What a fantastic start we’ve had to our final term of the year! We’ve hit the ground running, with plenty of learning, exciting activities and opportunities keeping our students engaged and busy. It’s wonderful to see everyone making the most of the term already!

JPII Feast Day

On Wednesday 21 October, we celebrated our Feast Day as a school community. We came together in the Church for a special liturgy led by Father Kasun before kicking off our annual Feast Day activities.

The students and staff were delighted with a very special surprise — a visit from the Mr Whippy van! It was the perfect treat to enjoy on such a beautiful day.

With the sunshine out, our students embraced the celebrations with enthusiasm and joy, truly reflecting the JPII spirit.

We are incredibly grateful to Ms Jane Davies for all her hard work and dedication in preparing such a special and memorable day for our students and staff.

Staff Professional Learning Day

While our students enjoyed an extended long weekend, our staff were busy learning and growing themselves on Friday 23 October!

All staff came together for a day of professional learning, collaboration and shared reflection, providing a valuable opportunity to work together towards making our school the very best it can be for our students and families.

These professional learning days are incredibly beneficial in building staff capacity, strengthening our collective knowledge and providing specialised, targeted training to support the diverse needs of our school community.

We are committed to continually learning and growing as a team so that we can provide the best possible learning experiences and support for every student.

Water Awareness: Weeks 5 & 6

At JPII, we are pleased to offer our students the opportunity to participate in a Water Awareness Program at Oceana. This is a wonderful initiative that caters to students of all abilities and confidence levels in the water, helping them to develop important water safety skills in a supportive environment.

During the first week of the program, all students from Prep to Grade 6 will participate. The second week will focus on our Grade 3 to Grade 6 students.

If you have any questions or concerns about the program or your child’s ability to participate, please contact your child’s classroom teacher as your first point of contact.

Further information about the program will be shared with families via Compass over the coming week.

Uniform Reminder & Expectations

The John Paul II uniform is a visible symbol of our school and represents our values, philosophies and expectations. Over the coming weeks, we will be reminding students and families of key aspects of our uniform policy to ensure we continue to uphold the standards and expectations of our school community.

You can find the full uniform policy here, which is also available on our school website.

End of Year Report - Reminder

A reminder to families regarding our End of Year Reports. The ‘General Comment’, which has previously appeared at the end of the report, has been omitted this year. This change has been implemented by Catholic Education Tasmania (CET) at a system level.

Throughout this year, families have been offered four opportunities to formally meet with their child’s classroom teacher to discuss their child’s progress, with the final opportunity scheduled for Week 8 of Term 4.

These conferences provide a valuable opportunity to discuss your child’s learning and wellbeing in greater depth. They also allow teachers to share work samples, data and other relevant information to provide a comprehensive picture of your child’s progress. Our goal is to ensure families receive timely and meaningful information about their child’s achievements, strengths and areas for ongoing development.

If you would like to arrange a meeting with your child’s classroom teacher during Week 8, please contact our Office Administration staff or reach out to the teacher directly.

End of Year Reports will be released to families and available to access via Compass on Friday 11 December.

New Shade Area and Seating Outside Emmaus

We are very excited to announce to our school community that we will be installing permanent shade and seating outside Emmaus!

This new area will provide shade and seating for our students to enjoy during break times and while eating. The permanent shade will also help reduce glare on sunny days, making the area more enjoyable for everyone.

While the images are not an exact representation of the final design or colours, they provide a general idea of the proposed structure.

We look forward to seeing this new addition enhance our school grounds and provide a welcoming space for our students to enjoy!

Lauren Hall

Acting Deputy Principal

Cooee

Week 2, Term 4 2026 - We are excited to share our students work and school news with you!

Fortnightly Newsletter of John Paul II Catholic School · 30 Oct 2026

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