August 5th, 2024: Newsletter #23

Acknowledgement of Country

St. John’s school community respect and honour Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders past and present. 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. 

Week 4 Prayer: St. Mary MacKillop Feast Day

Each year on the 8th August we celebrate the Solemnity of Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop, Australia's beloved first saint. On this day, we celebrate the important role she played in making education accessible for children in our country. Mary MacKillop devoted her life to ensuring a holistic Catholic education for children from rural, poor families.

St Mary MacKillop's impact on Australian education was remarkable.  She was a trailblazer and a leader who passionately advocated for the education of underprivileged children and children in remote areas where others either would or could not go.  For such children and their families, Mary opened a door of hope into the future.

Ever generous God,
You inspired Saint Mary MacKillop
to live her life faithful to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and constant in bringing hope and encouragement to those who were disheartened, lonely or needy.

We ask that our faith and hope be fired afresh by the Holy Spirit so that we too, like Mary MacKillop, may live with courage, trust and openness.
Ever generous God hear our prayer.

We ask this through Jesus Christ.

Amen.

From the Principal

Welcome everyone to the new school week.

Congratulations: Rhys is a proud brother to little George who was born last week, we hear he is very good at changing nappies. Congratulations to Rhys and his family. 

Sympathy: Our sincere sympathy to Lara and Jude on the passing of their adored grandmother last week. Our love, thoughts and prayers go out to them and their parents Aaron and Janelle. 

We look forward to the week ahead, Ben.

Student Census

Last week, our admin staff completed the second of 2 censuses for 2024. Below is a fact sheet which outlines what information is gathered and how it is used.

The Right to Disconnect

The Fair Work Act 2009, was recently updated to include provisions that give employees the right to disconnect from communication received outside of their designated working hours. This new rule takes effect from 26 August 2024. For schools, this includes communication from parents, students, colleagues, or others within the school community. 

Staff access their work emails normally between 8:00 am – 5.00 pm when possible and will endeavour to respond to emails within 24-48 hours. This applies to other forms of communication such as See Saw. Staff are not expected to respond in this time frame during weekends, public holidays, and, for teaching staff,  during term breaks.

We ask all members of the school community to be aware of this new provision and to restrict communication with school staff to school working hours. If you communicate outside of these hours, please be aware staff may choose to but are not expected to respond outside their work hours.

Sacrament of Eucharist

The Sacrament of Eucharist is typically the third sacrament that is received and is the sacrament of initiation.  We have a number of students preparing to receive this sacrament for the first time. 

Recently, these children gathered with around 80 other candidates from the 6 primary catholic network schools. At this Parish Formation day, they were able to experience imaginative prayer and analyse modern artwork displaying Eucharistic themes.

The sacrament will be celebrated on Sunday August 11th, at 9.00am. Please remember these students in your classroom prayers over the the next few weeks.

Support for our Families

The generosity of our school community has always been outstanding and we are again asking for more help for many of our families experiencing hardship. This initiative aims to provide meals to those requiring some assistance, enhancing our strong and compassionate community.

If you are able to assist by providing the school with frozen meals which we can distribute as required, then we would greatly appreciate your support.

Please speak with Ben van de Camp if able to assist.

Dennington Post Office/Store

We have received confirmation from the Dennington Post Office/Store that they will cease operation in October. We are currently exploring other options for lunch orders and will provide an update in coming weeks.

Book Week

On Wednesday 21st August, we will be celebrating book week. Our Parade will be held at 9.00am in the Stadium. Parents/family members are most welcome to come along to the parade.

The theme this year is 'Reading is Magic. Students are invited to dress up as their favourite book character but there is no expectation that new items or costumes are purchased. There will be some dress up items provided on the day for students who would like to borrow something.

Hooptime

For the past two weeks interested students from Grades 3-6 have been participating in Hooptime (basketball tri outs). The teams have now been chosen and we are fortunate enough to be able to send ALL students who tried out in Grades 3 and 4. There will be 5 teams including; one all star boys, 2 x future mixed teams and 2 x rookie mixed teams.

In the 5/6's we are able to send one all star boys team and one all star girls team. Unfortunately, under the instruction of Basketball Victoria (who oversee and organise the hooptime draws) we are not permitted to enter any more teams as they are already at capacity.

