St John the Baptist Ferntree Gully Newsletter

Last Thursday, our parish community gathered to celebrate Mass and the Sacrament of Confirmation.

28 of our Year 5/6 students were joined by 7 students from surrounding schools. The Mass was celebrated by the Very Rev Anthony Kerin JCL VG Vicar General and concelebrated by Father Thomas Kuruvila PP. 

The Confirmation was a beautiful celebration and the candidates who led all the readings, did so prayerfully throughout the Mass and received the anointing of the Holy Spirit with reverence. Many thanks to all who have contributed to the children’s faith journeys so far, including their parents, godparents, family and friends together with their teachers and catechists. 

We pray that they continue to grow in faith and use their gifts and talents to serve others.

 Marialisa Mandarino

Religious Education Leader

Aiden A, Joshua A, Sophia A, Archer C, Dylan C, Patrick C, Kaylee D, Margaret D, Teague D, Sarah G, Amelia G, Mitchell H, Sam H, Isabella H, Cooper K, Charlize K, Audrey L, Gordon L, Zaylen L, Ezra McK, Flynn N, Marcus N, Chizara O, Mason P, Sebastian R, Etta R, Anneliese S, Beau S, Isabelle S, Isla S, Emily S, Austin T, Christian T, Will V, Joseph W

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. The School Interview code will be different for 3/4SJ families

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.

We wish all our Year 3-6 students competing in the District Athletics Carnival at AC Robertson Athletics Track, Ringwood  on Wednesday 4th September a wonderful day of competition. 

We know that you will represent SJB school in an exemplary manner.  Good luck everyone!! We wish you a wonderful day of competition.

We are now at the point of term where staff and students can start to become unwell. Where possible we endeavour to replace staff, however there are times when securing a CRT is not able to be achieved.  As families would know there is a shortage of teachers, due to this, there are times where we simply are unable to replace staff.  In the event this occurs we may be required to split classes. We ask families to please understand that this is a necessity not a choice.

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.

MACSSIS School Improvement Surveys Open - Students, Families, Staff 

MACSSIS Surveys: The MACSSIS surveys will be open from the 2nd September - 20th September this year.

Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools – School Improvement Surveys (MACSSIS): 

Gaining your critical feedback about St John’s School 

Throughout each year, we pause to listen to our students, families and staff to gauge how our learning community is travelling. This feedback is invaluable to our progress as an effective school community and is backed by evidence-based research and best practices.

A significant and formal way in which we engage and gather data is through MACSSIS, the Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools – School Improvement Surveys.

MACSSIS is a set of surveys that have been built specifically for Catholic schools in Melbourne by the Learning Services team at MACS, in partnership with researchers at Learning First and in wide consultation with principals in our schools.

In 2024, students, families and staff are invited to participate in MACSSIS via our secure and purpose-built online platform. The online platform is where our school leaders will access the summary reports that visualise the results of the student, family and staff surveys.    All individual survey results are anonymous.  

The MACSSIS survey platform is operated by an independent supplier, ORIMA Research Pty Ltd. The platform meets with the high security and privacy standards for handling student and school data. 

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.

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

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. All the best to the AFL finalist teams.

Kelli Johnston

September

4th-  District Athletics

4th - School Advisory Council @ 7pm

5th - Level Mass - Year 1/2

6th - Assembly 3/4HM

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

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

Register via this link - Register