Coronavirus 19– Communication

As we enter the term 2 school holidays, we find ourselves in the familiar position we faced last term with an increase in the number of COVID Cases. Over the coming weeks of the school holidays we will continue to update our Community as to the impact of the Corona Virus. At this stage we anticipate that school will return as per normal on Tuesday the 14th of July following our Parent teacher Interviews on Monday the 13th of July.

In reference to school closure in term 3 we will follow the direction of the State Government and Catholic Education Commission as advised by the Chief Health Officer Dr Brett Sutton.

Should remote learning be put in place then all members of our community will be alerted by SMS message and confirmed on our School Webpage and Facebook page. Staff will again use our Learning Management System – SEQTA for any period of remote learning so that we can ensure continuity of student learning.

In this newsletter under the Covid 19 Management TAB you will find communication from the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) encouraging testing to enable early detection and reduce community transmission. Dandenong has been targeted for an increase in testing resources due to its current low testing rate and where equity of access may be an issue, particularly for vulnerable groups.

Online Open Events – New Enrolments

Due to the Coronavirus our Open Events have been rescheduled as an online event. Parents wishing to take a virtual tour of our facilities and meet the Principal in an online forum should make a booking through https://www.trybooking.com/BALBU for the following dates in term 3 & 4:

Saturday 25 July – 10am
Thursday 13 August – 9.15am
Thursday 10 September – 9.15am
Thursday 22 October – 9.15am
Tuesday November 17 – 6pm

YEAR 7 Enrolments in 2021 and 2022

Year 7 in 2021 and 2022 applications for current Grade 5 & 6 Students are OPEN. All families considering an enrolment should complete and submit an enrolment application form. Application Forms can be downloaded at: www.sjrc.vic.edu or by contacting the College Registrar, Ms Symone Goodwin at stjohns@sjrc.vic.edu.au or call the College on 8793 2000

UNBOXY

Our Year 9 Students have been working a project over the last two weeks called UNBOXY. The UNBOXY Company aims to provide schools with a simple cardboard template of shapes, that students can then build into a variety of structures or create a unique space within the classroom. These structures could be for multiple students or just one, be an enclosed shelter or an open tunnel, etc – they are intended to be reflective of the class itself, and to provide an alternative learning environment within the classroom.

The UNBOXY company are testing different shapes shown below and the picture attached shows one of the designs our students have created .

In this newsletter under the Students at work TAB you will find a more detailed promotion and outline of the UNBOXY project.

Reports and Parent teacher Interviews

Reports will arrive home in the first week of the school holidays via the SEQTA Engage App giving a summary of student progress over the first semester. As advised due to the period of remote leaning in term 2 , Semester One reports have been redesigned using Department of Education guidelines and will include the following:

• a description of the areas of the Victorian Curriculum F–10 taught

• a succinct descriptive assessment of student learning achievement, based on the Achievement Standards in the Victorian Curriculum F–10

• a comment on how the student has adjusted to the remote and flexible learning environment, with reference to the ‘Personal and Social Capability’ curriculum.

On July 13 parents will have an opportunity to discuss student progress with teachers during an online parent teacher interview. Students are expected to attend the interview with their parents via the SEQTA portal using the Teams video conference facility.

Prior to the interviews it will be important for parents and their children to set aside some time to review their progress as outlined in their semester 1 reports. The remote learning period of term 2 will have presented some challenges for all of our students but also some key understandings of the importance of independent learning. Becoming an independent learner is a step we want all our students to take. A discussion on what helped and what hindered our students independent learning during this remote learning period is a good one to have during these term 2 holidays.

Solar Energy Turned On

In the last week of term the Solar Energy Project for St John’s was turned on for the first time. Despite the lack of sunshine we celebrate the beginning of new area of alternative energy use at the College which will see St John’s Regional College assist in the production of sustainable energy, reduce dependence on fossil fuel resources and lower our annual power bill by $80000. The new solar energy system will also provide students with the opportunity study in depth its production of energy through the STEM studies of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. Year 12 student Hriday Nayyar , who completed a detailed analysis of the costs of producing power in his home town of New Delhi , will present to the College Board later in the year an analysis of our production and consumption rates and future savings scenarios.

Mr Michael Perryman in the News

Music Teacher Michael Perryman found himself in the news again this week for his nomination for the 2020 Telstra ARIA Music Teacher of the Year Award. The link below will take you to a feature article on Michael on the Catholic Education Website.

https://www.cem.edu.au/News-Events/2020/June/Celebrating-music-education.aspx

Student Scholarships

Applications for St John’s Regional College Scholarships for General Excellence are now open. General Excellence Scholarships are awarded on the basis of the following criteria: Academic Achievement, Community involvement, Extra-Curricular involvement, Teacher Reference and Letter of application.

For next year, the 2021 school year , the following Student scholarships will be awarded at St John’s Regional College :

Year 7 (2020) into Year 8 (2021) 4 Half Scholarships
Year 8 (2020) into Year 9 (2021) 4 Half Scholarships
Year 10 (2020) into Year 11 (2021) 4 Half Scholarships

The application form will be available on SEQTA and from Student Services from the beginning of term 3 and applications are to be submitted by Friday August 21st to Student Services.

Students already in receipt of a Student Scholarship at St John’s are not able to make application for a General Excellence Scholarship. Students will be notified of their successful application or otherwise in the last week of term 3.

End of Term

I thank staff and students collectively for the effort they have put into this term. It has been one like no other and I appreciate the genuine partnership between home and school that has allowed students to continue their learning.

I wish all of our families a safe and happy holiday and look forward to our students return for the beginning of semester two.

Covid19 Management