St John the Baptist Ferntree Gully Newsletter

At St John the Baptist we strongly value our partnerships with our families and the importance of open communication.  To continue our strong partnerships we have introduced an Optional Parent Teacher Interview in Term 3 on Wednesday September 18th. The Optional Parent Teacher Interviews may be booked by families or requested by your child’s class teacher, should they feel that it is important to meet with you.

The School Interviews site is now open for families to make a booking if they would like to make a time to meet with their child’s teacher.

Families of children in 3/4SJ will have their Optional/Interview day on Tuesday 17th September as Susan Smith is on leave.  Brylie Johnson will lead the interviews for 3/4SJ in Term 3.  Families may request to meet Brylie or she may request interviews with families that she would like to make contact with. 

Interviews can now be booked through our new booking system - School Interviews site. 

Link - https://www.schoolinterviews.com.au/code/vm4zr

Families are reminded that should you have a PSG for your child that this takes the place of the Parent/Teacher Interview.

Term 3 PSGs commence this week. We ask families requiring a PSG to book their PSG through the School Interview site.  PSGs will occur Wednesday 11th, Thursday 12th and Tuesday 17th September.  PSGs can be booked through the link or QR code below:-

https://www.schoolinterviews.com.au/code/2kb89

We thank all families for booking PSG meetings where required.  As a school we greatly value our partnership with families and working together to provide the best possible for our students.

PSGs occur over three days each term in which a significant financial investment is made by the school in the employment of CRTs to release staff from face to face teaching to attend PSG meetings.  It is important that families honour their scheduled meeting time and avoid cancellation.  

Congratulations to all our Year 3-6 students who competed in the District Athletics Carnival at AC Robertson Athletics Track, Ringwood on Wednesday 4th September.  The students enjoyed a wonderful day of competition, representing SJB school in an exemplary manner.  We wish the following students all the best as they have qualified to progress through to Division Athletics:

Nishala A, Max F, Jenna G, Cooper K, Zaylen L, Thaaruni S, Henry W, Amelia R, Olivia H, Sebastian R, Teague D

Division Athletics will be held on Wednesday September 18th 2024.

As the term progresses we are seeing students and staff becoming susceptible to a variety of illnesses.  We ask families to take time over weekends to provide students with the opportunity for rest & recuperation to allow them to enter school in full health. Some illnesses that families should monitor symptoms for include:

Influenza A & B

COVID 

Pertussis - (Whooping Cough)

Slap Cheek

Hand Foot & Mouth

Should families have concerns that their child may have symptoms of an illness they are encouraged to refer to the Department of Health or recommended to contact their GP for further information.

https://www.health.vic.gov.au/public-health/infectious-diseases-guidelines-and-advice

It is also timely to revisit hand washing &/or the use of hand sanitiser, as well as when coughing, coughing into the elbow.  

The school has purchased hand sanitiser to ensure that each class has access to hand sanitiser.

We ask families to keep unwell students at home to prevent illnesses from spreading.

The Primary School Nursing Program is a free service offered by the Department of Education to all prep/foundation students and their families during their child's first year of school.

The program aims to assist in the early identification of children with potential health and development related learning difficulties and offers health and development screening which may include:- hearing, vision, speech, dental, motor skills and behavioural and social skills.

Please complete the Online School Entrant Health Questionnaire by accessing through the QR Code or link below.

Link - School Entrant Health Questionnaire

A paper School Entrant Health Questionnaire is available at the school office if you would prefer.

Family Surveys - Family surveys have been made available to all St John’s families.  Families can complete the MACSSIS survey anytime over a three-week window.   Families will be notified via an email of the online survey link to access the survey along with a unique password allocated to each family.   

Staff Surveys - All staff will complete the MACSSIS survey with the same time frame as our parents. 

Student Surveys - We will advise families and students of the delivery and implementation of student surveys.

Our community’s opinions are critical to understanding how our school is performing – MACSSIS is a key data source for guiding the ongoing work to improve our school. 

All participation is invited, welcomed and 100 per cent voluntary. The surveys are not a test; they are an inclusive way to support the work we are already doing to improve our school. Everyone has the right to refuse to participate, or withdraw from the survey at any point before, during or after completion of the survey. Please notify the school if your child does not wish to participate.

If you would like more information, please contact the school.

The Australian Government Department for Education has published new information resources on the Disability Standards for Education 2005 for students with disability, their parents and caregivers. There are five new resources available.

Families may access the resources through the following site:

https://www.education.gov.au/disability-standards-education-2005/information-resources-students-disability-and-their-caregivers

Applications for students commencing in Year 7 in 2027 will open on Tuesday 28th January 2025 and close on Friday 15th August 2025. Offers will be posted to prospective Year 7 applicants on Friday 17th October 2025. Families will be required to accept an offer from a school by Friday 7th November 2025.

