St John the Baptist Ferntree Gully Newsletter

On Sunday we celebrated Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles empowering them to celebrate the word of the Lord.

We pray for all who profess the Christian faith, that God’s mighty Spirit will make their hearts blaze with ardent love. Lord, hear us.

We pray for the Christian churches of Australia, that they will spread the joy of the Gospel throughout the land. Lord, hear us.

We pray for the human family, that people everywhere will be moved by the Spirit to renew the face of the earth. Lord, hear us.

We pray for the nations of the world, that they will be transformed by the Spirit into communities of welcome, mercy and compassion. Lord, hear us.

We pray for the peacekeepers of the United Nations, that they will achieve their mission of defusing conflict and creating a climate of peace. Lord, hear us.

We pray for the First Nations peoples of Australia and the Islands of the Torres Strait, that this year’s observance of Mabo Day will deepen their bond with the land. Lord, hear us.

We pray for all in our midst who struggle with loneliness, poverty and illness, that many helping hands will reach out to them and offer support. Lord, hear us.

Holy God, your Spirit of love makes all things new. Help us walk always in newness of life. We ask this through Christ our Lord.

It is wonderful to see our students being active, involved and thriving in so many ways.

Congratulations to all students who participated in District Cross Country at Lewis Park, Lewis Road, Wantirna South on Friday. True to form, all students represented St John’s in an exemplary manner. We are enormously proud of all students who participated and gave it their best shot. Such an outstanding job.  Students who are eligible for Division Cross Country will be informed in the coming days.

Our students once again presented themselves in a most reverent and respectful manner as we gathered as a school in recognition of National Sorry Day. We are enormously proud of how students conducted and presented themselves in reflecting on the hardship experienced by First Nation People.

Thank you to all of our wonderful staff for all of their work and efforts in organising and preparing these events with and for our students.  We are so very fortunate to have such dedicated and passionate staff.

If you have a child ready for Prep 2027, we ask you to please put in an enrolment form as soon as you are able. This will assist us with preparing for Prep 2027. To access an enrolment form:

• Drop into the school office to collect one

• Email office@sjferntreegully.catholic.edu.au and ask for a form to be sent home

• Visit the enrolment section of our school website and download a form

As a school we are looking forward to celebrating our 90 year anniversary in conjunction with the Feast of St John the Baptist day on Wednesday 24th June. As part of our celebrations we would love to have an aerial photo of the number 90 with our students.

If there is a member of our community who may be able to assist us with this we would love to hear from you. Please email either Ursula de Corrado or Kelli Johnston at:

udecorrado@sjferntreegully.catholic.edu.au or kjohnston@sjferntreegully.catholic.edu.au

Families are asked to note in their calendars Friday 5th June as a School Closure Day followed by Monday 8th June as the King’s Birthday public holiday. 

We thank Mrs Marialisa Mandarino for preparing a day of Faith Formation and Education for our staff. Like our students we are lifelong learners. Providing opportunities for our staff to learn and develop in the area of Faith in Education allows staff to continue to develop rich learning opportunities for our students.

The King’s Birthday long weekend is an opportunity for students and families to take a little mid term break to recharge for the second half of the term.  Wishing all families a warm and restful long weekend.

Beyond Educare will be offering OHSC on Friday 5th June for families wishing to access care.

Please contact the team at Beyond Educare to book your attendance.

Parent/teacher/student interviews will be held on Tuesday 23rd June and Wednesday 24th June.  We encourage all students to attend interviews with their families. The focus of interviews is to celebrate the hard work students have undertaken throughout the semester, as well as the growth they have made as a result of their efforts. Families are able to book their interview times now through the School Interviews site - link below.

https://www.schoolinterviews.com.au/code/2d3kw

Interviews will be held on: 

     Tuesday 23rd June 2:30-6:00pm

     Wednesday 24th June 3:30-5:30pm

Parent Teacher Interviews Optional Early Finish - Tuesday 23rd June - 1:30pm

To assist with supervision and the interview schedule with the Parent Teacher Interviews we will have an optional early finish at 1:30pm on Tuesday 23rd June.  To assist with planning and numbers for the afternoon we ask families to outline if they will be picking their child/ren up at 1:30pm through the nForma portal. Students finishing early will move to the administration area at 1:30pm to be collected by their family.

The Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge is now open and we’re excited to be taking part!

All children from Prep to Year 6 are welcome to join in.

This year’s Challenge theme is ‘Stories to discover. Stories to tell’. Stories can inspire and challenge us, and help us grow. They open our eyes to new worlds and new ways of thinking. 

All children who complete the Challenge will receive a certificate of achievement signed by the Victorian Premier and former premiers.

If you would like your child to take part please email me

udecorrado@sjferntreegully.catholic.edu.au and I will register them.

Once registered your child will bring home a username and password for you to access the website and record the books they are reading.

To learn more about the Challenge, visit - 

https://www.vic.gov.au/premiers-reading-challenge 

Happy reading!

Ursula DeCorrado