Principal's Report 

COVID Update

Students returned on Wednesday 28th and it was very evident that everybody was happy to get back to St John’s after two weeks of remote learning.  Even though the prospect of another lockdown does weigh heavily on everybody’s mind, we are determined to remain hopeful that the situation and challenges we are facing will improve.  Our message to students on their return was to find something to do today that gives them joy, simple things like catching up with friends they have not seen for a while, playing outside on the soccer pitch or basketball court or going for a walk at recess and lunchtime to talk with those they are close to.  We reassured those that may have fallen behind in their studies that they can catch up and we are here to support them but also encouraged them to look out for each other particularly those who may be anxious on their return.  Reaching out to others to offer support is always helpful and from my experience of our students, particularly over the last 18 months, it is something they instinctively do and I am extremely proud of them for this.

Calendar Changes due to Lockdown

Due to the lockdown and the current restrictions we are facing on our return, we have rescheduled a number of events:

• Semester 1 Academic Achievement Assembly -   At present face to face assemblies are not allowed and given the significance of this assembly we will defer until we can acknowledge the efforts of our high achieving students in front of their peers. 
• GAT rescheduled to August 12th from 10am to 1 pm.  Year 12 Classes will not run on this day.
• Our annual fundraising activity the Mad Day Walk will be deferred to a date later in Term 3. 

The Addams Family

The good news coming out of Lockdown 5.0 is that our eagerly anticipated 2021 College Production “ The Addams Family “ will be able to go ahead on the scheduled dates of August 12 ,13 and 14 . The current restrictions however are limiting the seats available to 100.  As we advised yesterday, at this level of capacity all shows are sold out.  We are hopeful that when the Government revises restrictions on the 11th of August we will see the capacity for each show increase.  The link below will allow families who have missed out on tickets, to register on a waitlist that will see them receive notification of an increase in seat capacity before the general school community.

https://forms.gle/Z3dqTbfmziCpH1kh7

In the meantime preparations for the production are in full swing with afterschool rehearsals and the sets busily being painted by eager volunteers under the guidance of art teacher Ms Jacinta Ashby.

Careers Expo

Due to the Lockdown the Futures Expo was forced online for the second year and I extend my thanks to Careers Co-ordinator Ms Leana Bailey and Dr Janine Biggin for their ability to adapt the event so quickly to an online format. The following activities took place online over the course of this week and all resources are available online on our learning management system SEQTA for students, parents and carers to view at their convenience.  Please note that all subject selections for 2022 are required from current Year Levels 8, 9 , 10 & 11 on August 9.

•             Futures EXPO – Online during day Monday 26 July period 3 and 4 

• Year 11 2022 Parent and Student Info Session given live in Period 3 and recorded, online expo resources shared and explained
• Period 4 – Assembly – opportunity for Learning Leaders to speak
• Year 9 2022 Assembly Tuesday 27 July Period 1     
•  Year 10 2022 Assembly Tuesday 27 July Period 2
• Year 8 2022 – No selections – Assembly Tuesday 27 July Period 5
• Year 12 2022 Assembly Wednesday 28 July period 5

Interschool sport – SIS 

Indoor and outdoor interschool sport are now permitted under the new guidelines subject to venue capacity limits, including a density limit of one person per four square metres applying to any spaces being used. 

Excursion venues are now required to collect contact details and are responsible for managing record keeping for contact-tracing in line with current public health directives.

The Department of Health has strongly recommended that a contact number for each individual student is provided. A school phone number alone is not considered sufficient. Providing contact details for individual students will expedite contact tracing so that individuals can be contacted by the Department of Health if required.

Parents/carers/guardians are advised that, when required, the school will be providing excursion venues with contact details for students.  The phone number on school file for the student will be provided as the nominated contact number.

Venues will be collecting student names and contact phone numbers for a legitimate purpose and are subject to Victorian privacy laws so will handle the information securely and only retain it for the required 28-day period

Staff Professional Learning Day – July 12th

Staff participated in professional learning around the following topics on the 12th of July:

• Attendance Management 
• School Refusal Concerns & Management 
• VIT – Revised Teacher Code of Conduct:- Case Studies and application of changes
• NCCD requirements 2021: Making and recording adjustments for August Deadline
• 2022 Curriculum Planning Teams
• Centre for Multicultural Youth present PL on Culturally Responsive Practice 
  • Explore concepts of culture and identity
  • Explore culturally responsive approaches
  • Identify and apply culturally responsive practice strategies to support effective work with young people
  • Case studies, activities, small group discussions.

Professional Learning days throughout the year are an important requirement of the Victorian Institute of teaching with its focus on teachers completing a minimum 20 hours professional learning as part of their annual teacher registration.  Our Professional Learning days are linked to our School improvement Plans with their stated aim of developing the skills and professional capacity of our staff in order to enhance the learning outcomes of all our students.