General Information

CYBER SAFETY

At our recent Cyber Safety parent meetings, a range of topical issues were discussed along with tips for parents.   Families are reminded that they can raise issues and concerns with the Government’s eSafety Commissioner.  Parents can report unsafe websites or predatory online behaviour to the commissioner.   

CYBER SAFETY PARENT MEETING

Last week a large number of parents joined us in the Hall for a Cyber Safety Presentation by Martin & Carley McGauran from Inform & Empower.  During the sessions we were guided through some of the pitfalls associated with children being on the internet in an unsupervised area of the home such as the bedroom.  Carley emphasised the danger of this by exploring the idea that we wouldn’t allow our child to swim unsupervised in the ocean and similarly we shouldn’t allow them unsupervised access to the net.

During the sessions Martin guided parents through the unforeseen risks associated with many of the popular platforms used today. Parents were urged to become familiar with the parental control functions available. 

Families were encouraged to make some small changes that would have a big impact. These included:

• Turning off notifications
• Reviewing who you choose to follow
• Setting an alarm as a reminder that it is now bedtime

As part of our partnership with Inform and Empower, our community has access to resources and videos. These can be accessed using the links below:

Raising Kids in a Digital World Parent Resources (Free)

https://www.informandempower.com.au/parents

Toolkit (with links, info and more) is available for the entire year.

Video content is available for 30 days and will need the password to access: feb2023

LABEL ALL SCHOOL UNIFORM ITEMS

It is important to label all school uniform items.  The most commonly lost items are Hats and School Jumpers.  These can be easily returned if they are correctly labelled. Please be aware that over time all labels fade and will need to be redone.

WELCOME EDDY TEDDY

This year we welcome a new member to the St John’s School Community.  Eddy Teddy is a good friend of our Year 6’s.  Each week our seniors will be on the look out for a class that they notice being cooperative and respectful so that everyone can achieve and be safe. Eddy is visiting Year 2 Bongetti this week and no doubt they will have some great photos or videos to share of the fun they’ve had with Eddy Teddy in their class.

FIRE DRILL

Last Wednesday the school performed the first Emergency Drill of the year.  Students are to be congratulated on the calm and orderly way they exited the building and followed their teachers’ instructions.  Each term we conduct a different safety drill.  Sometimes we evacuate the building to simulate what we would do if there was a fire.  Other times in the year we practise performing a Lock Down, where students are asked to remain in the building.  This is to simulate situations where a danger might be occurring outside and would require us to remain indoors, such as hazardous weather.

SCHOOL NURSE 

As mentioned during the meeting held during the Prep Transition Sessions, the School Nurse will be visiting St John’s during Term 1.  This is a free service offered to all prep children attending primary schools in Victoria.  The School Nurse Program provides families with the opportunity to have a health assessment completed with their child.  The nurse also is a great source of information and advice about healthy behaviours.  Her first scheduled visit will be Monday 20th February.

SUBWAY LUNCH ORDERS

The school will continue our partnership with Subway this year.  This initiative provides students with an opportunity to receive a ‘lunch order’, that families have ordered and paid for online, prior to the day.  Our next Subway Lunch Day will be Friday 24th February.  

The ordering process has changed from 2022.  Parents are asked to please ensure they have correctly set up their profile and order at