Welcome Back

I trust that all families and students have enjoyed the Easter break. It is a wonderful time of year for relaxing family and social occasions but also some time over the two weeks for students to think about what they want to achieve over the next term with their academic programs. I thank all our families for their attendance at the Parent Teacher Interviews at the end of last term and encourage those parents who missed out on that opportunity for a progress check, to contact their child’s teacher over the first few weeks of term 2.

Winter Uniform

I also advise that as students return, they move into full Winter Uniform for term 2. This will require them to additionally wear the school tie each day except on days when they are allowed to wear sports uniform. School ties are available through Academy Uniforms who can be reached through the following website:

http://www.academyuniforms.com.au

COVID Protocols - Updated Term 2, 2022

Most families will be aware of the changing COVID protocols as we return this term. They are outlined below, and we will keep you informed as we are made aware of changes:

Face masks

From 11.59 pm Friday 22 April, face masks, while recommended, are not required in any school setting. Any student or staff member who wishes to wear a mask may do so.

Screening requirements

Students and staff who have tested positive for COVID-19, and have completed their 7-day isolation period, now do not need to undertake rapid antigen test (RAT) screening for 12 weeks after their release from isolation. This was previously 8 weeks.

Household contacts

Students and staff who are household contacts of a COVID-19 case are no longer required to quarantine. They can return to school as long as they undertake rapid antigen tests (RAT) 5 times within their 7-day period and wear face masks indoors if they are aged 8 and above unless they have a valid exemption.

If any household contact returns a positive RAT result during this period, they must isolate for 7 days and not attend school.

Vaccination requirements for visitors to schools

Parents, carers and other adult visitors (not performing work) are no longer required to show evidence of two doses of COVID-19 vaccine.

Community use of school facilities

Schools will no longer need to request evidence of vaccination of staff or workers from external community groups who use premises outside the school’s normal operating hours.

RAT screening program extension reminder

The supply of RATs will continue for the first 4 weeks of this term. Students and staff of St John’s are recommended to test at home twice a week (Mon & Thu).

Staffing

I advise that long serving staff member Mr Neil Bullied has resigned from St John’s Regional College after 10 years of service. Mr Bulleid is currently on long service leave, and we will look to farewell and thank him for his service to our community at a time later in the year.

I also welcome as we return to term 2 the following new members of staff to St John’s:

Ms Emily Cuciniello – Learning Support Officer
Ms Nicole Sekic – Learning Support Officer
Ms Taryn Willder - Learning Support Officer
Mr Ben McGee – VET Sport & Recreation Trainer
Ms Melanie Haider – VET Hospitality Trainer

I look forward to the gifts and talents that our new staff members will bring for the benefit of our students in the months ahead.

House Athletics Carnival & SIS Division B – Swimming Carnival

Two worlds collide next week when our students compete in the annual Athletics Carnival on Monday at Casey Fields and then again in the SIS Division B Swimming Carnival on Thursday. It has been a busy time for Sport Co-ordinator Mr Mark Alexander and staff in preparation for these events and we are looking forward to some personal best performances over the two days of competition from our students. Parents are most welcome to attend these events at Casey Fields and the Melbourne Sports and Aquatics Centre.

CSIRO:STEM High Achievers Program

Our STEM High Achievers program commences again this year with the support of our CSIRO, STEM Professionals. This is the third year of our High Achiever program and it is great to welcome back Mr Jay Seneviratne to work with our budding scientists. Mr Seneviratne is a qualified Chemical and Mechanical Engineer working with Boral and will use his experience across several industries in working with our advanced science students in Year 7, 8 & 9.

The project will be coordinated by STEM Leader Mr Paul Colvin during term 2 and will involve research, problem solving and analysis of their findings around the sustainability of our most valuable resource, water. A new group of young scientists will be selected for term 3 to work with Mr Jay Seneviratne as part of our STEM High Achievers Program.

ANZAC Day Ceremony

On Tuesday of this week, our school community stopped to pay our respects and remember all those Australians who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations. Our Senior Student Leaders led the ANZAC Day ceremony which recognises the anniversary of the landing on Gallipoli in 1915 where the spirit of the ANZAC was born with its emphasis on the human values of courage, sacrifice and service. I thank Mr Perryman and Mr Van Es for their work in preparing our young leaders as they grow the significance and meaning of ANZAC Day for the next generation.

Tutoring Program

St John’s offers a free after school tutoring program for all year levels. The tutoring program runs remotely on Monday and Thursday from 3.30pm to 5pm. Students can book in for a half hour or more for assistance with any subject area via the TryBooking site on our school website. Following on from Parent Teacher Interviews at the end of term 1, families and students may have identified areas of learning support required as students take the next step in their development. Students requiring assistance in these areas or extra help in completing homework tasks are encouraged to book online to see our experienced tutors in a range of subject areas particularly Maths, Science and English.

Soccer Gala Day – Paul Wade Cup May 9th

The second annual Paul Wade Cup will take place on May 9th from 9.30am to 2.30pm at the St John’s Sports Precinct. We have over 180 students from 7 Primary Schools who will be attending on the day and playing off for the trophy named after Paul Wade, an ex-student of St John’s and a former Captain of the Australian Socceroos. Parents from our Primary schools are warmly invited to attend on the day and cheer on their sons and daughters. Parking will be available along Power Street and at the Robert Booth Reserve on Clow St.

St Paul Apostle Athletics Carnival.

It was exciting to see the students from St Paul Apostle North Primary School visit St John’s in the last week of term 1 to conduct their annual athletics carnival. St John’s students helped with the running of the track and field events and the visiting parents thoroughly enjoyed a BBQ and the opportunity to socialise with other parents so sadly lacking over the last two years.

I thank Mr Mark Alexander and the maintenance team for their preparation of our excellent facilities for our visitors.

Enrolments 2022 and 2023

In term 2 , open mornings for prospective students and their families will take place each Thursday at 9.15am to give parents the opportunity to learn about our history, curriculum programs and future plans for St John’s. The one-hour session will also include a tour through our facilities. Out of school hours tours for this term have been scheduled for the following dates:

Saturday 7 May at 10am

Thursday 24 June at 6pm

Enrolments for 2023 & 2024 are invited. Parents can book a place for these tours by contacting our College reception on (03) 8793 2000 or through TryBooking via the QR code.

Harmony Day - Short Story Competition