IMPORTANT DATES

Below is a list of some of the main dates on the school calendar for the coming few months:

February Dates

Wednesday 19th February - No school for Preps

Saturday 22nd February - Community Mass @ St John’s Hall

Monday 24th February - Year 3 - 6 Athletics Carnival

Wednesday 26th February - School Mass

Wednesday 26th February - Prep 2026 Enrolment Info Session

March Dates

Tuesday 4th March - School Advisory Council

Wednesday 5th March - No school for Preps

Wednesday 5th March - Ash Wednesday

Monday 10th March - Labour Day PUBLIC HOLIDAY NO SCHOOL

Monday 11th March - School Closure for Staff Professional Development NO SCHOOL

Wednesday 12th March - NAPLAN Commences

Thursday 13th March – Sacrament of Reconciliation Parent Meeting @ 7pm School Hall

Friday 14th March - 12:30 FINISH FOR STUDENTS to prepare for Anniversary Celebrations

Friday 14th March - St John’s 10 Year Anniversary Celebrations 4:00pm - 8:00pm

Thursday 20th March - School Photo Day 1

Thursday 20th March - Sacrament of Reconciliation @ 7pm in the School Hall

Friday 21st March - School Photo Day 2

Saturday 22nd March - Community Mass @ St John’s Hall

Wednesday 26th March - School Mass

Thursday 27th March - 12:30 FINISH FOR STUDENTS due to Parent Teacher Interviews

April Dates

Tuesday 1st April - Parent Teacher Interviews after school

Friday 4th April - End of Term 1 12:30 FINISH FOR STUDENTS

Sunday 20th April - Easter Sunday

Monday 21st April - Easter Monday PUBLIC HOLIDAY NO SCHOOL

Tuesday 22nd April - Term 2 Commences

Friday 25th April - ANZAC Day PUBLIC HOLIDAY NO SCHOOL

YEAR 3-6 ATHLETICS CARNIVAL

Students from Year 3 - 6 will be participating in our School Sports Carnival on Monday 24th February. Parents are welcome to join us for the day and cheer on the competitors. The carnival will take place at the Vic Uni Athletics Track @ Hoppers Lane Hoppers Crossing opposite the university. This event is used to select students to represent St John’s at the Interschool Sports events that occur throughout the year.

2025 SCHOOL CLOSURE DATES

All Catholic Primary Schools within the Archdiocese of Melbourne have school closure days each term for staff to attend professional development. Our first school closure day of the year is Tuesday 11th March and abuts the Labour Day Long Weekend. Please see the table below for this year’s scheduled School Closure dates:

PREP ASSESSMENTS & REST DAYS

To assist Prep students in coping with the fatigue which is associated with commencing school, the first five Wednesdays of Term One are designated rest days for Prep students. On these days Teachers will be meeting with students individually to complete some assessments. These assessments are not for reports but enable the teachers to have a starting point to track each student’s learning and progress.

The dates for these rest days are listed below:

Wednesday 19th February

Wednesday 26th February

Wednesday 5th March

10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS

This year sees our school mark its 10 Year Anniversary. On Friday 14th March we will be celebrating this milestone from 4:00pm - 8:00pm here at St John’s. Students will finish early on this day to enable us to safely construct a stage, set up the lighting and sound systems and ensure our carnival rides can be set up ready to start when our gates open at 4:00pm.

10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY RAFFLES

We are thrilled to announce our upcoming school raffles, which will be an exciting part of our 10 Year Anniversary Celebration. We will be creating themed Prize Baskets that will be raffled off during the celebration on Friday 14th March. Families are invited to donate items for the raffle and to please ensure all donations are BRAND NEW not second hand. Below is a list of what your child’s class is being asked to bring:

Prep: Sweet Treats Theme

Suggested items: Packet of lollies, chocolate box, lollipops, biscuits/cookies etc

Year 1: Girls Theme

Suggested items: Hair/self care products, scarfs, small bags etc

Year 2: Cooking and Baking Theme

Suggested items: Muffin/cake mix, utensils, apron etc

Year 3 (Ms Burston & Mrs Webb’s class): Easter Eggs Theme

Suggested items: Chocolate eggs, Easter Bunny ears etc

Year 3 & 4 (Mrs D'Souza & Mr Trigg’s class): Arts and Craft Theme

Suggested items: Paint packet, pencils, texters, drawing books etc

Year 4 (Ms Bongetti & Ms Lawson’s class): Sports Theme

Suggested items: Balls, bats, sport socks, caps etc

Year 5: Boys Theme

Suggested items: Hot Wheels car, Lego, beanie or cap etc

Year 6: Summer Beach Theme

Suggested items: beach ball, cricket set, sunscreen, beach towel etc

Please note that these are just suggestions, and any new items related to the theme will be gratefully accepted! If you are able to donate, please bring your contributions to the school by the 28th of February.

Your contributions will also provide your child with the opportunity to win a small prize for their entire class, all children who donate will go into a draw to win this prize. Thank you for being a valued part of our school community. We truly appreciate your generosity in supporting this important fundraiser. We can’t wait to see the wonderful raffle baskets filled with creativity and excitement!

PRE-ORDER WRISTBANDS FOR RIDES

As part of our 10 Year Celebration on the 14th of March 2025, we will be having Carnival Rides. These rides have been specially selected and are suitable for primary-age children. Our rides are:

The Cha Cha, Action Racer Slide and a Chair-O-Plane.

Wristbands will be available for pre-purchase which will entitle children to unlimited rides on the day. Pre-ordered wristbands will be $30 or you can purchase one on the day for $35.

Single ride purchases will also be available on the day.

Prices for single rides are:

$10 - Cha Cha

$7 - Action Racer Slide

$7 - Chair-O-Plane

To order your $30 unlimited ride wristband please contact the office, rather than sending your child to school with large amounts of cash. EFTPOS Purchases can be made over the phone. Ride wristbands are to be collected at the celebration and will not be handed out prior to the event.

2026 ENROLMENT INFO NIGHT

On Wednesday 26th February our Prep 2026 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.

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 - Tiana D’Souza

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 4th March @ 7:00 pm here at school.

Below are the scheduled meeting dates for the year:

Tuesday 4th March at 7:00pm

Tuesday 29th April at 7:00pm

Tuesday 27th May at 7:00pm

Tuesday 29th July at 7:00pm

Tuesday 26th August at 7:00pm

Tuesday 21st October at 7:00pm

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.

Principal's Message & Videos

Principal's Message

Assembly (Week 3, Term 1)

Out & About (Week 3, Term 1)

Assembly (Week 2, Term 1)

Out And About (Week 2, Term 1)