesday & Year 5/6 Friday)
• Mr Drew Lane (P-Arts & E-Learning Teacher, Monday to Wednesday)
• Miss Maddy Rogers(Learning Support Officer) 
• Miss Eve Calleja (Learning Support Officer) 

We are incredibly lucky  and delighted to have a you all as part of our SJV  community.

Nforma 

We use Nforma to communicate with our families. Everyone needs to have this downloaded on their phone. For new families- Search for Nforma for parents. Type in your registered email with me and then hit forgot password. You will then be directed to set up a new password. Please load all medical and contact details into your child's profile. We use nForma to send you permission forms for excursions, to send First aid notifications and to set up teacher meetings like the current Pastoral meetings that has been sent to you.

Whole School - Start of the Year Mass

Next Tuesday 10th February will be our start of the year mass for all students.  Parents are most welcome to attend, Mass will begin at 9:15am in the Church.  We will be blessing, and presenting, the Year 6 student leadership badges at this mass.

Ash Wednesday 

On Wednesday the 18th of February, we celebrate Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday begins the holy season, marking the start of the 40 days leading up to Easter (not including Sundays). This 40-day period is known as Lent, and it usually includes a focus on fasting and prayer. The ashes used in the Mass yesterday originated from the burning of palms from the previous year. As we are marked with Ash, we begin our journey through Lent and prepare for the wonder of Easter. The ashes remind us that even though we don’t always live God’s way, if we ask God to forgive us, we will receive forgiveness and love. All students will attend a Liturgy in the Church at 2.30pm. Parents and special friends are more than welcome to join us.

Class Letters

Last week you would have received a “Class Letter” which detailed the expectations for your child’s class in 2026 and more specifically in Term 1. It also includes relevant information about specialist teaching subjects, what day they occur, what particular uniform would be needed and any relevant diary dates. Please make sure that you take the time and read it carefully and if you have any questions, please contact your child's classroom teacher/s.

2027 Prep Enrolments 

Our Requests for School Tours have begun already! Enrolments for Prep 2027 are now open and we encourage all families to submit their applications as soon as possible.  If you have a child or you know someone wanting to tour schools for their child, please encourage them to book a school tour by contacting Nicole in our front office.  If you are not able to make these tours please note that you are also welcome to call to make a time that does work for you. 

SJV School Tour Dates

Tuesday 24th February @ 9.15am

Wednesday 4th March @ 9.15am

Thursday 12th March @ 9.15am

Tuesday 17th March @ 7pm

Friday 20th March @ 1pm

Thursday 2nd April @ 9.15am

CSEF

Please use the below link to obtain a CSEF application form. To be eligible you must hold a Health Card Card that was valid on 28th January 2026. Please forward your application to the school office by the end of February.  Families who received this payment last year do not need to reapply.

https://paduavic.s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/CSEF-application-form-2026.pdf

School Fees and Direct Debit Forms

 At the end of last year we sent home Direct Debit forms for School fees. This is a great way to stay on top of your fees for 2026. Please fill this form in if you would like to take up this payment method and drop it into the office. If you have misplaced it, please call in to collect a new one. Accounts will be issued next week. New families, please feel free to call in and collect a direct debit form. 

Lunch Orders

We have a partnership with Station Stop Cafe on Fridays which allows our families to order lunches. These orders need to be processed by Wednesdays to be delivered on Friday. We are trying to lock in another supplier for Mondays as our Sushi contract has finished due to the business shutting down. Follow the instructions below to download the app and you can start ordering!

Building Update

A great deal of progress has been made over the holiday period, with significant building works underway following the completion of demolition at the end of last year. All plumbing and underground electrical works have now been completed, and we are currently preparing for the concrete slab to be poured later next week. Once the slab is in place, construction of the main structure will progress. We are pleased to report that the building program remains on schedule.

In addition to the building works, new tables have been delivered and installed in all Year 1/2 classrooms. We extend our sincere thanks to the PFA for their generous support in funding these new tables, which will greatly benefit our students. New tables for classrooms in Years 3–6 will be rolled out progressively throughout the year.

Uniform Shop

Our Uniform shop is open every Monday at 3.15pm for sales. If you cant make it at that time, pop into the office and fill in an order form.

Second Hand Uniforms are coordinated by one of our parents, Sahara. Please log on to Brisbane Terrace SJV Secondhand Uniform on Facebook. Sahara will approve you joining the group and you can access second hand sales through this group.

Parents & Friends Association AGM

Thank you to the parents who attended the PFA AGM on Tuesday evening. It was wonderful to see such a strong turnout. We are now seeking expressions of interest from parents who may like to join the Parents and Friends Association Committee for 2026, with a special invitation extended to new Prep parents.

The commitment involves attending one to two meetings per term, along with helping at one or more school events throughout the year. The role is not overly demanding, and the positive impact is felt by all families and students in our school community. No prior experience or specific skills are required—just a willingness to be involved and support our school.

A special thank you to Jess Viviani (President), Matt Spencer (Vice President) and Matt Johnson (Secretary) for their preparation and presentation on the night, and for continuing in their roles this year.

PFA Event 2026

Please see below the details for the Picnic in the park which is taking place next Friday the 13th of February. We would love to see everyone there.

Please save the date for the Barefoot Bowls Evening. See below for further details.

NAPLAN 2026

All Year 3 and 5 students will complete the NAPLAN tests  between the 11th of March and the 23rd of March. If any families in Year 3 or Year 5 have holidays booked during this time, could they please let the school office know, so we can factor this into our planning.  We use NAPLAN to provide us with feedback about how we can improve our teaching, whilst parents are provided with a snapshot of how their child is progressing. For us, it is one assessment that makes up a thorough Assessment Schedule and should not present any stress for students, as they are well versed at completing online assessments.

School Newsletter and School Assemblies

This is the first school newsletter of 2026 and we will circulate our newsletter each fortnight through the online portal, iNewsletter. The Newsletter will be emailed to all families and will also be uploaded to our school website. 

Throughout the year, assembly will be held every other fortnight. The next assembly will be Friday 13th February at 3.00pm in the MPR. We celebrate Vianney's Values Awards and Class news. Parents  are welcomed and encouraged to attend. 

Instagram- We now have an SJV Instagram page on social media. So please make sure you follow and share: @sjv_parkdale

Reminders

• The next Newsletter will be shared on Thursday 19th of February.

• The next school assembly will be on Friday 13th of February @ 3pm in the MPR

• Dogs - Please note that for the safety and wellbeing of all members of our community, no dogs are permitted inside the school grounds and they must not be left unattended tied up at the gates. Adult supervision and holding of the leash is so important around vulnerable places such as schools.  We love dogs but we do have to take care of all members of our community.

• Bikes and Scooters - Please walk bikes and scooters when moving through the school grounds.

• Punctuality - It is expected that all students are to be at school by no later than 8.45am and not any time up to 9am. From 8.45am to 9am is crucial for students to get themselves organised, start the day with Meditation, prayer, take the roll and ready to commence their day promptly. Formal lessons begin at 9am. Any child who arrives at or after 9am is to be signed in at the office by a parent/guardian. I ask all parents to make sure that you adhere to these times.

This has been such a great week and we thank you all for your support.

May this also be a great year for you, your families and all in our SJV community. 

Regards

Mick Schinck

Principal