Principal's Page
'A Welcoming Community Leading the Future of Learning with Faith and Love'
A Message from the Principal
What a fantastic day we all enjoyed for the St John's Community Fete. The weather was manificent and the crowds were huge. We are so grateful to the many parents and families who supported the Fete as visitors or volunteers. The size and popularity of the Fete and the crowds that it draws, with a reputuation spreading far and wide, is quite incredible.
I love seeing all the smiling faces of our students enjoying the rides, the food and the entertainment. It is also fabulous to see our students sharing their many talents on the main stage too. The gymnastics, dancing, singing and drama is just delightful. It was also wonderful to hear the School Choir performing, especially their rendition of the song Heroes, with everyone in the crowd joining in. It is such a happy day for everyone and we are so grateful to you for coming along and supporting to this very special event.
A Thank-you Message from our Parish Community Fete Coordinator - Brendan Mills
St John’s Parish Community Fete 2023 has been another successful parish community event. Great occasions like the Fete on Saturday do not just happen. If you attended and had a great time, if you assisted with setup, were a stallholder or volunteered for any of the great array of stalls including, BBQ, Bookshop, Bric a Brac, Cakes, Coffee, Colouring Competition, Crafts, JJ’s Café, Donuts, Drinks, Face Painting, Hot Chips, JJ’s Bar, Lob a Choc, Plants, PluckaDuck, Pop Corn & Fairy Floss, Preloved Clothes, Preloved Toys, Raffle, Ridesales, Sweets, Snow Cones, Showbags, Indian food, Silent Auction, all who contributed to the entertainment from the Main stage, our EMCee, DJ & AV gurus, helped with counting, or assisted with packup, THANK YOU!
To the Fete Committee for its months of committed planning and organising we extend a huge THANK YOU. We couldn’t have done it without you all. See you all in 2024!
Gratitude and Courage
I am very grateful to these two Year 5 students who have diligently helped every Thursday morning with packing, organising and delivering the lunchorders to all of the classrooms. Lachie and Elliot have been extremely respectful and responsible in completing this duty every week, ensuring that the lunches are delivered safely to every room. Thank-you!
Every year we choose a different concept to be our major focus at St John's. Gratitude has been underpinning all that we have done this year and it is a value that we will continue to instill in our students well into the future.
Next year's concept will be COURAGE. This is also one of our learning dispositions and we hope to build the courage of all of our students throughout next year.
Healthy Lunches
We always encourage our students to bring healthy lunches to school, to develop healthy minds and bodies. Fresh fruit and vegetables are an important part of our students diets and something that we strongly encourage every day. Please limit any sweets that are in their lunchboxes and remind your child that they are not permitted to share food at school. Excess sugars have been linked to poor memory and poor emotional regulation, whilst also impacting behaviour and focus. Thanks for your suport with providing a healthy lunchbox for your child, to ensure optimal learning opportunities for them to engage with.
Advent
The season of Advent begins this weekend with the first Sunday of advent symbolised by lighting the first advent candle. This is a time to prepare, for Christmas and the birth of Jesus. The word Advent means “arrival or coming.” Advent is the four weeks before Christmas when we prepare for Christ's coming. Advent is our time of waiting, praying, sharing and celebrating.
Over the 4 weeks leading up to Christmas, we light a candle to symbolise the coming of Christ. The 4 candles represent hope, faith/love, joy and peace. The advent wreath represents continuous life. The circle of the wreath, which has no beginning or end, symbolizes the eternity of God and everlasting life. It is made using evergreen foliage.
Next Monday morning at 8.50am you are all invited to join us for our Advent Liturgy in the Mary MacKillop Space.
Emmaus College - Prep to Year 12
Last week we heard the news that Emmaus College will become a P-12 School in 2025. The planning will begin next year and the new college will begin in 2025. This will impact the local primary schools of St Timothy's, Forest Hill and Holy Saviour, Vermont. They will join together to make this happen. One primary school site wll be used as a Year 9 campus and the other will be the new Emmaus Primary campus. The plans are underway and I will share more details as they are confirmed.
Vinnies Christmas Appeal
Every year we support the Vinnies Christmas Appeal as a major Social Justice action. We ask that every family contributes either canned food for the Christmas Hampers or a $20 Gift Card to a major retail store.
Lions Cakes
If you would like to order a Lions Christmas Cake please come into the school foyer and use the QR code on the poster to place your order. Alternatively the QR code and list of cakes and prices is under Community News in this newsletter.
Joke of the Week
Q: How do angels answer the phone?
A: “Halo?”
Have a great week!
Verona Gridley
Principal