The 3/4 Hooptime competition will be held on Monday 12th August at the Arc stadium in Warrnambool. The 5/6 Hooptime is on Friday 16th August, also in Warrnambool.

Permissions have been sent to families via PAM. If you have any questions please direct them to Margie Smith PE Teacher: msmith@sjdennington.catholic.edu.au

TheirCare

The following dates have been approved by DOBCEL as student free days. Theircare will operate on these days and are open for bookings now.

• Monday August 19th- Staff First Aid & Child safety training
• Monday October 7th & Tuesday October 8th- Staff Indigenous Education training

We have also inquired with TheirCare around school holiday programs being offered at St. John's but their response has been that there is not enough demand for a program to be offered yet. If parents did want this to occur then I encourage you to speak with TheirCare. 

St. John's Got Talent

Every second year, St. John's hosts our talent show - St John's Got Talent. Students from Foundation to Grade 6 are invited to do a solo performance or work with a small group of their choice. They can perform any talent they like - singing, dancing, gymnastics, comedy show etc.

The students will have time every Tuesday at first lunch to practice and get themselves organised, with support from myself and some other staff members. All performances will then perform at the Semi-Finals (which takes place over several weeks) and then a small number of performances will be selected to perform at the Grand Final. Families will be notified if their child has made the Grand Final. Children are welcome to wear a costume during their semi-final if they wish, this is not compulsory. It is a very fun time, with many students looking forward to the bi-annual, St. John's Got Talent. 

Any questions, please email me aatwell@sjdennington.catholic.edu.au

or Jan Madden at jmadden@sjdenningotn.catholic.edu.au

Thanks, Amy Atwell.

Foundation News

Our Foundations clocked up 100 days of school last week! 100 days of learning, laughter and growth. They celebrated the day by participating in activities relating to the number 100. We are so proud of our little people and how far they have come, we look forward to celebrating many more milestones with them.

Hands on Learning- Goods Drive

Judo at St. John's

Student News

Rhys C has an adorable baby brother! His mum Renee and her partner welcomed George last week. He came early but is doing really well. Congratulations to you all, we can't wait to meet cute little George. 

A group of St. John’s students who do Auskick at Dennington together were selected to play at Saturday’s Geelong vs Adelaide game at Geelong, GMHBA stadium. They all played fabulously and enjoyed a 5 point win to the Cats. Some future stars in the making! All of the kids had a fantastic night and made plenty of memories. It was also a fantastic way for Harvey T to celebrate his birthday!

Student Awards Term 3 Week 3

Around our School- Week 3

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Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to Lennox W, Lawson C, Archie P, Ruby R and Harper C who celebrate their birthday this week! We hope you have a fantastic day!!!

Save the Dates!

We now have enough glass jars, milk cartons and newspapers- thank you very much!

Our Diocesan Community

Parents & Friend's Social Group

Thank you to the ladies that came out for dinner last Wednesday night. In our brief meeting, we discussed the upcoming fundraisers for this term.

Our next meeting will be Tuesday 27th August at 7.00pm in the Gathering Space.

Dennington's Day Out

Next meeting will be the 21st August at 7:15pm in the Gathering Space.

Applications are now open for our mini entrepreneur stalls at this year's Dennington’s Day Out. If your child is interested and would like to have a stall please register with the below link. 

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

Order forms for next week will head home on a Wednesday this term. Please make sure all EFT payments and order forms are handed in by 3pm Monday as we can not accept late orders. Should you have any questions please feel free to contact Taliah Gleeson or Emily McGennan.

Roster:

Tuesday 6th Aug 9.00am - Theresa,  Emily, Jo C, Melissa C  and Melissa A

Wednesday 7th Aug 12.00pm - Julia T, Jayne L and Sarah Mc 

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 12th August:

McNaughton, Miller, Mitchell and Mjeda.

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 9.00am 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

Sunday 11th August: Sacrament of Eucharist 9.00am at St. Pius X Church

Monday 12th August: Grade 3/4 Hooptime

Friday 16th August: Grade 5/6 Hooptime

Monday 19th August: School Closure Day

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

Wednesday 21st August: DDO Meeting at 7.15pm in the Gathering Space

Tuesday 27th August: Parents and Friends Meeting at 7.00pm in the Gathering Space

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

Friday 30th August: Father's Day Breakfast