Dear Parents/Carers,

(A parent's prayer poem for their child starting school)

Fill their heart with peace, hold their hand today,

Help them feel secure and loved, be with them we pray.

May they smile and make new friends, paint and learn and play,

Bless the teaching staff who care for little ones today.

Lift my heart to trust that they'll be overseen by you,

Father God cover them on their first day of school.

Amen

It was very exciting for us to be able to welcome our Kindergarten students yesterday for their first day of school. They were full of wonder, nervousness, excitement and curiosity. There were very few tears, which is a testament to the preparation done by our staff and the parents during the Transition to School program in Term 4 last year. I pray that our new cohort of students thrive and grow in learning and faith during their time at St John's.

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 next week (13-17 February). This will give you an opportunity 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. 

Whole School Beginning Year Mass

Next Tuesday 14 February our school will celebrate Mass under the COLA to ask God to bless our school year. Year 6 leaders will also be receiving their badges. Parents and friends are very welcome to attend - please bring a chair for yourself as the students will be using the chairs we have at school.

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.

Parish Welcome Mass

All of our new families are invited to the parish Mass on Sunday 5 March at 9.00am. This will be a wonderful opportunity for Fr John and the parish to welcome you to the broader St John's parish community. At the Mass, Fr John likes to bless the children with their school bag - a symbol of belonging to, and going on a journey with, the parish.

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

SAFER INTERNET DAY- 7 FEBRUARY

Yesterday we recognised Safer Internet Day. In this online world we live in, it is crucial that our students are aware of being safe when on the internet. 

All parents want their children to be safe when learning and playing online. It is crucial that parents are aware of what their children are engaging in when on the internet. The following resource is a great support to help every family when they are online.

Online safety for every family 

MEET AND GREET

Thank you to parents/carers for their assistance in passing on important information about their children to classroom teachers by filling in the ‘Student Information’ note. The purpose of this is to provide a greater insight into the learning and well being needs of the children in our care. 

Teachers are looking forward to meeting parents and carers next week. If there are any matters that arise during the year about your child, please do not hesitate to contact the school.

ANNIVERSARY OF NATIONAL APOLOGY

Each year on the 13th February, Australians commemorate National Apology Day. This is the day we remember the apology that was made to the Stolen Generations, it is different to Sorry which is held annually on 26th May each year. 

The National Apology to the Stolen generations remains a significant turning point that displays the importance of historical acceptance in paving the road to reconciliation.National Apology Day is a Day to remember and pray for the children who were taken away from their families and homes.

We will have a special prayer to acknowledge this important day for our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander brothers and sisters.

Happy Birthday to the following students and staff who are celebrating their birthday this week  5th February - 11th February

Opening School Mass

In Week 4, on 14 February 2023, we will be celebrating our Opening School Mass.

It will be held under the COLA, starting at 9.30 am.

Our student leaders will be receiving their badges at this very important School Mass.

All students will be in attendance and will be sitting on their own classroom chairs.  

We therefore ask that you bring your own chair to our Mass.  

There are four of our students (Oliver B, Cooper A, Luca J and Michael S) who are participating in the Starlight Super Swim Challenge. Starlight uses play, social connection and creativity to support sick kids in some of their toughest times and positively change their healthcare experience. We are very proud of these boys in taking up this challenge and encourage you to support them via sponshorship. You can sponsor them via the following link:

 https://superswim.org.au/t/st-johns-boys

If your child is away from school it is important to let the school know as soon as possible with a specific reason, e.g. what type of illness they have, If you are filling in a note on the Compass app, please add an explanation in the details/comments box .

Do not enter into compass if they are going to be late or leave early, that needs to be done from the school end.

It is really important to keep your child at home if they are unwell, this will help with the spread of illness.

If your child takes regular medication, has a medical condtion and/or allergy/anaphylaxis, the school will need documentation and/or an action plan from a medical professional as well as a signed consent form to administer medication/advice of medical condition (available from the office).

This applies even if medication or condition are temporary.

  It is important that you let the office know as soon as possible, via email or phone, if you are picking your child up prior to normal dismissal (including time).  We can then arrange to have them in the office ready for you.

Please note we are unable to arrange collection of your children during break times,

Please do not enter late arrivals or early departures into compass, this needs to be done by the school office.

Thank you for your assistance with this matter.

Just a reminder that students classes need to be updated to their new class on the flexischools app