School Advisory Council Meeting Report

Our latest School Advisory Council- SAC meeting took place on Tuesday 14 October which was a fantastic opportunity to connect as a team, reflect on our shared goals and reaffirm our commitment to supporting the school’s continued growth. These gatherings are always a valuable chance to align our focus and vision for the remainder of the year. We appreciate the ongoing dedication of all SAC members in making this year a continued success.

Our SAC Team for 2025:

Verona Gridley - School Principal

Father Dispin John - Parish Priest (Custodian of Mission)

Melinda Buscema - Deputy School Principal/RE Leader

Angela Maclean – Chairperson, Parent Representative

Samantha Solomons - Secretary, Parent Representative (Parishioner)

Anne Tyedin -Parent Representative

Kate Roberts- Parent Representative

May De Almeida- Parent Representative

Rob Kruisheer - Parent Representative

Key messages and opportunities from our meeting

We continue to lead the way at St John’s, with exciting developments across leadership, learning, faith,and wellbeing. Here’s a look at what’s been happening in and around our vibrant school community.

Leadership and Management

This term has been filled with growth, gratitude, and new beginnings. Verona and Melinda were both fortunate to travel on pilgrimages to each other’s motherlands. Verona reflected fondly on walking in the footsteps of Saints, particularly the modern-day Saint Carlo Acutis and being in the presence of Pope Leo. They both found the experience deeply spiritual and enriching, and it was a wonderful opportunity to share insights with other Outer Eastern Principals.

Nicole Webb continues to engage in professional learning through a series of Masterclasses, bringing fresh ideas and strategies to our leadership and teaching practices. We extend our warmest congratulations to Naomi Ryan, who is expecting a baby next year and will beheading off on maternity leave. Recruitment for her position is currently underway. A very warm welcome to Mandy, our new Chinese teacher, who has settled into life at St John’s beautifully. Congratulations also to Ms Elina Li, who recently welcomed a beautiful baby girl, Zia. We wish Elina andher family every blessing. Finally, our Consultative Committee will meet on Thursday morning to review class sizes and structures in preparation for 2025.

Religious Dimension

Our Sacrament of Reconciliation is the key faith focus this term, with students preparing thoughtfully and reverently for this important step in their spiritual journey. We also sent many prayer intentions with our staff pilgrims to Ireland and Italy, connecting our school community through prayer across continents.

Learning and Teaching

Term 4 is off to a strong start, with Curriculum Overviews shared at the beginning of the term. We are delighted to have Dierdre Cosgrave back this term, returning to good health and resuming her much-loved Art classes. Swimming, water safety and survival lessons have begun for all year levels. Years 5 and 6 enjoyed their beach safety program earlier this term, while our Year 3/4 students are enjoying their swimming program.

For Years 3–6, Inquiry learning is centred around Government and Democracy, supporting our Citizenship focus. Meanwhile, our junior classes are exploring Digital Technology and Design, fostering creativity and problem-solving skills.

Student Wellbeing

Our Inform and Empower cyber safety lessons continue this term, supporting students to make positive and informed choices online. We’re thrilled to share that St John’s was one of the final schools to receive the Mental Health in Primary Schools funding. This will allow us to increase wellbeing support by adding an additional staff day, an exciting development that will further benefit our students’ mental health and resilience.

School Community

Our veggie garden continues to thrive, thanks to Jan and the dedicated Garden Club who meet each week to nurture the plants and inspire a love of nature among students. Teachers are hard at work preparing end-of-year reports, capturing the learning growth and achievements of every student. The much-anticipated School Fete is the big community event of the term—an opportunity for families to come together in celebration and fun. Funds raised by the Parents Association (PA) have been used to purchase beautiful new outdoor furniture for the passive play area, creating a welcoming and relaxing space for students during recess and lunch.

Literacy Presentation – Nicole Webb

This year marks an exciting milestone for Nicole Webb, who has stepped into her first year as Literacy Leader at St John’s. It has been a year full of learning, growth, and innovation as Nicole has led staff in strengthening our whole-school approach to teaching literacy through the MACS Vision for Instruction—a framework also used successfully in Mathematics. Under this model, teaching is guided by key areas of literacy development including phonemic awareness, phonics, spelling, orthography and writing structure. These skills form the essential building blocks for confident and capable readers and writers. As part of her work with staff, Nicole built on the important educational research, including the concept of Cognitive Load Theory, which reminds us that “learning is a change in long-term memory” (Kirschner, Sweller & Clark, 2006). Teachers continue to explore how the brain processes and stores new information—through stages such as sensory memory, attention, working memory, rehearsal, and retrieval—and how these processes influence student learning.

A key message underpinning this work is that unless the right cognitive conditions are created, students will naturally avoid deep thinking. To support effective learning, lessons now place greater emphasis on regular review, practice and active participation, supported by the introduction of full participation engagement strategies.

This year also saw the introduction of DIBELS assessments, a powerful tool used to identify students who may need extra support with early literacy skills. Beginning in Prep, these assessments allow teachers to track each child’s progress over time and align closely with the MACS Vision for Instruction. The data gathered helps teachers provide targeted teaching and intervention, ensuring every child cansucceed at their own pace. Nicole and the staff team have also refined how learning data is used to plan follow-up teaching. For example, weekly spelling assessments help identify which students may need extra practice with specific sounds. Teachers and Learning Support Officers (LSOs) work with small groups to revisit and reinforce those skills.

This evolving approach represents an exciting shift in literacy teaching at St John’s—one that balances evidence-based research with practical strategies that truly make a difference in the classroom.

Nicole’s enthusiasm, research-driven mindset and commitment to student success have made her first year as Literacy Leader both inspiring and impactful. We look forward to seeing this important work continue to grow in 2026.

School Fees and Class Structure Update

A priority at St John's is maintaining our smaller class sizes and with enrolments increasing across the school we will be able to maintain our 8 classes and an LSO in every classroom. MACS funding allocations are based on classes of 25 students so we budget carefully to maintain smaller classes. As part of our annual review, a modest school fee increase of 4.5–5% is being recommended for next year. This adjustment is designed to remain in line with families’ capacity to contribute and will continue to operate within our tiered family fee structure. Verona will provide a detailed update and formal announcement regarding 2026 school fees in the next newsletter.

With Hope and Gratitude Column

Aligned with our school theme of “HOPE” for the year, the SAC explored the idea of introducing a Parent page in the newsletter called “With Hope and Gratitude Column” to express or show courage for things felt or observed in our community and invite your submissions to principal@sjmitcham.catholic.edu.au

We extend our heartfelt thanks to Nicole Webb, our wonderful Literacy Leader, for her exceptional dedication and passion for teaching and learning. Nicole continually goes above and beyond through her professional learning, deepening her understanding of how children learn and retain information. She thoughtfully applies this knowledge in her lesson planning, teaching and reflection to ensure every student achieves meaningful learning outcomes. Nicole also generously shares these research-based strategies with her colleagues, fostering a collaborative and consistent approach to high-quality teaching across the school. Her focus on careful lesson design, regular review and knowledge retrieval, supports deep learning and long-term understanding. Our students are truly fortunate to be guided by such an insightful and committed educator whose work enriches the learning experience for all.

As always, please feel free to come and say hello if you see any SAC members around the school grounds. We value your thoughts, your feedback and your presence in our community. Whether you have a question, a suggestion, or just want to share a moment—we’re here, and we’re listening.

Angela Maclean

Chairperson and Parent Representative

Community News