A message from Emily

Dear parents and carers

Welcome back to a new school year! I hope you all enjoyed a restful and memorable six weeks with your children.  It was wonderful to see so many happy faces returning, eager to share holiday stories.  Our educators have created warm and welcoming learning spaces, and the children have come back refreshed and ready to learn.

We've already had a fantastic start to the year, celebrating Lunar New Year, presenting Year 6 polos, and awarding badges to our school captains and leaders.  We wish all our families a very happy Lunar New Year as celebrations continue until February 12th.  This is the year of the Wood Snake, a year symbolising personal growth and renewal, as the snake sheds its skin and lets go of negative energy. 

I had the privilege of attending the Episcopal Ordination of Bishop Rene Ramirez at St Patrick's Cathedral on Saturday.  Witnessing this ceremony firsthand was an incredible experience, and one I may never have the opportunity to repeat. I felt truly honored to be invited and to share in such a significant day for the newly appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Melbourne, Rene Ramirez.  Many people traveled great distances to be present, and it was wonderful to see the joy this special occasion brought to everyone.

We were delighted to hear that Mel Caruana and her husband Jordan welcomed their second child, Rylan, last week! Congratulations to them both! We're told that Arlie is a very proud big sister, eager to help and give lots of cuddles. We can't wait to meet Rylan when Mel feels up to a visit.

Hall Update: I received an updated engineering report last week, following the installation of crack meters before the end of last term.  Readings taken before the start of the new school year indicate further movement.  As a result, the "quiet space" used by the 5/6 Hub in 2024 is definitely out of bounds.  Further recommendations have been made, and I'm working with MACS to implement them. WorkSafe has confirmed their satisfaction with the safety measures the school and MACS have put in place.  I've also met with the architects and the MACS team to discuss the master plan and hall options in light of the latest report. We are preparing applications for both Capital and SCF grants, due in March and April, to fund the necessary works.

Enrolments for Prep 2026 are now open! If you have a child starting school next year, we encourage you to submit an application as soon as possible.  We'll be holding Prep 2026 tours on 7th and 11th March. Enrolment interviews will take place in Term 2, with offers being made at the end of that term. To access our enrolment form, visit our school website - https://www.sjfootscray.catholic.edu.au/enrolments 

Warm wishes

Emily

Reminders

• If you are planning to take a family holiday during the school term, please email me. For census reporting purposes, we need to account for extended student absences. Your email notification will help us document this information and also support your child both before and after their absence.
• PAM and the Simon Everywhere App will be used for all communication. SeeSaw will be used by educators and children to share photos and updates from their hubs. Please reach out if you need support to sign up to these platforms.
• 27th Feb will be our open afternoon and Welcome Picnic. The smoking ceremony will be held at the Farm at 5pm. Stay tuned to find out more about what's happening.
• Each year we create a Parent Information Handbook for our Prep families.  This handbook provides a great overview of what's happening at St. John's, and I wanted to share it with all families as it contains useful information for everyone. See link below.

• This year, Taryn will be working with our Hub Educators to plan the faith life program at St. John's. Karen and I will be leading the children's sacramental program for 2025.  Thank you to the families of children in Years 3 and 6 who completed the survey last week indicating whether their child will be receiving their sacraments at St. John's this year. If you haven't submitted your response I encourage you to do so as soon as possible