Families are encouraged to make at least 2 applications to secondary colleges to ensure their child is offered a place at a secondary college

Children’s mental health is fundamental to their development and learning. Good mental health means having a positive sense of wellbeing, coping with challenges and being able to realise individual potential. Unfortunately, not all children experience good mental health. Schools are an ideal platform for promoting children’s mental health. Yet, without resourcing and dedicated training and support, it can be challenging for teachers to navigate increasing mental health issues in the classroom.

Developed by paediatricians, educators, psychologists, researchers, and teachers, the Mental Health in Primary Schools (MHiPS) program upskills experienced teachers to become Mental Health and Wellbeing Leaders and aims to increase the capacity of Victorian primary schools to support the mental health of their students.

The model comprises a Mental Health Wellbeing Leader (MHWL) role (an experienced educator) and an evidence-based training program.

The model has been informed by a needs analysis phase which included consultation in 331 schools across metropolitan, rural and regional Victoria and more than 1000 teacher surveys. A key strength of  the model’s design is that it builds on existing school wellbeing and mental health structures while helping the education and health sectors to work together.

The role of the MHWL is to build the capability of the whole school about mental health and wellbeing (identification, promotion and prevention), provide support to staff to better identify and support students with mental health needs, establish clear pathways for referral for students requiring assessment and intervention, and monitor and evaluate student progress.

The funding allocated to SJB for the MHiPS role for 2025 is approximately a 2 day allocation depending on the expertise of the candidate.

It will be a teacher employed to the role. In the coming weeks we will  advertise the role internally at first and then go from there. Families wishing to know more about the role can find information through the following link.

https://www.mhips.org.au

This October our Year 3/4 students will attend an overnight camp at Phillip Island. The camp will be held early in Term 4 with the students departing on Thursday 24th October and returning on Friday 25th October. 

This is an exciting time for our students as they prepare for camp.

Families will have received an Operoo form to complete in preparation for camp.

Wishing everyone a fabulous week ahead. Congratulations to Cats, Hawks, Swans & Lions fans.

Kelli Johnston

Hi parents and families,

Your Pirates of the Curry Bean Photo Gallery is ready to be viewed. Simply make an account to search for your child’s photos by clicking on the icon of their face.

All prints boast premium archival, vivid colour printed at an Australian professional lab. When cropping images, we recommend retaining 1/3 of the image for a quality print. Please check that your child is in focus before ordering.

Order your photos before Friday 20th of September and receive 20% discount on your prints, plus free postage! Simply enter the coupon code 20%OFF at checkout to redeem this offer. Prints will be delivered to your school.

Save when you purchase 5 or more prints or digitals and with our collections:

Gifting Collection: [1x] Digital, [1x] 8x12" print & [10x] 5x7" prints

Complete Collection: [5x] digitals, [5x] 8x12" prints & [30x] 5x7" prints

For security reasons, please refer to Operoo note for link and password (sent to families at the same time as this publication)  allowing you to make an account. You will then be given a personal unique code to access and order your photos. 

Order by Friday 20th of September and save.

Happy viewing!

Encore Studio.

As part of our biological sciences curriculum, our students have been diving into the world of ecosystems by creating their own terrariums. These miniature, self-sustaining environments allow students to observe the interactions between plants, soil, water, and air in a controlled space. By assembling their own terrariums, students are learning about the importance of balance in nature, the water cycle, and the role of plants in maintaining healthy ecosystems.

This hands-on project has sparked curiosity and excitement in the classroom, helping students make real-life connections to the scientific concepts they’re studying. Plus, it’s given everyone a chance to bring a little greenery into our learning spaces!

Thank you to the parents who came along to lend a hand.

Wayne Daniel, Tracey Ryan and Christian der Kinderen

September

12th - R U OK Day? R U OK Day Prayer Service @ 9am

13th - Division Athletics

13th - Assembly 1/2D

20th - Footy Day

20th - Term 3 Concludes @ 2pm

October

6th - Daylight Saving commences

7th - Term 4 commences

7th - P-2 Swimming commences

14th - P-2 Swimming continues

14th - P&F Meeting @ 7pm

15th - School Nurse visit

18th - Assembly @ 2.45pm - 1/2KC presenting

18th - 2026 Yr 7 offers sent

21st - P-2 Swimming continues

22nd - Year 3-6 Swimming Carnival

23rd - School Advisory Council Meeting @ 7pm

24th - Year 3/4 Phillip Island Camp

Canteen orders can be placed via http://www.flexischools.com.au

Orders must be placed no later than 7.30am on the Wednesday or Friday.

Rocketeers Link - www.campaustralia.com.au/rocketeers