School Advisory Council Report - 4 August

Our most recent School Advisory Council (SAC) meeting, held in the staffroom on Tuesday 4 August, was a meaningful and energising gathering. It provided a valuable opportunity for members to connect, share perspectives and reflect on the goals that continue to unite us in supporting the growth and development of our St John's school community.

Gatherings such as these remind us of the strength that comes from collaboration and the importance of a shared vision as we continue through the year. We look forward with enthusiasm to the initiatives and projects still to come and sincerely thank all SAC members for their ongoing commitment, support and contribution to making 2026 such a positive and successful year for our school community.

Our SAC Team for 2026

We are grateful for the leadership, commitment and guidance of our 2026 School Advisory Council. Each member brings valuable perspectives and contributes to shaping the direction of our school, supporting our mission and values across all areas of school life.

Verona Gridley – School Principal

Father Dispin John – Parish Priest (Custodian of Mission)

Melinda Buscema – Deputy School Principal / RE Leader (Custodian of Mission)

Angela Maclean – Chairperson, Parent Representative

Samantha Solomons – Secretary, Parent Representative

Anne Tyedin – Parent Representative

May De Almeida – Parent Representative

Rob Kruisheer – Parent Representative

Farewell and Thank You, Kate

We would like to extend a very special thank you and farewell to one of our valued SAC members, Kate Beattie. Kate has made a wonderful contribution to our School Advisory Council over the past few years, and we are incredibly grateful for her time, dedication, hard work and ongoing support of our school community. While we will certainly miss having Kate as part of our SAC team, we look forward to continuing to see her around the school. Thank you, Kate, for everything you have contributed - you will be greatly missed!

Learning and Teaching

Our teachers are continuing to build their professional knowledge through new MACS professional learning, led by Anna Hendy, with a particular focus on mathematics and fluency.

Students are being provided with regular opportunities to develop automatic recall through activities such as number fluency, times tables and mathematical drills, as well as working collaboratively and learning from one another. Developing strong foundational knowledge and fluency allows students to use their thinking more effectively when engaging with increasingly complex concepts and problem-solving.

Anna is leading this work in Mathematics, with Tom Preston, Clorinda Maio, Cara Woolley and Rebecca Stuart, who are also developing their knowledge and practice in this area. It is fantastic to see our staff embracing professional learning and sharing their expertise to strengthen outcomes for our students.

Our teachers have also participated in the Eastern Regional Network – Vision of Leadership professional learning. A key focus was the importance of growing and empowering others as leaders. It is particularly pleasing to see our emerging and younger staff members being encouraged and supported to develop their leadership capabilities.

Religious Dimension

The School Review has also provided positive feedback around our Religious Education practices. While, as our reviewer noted, no school can give itself a perfect score, he acknowledged that we are doing some very strong work in this area.

Interestingly, our reviewer was also able to learn from our staff and our experience as we continue the transition to the new RE curriculum. We are currently reflecting on how we assess learning in Religious Education and considering how we can continue to strengthen this important area of our curriculum.

The calm and welcoming atmosphere across our school was also acknowledged during the review. This is a wonderful reflection of the care and commitment of our staff and students.

Student Wellbeing

Our commitment to positive student behaviour and wellbeing continues to be a key priority. We are strengthening our approach to Positive Behaviour for Learning, with a particular focus on how we use data, when behaviour is recorded and how we ensure expectations are clear and explicit for our students.

As part of this work, we will soon welcome a guest speaker from PAM/SIMON, who will work with our teachers to further develop our understanding and use of behaviour data.

A reminder that our upcoming School Closure Day will be held on Tuesday, 1 September. This will provide our staff with valuable time for professional learning and development.

Our School Community

We are also excited to celebrate the announcement this week of Australia's Best Teachers. We encourage our families to follow MACS on social media to stay up to date with the announcements and celebrate the wonderful achievements of teachers across our Catholic education community.

Congratulations to Our School Community

The SAC would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Verona, Melinda and every member of the St John’s staff on the outstanding progress highlighted through our School Review.

The feedback that we should continue to “amplify what we already do well” is a wonderful acknowledgement of the dedication, expertise and commitment of our staff.

A huge congratulations and thank you to our entire school community. This exceptional effort reflects the collective work of our teachers, leadership team, students and families. We are incredibly proud of the positive culture, strong systems and commitment to learning that continue to make St John’s such a wonderful place to learn and grow.

There is plenty happening at St John’s as we continue to look ahead, celebrate our achievements and carefully plan for the future of our school community.

NAPLAN Results

We are very pleased with our 2026 NAPLAN results, which demonstrate strong performance across all areas. Many of our students achieved in the “Exceeding” band, with all subject areas achieving results in the Strong band, which is an excellent outcome.

It is particularly pleasing to see the significant improvement in Spelling and Writing. This progress reflects the ongoing work of our teachers and support staff to strengthen literacy outcomes for our students.

This year, we have also introduced Spelling Mastery, an evidence-based spelling program being delivered by our Learning Support Officers (LSOs). The program provides students with explicit instruction, regular practice and repetition to help develop strong spelling foundations. We look forward to seeing the impact of this program reflected in future student results.

Melinda will undertake a more detailed analysis of our NAPLAN data and provide further information to the school community, early in Term 4.

Appointment of Our New Principal

The process for appointing our next Principal is beginning to take shape. Rob Horwood, Senior Manager at MACS, is coordinating the process and preparing the position advertisement.

