A message from Emily

Dear parents and carers,

It's been a busy fortnight at St John's with excursions to zoos and farms, Educator training in Berry Street Education Model and visiting other schools, as well as recognising National Reconciliation Week. This year's theme was 'All in for Reconciliation'. The children learnt about seeing Reconciliation as a journey for all Australians. 

• It's about understanding the history of what happened when people from other parts of the world came to Australia and how that affected Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. 
• It's about acknowledging past wrongs and working together to create a fairer and more respectful future.

At our last prayer gathering, the 1 Hub led us with a focus on acknowledging Sorry Day and National Reconciliation week. The called us to reflect on the past and think about how we can showsolidarity with Indigenous peoples standing side by side now and in the future. They shared the story My Country which a story inspired by author Ezekiel Kwaymullina's grandmothers, who passed on their love of country to him. The story is told through the eyes of a child about their home country. It celebrates the joys of nature and the connection between First Nation Australians and their land. The children then sang a beautiful song called "Inanay". It is a song in Yorta Yorta, the language of one of the Torres Strait Islander tribes of Victoria. Thank you to Lien, Nat and Taryn for supporting the children in preparing this for our community.

Prayer from the 1 Hub

Dear God,

Thank you for the beautiful land we live on.

We are grateful for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who have cared for this land for thousands of years.

Help us to learn from their wisdom and to respect their culture.

Guide us to be kind and inclusive to everyone we meet.

Amen.

Important 3/4 Team Staffing Announcement

I am pleased to announce that Erin Breheny has accepted a 4-day-a-week contract for the remainder of the year. As one of our much-loved CRTs, Erin is already deeply familiar with our school and our students. Erin will officially join the team next Tuesday, covering the final three weeks of this term as Dearbhla prepares to return to Ireland.

Term 3 Schedule:

• Mondays: Eva Bertram (our Auslan teacher, who is already well known to the 3/4s)
• Tuesdays – Fridays: Erin Breheny

We are thrilled to welcome Erin and Eva alongside Kelly and Alicia to form the 3/4 Team, allowing for a seamless transition for the children.

Farewell to Dearbhla

We want to extend a massive thank you to Dearbhla for her passion, dedication, and the wonderful support she has provided to our children, Kelly, and Alicia this term. We wish her the absolute best as she wraps up her time in Melbourne and returns home to Ireland!

Provisional Psychologist at St John's 

Olivia, our provisional psychologist from DKM Psychology, has done a wonderful job working with children across the school throughout Semester 1. Her placement at St John's will draw to a close at the end of this term. While we still have a couple of weeks left with Olivia, I wanted to share this news now so families have time to reach out and say thank you for her fantastic support.

Next semester, we are pleased to welcome two new provisional psychologists, Martin and Tess. Based on Olivia's recommendations and ongoing conversations with families of children on her current caseload, these children will transition to continuing their sessions with either Martin or Tess.

If your child is not currently on the caseload but you would like them to be considered for sessions with one of our provisional psychologists next semester, please reach out as soon as possible to Michella at mpradel@sjfootscray.catholic.edu.au or speak with your child's educator.

I would also like to thank Dr Kim from DKM Psychology for working in partnership with us so we can offer this level of support to our community. If you are looking for clinic for additional support or assessments please check out DKM Psychology for more information - https://www.drkimm.com/

Nominate for Australia's Best Teacher

At the heart of each MACS’ school are educators who create vibrant centres of learning – nurturing their students to grow academically, socially, emotionally and spiritually. I invite our children and families to think about the wonderful educators at St John's and who you would like to nominate this year. MACS is very excited by the number of educators across our system who were recognised last year and how wonderful would it be if this year we had one of our very own named. See below for further information as well as a link and QR code to easy complete a nomination form.

The Australia's Best Teachers campaign recognises exceptional educators in our school communities. An expert judging panel will shortlist nominations for recognition as one of Australia’s Top 50 Best Teachers, to be announced in The Herald-Sun and nationally in NewsCorp publications in July.

https://www.australiasbestteacher.com.au/ 

TERM 2 Fundraiser FINISHES MONDAY 8 JUNE

We’re thrilled with the excitement around our Billy G’s Gourmet Cookie Dough fundraiser! 

