Dear Parents/Carers,

Loving God, we come to you at this new beginning of the school year.
We have been many places during the summer
and our journey has brought us back to this place and to this time together.

As we turn towards you at the beginning of this year as a school community,
we begin by saying thank you—thank you for where we are on our journey
and for the journey ahead.
Thank you for where we are on the path of our life.

Be with us as we begin the year.
Steady our hearts and our minds to be open
to what is being constantly revealed through your loving presence.
Give us joy-filled hearts, and a warm and friendly attitude that is open to the movement of your spirit and to others.
Help us to be open and ready to respond to what is needed
by our St John's community,
In you, we place our trust as we ask these thing through Christ our Lord.

Amen

Welcome to the 2024 school year. I trust that your Christmas was a time of great blessing, and that your family was able to have some quality time together during the summer break. It has been wonderful seeing our Year 1-6 students return to school so positively this week, and we look forward to the Kindergarten children joining us tomorrow. On behalf of Fr John and our staff, I would especially like to welcome our new families to St John's. I pray that your time with our community is rewarding.

I welcome our new staff to St John's:

• Mrs Tracy New (Physical Education Teacher)
• Mrs Suzanne Roughly (School Suuport Officer)
• Mrs Melissa Simpson (School Support Officer)
• Miss Kaitlyn Hodge (School Support Officer)
• Miss Jordan Monagle (School Support Officer)
• Mrs Julie Fraley (Library Administration)
• Miss Abbey Newton (School Support Officer)

After a short period of leave from St John's, it is also wonderful to welcome back Ms Afchal (Year 6) and Ms Titone (Kindergarten 1 day/week).

For 2024, Rita Maher, our school counsellor, will be working in a leadership position with CatholicCare. This means for this year we will have new counsellors at St John's, Jessica Chan (working 6 days/fortnight) and Amanda Heather (working 2 days/fortnight). 

Tea & Tissues

To support new parents to our school community, the Parents & Friends' (P&F) Association is hosting a 'Tea & Tissues' morning tea tomorrow, 8 February from 8.45am in the hall. Both current and new parents are warmly welcomed to attend.

Whole School Beginning Year Mass and Presentation of Leadership Badges

All parents and carers are welcome to join us in celebrating Mass to ask God for His blessing on our school year. Following Mass we will present our Year 6 student leaders with their leadership badges. Mass will commence at 10.00am and will be held under the COLA.

Meet & Greet sessions

An important aspect of ensuring we are meeting your child's needs is to maintain positive communication with you, as parents and carers. We are organising time for a 'Meet & Greet' session between yourselves and your child's classroom teacher in Week 4 of this term (12-16 February). This will give you an opprtunity to share with the teacher information about your child which would be valuable in knowing to support their learning and faith development. Details about booking a session will be made available via Compass. There will also be a form sent home for you to complete which will assist in directing the conversation that you have.

Wishing you a safe and rewarding week,

Paul Moroney
Principal