Dear Parents/Carers,

Almighty God, we give you our school. We give you all the teachers and staff who work here, we give you all the children who study here. We pray our school will be place of great discovery, adventure and creativity. May it be a place where we love to learn and where we learn to love, a place where every one is respected and all are deeply valued. We ask all this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Our beginning year Mass was held yesterday, at which we prayed for God's blessing on all our students, staff and families that we will support each other as we learn and grow together in faith. Fr John reminded all of us that God is always in our midst and we need to find those moments when we can make that visible and known to others. It was wonderful to have quite a number of parents and visitors join us for this celebration. We look forward to providing many opportunities during the year for you to celebrate Mass with us.

We also acknowledged our Year 6 student leaders and presented each of them with their leadership badge. We look forward to them being a guide and support to our younger students, showing them what it means to be an inclusive and welcoming member of St John's.

Meet & Greet sessions

Thank you to the parents who were able to make an appointment for a 'Meet & Greet' with your child's teacher. We greatly value the opportunity to work with you in supporting your child's learning and growth. If you were unable to meet this week, our teachers are more than willing to meet with you at another time. Research shows that students have greater success in their learning when the teacher and parents are working together in a positive and hope-filled way. 

P & F Meeting (AGM)

Next Wednesday at 7.00-8.00pm is the AGM for the Parents and Friends' Association. This meeting will be held in the Tiered Learning Space (entry via Kindergarten). It is a great way for parents to get involved in our community. New parents and carers are particularly welcomed so that you can find out about the P & F and how you can get involved.

School Open Day for enrolments

You may have started to see promotions for a School Open Day on Wednesday 1 March. This is a day specifically for families seeking enrolment at St John's for 2023-2024. We are seeking support from existing parents in two ways:

1. Promoting the event with any family, friends and neighbours who would like to know more about our school

2. Helping on the day with meeting prospective families and assisting with morning tea. Please let the office know if you are able to help.

Student supervision before and after school

Please note that before-school supervision of students commences at 8.15am. Some students are arriving as early as 8.00am and are left waiting outside the school gates unsupervised. For the safety of your children, it is best that they not be left unsupervised before the school gates open.

In the afternoon, supervision of the students under the COLA concludes at 3.30pm. You are asked to ensure your child is collected by that time. 

If these times in the morning and/or afternoon are difficult for you to manage due to work or other commitments, you may want to consider using the Outside of School Hours (OOSH) care that is run by Aspire. They can be contacted on 0477 702 514.

End of Term 1

Please note that the last day of Term 1 for students will be Wednesday 5 April. The following day is an allocated Staff Professional Development Day. 

Wishing you a safe and blessed week,

Paul Moroney
Principal