ENewsletter

Tuesday April 22nd 2025

Letter from the Principal, Kelli Johnston

Dear Families,

We hope that everyone thoroughly enjoyed their Term 1 break and Easter holidays.

We hope the last two weeks were an opportunity to enjoy a break from routine and a time of rest, relaxation and rejuvenation ready for a new term ahead.

Whilst we look forward to the term ahead we also take time to remember and pray for Pope Francis. At the age of 88 after a period of illness the Pope passed away on Monday 21st April. Pope Francis taught us to live the values of the Gospel with fidelity, courage and universal love, especially for the poor and marginalised.

For twelve years, our Holy Father has urged a new missionary heart in the Catholic community, cultivating a spirit of Gospel-centred reform, of shared and collaborative leadership, of a simple faith in the risen Jesus who is alive in his Church.

As successor of St Peter, Pope Francis has displayed a heart for the poor, praying unceasingly for peace, fraternity and dialogue. As the source of unity among the successors of the apostles, he has confirmed the local church in every place, including our Archdiocesan family in Melbourne.

As a school we came together in prayer on Tuesday to remember Pope Francis -

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord,

And let perpetual light shine upon him.

May he rest in peace.

Father, hear the prayers of your people as we pray for Pope Francis who governed your church with great love.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen

ANZAC Day Prayer Service - Thursday April 24th

We warmly welcome all members of the community to join us on Thursday 24th April at 10:40am as we gather for this year’s ANZAC Day prayer service. As a community we will gather in prayer to remember all who have served in wars.

Families are invited to bring flowers as a symbol of remembrance. Students will be invited to place their flowers at the base of the school flagpoles.

The Ode

For the Fallen

They shall grow not old, As we that are left grow old,

Age shall not weary them, Nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun, And in the morning

We will remember them. Lest we forget.

ANZAC Day School Closure

Our first week of the term is a three day week with yesterday being Easter Monday and Friday April 25th being ANZAC Day. Families are reminded to place this Friday in their calendar as a Public Holiday.

ANZAC Day Badges

Families wishing to purchase ANZAC Day badges or wrist bands may obtain these items from the office.

ANZAC Day Dawn Service

The Ferntree Gully Rotary Club & CFA invite the community to join this year’s Anzac Day Dawn Watch on Friday 25th April at Quarry Park, Quarry Road, Ferntree Gully at 5:45am for a 6:00am start.

We are most fortunate to have had Rafi’s family kindly offer to present a wreath on behalf of both the SJB School and Parish. Thank you.

Open Days for 2026 Prep Children

St John the Baptist Open Days for 2026 Prep Children

Let your neighbours, friends and relatives know St John’s School Open Days are set for May.

School Open Days will be held on:

Thursday 1st May

Saturday morning 3rd May

Alternatively families can book tours by phoning the office, through the school website or the QR Code. Every day is Open Day at St John the Baptist School!! Please come and see us in action.

We request that parents already with children in the school enrol as early as possible.

Term 2 Closure Dates

Families are asked to note in their calendars Friday 6th June as a School Closure Day followed by Monday 9th June as the King’s Birthday public holiday.

Chicken Coop Community Project - Thank you

We have been exceptionally fortunate to have a wonderful group of families working tirelessly together with Mr Christian der Kinderen to build the St John the Baptist School Chicken Coop. As our Sustainability Leader, Christian has had a passion and vision for the SJB Chicken Coop. His vision very much included student voice, community engagement and sustainability. Christian has achieved his vision in an outstanding manner.

In Term 4 of 2024 as part of their Inquiry learning in Design and Technologies Christian collaborated with our L & T Leader, Ursula DeCorrado and classroom teachers to build into the students’ learning the designing of sustainable chicken coops. Once the students had completed their designs, Christian then took the designs and considered how the students' ideas could be incorporated into the chicken coop.

Christian consulted our building group Baxter to see which materials could be reused and repurposed as the demolition began. The building group was most supportive of Christian’s initiative.

