June 24th, 2024: Newsletter #19

Acknowledgement of Country

St. John’s school community respect and honour Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders past, present and emerging. We acknowledge the stories, traditions and living cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples on this land and commit to building a brighter future together, working together towards a reconciled Australia. 

150th Anniversary Celebrations

Week 11 Prayer

From the Principal

Welcome everyone to the new week, 

Farewell Gen: This week sadly we bid farewell to Gen O'Connor as our Art Teacher. Gen has been a great addition to our community and our teaching staff and will miss her passion and energy for the Arts and her friendly personality. We wish her well as she fully relocates to Melbourne. A replacement Art Teacher for semester 2 will be announced shortly once interviews have been completed. 

Welcome Nicole & Bridget: As Miss Miller heads away on leave, we welcome Mrs Bridget Robinson and Mrs Nicole O'Keefe to 3/4JM, we hope they have a great time with this great group of kids. 

Sympathy: Our thoughts and prayers are with Louie B and her family on the passing of their beloved great Grandmother. May you find comfort in the cherished moments you shared together.

School Reports: This afternoon, academic reports will be released for Semester 1 via the Parent Access Module (PAM). Should you wish to speak with your child's teacher regarding the reports please contact them to arrange a convenient time. Please also see below an infographic helping to explain some of the information contained in the reports. 

End of Term: A reminder that this Friday is the final day of Term 2 with all classes concluding at 2.20pm.

Term 3 classes commence on Monday July 15th at 8.55am. 

We look forward to the week ahead and the two week holiday, Ben.

Sacrament of Eucharist

The Star of the Sea Parish is inviting all children in Grade 4 or above who wish to receive the Sacrament of Eucharist to register their interest by clicking the link below. 

The preparation time for First Eucharist will begin in the opening week of Term 3. To begin the preparation, parents/carers will be invited to attend an information meeting on Tuesday July 16th at 6.00pm.  

The preparation of this Sacrament will have a new format this year.  Candidates from all of the Network Catholic schools will participate in a Formation Day to be held at St. Pius X - in the Hall and the function room.  This is to occur on Friday July 19th.  Further information and permission forms will follow and more information will be explained at the parent meeting.

The Sacrament of First Eucharist will be celebrated on Sunday August 11th, at the 10.00am Mass at St Pius X Church.

Dates for children at St. John's:

Tuesday July 16th @ 6.00pm- Formation meeting for parents/guardians

Friday July 19th- Formation day for children

Sunday August 4th- Mass of commitment

Sunday August 11th- Sacrament of Eucharist

Working With Children Check

We encourage parents and guardians to volunteer their time around the school and at events invited by the school, however you will need a current Working with Children Check (WWCC), this is a Victorian Government legislation. Working With Children Check's are free and you can apply by clicking the link below.

The next time you are volunteering at school, please allow enough time to sign in on the Ipad and upload a copy of your WWCC card. 

School Fees & Payment Plans

St. John's is a low fee-paying school. Our global operating budget comprises funding from the Federal and State Governments, School fee collection, and fundraising.

School fees are a vital part of providing many aspects of your child's tuition at St. John's. The 3 main options for paying your school fees are: Direct Debit, Credit Card (at the school office) and Direct Credit Payments.

Please take some time to consider which of these options is best for your family. If you would like to set up a direct debit payment plan please contact Sarah Burchell at the school office or email Sarah at sburchell@sjdennington.catholic.edu.au

Your support with this, early in the school year, would be greatly appreciated.

NCCD Information Sheet

Please see below information regarding the Nationally Consistent Collecton of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD).

Grade 1 Inquiry

This term, the Grade 1 students focused on Sound and Light for their Inquiry unit. They worked hard to develop the their moving shadow puppets for their production on the book 'Chooks in Dinner Suits'. Last Thursday they held an Expo where they presented their puppet show for family, friends and the school. 

Feast Day Mass and Fire Carrier Walk-a Thon

It was amazing seeing the whole school come together today- walking back to St. John's following our Feast Day Mass at St. Pius X Church and enjoying a sausage sizzle! All proceeds raised from the gold coin donation will go to the Opening the Doors Foundation.  

Thank you to the parents/grandparents for volunteering their time today, it was very much appreciated.

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Spotlight on Specialists

STEM

This Term in STEM, the years 3-6 students have participated in a range of activities under the topic of ‘Fantastic Forces and Chemical Processes.’ This has encouraged students to take risks with a range of experiments making things such as homemade bouncy balls, lava lamps, plastic milk, disappearing colour images and erupting volcanoes. Students have also let their imaginations run wild by designing and building their own roller coaster and sensory items that have a push and pull function. 

