St John the Baptist Ferntree Gully Newsletter

Dear Families,

As we move into the final weeks of the school year this is an exciting time for our Year 5 students as they consider applying for leadership roles for their final year as Year 6 students.

Whilst this is an exciting time for our Year 5 students there is no doubt that this can also bring some nerves too.

Over the past weeks our Year 5 students have prepared letters expressing their interest in leadership positions and they are currently preparing their speeches. The students will deliver their speeches this week for their selected roles.

It was a delight to meet with our Year 5 students to discuss what it means to be a leader, the expectations that come with being a leader and the opportunities that present for them as leaders. Our Year 4 and 5 students will have the opportunity to listen to the speeches from our candidates and then place their votes for who they believe should be appointed to the various leadership positions.

As we move through the leadership application process we recognise that some students will be successful in receiving their first choice of leadership positions, whilst for others there may be a little disappointment if they receive a role that was not their first choice. As a school we are proud of all students for putting forward their best effort and receiving their respective roles and we know that they will do an outstanding job.

We wish all our Year 5 students all the best as they prepare for their leadership speeches next week. Good luck everyone.

We have been most fortunate to be offered access to Carley’s webinar how to ‘Thrive not just Survive’’. Carley provides practical advice for families on how to start school successfully as well as a number of general parenting tips. Families will find Carley easy to listen to and highly relatable as a parent of three children herself.

Here is the link for parents to register for the webinar (you will also receive access to the replay):

https://event.webinarjam.com/register/168/7qxm9so2

It has been wonderful to hear that this year’s Dads and Kids weekend was a huge success.

Thankfully the weather was kind enough to allow the conditions for a terrific weekend. The number of Dads and kids from across the school in attendance was absolutely fantastic, with approximately 80 in attendance.  It is wonderful to see such a strong sense of community in action.

A huge thank you to the P & F and the Cann family for all of their work behind the scenes in creating the conditions for a terrific weekend away. 

It is times like these that create lifelong memories for children and families that will be fondly remembered for many years to come.

We have recently noticed a number of families using the staff and parish car park in the mornings to drop off students. We remind families that car parking for families is located in the lower car parks off either Forest Road or Selman Ave. To ensure the safety of families and parishioners we ask families to refrain from using the staff and parish car park.

A number of students from Years 1-6 are busy preparing for this year’s Ferntree Gully Library Christmas Carols evening at the Ferntree Gully Library. Congratulations to all students who are participating in this wonderful community event.

We thank Mrs Sue Cahill for all of her work in preparing the students for an evening of Christmas Carols with our local community.

It is a tradition at SJB that the P&F provide a lunch for the the teachers to say thank you for the year for all that they do to support our children. This takes place on Monday 20th November, the last pupil free development day of the year.  If you would like to help us by making something or coordinating the event please let us know via email at

parentsandfriends@sjferntreegully.catholic.edu.au

If you have any delicious salads or dishes that consider gluten free, dairy free, vegan or veg diets this would be most appreciated.

November

20th School Closure Day - Staff PL

28th Education Board and Parents & Friends Thank you evening

December

1st First Friday Mass - Year 1/2

3rd First Sunday of Advent - Hope

7th Christmas Carols Night - 7pm

8th Thanksgiving Mass 11am

10th Second Sunday of Advent - Peace

14th Year 6 Graduation Mass - 5pm

15th Last day of school year - school concludes 2pm

17th Third Sunday of Advent - Joy

24th Fourth Sunday of Advent - Love

25th Christmas Day - Merry Christmas to all