ENewsletter

Tuesday July 25th 2023

Letter from the Principal, Kelli Johnston

Introduction

Dear Families,

A great big thank you to our Parents and Friends Committee for the buckets and spades purchased for the sandpit. The students are thoroughly enjoying playing in the sandpit with the new equipment. The sandpit is a hub of activity with students from all year levels working together and enjoying being creative.

Netball School Sports Victoria (SSV) Netball Finals - Congratulations

Congratulations to our senior girls Netball team who have made it through to the SSV Netball finals. This is an outstanding achievement by our girls. The girls will participate in the finals at Mountain District Netball Association on Friday 28th July. We wish them all the best for a fun day of competition.

We know that our students will represent SJB in an exemplary manner, demonstrating great sportsmanship and giving it their best. Good luck to Lorelei, Aala, Ria, Ellie, Ruby, Alxys, Niamh, Thanu and Skyla.

We thank Mr John Mitchell and Mrs Tracey Ryan for their support, work and preparation in providing our students with such a terrific opportunity.

School Closure Day

A friendly reminder that Monday 7th August is a School Closure Day. This day of professional learning will have a focus on Teaching and Learning and Data Analysis.

Prep 2024

We thank all families for submitting their enrolment forms for the 2024 school year. This is an exciting time for families as we start preparations for welcoming our new preps throughout Semester Two.

We look forward to commencing our Prep Family Meetings over the coming weeks. The family meetings are an opportunity to commence our partnership with families and our 2024 Preps. All new families will meet with Ursula De Corrado and myself. Prep Family Meetings are optional for our existing families.

If there are any families who have not yet submitted their 2024 enrolment forms we ask families to do so as we now commence preparations for 2024.

Prep Celebration - 100 Days

Our amazing Preps will reach the milestone of 100 days at school this week. The celebrations have been postponed until Friday August 4th, not this Friday July 28th as previously advised. We look forward to a fun day of activities and celebration. We look forward to seeing our Preps dressed up as part of their celebrations.

Students may like to dress up as being 100 years old, anything to do with the number 100. A 100 dots, hair clips, stars, pegs, googly eyes are just a few suggestions.

We can’t wait to see you!!

School Disco

The P & F Committee are busy preparing the St John the Baptist School disco for Friday 28th July. We look forward to a fun evening for all students.

The disco will be held over two sessions to provide all students with the opportunity to dance and socialise with their peers.

Session 1: Prep - Year 2 students 5:30 - 6:30pm

Session 2: Yr 3 - 6 students 6:45 - 8:15pm

To ensure a fun and age appropriate evening for all the following expectations are required of all students:

Students are required to follow the instructions of all volunteers at all times.
Students are to be respectful in their actions and words towards all volunteers at all times
Students are to use all facilities respectfully and appropriately
Mobile phones/cameras are not permitted at the disco. (In the event a student brings a device they are required to hand it in at the commencement of the disco and collect at the end of the disco)
Students are to be collected from the hall at the end of their disco session by their family.
Should a student require their parent/guardian they will be contacted and asked to come to the school hall.
Should a student demonstrate inappropriate or disrespectful behaviour towards students or volunteers, parents will be contacted and asked to collect their child from the disco.

Parents are welcome to stay onsite throughout the disco and enjoy some supper in the waiting area while the students enjoy their session.

Year 3/4 Camp

This September our Year 3/4 students will attend an overnight camp at Camp Briars through Belgravia Outdoor Education. The camp will be held in the final week of the term with the students departing on Monday 11th September and returning on Tuesday 12th September.

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

Further information will be distributed to families in the coming weeks. We thank Mr Wayne Daniell for taking on the role of Camp Co-ordinator and the 3/4 team for their collaboration in preparing for camp.

St Vincent de Paul Winter Appeal

Winter can be a challenging time of year for many with the cold weather and increased financial demands on households. Our Year 5/6 Leaders are commencing work with St Vincent de Paul to consider ways that as a school we can be proactive in supporting members of the community who are in need.

We thank Mr Peter Finn from St Vincent de Paul and Mrs Marialisa Mandarino RE Leader for their work in educating and supporting students to be proactive in their Social Justice actions and living out our Catholic Social Teaching Principles.

Emmaus, St Joseph's and Mater Christi School Productions

Over the next two weeks our Year 5/6 students will be fortunate to attend the productions led by Emmaus College - ‘Little Women’ and the St Joseph’s/Mater Christi College - ‘Shrek’. This is a terrific opportunity for our students to gain a first hand experience of some of the opportunities offered by our feeder secondary colleges.

We thank our feeder schools for their invitations and for providing our students with this opportunity.

Wishing everyone a fabulous week ahead.

Kelli Johnston

Toy Construction in Year 1/2

As part of our exciting Inquiry toic 'Material World', Year 1 and 2 students learnt about force - push and pull. To reinforce this learning, students constructed a toy that had at least one movable part.

They collected recyclable materials from around the house to assist in the construction of their toy.

Students created some fabulous toys!