Principal's Report

A Message from the Principal

Thank-you for your support throughout this period of remote learning. It has certainly been a challenge for everyone to transition back to Learning at Home. I am confident that with the support of the Home Learning Site, Google Meets, take home packs and access to chromebooks, our students will be able to maintain engagement in their learning and stay connected with their teachers and classmates. Please let me know if you require any extra support throughout the week. 

Please send in your photos from Remote Learning to share in the school newsletter or online.

Communication is very important to us at St John's Mitcham. We aim to use the most effective means to stay in touch and keep the community up to date with any news and events. 

Did you know that you can follow us on Twitter?

https://twitter.com/SJPSMitcham

We are also setting up a new Instagram account, so stay tuned for more details.

Latest news and events can also be found on our school website. Please take a look. https://www.sjmitcham.catholic.edu.au/left/news-events

You may have heard that changes are afoot for the 206 parishes in the Archdiocese of Melbourne. In a recent letter from Arch Bishop Commensoli, he explains what the plan will be.

For  decades, we have been exploring ways to bring about a re-framing of the local Church to become more vital for us today. Our present way of doing things needs to be re-imagined in the face of the changing society in which we live. 

When the 1st Archbishop, James Goold, came to Victoria in 1848, he did not set about arranging the Archdiocese into parishes, but instead  established Missions into various localities. Each Mission comprised a family of local faith communities, gathered around a shared life of faith, worship and outreach. 

Our task ahead will consider:

• Where might be the local Missions of our Archdiocese today? 

• Which parishes might organically fit together to form a family of communities? 

• How might we better resource these Missions – spiritually, ministerially and materially?

It is not about change overnight, it is not about parish closures or amalgamations, but a reframing of our thinking, and a resourcing of where our current need is, not where it was, in order to bring renewed life.

For the full letter please read the Religious Dimension Page.

Our COVID Safe Plan has been updated to include recent changes from the Government. Unfortunately we will be limiting parents on-site for the rest of the term. 

• All students to sanitise before, during and after school
• Everyone over the age of 12 must be wearing a face mask                                   (Primary school students are exempt)

 Thought for the Week 

“Don’t count the days, make the days count.” —Muhammad Ali

Verona Gridley

Principal 

vgridley@sjmitcham.catholic.edu.au