A message from Emily
Principal – St John's Footscray
Dear parents and carers
Congratulations to all the children who received the Sacrament of Confirmation on Thursday 5th June. It was a beautiful Parish celebration led by Bishop Martin Ashe and Fr Gerald. Thank you to the educators and families for supporting these children in their preparation to ensure they felt confident and aware of this important step in their faith journey.
We have noticed that some children are starting to attend school in the incorrect uniform. Whilst we have a school policy that children can wear sports uniform everyday with the option of a boys/girls winter school uniform, there has been an increase in the number of children wearing items that do not fall in either of these options. We have a number of uniform items available as 'free to a good home' if you need additional pieces. Please see or contact Leonie and Melinda in the office. Almost daily we have items handed into lost property because clothing is not labelled with a name or names can no longer be read. Please ensure all items have your child's name or their surname clearly labelled so we can return it to it's rightful owner.
A few weeks ago our additional bike racks arrived in the farm which I hope has helped with the safe storage of bikes and scooters. We have also noticed that some older children are walking over with the children who are riding bikes and scooters home and leaving prior to 3:15pm. As we have a responsibility for all children until 3:15pm we will be asking children to remain with staff until this time. We have also noticed very few pedestrians are accessing the big Essex Street gates (Gate 4) to enter or exit the school during morning and afternoons, so we will keep these closed as of Term 3. Gates 1, 3 and Everard Street will continue to be available for pedestrians to enter and exit the school. This will allow staff to be available to supervise the busier areas, especially at the end of each day during dismissal.
Prep 2026 enrolment interviews are almost completed and offers will be sent out to families in the last week of term. If you have a child due to start Prep next year and haven't submitted an application, please contact Leonie asap.
This semester we have been lucky to have Cass, a provisional psychologist from DKM Psychology, work with children and families in our community. Cass will finish with us at the end of this term. We thank her for her support and wish her all the best as she continues her studies. Next term we welcome two provisional psychologist from DKM Psychology, Jenna and Kate, not to be confused with our current St John's staff, who will be with us for Semester 2. After seeking advice into the best ways to support families of children experiencing anxiety around attending school, I have requested that either Jenna or Kate focus on children who are experiencing 'school can't' feelings, in building strategies for both the child and families in a proactive approach and hopefully preventing this becoming a more challenging issue in the future. As the reason for children feeling this way can be very different, the strategies to support them would be specific and therefore a general parent workshop wouldn't address this. The recommendation was for families to seek support from a psychologist who would be able to support the child, family and school in a tailored approach. If this is something you would like to know more about or would like your child to be considered for the caseload of Jenna or Kate, please email Karen - kdodemaide@sjfootscray.catholic.edu.au
School Can't links:
Building update: We continue to make progress with the building project however, like all building projects, progress can be frustratingly slow but this not because of lack of energy or effort going. While we have approval for the partial demolition of the hall we are now just awaiting building permits. As stage 1 will cost over $100,000, we are required to obtain three quotes as part of the tender process. I am meeting again with the team late Friday afternoon to continue to receive further updates. In the last week of term I should see the updated masterplan for the first time, as well as hold an extraordinary School Advisory Council meeting to discuss community consultation around the masterplan. As done in the past, I will advertise times for community consultation around the masterplan to provide an opportunity for the community to see the long term plan for updating buildings and creating safe, welcoming learning and play spaces for our children now and into future.
Connection opportunities: This week, as a staff we looked at ways we can remain connected as a staff as well as opportunities for the children. Our end of term sports day will go ahead as normal with the 5/6 hub onsite all day to help foster this. All 5/6 children will need to be dropped off and picked up at St John's on Friday 4th July. This will be weather dependent, so if it looks like it's going to be washed out then we will need to revert to the 5/6 Hub being at CCCC. We will communicate this directly with the families impacted. We are also looking into our feast day celebration next term and opportunities for daily connections at the end of the day when 5/6 children arrive back from CCCC.
Parents and Friends Group: Earlier this term I met with a parent from our community to discuss ideas that could raise funds and be driven by a parent group that would benefit the children with fun events. In coming weeks, I will be calling for expressions of interests around the possibility of forming a P&F group or something similar. If this is something that is of interest to you, please keep an eye out for this request.
5/6 Hub Wellbeing Program
To support the children in the 5/6 Hub with their Wellbeing as we continue our work on building positive relationships, St. John's has partnered with the Melbourne Victory Football Club through a schools program that teaches important life skills and personal and social capabilities through the lens of football (soccer). This program was selected based on the interests of the children in this Hub and the capacity of the program to meet the social and emotional needs of the children at this time. The incursion program has now moved to Caroline Chisholm College. It takes place on a Monday morning in rotating groups and is a great way to set up each week with active engagement in learning for positive relationships and personal development. This program is designed to support children with important transferable skills that they can use in the classroom and in the playground in a fun and active environment. Supporting the Wellbeing and Mental Health needs of our children is of vital importance as it has a direct correlation to mood, motivation, behaviour, engagement and ultimately, learning outcomes. In supporting the children in this way at this time, we are providing all children support to see themselves positively as a learner and incrementally build self-confidence, self-esteem, empathy, empowerment, resilience and the ability to form and enjoy positive relationships with their peers. See overview of sessions below:
Reporting: Semester 1 Student Reports will be release in the last week of term. This follows the Learning Conversations that took place at the end of Term 1. Our next Learning Conversation day will take place on Monday 8th September. I have also been advised that the NAPLAN reports for parents of children in Year 3 and 5 will arrive during the week beginning 21st July. We will endeavour to get these out to families as soon as they arrive at school.
We have a number of families who are dealing with grief and illness privately at this time. Please keep all within our community in your prayers.
Dear God,
We pray for those burdened by grief and battling illness.
Comfort their hearts, ease their suffering, and grant them strength.
Surround them with love and peace.
Amen.
Warm wishes
Emily
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.