Principal's Report 

Harmony Day Assembly

On Thursday 24th of March, St John’s celebrated Harmony Day as a part of the broader state-wide celebration of Cultural Diversity. A highlight of Harmony Day this year was the formal commitment of our school as a Fire Carrier School in partnership with the Traditional owners of this land. Inducted through a fire-carrier ceremony facilitated  by Aunty Sherry an indigenous leader from Cairns  , the partnership we now enter into calls upon our community to learn about Aboriginal spirituality and how it enriches our Catholic Australian identity and to raise awareness of  the cultural perspectives Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures .

Other highlights of the day included a cultural performance from a Polynesian Dance Troup and the sharing of cultural foods prepared by Chef Kees and the VET and VCAL students assisted by Ms Wills  and Miss Kazanadis. Over $700 has been raised for CARITAS  the Catholic International Relief agency and I thank all of the staff and our students for their participation in a wonderful celebration of our diverse aspects culture, faith and language which makes St John’s  a place where we all belong. 

Easter Liturgy Next Week 

On Tuesday of next week, our school will stop to bring into focus the central message of our Catholic faith. Fr Luke Bulley will conduct our Para liturgy which will help us to understand more fully the important rituals of the washing of the disciples’ feet which symbolises the commitment of discipleship and Christs crucifixion which we understand through the lens of the resurrection and the promise of eternal life for all.

 In anticipation I thank Fr Luke and all those involved in these important ceremonies which help us to reflect in  a very personal way how Christ is present in our daily life.

Year 10 Catholic Action Project

Our Year 10 Students involved in the Catholic Action Project completed an overnight retreat at St John’s this week as they reflected on their faith and the traditions of the Catholic Church. Staff members Eamonn Farrelly , Dr  Janine Biggin, Jess Edwards and Fr Luke Bulley from the Parish of Endeavour Hills worked through a range of activities including the meaning and symbolism of a liturgy so that the students could prepare and lead their own experience of liturgy focusing on an encounter with their personal God.

Cinema Night & Ukraine Fund Raiser

I thank our Lasallian Youth Minister Jess Edwards, Director of Faith and Mission Tim Swan  , and Staff members Anna Nguyen and Marina Kintzel for staging the Ukraine Fundraiser at St john’s last Friday night. Using the lecture theatre and Year 9 centre, students and families ate popcorn as they enjoyed the films Encanto and Jungle Cruise. Over $700 was raised for the benefit of those impacted by the war in Ukraine.

St Paul Apostle Athletics Carnival at St John’s on April 6th.

St Paul Apostle North Primary School will visit St John’s on Wednesday evening to conduct their annual athletics carnival. St John’s students who went to St Paul Apostle North will assist our visitors in the running of the track and field events and a BBQ for the hungry competitors. It is wonderful to see our families from the local Parish Primary schools utilizing the facilities of St John’s , a Regional Catholic Secondary College which is owned by the local Parishes.

CLC Open for Business these School Holidays.

Our Contemporary Learning Centre will remain open from 9am until 3.30pm on each day of the school holidays except for the Easter public holidays. This service is open to all students wishing to complete homework or assignments for term 2.

St Mary's School for the Deaf Annual Gathering

On Friday April 1st St Mary's College for the Deaf held their annual gathering at St John’s Regional College. St Mary’s College follows the charism of the Dominican tradition which has an Expanded Learning Program, designed specifically to build academic and social success in deaf and hard of hearing students. St John’s is one of five Catholic Secondary Schools around Melbourne that partners with St Marys and all of their students thoroughly enjoyed the catch-up , fun activities and beautiful lunch that was provided on the day. 

SIS Big Night : 25th Anniversary Event

Southern Independent Schools will be staging its 25th Anniversary concert – The Big Night Out  - next Tuesday at the Drum Theatre!

Performances will include ensembles such as an Orchestra and Percussion conducted by Mr Perryman  , Contemporary and Jazz Dances choregraphed by Ms Beth Millership, as well as individual school items including our own College Choir . It has been a long time since our schools have been able to perform like this so if you are interested in purchasing a ticket - see the advertisement attached.

St Mary's Primary School Market Day

St John’s senior VCAL students and staff assisted with the St Mary's Market Day on Thursday of this week as part of their Work Related and Literacy Programs. Our senior students ran a mentor session with the St Mary’s Students in the lead up to their event and assisted on the day with cooking and sales.

I want to thank our staff Ms Fraraccio and Mr O’Connell  and students Natalie Boak, Elaine Nooroa and Angelo Mijares for conducting this activity which also had a dual purpose of raising funds for CARITAS.

Highly Accomplished and Lead Teacher Ceremony

I congratulate former staff member Mr David Graham who received his certification as a Highly Accomplished teacher at the Catholic Leadership centre this week.

The HALT National teacher certification is a voluntary initiative that supports teachers to explore and reflect on their practice at the  Highly Accomplished and Lead career stage of the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) Australian Professional Standards for Teachers. Highly

Accomplished and Lead teachers (HALTs) lead from the classroom to improve student outcomes and impact the practice of colleagues. 

Mr Graham worked at St John’s for the last 8 years where he completed his HALT certification and shifted to McKinnon College at the end of 2021.

Happy Holidays

I wish all members of our community a safe and Holy Easter Holiday with family and friends over the coming break. I look forward to seeing our students on their safe return on Tuesday the 26th of April.