Throughout Term 4 last year and Term 1 we have had a dedicated group of parents who have volunteered an enormous amount of time to work with Christian to create probably the penthouse of all chicken coops!!

We would like to take the opportunity to thank Christian and all families who have contributed to the building of such a wonderful chicken coop. We would like to thank the following families: Croning, Davies, Schimizzi, Serrao, Bickham, Dow, Whiteley, Cann, Heidenrijk, Parsons, Brady, Lawson, Grimshaw & Gabbett for all your hard work, generous contributions and welcomed support. We could not have achieved such a wonderful result without you.

We are now chicken ready!!

The SJB Chicken Coop truly is a wonderful example of a community project coming to fruition. Our students will have this wonderful opportunity to learn about creation and sustainability for the foreseeable future.

Our sincere thanks and gratitude to everyone involved.

Community Thank you

Our sincere thanks to Jason & Jasper P who took time over the holidays to clear the drains located near the hall entry. This is a great help and will certainly make a difference when we receive rain in the future. Thank you

Congratulations

Etta auditioned for the Melbourne production of Annie in the school holidays. After two days of singing, dancing and script reading she made it to the last 50 girls out of over 450. Only 25 girls were picked for the final cast. What an outstanding achievement.

Well Done Etta!

Term 2 Winter Uniform Transition

Term 2 is when students transition to their Winter Uniform. Over the first couple of weeks if the weather presents as being warm families are able to make an informed decision in regard to uniform selection. Once the weather has changed and becomes cooler we will request that all students transition to Winter Uniform. Students are not required to wear hats at play in Term 2 and Term 3. We do ask that students are dressed in the correct uniform at all times, this includes the correct socks and shoes, along with Sports Uniform only being worn on designated days.

Please see updates of the SJB uniform as outlined below. The transition from grey uniform items to navy will be a requirement for all students as of the beginning of the 2026 school year.

Winter Uniform

Tailored pants introduced for girls. (Girls can choose between the winter tunic or tailored pant during Winter)

Pants for both boys and girls have changed to navy. (Grey pants being phased out)

Change of Sports tracksuit pant

Socks for all students will be navy

Election Day BBQ and Cake Stall - Saturday May 3rd

Now that we have the date for the Federal Election our P & F team are keen to lead an Election Day Sausage Sizzle and Baking Stall. St John the Baptist School will be a polling centre for the Election on Saturday 3rd May. The success of such a day is based on community support. We will be seeking assistance with the BBQ on the day or baking prior to the day.

We ask families to please look out for the Operoo form seeking community support.

Caritas Lenten Fundraising

This year we are enormously excited to be able to make a donation of $1,200 to Caritas through a number of fundraising initiatives.

We congratulate Amelia & Hannah on raising approximately $175 for Caritas through their scrunchie making initiative.

Additionally through the Caritas classroom box collections and the SJB Easter Raffle we are able to make a significant contribution on behalf of the school to Caritas.

SJB Easter Egg Raffle

Congratulations to all of our Easter Raffle winners. It was terrific to see many families enjoy an Easter Raffle prize from our most generous family donations.

We thank the SJB community for their support of all initiatives during this year’s Lenten Season.

Your contributions are greatly appreciated.

Mother's Day Stall

Our terrific P & F team is busy preparing for this year’s Mother’s Day Stall. We are most fortunate to have a number of community members sharing their talents and making gifts for the Mother’s Day Stall.

All gifts at the Mother’s Day Stall will once again be $5.00. This year we will have a cashless system where families purchase $5.00 tokens for the stall prior to the day. Children will receive their allocated number of tokens as they move into the stall on the morning.

Tokens for the Mother’s Day Stall are now able to be purchased through Flexischool and will be available for purchasing until 9am on Tuesday 6th May.