Staff will have an opportunity to contribute to the selection criteria. Once the advertisement is released, the application period and subsequent shortlisting process will take some time, with shortlisted candidates ultimately requiring ratification by the Archbishop. While there is still some way to go, we look forward to keeping our school community informed as the process progresses.

2026 School Review

Our 2026 School Review has been a wonderful experience, with very positive feedback received about the work happening across St John’s. The review highlighted the strength of our systems, teaching practices, student leadership and school culture.

The SAC congratulates Verona, Melinda and our entire staff team on the fantastic outcome and acknowledges the dedication and commitment that has contributed to this success.

Community Engagement

Our upcoming School Trivia Night is shaping up to be a fantastic event, with tickets selling well. We are looking forward to bringing families and members of our school community together for an evening of fun, laughter and connection.

Planning for our School Fete is also underway. The Fete Committee has already held two meetings, with Roshan leading the organisation and coordination of this much-loved community event. Roshan is a parishioner and brings valuable experience from shadowing Brendan Mills during last year's fete.

We are also delighted that one of our parents has stepped forward to fill a vacant position on the Fete Committee. Thank you to everyone who has volunteered their time and energy to help make these community events possible.

Supporting Our Strategic Direction and Operations

Master Plan

There are currently no major updates regarding our Master Plan. The school is continuing to monitor the broader Catholic education funding environment and has been asked to retain funds in anticipation of changes to the current teacher agreement. As a result, self funded building projects have temporarily been placed on hold by MACS. The builder selection process is progressing for the St John's Lyons Room Renovation, with submissions received and architects currently working through the shortlisting process.

New Digital Sign

The new Digital sign is in production. This will be placed at the front of the school, with this expected to be in place by the end of Term 3.

Growth and Enrolments

We continue to receive interest from local kindergartens and prospective families, which is encouraging. At present, we are still waiting on one or two enrolments, with approximately 24–25 students expected in our Prep 2027 intake.

Under the new MACS guidelines, the target class size will be 25 students. This reflects the broader direction across Catholic schools in Victoria, where class sizes are generally smaller than in other states.

As a school around 155 students, our current enrolment numbers technically provide funding for 6-7 classes. However, St John’s has operated with 8 classes this year, allowing us to maintain smaller class sizes and provide additional flexibility for our students.

We are also mindful that increasing costs across Catholic education, including changes associated with the Enterprise Bargaining Agreement (EBA), will place additional pressure on school budgets. This may result in increases to school fees in the coming years. Careful financial planning will continue to be an important part of ensuring the long-term sustainability of our school.

Planning for 2027

A key priority for the school is ensuring that the right structures are in place for next year before Verona finishes her tenure as Principal. Staffing and Learning Support Officer appointments will be carefully planned, with the aim of ensuring that every class has LSO support, generally for at least four days per week where possible.

The school is also beginning to consider class structures for 2027. A consultative committee has been established to provide an opportunity for staff representatives to discuss a range of considerations, including potential class structures and models.

As always, decisions about class structures will be based on the individual needs of our students. Our teachers know their students well and the support they require. This knowledge will continue to inform our approach to responsive teaching and learning.

There may be a need to reduce the number of classes next year, and different models will be carefully considered before any decisions are made. The priority will remain ensuring that we provide the best possible learning environment for every student while also planning responsibly for the future.

Looking Ahead

There is a great deal happening at St John’s, from celebrating strong NAPLAN results and the success of our School Review to planning for new leadership, future enrolments and the continued development of our school.

The SAC remains committed to supporting the school through these changes and ensuring that decisions are made thoughtfully, transparently and with the best interests of our students and community at heart.

New SAC Members Welcome

We are looking ahead to 2027 and are inviting members of our school community to consider joining our School Advisory Council (SAC). At the end of this year, several current SAC members will be stepping down from their roles, with some also finishing their time on the SAC. We are incredibly grateful for the commitment, time and contribution of these members and thank them for the important role they have played in supporting our school. This also provides a wonderful opportunity for new voices and perspectives to join the SAC and contribute to the continued growth and development of St John’s.

Being a member of the SAC is a great way to become more involved in our school community, share ideas, provide parent perspectives and work collaboratively with school leadership and other members of our community.

If you are interested in finding out more about joining the SAC, we would love to hear from you. Please speak with your parent group representative or contact the school to express your interest.

We encourage all families to consider whether you, or someone you know, might be interested in being part of this important and rewarding group.

We would love to welcome some new faces and voices to our SAC in 2027.

SHINE Column

Aligned with our school theme of “SHINE ” for the year, the SAC have introduced a Parent column in the newsletter called “SHINE Column” to express or show courage for things felt or observed in our community and invite your submissions to principal@sjmitcham.catholic.edu.au

A huge congratulations to our St John’s Mixed Netball Team, who have done an outstanding job and headed through to the Division competition!

A very special thank you to Kate Hanson, who has generously given up her time to arrive bright and early at 8.00am to coach and support our team. Kate has also attended two gala days, providing encouragement and guidance to our students throughout their competition. Last Thursday Kate coached the team throughout the day, supporting them to win 3 out of their 5 games.

Her time, dedication and commitment have certainly paid off, and we are incredibly grateful for the positive impact she has had on our young athletes.

Well done to our netball team, and a huge thank you to Kate! We are so proud of you!

As always, we encourage you to come and say hello if you see us around the school. We value your thoughts, feedback and involvement in our community. Whether you have a question, an idea to share, or simply want to have a chat, please know that we are always happy to connect, listen and support our families.

Angela Maclean

Chairperson and Parent Representative