St John the Baptist Ferntree Gully Newsletter

A Prayer for Advent: Preparing Our Hearts for Christ’s Coming

Come Lord Jesus!

Warm our hearts with your love.

Help us to prepare for your coming,

By repenting of all that draws us away from you

You are the light, that overcomes the darkness.

Come, Lord Jesus!

We have had a wonderful year as a school and community at SJB. We are incredibly fortunate to have such a vibrant and flourishing school community.  Our students have continued to thrive and flourish at school and it is wonderful to see them develop a range of skills and capabilities that will prepare them for life and the world beyond their time at SJB.

Our students have immersed themselves in many activities from sports, the Art Show, choir, games club, wellbeing club, excursion & incursions, Sacramental programs, participating in masses and prayer services, camps, school events such as Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Carols & more.

This year we welcomed our six new chickens who continue to thrive under the care of our students and Mr der Kinderen.

After much anticipation and patience we have opened our 6 new classrooms and landscaped areas. The ga-ga pit has been a huge success along with sheltered areas for some quieter recess breaks.

Our active P & F have planned, prepared and organised many events to continue to build community with great success.

This is a small snapshot of all the many wonderful aspects of St John the Baptist School that contribute to creating such a welcoming, inclusive and special place to be.

We look forward to all that 2026 brings as we work together in faith and mission to bring to life our theme of ‘’Empowered to Thrive’’.

At the conclusion of our 2025 school year we farewell 3 of our wonderful colleagues Miss Laura Bulmer, Mrs Amy Lavin and Miss Mary Westneat.  Whilst we will be sad to say farewell we also wish them every success and happiness in their future endeavours.

After 3 ½ years at SJB we farewell Miss Laura Bulmer as she pursues further study and work as a consultant for the Literacy Intervention program Multilit. Undertaking study to enhance our knowledge & expertise is always an exciting opportunity. We look forward to hearing of Laura’s study & continued growth in education as she steps back into study.

After 2 years at SJB as a LSO, Mum & studying, Mrs Amy Lavin has concluded her studies in teaching and now set to step into her own class as a teacher in 2026. Amy has secured a position as a Prep teacher at St Paul’s in Monbulk for next year. Congratulations Amy in successfully juggling everything over the last 2 years.

Miss Mary Westneat will also conclude her year as a LSO at SJB at the end of this year. Mary will conclude her studies in education early next year and will then seek to step into a teaching position in 2026.

As a school and community we have been most fortunate to have Laura, Amy and Mary sharing their love of education with us. We wish them every success and happiness in their next chapters in their career and life. Best wishes ladies for a wonderful future.

On Thursday evening the SJB community came together to celebrate our annual Carols event. It was truly wonderful to see this event so well supported by our community. The church was full with our families and extended families who came together in full Christmas spirit to celebrate all of our students. Our students were magnificent. To have the courage to act, sing, read or perform in front of such a large audience was truly heartwarming.

In coming together in true Christmas spirit our families once again generously donated gift cards and cash of more than $1,100 to St Vincent de Paul. These donations will assist the St Vincent de Paul team with preparing hampers this Christmas. As Terry outlined on the evening, SVDP will be assisting over 70 families this Christmas. Many of these families have very little. Your contributions make a significant difference within our community. The generosity of our community to help those in need, as well as bring joy and financial relief to others is absolutely wonderful. Thank you to everyone for your generosity.

Additionally, our Parents & Friends team were terrific in their organisation and preparation of the Carols BBQ. With nearly 300 sausages and vegetable burgers cooked and drinks served in a very short period of time, clean up and still be in the church in time for Carols, our team was sensational.  A huge thank you to Andrew Davies, Cameron Burns, Kelly Brady, Fleur Dow, Lionel Croning, Susie Dow, Victoria Barrett, Tim Grimshaw, Tracey Walker and Reeda Raydan for all of your work in organising and preparing the BBQ for our community.

Thank you to everyone for helping to create such a wonderful sense of community at SJB.

Our Dads and Kids enjoyed a terrific weekend of camping despite the rain.  It is wonderful to see our Dads and Kids enjoy time together. The annual SJB Dads & Kids weekend away is another great way to see community being built at SJB.

A special thank you to Andrew Davies, Lionel Croning, Stuart Mahoney and Nelson Serrao for organising the weekend.  Those that attended said it was such a wonderful weekend and the kids and dads enjoyed spending time together having fun.

