We respectfully acknowledge, and pay our respects to the Elders of the Kulin Nation, both past and present, as the Traditional Custodians of the land on which St John the Baptist Catholic Primary School is situated.

Dear Parents & Carers

Thank you for your continued support of arrangements implemented for the start of the year to meet COVID requirements. Some things to note: 

• Please remember that all parents/carers are asked to wear a mask when on school grounds and not to enter the classrooms.

• Signing in of late students/out of early students must be done through the office and your child will be sent from the classroom. 

• All visitors must report to the office. 

• If you have any queries please call Di or Nancy in the office. 

RAT kits for students/Testing & Isolation Requirements 

As you can appreciate, the health of our school community is our main concern.

Rapid Antigen Tests were sent home to all families yesterday, unfortunately we were only supplied one per child, as more are received these will be provided to families. 

I again ask that if children are unwell or show symptoms, you keep them home. Please refer to the information provided previously in relation to Close Contacts, Positive Cases and Isolation Protocols, as a reference point.

School Leadership Positions

Many of our grade 6 students are busy preparing speeches for the various leadership roles. We can be very proud of their commitment to this process and the willingness to take on leadership roles within our school. 

Swimming Trials

Our Swimming Trials are tomorrow (Thursday 17 February) for students in grade 3 -6 only, students will trial in class groups, please see Operoo for full details and times each grade will attend the pool. 

Application for Holidays During Term 

If you are wishing to take students on holidays during the school term we require that you submit an Application for Holidays during Term via the Skoolbag Eforms section in advance of your holiday. 

Change of details

Families wishing to change address, phone, email details etc please submit a Change Of Details form via the eForms section of Skoolbag. You must also amend these details in your Operoo account and your child's/children's Operoo profiles.

Medications required at school

Children sometimes need medication administered while at school (antibiotics, panadol etc), if this is the case please note the following: 

• All medications must be provided to the office in their original packaging/box. 

• All medications must be signed in by a parent or guardian at the office. 

• If you are unable to attend the office to sign medication in please use the self service form in Operoo to provide the required information/permission. (Once signed in to Operoo go to top right corner, three grey lines, then select Form Library, Consent to Administer Medication for Student).

• If your child requires regular ongoing medication whilst at school please contact the office to discuss. 

• If you have any queries in relation to this please contact the office.

Enrolments for 2023

Enrolment packs for 2023 are now available, electronic copies can be downloaded from our website or can be emailed upon request, hard copies can be collected from the office or posted upon request. 

Enrolment interviews will be available from March with our Open Morning for perspective parents planned for early May. 

If you have any queries in relation to enrolments please contact the office. 

School Advisory Board

Our School Advisory Board meeting will be held via Zoom on Thursday 24th February at 6:00pm. The Diocese of Sale Catholic Education Limited (DOSCEL) advises a maximum of four parents to represent the parent body of the school. This year we require 2 parents to join the Advisory Board to replace outgoing members.

As an Advisory Board, we try to meet twice a term. Last year we discussed items such as; the new school building project, School Review and School Policies. If you or someone you know would like to join the school Advisory Board, nomination forms are available from the school office or on the Skoolbag App. Nominations must be returned to the school office no later than Wednesday 23rd February. If you would like further information regarding the purpose and responsibilities of the School Advisory Board please see myself.

Student Wellbeing Support Program 

We are pleased to introduce our Student Wellbeing Support Program.  The program has been designed specifically for St Johns by former School Counsellor, Paula Pearce.  Paula will continue in a mentoring role for our Wellbeing Support Group leader, Sharlyene McDonald, and will oversee the roll out of this program. Our Wellbeing Team are here to support students and families, if at any time you feel that support is needed please contact your childs teacher. All concerns are handled in the strictest of confidence.

Farewell Mass for Fr Peter

Families are invited to a farewell Mass for Fr Peter Kooloos on Sunday, February 20th 11:00am at St Joseph’s Iona.

The Parish Pastoral Council is looking for new members!

Can you spare 6 or 7 evenings per year to assist with pastoral planning of your Parish? Please contact Fr Avinash, or Anne Nunn (Parish Secretary)  kooweerup@cdsale.org.au if you are interested.

Regards 

Chris Dortmans, Principal

The Junior Students have had a fantastic start to Term One! They have become comfortable with their daily routines and have been enjoying playing together, practising their WALK Expectations of Respect and Responsibility.

In Literacy students in Foundation have been engaging in activities based around letter identification and sounds. They have been learning good writing habits such as pencil grip and tracing letters. They have practised their name writing and starting a recount. In grade 1/2 students have explored the difference between graphemes and phonemes, practising their spelling using words with common sounds. They have written multi-sentence recounts about their weekends, placing events in chronological order.

The Topic of number and Shape have been introduced to students so far this term in Mathematics. Foundation students are learning to recognise and draw 2D shapes, count and recognise numbers to 10 and make numbers using different materials. Grade 1/2 students have practised recognising and describing features of 2D shapes, investigated counting patterns of 2’s, 5’s and 10’s and used materials such as MAB blocks to build numbers to 100.

We have all settledl back into the school routine and it’s lovely to see our senior students enjoying each other’s company and getting along well.

This week, those students who have nominated themselves for a leadership position will be delivering their speeches to our senior cohort. All grade 3 - 6 students will get to vote for School Captains and their respective House Captains on Friday. We see all of our senior students as leaders and role-models to the younger children at St John’s, regardless of whether they hold a specific position or not. 

Thursday is the District Swimming trials, please remember your swimming gear if you are wanting to participate!

In the classroom, all grades continue working on Recount Writing (including biographies and autobiographies), Soundwaves, with a focus on linking phonemes and graphemes and reading skills. In Maths we continue our learning in Place Value and Shape. In Religion we are exploring ‘The Beatitudes’ and applying them to modern life.

A big thank you to all parents for working with us and helping to settle the children back to school so well. We are aware that we have not been able to connect via parent/teacher interviews in the way we all would have liked at the beginning of the year so until that is possible, we again remind you to contact us via email if you have any questions.

Including the communities of:  St Joseph’s Iona,  St James Nar Nar Goon,  Holy Family Maryknoll,  St John’s Koo Wee Rup and St Mary’s, Lang Lang

Administrator:  Fr. Avinash  Ph: 03 5997 1510   Fax: 03 5997 2220 Mob: 0451 997 904

Baptism Enquiries: Carmelina De Cesari   Mob: 0401 911 092   carmelinadecesari@gmail.com

WEEKEND MASS TIMES: Masses have resumed in line with current guidelines. Please contact the Parish office on 5997 1510 for further confirmation of guidelines if required.