Make a Difference Day (Mad Day) & Talent Quest – June 24

At the conclusion of Term 2 our MAD Day walk was staged in testing conditions to raise funds for the Lasallian Foundation and local Wellsprings Centre for Women in Dandenong. Despite the cold conditions our students enjoyed the opportunity to get out in the fresh air with their peers for a few hours. Our Make A Difference Day is significant and symbolic of the impact we can have in our community by taking small steps together. In this case we have raised over the term several thousand dollars to be distributed to Wellsprings and the Lasallian Foundation for our sister school in Pakistan.

Our school motto “Courage Reaches for the Stars “ was front and centre at the annual SJRC talent quest hosted by Ms Marina Kintzel, Mr Peter Samuel and College Captains – Jethmi Almeida, Vanessa Sayer, Kye Duncan. Sixteen acts from our talented Year 7 to 12 students entertained us through performances of song and dance, including the school choir followed by a hilarious staff act led by Ms Fraraccio. I congratulate all our performers for taking the risk this afternoon to reach for the stars. Events like this don’t go on without a lot of background work and I wish to thank and applaud the following staff for ensuring that our Talent Quest goes on each year but also their support and encouragement of our students.

Mr Perryman, Ms Kintzel, Ms Phillip-Kemp, Ms Aldis, Mr Boswell, Mr Bailey, Ms Bailey, Ms Ashby, Ms Hughes, Ms Millership, Mr Tabone and our maintenance team.

Reports

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. Staff have worked hard to prepare reports which will provide clear feedback for each student and recommendations for the next steps they should take with their learning. Becoming a successful and confident learner is our goal for each student at St John’s. An important part of this learning journey for our students is to develop the skills and routines of regular study and practice. It is only through this process that our students will develop and deepen their knowledge and skills. I encourage our parents to discuss the Semester 1 reports and the recommendations they contain with their children with the view of identifying the areas of knowledge and skills they should be practicing daily in Semester 2 .

Student Scholarships

Applications for St John’s Regional College Scholarships for General Excellence will open in Term3. General Excellence Scholarships are awarded based on the following criteria: Academic Achievement, Community involvement, Extra-Curricular involvement, Teacher Reference and Letter of application.

For next year, the 2023 school year, the following Student scholarships will be awarded at St John’s Regional College:

Year 7 (2022) into Year 8 (2023) 4 Half Scholarships
Year 8 (2022) into Year 9 (2023) 4 Half Scholarships
Year 10(2022) into Year 11(2023) 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 at Student Services by Friday August 26.

Students already in receipt of a Student Scholarship at St John’s are not eligible 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.

June Open Evening – New Enrolments

Our final Open Event for the term took place on the 23 June and we were fortunate to be able to give new parents a preview of the Junior STEM Building which will be officially opened on the 15 July. This $5m dollar project will give our junior students state of the art facilities in the areas of Science Maths Technology and Engineering and provide, hopefully, the first steps in some exciting future pathways in the STEM industries. Parents wishing to take a tour of our facilities and meet the Principal next term should make a booking through our school website.

SIS Champions

I congratulate our champion teams from Term 2 in the Southern Independent Schools Association. Our boys were undefeated in the intermediate SIS Volleyball competition and our junior girls won the SIS Pennant for Soccer in Term 2. I congratulate both teams and their coaches, Mr Mark Alexander ( Volleyball) and Ms Marina Kintzel ( Soccer).

Supporting MND

In honour and support of former staff member Ms Carolina Laing who is battling MND our staff gather each year to don the Big Freeze beanies made famous by Neale Daniher’s campaign to find a cure for this disease. On average 470 people in Victoria are diagnosed with MND each year and if you would like to make a donation to support this cause to find a cure you can follow this link to https://fightmnd.org.au/

Staffing

Farewell and Good luck.

We send our best wishes to staff member Suresh Arulanandar who leaves St John’s at the end of the semester to begin a new role in Germany. Mr Arulanandar has been a valued member of the administration team in the Finance Manager role and is moving to Germany with his family. I also farewell Ms Nicole Sekic who leaves her position of Learning Support Officer to take up a role at SFX.

End of Term

I thank staff and students collectively for the effort they have put into this term. The challenge of illness through COVID and the flu has certainly been evident, so the holidays come at a good time to relax and recharge for the next semester which will be an exciting one for our new community as we open or new STEM Centre on 15 July.

I wish all our families a safe and happy holiday and look forward to our students return for the beginning of Term 3.

NCCD