Thank you to everyone who has supported us so far. We have exceeded the number of tubs I thought we would sell and well on our way to reaching our goal and helping fund improvements to our outdoor spaces with the replacement of the shade sail over the playground and sandpit.

A quick reminder: all orders are online only. Head to cookiedough.com.au , click Register, and set up your page to place your order. If you’ve collected any cash orders, please enter them into your online profile as soon as possible. The final day to order is Monday 8th June.

This dough-licious cookie dough is only available through fundraising—so stock up! It keeps in the fridge for four weeks and can be frozen, thawed, and refrozen until the best-before date. Why not grab a few extra tubs? Pop them in the oven for 14–16 minutes and enjoy fresh, warm cookies anytime.

Happy fundraising.

Division Cross Country

Last week,  Eloise W (Yr 6), Fionn N (Yr 6) and Evie R (Yr 5) represented St John's at the Division Cross Country. All three ran exceptionally well. Evie and Eloise finished 8th and 10th and are off to the Western Regionals. Our little school does very well to have so many children reaching this level of competition. Congratulations to all the children who have been a part of this year's Cross Country team.

NEW 3D Printer

I shared in our previous newsletter that we purchased a new 3D printer with last term's fundraising money. The children and Jessie have been busy putting it to good use. See below what learning has been happening by the 5/6 Hub.

Child Safety Standard 5 :

Each month I update the Child Safety Standard page to align with MACS initiative of 11 months, 11 Standards. Part of the initiative is to keep parts informed of what these 11 standards mean for schools, families and most importantly, children. This month's standard is 'Equity is upheld and diverse needs respected in policy and practice.' 

For more information please see the Child Safety Standards page of this newsletter.

Sacrament of Confirmation

Please keep the children celebrating the Sacrament of Confirmation tonight at Our Lady's Church in your prayers. I thank their educators and parents for supporting them in their preparation for this significant moment in the faith journey.

Loving God,

We lift up the children of our St John's community as they receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. Pour out Your Holy Spirit upon them, and fill them with the courage to live out their faith boldly.

Help us, as their church family, to support them by our prayers, guide them by our example, and welcome them warmly into the mission of Your Church. May the fire of Your love burn brightly in them—and in us—as we walk together in faith.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Reminder - NO SCHOOL TOMORROW OR MONDAY!

Wishing everyone a lovely extra long weekend,

God Bless,

Emily

Coming Soon: School holiday program, 29 June - 10 July

MACSEYE School Holiday Program is coming soon, packed with creative activities, active fun, themed experiences and memorable excursions for primary school-aged children. Be sure to book in, using the QR code on the flyer, to avoid disappointment.

MACSEYE will also be open for our school closure day on Monday 13th July.

Save the Date:

We have a date locked in for a St John's Bunnings BBQ fundraiser. Make sure you put Sunday 13th September into your calendar as a reminder! We will be looking for volunteers to help on the day but also plenty of customers to come and buy a sausage to help raise funds for our school.

What's coming up:

• Call for Farm Volunteers over the Winter Holidays
• Student Free Day Friday 5 June (MACSeye open for bookings)
• King's Birthday Public Holiday Monday 8 June
• Prep 2027 Enrolment Interviews
• End of Term 2 - 26 June 1pm finish

Reminders:

• Log into PAM an review and update all areas including Connect Fields and Connect Surveys
• Sustainability Initiative: Children are invited to bring their own lunch box for DT Fuzions lunch orders. Lunch boxes must be clearly labelled and an appropriate size to fit the order.
• Complete the form to let us know if you would like to support the PFA via donations, time or skills : https://forms.gle/nP8qUdxtAUyVuSfq8 

OUR IMAGE OF THE CHILD

‘At St. John’s, we strongly believe that children are at the centre when given authentic and meaningful experiences. They flourish when their passions and interests are acknowledged and valued. Children are empowered when they take ownership for their learning. They have a right to develop autonomy through discovery.’

(St. John’s Staff, 2018)

We respectfully acknowledge the Wurundjeri People of the Kulin Nation as the owners of the land on which we live, play and learn at St John's Primary School, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.

All students attending St. John's Primary School have the right to feel safe. The care, safety and wellbeing of children and young people is a fundamental responsibility of all within our school.