Mother's Day Event

We warmly welcome all Mother’s, Nanna’s and special people to join us for our SJB Mother’s Day Afternoon Tea and family activity on Friday 9th May from 1:30pm. We will commence with an afternoon tea in the hall. Mums and special people will then move to the classrooms in family groups to participate in an activity with their children.

An Operoo form has been shared for families to respond.

Kelly Sports Clinics

In Term Two Kelly Sports will host Monday afternoon clinics after school at SJB. The clinics will commence in Week 4 as of Monday 12th May.

Further information will be available in Week 2 next term.

School Car Parking - Important Safety Information

In the past the car park between the Church and Parish House/Library was the staff car park. Recently the Right to Use Land and Boundary Agreement has been updated in alignment with the school building program that has already commenced. The majority of this car park is now designated to the St John the Baptist Parish. The update of the car park is to allow parishioners access to the church and church buildings whilst ensuring the safety for the school community.

Families are required to continue to use the lower car parks on both Forest Road and Selman Ave for school car parking. The church car park area is strictly for parishioners and is not parking for school pick up and drop off. We ask that out of respect for the parish and safety of our school community that families refrain from using this car park.

Second Hand Uniform

The Second Hand Uniform Shop will be open on Wednesday afternoons from 2:45pm. Families may purchase second hand items for $5 per item.

Families donating items are asked to ensure that items are delivered washed and good condition.

Inquiries in regards to second hand items may be sent to uniform@sjferntreegully.catholic.edu.au

School Library

Just a reminder for families that our school library is now open on two mornings a week so that parents are able to come in with their school child and share their love of books with them. Our library will be open every Monday and Tuesday morning from 8.30am so that you are able to browse and borrow with your child if you wish. The library is located in the main administration building.

Chess Club - Term 2

Wishing everyone a fabulous start to Term Two.

Kelli Johnston

Term 1 Dates

Term 2

April

24th - Review Day 1

24th - ANZAC Day Prayer Service - 10.40am

25th - ANZAC Day - School Closed

28th - P&F Meeting at 7.00pm

30th - First Eucharist Family Evening - 7.00pm

May

1st - Open Day No. 4

1st - Review Day 2

1st - St Joseph's College Lighthouse Program

3rd - Open Morning - Tours @ 9am, 9:45am & 10am

3rd - Election Day - SJB Hall Polling Centre

3rd - Election Day BBQ & Cake Stall

3rd - First Eucharist Commitment Mass - 6.00pm

4th - First Eucharist Commitment Mass - 9am & 11am

6th - Mother's Day Stall

8th - St Joseph's College Lighthouse Program

9th - Mother's Day afternoon tea in the hall

9th - Mother's Day Family Art Activity in classrooms at 2.30pm

11th - Mother's Day

12th - Kelly Sports Clinics Years 3-6

14th - Prep Level Mass @ 9.15am - Families welcome to attend

14th - School Advisory Council

15th - St Joseph's College Lighthouse Program

16th - Assembly @ 2:45pm - 3/4KS presenting

22nd - St Joseph's College Lighthouse Program

23rd - District Cross Country - Years 3-6 Crystal Brook Park

26th - National Sorry Day Prayer Service @ 9.00am

29th - St Joseph's College Lighthouse Program

30th - Assembly @ 2:45pm - 1/2B presenting

31st - Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Uniform Shop

The 2nd Hand Uniform shop is open Wednesdays 2:45 - 3:15pm. With winter uniform starting, come in and see whether we have the items you need. Please bring cash along in case you see something you like. All items $5.00 - socks and tights are free. Donations of clean, official SJB uniform are always welcome and can be left at the office at a time convenient to you.

Canteen News

Open on Wednesdays & Fridays

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.

Canteen Roster - Term 2

Friday April 25th

ANZAC Day

Friday May 2nd

Maxine Schimizzi

Fleur Dow

Katrina Horne

Friday May 9th

Brianna Lawson

Amy Chan

Emma Jenkins

St John the Baptist Ferntree Gully Newsletter