This afternoon our students had their first Move Up session.  The Move Up sessions are an opportunity for students to meet their new classmates and their teacher/s for next year.

 The second ‘Move Up’ session will be Friday 12th December at 10:30am.

Move Up sessions can bring a realm of big feelings for students. These feelings may include excitement, nervousness, joy, uncertainty, worry, anticipation, disappointment, thrilled and more. Reassuring students that this is a wonderful opportunity to get to know new students and new teacher/s. At times a child may be disappointed to be separated from a friend. Focusing on the positive of meeting up with friends at recess times and getting to know students who they may have not previously worked with are great opportunities to get to know others, extend friendships, as well as building adaptability, resilience and confidence.  As adults, our response to change and new opportunities has a significant impact on how our children adapt and respond to change.

The SJB staff have invested many hours considering what is best for all students and in creating balanced classes.  We look forward to a wonderful 2026.  

This evening our wonderful SJB Choir will perform at the Ferntree Gully Library. We wish our choir of over 30 students a wonderful evening of Christmas Carols with the broader community of Knox.

We warmly welcome all members of the St John the Baptist community to join us in giving thanks and celebrating the many volunteers and contributions so generously shared throughout the 2025 school year. We welcome classroom helpers, tuckshop helpers, P & F members, SAC members, Working Bee participants and more to our Thanksgiving Mass. We are most fortunate to have an active and vibrant community consisting of parents, grandparents, guardians and members of the community.

After Mass we would like to extend a further warm welcome to our helpers to come together in the hall for Morning Tea.  We would like to thank you all for everything that you have so generously contributed throughout the year.

Each year schools are now required to carry out a number of Literacy and Numeracy learning tasks to monitor student progress and growth.  These tasks are valuable in providing staff with information in relation to students' understanding, growth and areas for future teaching and learning focus. Whilst these learning tasks are most valuable, they require time and staff resourcing to be completed.  To complete these learning tasks in a timely manner and minimise time away from classroom teaching St John the Baptist staff will use the first 2 student days to carry out the required tasks.

In the coming weeks families will be able to make a booking through School Interviews for their children to each have a 30 minute learning interview with their classroom teacher. 

We ask families to familiarise themselves with the dates below in relation to commencement dates for 2026.

Tuesday 27th January - Staff Professional Learning day

Wednesday 28th January - Preps commence  8:45 - 1:30pm. 

                                    - Students Year 1 - 6 individual 30 minute learning interviews

Thursday 29th January - Preps onsite  8:45 - 1:30pm. 

                                         - Students Year 1 - 6 individual 30 minute learning interviews

Friday 30th January - Prep - Year 6 all students commence full time

This rocking horse is free to a good home.  Please contact the office if interested.

Families are asked to be aware that from the commencement of 2026 grey shorts and pants will no longer be part of the school uniform.  The light blue socks for girls will also no longer be a uniform item.

At the commencement of 2026 all students are required to wear navy shorts or pants.  Socks will also be navy for all students.

Students are able to continue with the current skorts and sports shorts as these are navy.  Over a period of time these will naturally be phased out with these items being replaced with the new navy items. 

It’s time to get creative!! The Barry Plant Boronia office has a Christmas colouring competition open for children aged under 12. The name of the winner of this fabulous prize ($300 Toymate voucher) will be drawn out of a Santa hat and announced on Thursday 18th of December at 12pm.

The artwork can be dropped into the Barry Plant Boronia office at 69 Boronia Road, Boronia, via email or at any of our Open for Inspections.

Happy colouring & good luck!!

Wishing everyone a happy and blessed Christmas.

Kelli Johnston

December

9th - Reports emailed to families

9th - Move Up to 2026 classes at 2.15pm

9th - Year 3-6 FTG Library Performance @ 6pm

11th - Year 6 Graduation Mass

12th - Year 3-6 Swimming Carnival

15th - Year 6 Fun Day

16th - End of Year Assembly

16th - Last day of 2025 school year concludes at 3.15pm

21st - Fourth Sunday of Advent - Love

25th - Christmas Day - Merry Christmas to all

January 2026

27th - Staff return for 2026

28th - Prep students commence 8:45 - 1.30pm

28th - Year 1-6 Learning Interviews

29th - Prep students commence 8:45 - 1.30pm

29th - Year 106 Learning Interviews

30th - Students onsite full time.

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

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