General Information

WELCOME TO OUR 2026 PREPS

We welcomed our 2026 Prep students to the school last Thursday.  The Teachers working in our Prep Centre have been very impressed with the students and the smooth way they have transitioned to St John’s.   We welcome all the new families who have joined us at St John’s this year and we also welcome those students with older siblings whom we have watched grow over the past four years from toddlers into the Grade Prep students they are today.   We look forward to partnering with you in your child’s education over the next seven years.  

FIRE DRILL

Each term we conduct a different safety drill.  Sometimes we evacuate the building to simulate what we would do if there was a fire.  Other times in the year we practise performing a Lock Down, where students are asked to remain in the building.  This is to simulate situations where a danger might be occurring outside and would require us to remain indoors, such as hazardous weather.  Tomorrow we will be holding our first Emergency Drill of the year where students will practise the procedures we would enact should there be a fire in the school.  

TWILIGHT SPRINTS

After the enormous success of our 10 Year Anniversary Celebration last year, we have been investigating similar ways we can gather as a whole school community.  On Friday 13th March from 6:00pm - 8:00pm we will be holding a Twilight Race Meeting, where students can participate in 50 metre Sprints with the chance of qualifying for a place in the finals. The race entry fee will be $1per student and this will be to help cover the cost of the evening.  Mr Geisler will be giving out ‘Wild Card” entries to the finals.  In a similar way to last year’s celebrations, families will be able to picnic on the school grounds, while watching all the race heats.  Once again we will have some food items for sale such as icecreams, soft drinks and popcorn.

SCHOOL ADVISORY COUNCIL

The St John’s School Advisory Council was established in 2022.  The role of this group is to support the Principal, Parish Priest and leadership team of the school.  Thanks once again to our Advisory Council members for their ongoing commitment to our school community.  

The members of the council give voice to the parent body in advising the principal about important matters related to the ongoing education of the students.  Below are our current council members:

Chairperson - Adrian Smith

Parent Representative - Melissa Campbell-Matulich

Staff Representative - TBC

Parish Representative -  Ruth Avena 

Secretary - Michelle Dobai 

Principal - Simon Dundon 

Parish Priest - Fr Albert Yogarajah 

The Advisory Council will meet six times over the year.  Our first meeting for 2025 will be Tuesday 3rd March  @ 7:00 pm here at school.  

Below are the scheduled meeting dates for the year:  

• Tuesday 3rd March at 7:00pm

• Tuesday 5th May at 7:00pm

• Tuesday 16th July at 7:00pm

• Tuesday 25th August at 7:00pm

• Tuesday 20st October at 7:00pm

PREP PARENT MORNING TEA & PRINCIPAL’S CATCH UP

All Parents are invited to stay after school drop off to meet informally as a parent community over a coffee and a biscuit. In this time you can mingle with other parents and be updated by the Principal on what is happening behind the scenes. e.g future building projects, trends in education, Q & A.

Morning Tea Date: Friday 13th February

Venue: School Hall

Time: After Morning Drop Off

2027 ENROLMENT INFO NIGHT

On Wednesday 25th February our Prep 2027 Enrolment Information Session will be held in the School Hall. Families living within the school catchment area who are interested in enrolling their child are welcome to attend.  The meeting will commence at 6:00pm and should conclude by 7:30pm. The evening will include the following:

• A tour of the building and facilities.
• A presentation on the values and educational approach of the school.
• An outline of the enrolment criteria and process.
• Questions from the floor.

We look forward to meeting everyone at this forum.

STAFF NEWS 

We welcome Ms Izabela Smaza who comes to us from Woodville Primary School.  Izabela is joining our Year 4 team and brings to St John’s over five years of teaching experience. Please join me in making her feel welcome in our school community.

Over the school holidays Ms Erica Morris decided to spend some time focusing fully on her family and her study commitments.  While we are sad to farewell Erica we thank her for her dedication and contributions throughout 2025 as part of our Learning Support Team.  

YEAR 6 BOMBER JACKETS

Our Year 6 commemorative tops are scheduled to arrive either at the end of the month or very early in March.  We look forward with great excitement to their arrival! 

HOMEWORK

Homework will commence the week beginning 16th February.  We like to allow the students a few weeks to resettle into the busy routines of  the school term, (including going to bed early even if it’s still light outside!) before beginning homework and readers for the year.  We also find that prolonged hot weather can be very draining for some students.

UNIFORM

All items of our uniform are available at Rushfords and we thank parents for ensuring that students are wearing the correct uniform items.   A reminder that all students must wear a School Hat throughout Term 1, during playtimes and sport sessions.   Hats can be purchased from the Office for $15

LABEL ALL SCHOOL UNIFORM ITEMS

It is important to label all school uniform items.  The most commonly lost items are Hats and School Jumpers.  These can be easily returned if they are correctly labelled.  Please be aware that over time all labels fade and will need to be redone.

SUNSCREEN

A reminder that families who wish their child to wear sunscreen, will need to apply this prior to their arrival at school.

ASSEMBLY LIVE STREAMS

Each Friday the students gather for a whole school assembly in the Hall.  This event is usually streamed to our Vimeo channel.  Families can view the assembly by clicking on the link which is sent through via our nForma Parent App.

COMMUNICATION APP 

When communicating with families we use the platform nForma For Parents.  It is important that the email used to log in to your App is the email that is linked with the school.  Parents receive all communication via this App and families can also use the App to update student medical information and emergency contacts and to directly communicate student absences with the school.  A reminder to families that Student Medical Information Update is due by Friday 27th February, as per the notification families received today.  Thanks to all the families who have already completed this update.  Please see the downloading instructions below if you don’t have the App already:

CHILD SAFETY PROTOCOLS

To ensure  primary schools create safe environments and respond effectively to concerns, the government has implemented the Victorian Child Safe Standards.  These 11 Safety Standards give families confidence that schools are creating a safe learning environment.  In each Newsletter we highlight for parents pertinent issues related to these standards.  This week we will address some of these issues related to drop off and pick up times, including which toilets can be accessed by visitors.

School Toilets

We ask that parents, toddlers and any visitors ONLY use the toilets located in the OFFICE AREA.  All toilets are clearly marked and other than the Office Toilets, all other facilities are for students only.  

School Carpark Procedures 

The school car park is open at the two busiest traffic times of the day, before and after school.  For everyone’s safety, we ask you to please remember the following:  Pedestrians should enter the school via the footpath and NOT walk through the carpark gate.  When moving between the school and the carpark, everyone is asked to use the crossing located near the front of the school.  Parents who do park in the carpark, MUST walk over and collect their child. NO student is permitted to enter the car park unless they are accompanied by their adult.  The Drop Off Zone is only active in the morning and parents MUST remain in their car, while students exit the vehicle independently.

Double Parking 

A reminder that double parking (Stopping to drop off children next to a parked car) is illegal and dangerous. I ask that parents doing this make an effort to drive further to find a space to park properly so that students can exit safely and that traffic is not stopped by your vehicle.