For the years Foundation, One and Two, students undertook a range of activities under the topic of ‘Sustainability Systems.’ 

For this topic, it saw students grow their own parsley seeds, participate in a string and ice challenge, make their own marble cards, alphabet tree, a maze and a kite using sustainable materials. Students were given a challenge to build a sturdy house that couldn’t be blown over by a fan using only a small range of items. Students also collaborated with each other to complete a nature based scavenger hunt. 

We had lots of fun this term and I look forward to working alongside all children in Term 3. 

Mrs Kristie Painter

Hands on Learning

Student News

Ida competed at the FISAF Sport Aerobics State Championship in Melbourne over the weekend and took home the gold, becoming the Victorian State Champion in the Phase 1 Mini Elementary stream! She has now qualified for Nationals and will be competing in August on the Gold Coast, QLD. 

What an amazing achievement Ida, we are all so very proud of you and cannot wait to hear about your future events!

Grandparent's & Special Friends Day

Wellbeing Day

Around our School- Week 10

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Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to Kennedy W and Harmony B who celebrate their birthday this week. We hope you have a terrific day!!

Save the Date!

Parents & Friend's Social Group

Many discussions were had at last week’s P & F meeting. We thanked Dom for organising the disco, all the kids had a great night! Our profit from the evening was $283.00. 

The future of the Mother’s Day and Father’s Day stalls was discussed. Payment methods for the continuation of Wednesday Treats were also discussed, whether to continue to offer eftpos payments or return to a cash only method in order to minimise chasing up any missing payments or an app base method going forward for 2025. 

Looking ahead to Term 3, the main fundraising event will be the 5K major draw. We will also be looking into organising family photos later in the term, as a point of difference to our normal fundraising ideas.

For our next meeting we will be heading to the Cally for dinner on Wednesday 31st July at 6:30pm. All welcome- please RSVP closer to the date.

Emily McGennan

Dennington's Day Out

Our next meeting is being held this Wednesday 26th June at 7:15pm. 

There is still time to sponsor, If you or know someone that might be interested please email ddo@sjdennington.catholic.edu.au to enquire about the packages or check out the DDO facebook page.

Wednesday Treats

If you or a grandparent would like to be a part of our volunteers for term 3 please fill out the form with your available dates and return to the office by THIS WEDNESDAY 26th June. We will try and have term 3 roster completed by Friday. All time volunteered time goes towards your participation points. Without our parent helpers these events would not be possible. Volunteers will need a valid Working With Children Card.

Should you have any questions please feel free to contact Taliah Gleeson or Emily McGennan.

Cake Raffle

Each week on a Monday, families are rostered on to bring in a cake which will then be raffled and drawn out at assembly. All funds raised throughout the year will be donated to the Good Friday Appeal the following year.

All students will have the opportunity to buy a raffle ticket for 20c each Monday with a limit of five tickets per student. The Johnnies will make a P.A announcement at first lunch, calling all students who wish to purchase a ticket, to the Library.

The following families are rostered on for Monday 15th July:

Kertland, Kotwica, Laird, Lamb and Leggett.

Please drop your store purchased cake into the office with your child's name written on top.

School Sponsorship

A big thank you to O'Brien's Electrical, Joinery by Jarrod, Fry Painting and Carry on Travel who sponsor our school!

Would you like to advertise your business in our school newsletter? Businesses can advertise for only $100 a year and will have a business card sized listing in every school newsletter.

Please contact parents@sjdennington.catholic.edu.au for more information.

Star of the Sea Bulletin

Sunday Mass is held at 10.00am at St. Pius X Church. School families are always welcome. 

The Parish office can be contacted on 5562 2231 and this weekends bulletin is featured below. Other information and contact details can be found on the Star of the Sea South West Coast website: https://www.ballarat.catholic.org.au/parish/southwestcoast/ 

Community Notices

Upcoming Events

Wednesday 26th June: Dennington’s Day Out meeting 7:15pm in the Gathering Space

Friday 28th June: End of Term 2, school concludes at 2.20pm

Monday 15th July: Term 3 Commences

Monday 22nd July: Grandparents and Special Friends Day

Tuesday 23rd July: Wellbeing Day

Wednesday 31st July: P & F Social Group Meeting 6.30pm at the Cally Hotel

Wednesday 21st August: Book Week, parade at 9.00am

Wednesday 28th August: St. Johns Art Show from 6.00pm