A message from Emily

Dear parents and carers

Welcome back to our final term for 2022. It has been amazing to have consistency and children learning at school for a whole year. We also have exciting community events planned for this term so we can gather together and continue to reconnect as a community. Some of these school events include our Twilight Centenary Celebration, a Parent Trivia Night and Christmas events. Make sure you check out our Family Engagement page for more information about these events. Please also check the Important Dates page to add key dates to your calendar for events happening across this term.

Reminders:

I remind parents that we are heading into warmer weather so children need to wear a school hat when outside. We also recommend the application of sunscreen in the mornings to protect your child's skin during break times. School hats, in the legionnaires style, can be purchased from School Office for $10. If you would prefer the bucket style hat please ordered through our uniform provider www.rhuniforms.com.au

Farm Update:

This week we have officially confirmed the lease renewal of the Farm with the Parish and MACS for a further 12 months. I am currently working on a proposal to submit the Parish team around the possibilities for future use of both the farm and the convent for the long term benefit of both the School and Parish communities. I look forward to announcing some very exciting news about the Farm for 2023 in our next newsletter. On Wednesday this week, students from Emmanuel College worked on the final touches to our new chicken coup. It's a very impressive home for our future chickens. We also have produce currently growing at the farm that is ready for harvest. This will start next week and we are hoping to have fresh lettuce to sell after assembly next Friday.

Last week we welcomed Rebekah Mikhail to the St John's team. Rebekah is a Registered Psychologist and will be onsite Thursdays and Fridays this term. Rebekah joins our Allied Health team to meet the needs of the children in our community. Rebekah has started to reach out to families and children to support them any way she can. Rebekah comes with experience of working with children in schools and we are lucky to add her expertise to our community to support the positive wellbeing of all.

2023 Staffing Updates:

This term I will provide updates around staff changes. We will be welcoming new educators to our beautiful community with open arms and saying goodbye to those taking on a new adventure, with sadness but nothing but good wishes. It can be difficult to hear news of much loved staff members leaving, especially when they have been a part of the St John's community for many years and have developed strong relationships based on trust and respect. Just like in any career or profession, educators and leaders take on new challenges to grow and further their experiences & expertise to advance their opportunities within the education system. As a leader in Catholic Education, I am a strong believer in providing opportunities to build the capacity of educators and leaders within our community to be able to flourish and thrive not just for the benefit of children at St John's but for all children. We have amazing educators at St John's and this means they grow into amazing leaders who look to enact their potential and have positive impact in new communities. When movement happens within a school it creates new opportunities for the next generation of leaders to rise and this is an exciting prospect to see what value they bring to the community of St John's. 

Below is a message from Ashlee Owen who has made the very big decision to leave St John's at the end of the year. Ash has been a part of the St John's community since starting as a graduate in 2008. Ash is an amazing person who leads with compassion, love and the best interests of all children at the heart of all her decisions. This year she took on the role of Learning Diversity after leading Wellbeing, and while this was new learning for her she was able to fulfil this role with confidence and success, continuing to foster strong relationships between home and school. While Ash will be greatly missed, she deserves this new opportunity in her career to continue to learn and evolve as the wonderful leader she is.

To the St. John's community,

After 14 years at the magical place that is St. John's, I have made the very hard decision to say goodbye and move on to a new place. In 2023, I will be joining the St. Gabriel's and St. Stephen's community in Reservoir as their Learning Diversity Leader.

My time at St. John's has been filled with so much joy, connection, personal growth, learning, laughter and cherished memories. I've also shared in many of the more difficult moments that life brings. I feel incredibly grateful and privileged to have been, for some families, a very small part of your journey at St. John's, and for others, a much greater part. St. John's has shaped me as an educator and for that, I would like to extend a very big 'THANK YOU.' You will be very missed.

Ash

This week we employed a new Learning Diversity Leader to step into Ash's role. I will announce who this new person in the coming weeks. I would like to respect this new person's current school community as they look to replace them and we can announce their appointment at St John's at the same time. 

We also share a message from Mitch Hayes who is taking a huge leap in relocating to Western Australia. Mitch joined the St John's community in 2017 and has taught and positively impacted many children who have attended St John's. In recent years Mitch took on leadership support and responsibilities in the areas of Learning Diversity and Faith. Mitch achieved a great deal this year as the Faith Leader through our beautiful prayer gatherings, preparing children for their sacramental celebrations and the faith formation of both staff and parents. Mitch brings so much positivity and energy to everyone he engages with and has formed strong relationships with children, families and staff who will miss him greatly. I know that wherever Mitch ends up, he will add so much value to their community and they will love him as much as we do.

It is with the heaviest of hearts that I wish to announce that 2022 will be my last year with St John’s, taking the plunge and uprooting my entire life by venturing west to Perth.

Having lived here my whole life, I have toyed with the idea of leaving Victoria for a long time. I can say with great certainty that the only thing keeping me here was St John’s. The single hardest part about leaving Melbourne, is saying goodbye to this incredible school, its staff, children and community (you can imagine how difficult that was for my friends and family to hear that I’ll miss the school more than them). For six years, I have been so incredibly lucky to have formed connections and relationships that have allowed me to thrive in all facets of my life, and for that, I feel eternally indebted and grateful.

Already working with Emily and our leadership team to shape the next few years, I can only be extremely excited for where our school will be heading next, and I have the greatest confidence that this school will continue to be as extraordinary as it ever was.

As for the remainder of this year, I am as eager, committed and energised to ‘go out with a bang’ and end my time at St John’s on an absolute high. This place is my favourite place, our children are my favourite people, our staff are my best friends, and our community are my second family. Thanks for making this the most memorable six years of my life. 

Mitch 

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Jordan Fry who has been successfully appointed the new Faith Leader for 2023. Jordan is a caring and nurturing educator who lives our school Mission of 'We walk together in the light, as God is in the light, we are one with each other' (John 1:9). I look forward to seeing what amazing things Jordan is able to add to our community through her leadership as we continue to embrace who we are as a Catholic School Community.

I am excited to announce that Lauren Davis will also be returning to St John's in 2023 after being on parental leave since the beginning of Term 2 this year. Lauren will resume her leadership role as Co-Deputy Principal two days a week. I look forward to sharing more information around our leadership team, hubs and specialists structures for 2023 in future newsletters. 

2023 Fees & Levies: Families will receive an email outlining the St John's fees and levies structure for 2023. The email will detail the need to increase fees for next year and the support for families to meet this financial commitment when it seems the cost of everything is going up. I would like to draw your attention to the Concessional School Fees option for families who meet the criteria that will be outlined in the email. Applications for Concessional School Fees needs to be received by Monday 31st October 2022.

Warm wishes

Emily