St John the Baptist Ferntree Gully Newsletter

Letter from the Principal

Tuesday June 23rd 2020

Dear Families

Congratulations to our whole school community on a wonderful Term 2. It was different to what we were expecting and we were asked to play roles that were new to us...parents became teachers, teachers became film stars and ICT experts and the children learnt how to be more independent as learners than they had ever needed to be before. Well done one and all. Wishing everyone a wonderful holiday break. Let us hope and pray that we all find the time to rest and replenish.

St John the Baptist Feast Day

Happy St John the Baptist day to all in our community for this Wednesday 24th June. 

St John the Baptist was called by God to tell the people that God’s son, Jesus, was coming into the world. As we are still not  gathering together as a whole school we will be praying in each of our classrooms at the same time to bring a sense of community and belonging to our school. 

Let us pray that we continue to live our lives as faith filled people spreading the Good News. 

Parent/Teacher Interviews

We look forward to seeing all our families at Parent/Teacher Interviews on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon from 3.30pm-6.30pm. Thankyou for taking the time to book these online appointments with your child’s teacher. Effective communication between home and school is essential for supporting the children with their learning. 

Unwell Staff or Students

Our staff are aware that if they are unwell they need to remain at home. We also ask that families keep any children who are feeling unwell or presenting with cold or flu like symptoms at home. Please seek medical advice to get clearance for your child to return to school. 

Term 3 Drop Off and Pick Up

At this stage we will continue with our Zone A-D drop off and pick up procedures into Term 3. As soon as these restrictions have been lifted by the Victorian Government and Catholic Education Melbourne I will communicate with all families. We miss not having all families on our school site and really look forward to the day when we are gathered again once more as a whole community. 

Updated key enrolment dates for Year 5 students starting Year 7 in 2022

Main Points:

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Catholic Education Melbourne has received a number of queries from secondary school principals seeking an extension to the enrolment application deadlines for Year 5 students in 2020 enrolling in Year 7 in 2022. 

The request to push the enrolment dates back has been approved by the Executive Director and the Principals Association of Victorian Catholic Secondary Schools (PAVCSS).

Please note that due to the extension of the deadline, the timeline of enrolment-related events has also been updated. 

Critical Dates 

Due to the extended deadline, the timeline of events has been updated to the following:

9 October 2020 – applications close

23 October 2020 – principals exchange full list of applications with neighbouring colleges, including parish of residence 

6 November 2020 – principals exchange full list of applications with neighbouring colleges, identifying proposed offers and non-offers 

20 November 2020 – Principals and Registrars Enrolment Briefing will be held to finalise offers for 2022 and exchange names of unsuccessful applicants to ensure all students are offered a place. Session time and place will be advised later in the year

1 December 2020 – offers posted to prospective applicants 

15 December 2020 – final date for families to accept offer made by school.

Random Act of Kindness

Thank You Bunnings!

We were contacted by Bunnings in Scoresby to ask if they could provide our staff with umbrellas to protect us from the rain as we navigate drop offs and pickups in our current situation. How wonderful to have our local business operators caring for the welfare and wellbeing of our staff. We were very touched. Look out for our new beaut Bunnings umbrellas on our next wet morning or afternoon!

End of Term 2

Term 2 concludes on Friday 26th June at 2.30pm.  School will resume for Term 3 on Monday 13th July at 8.50am.

SRC Badge Presentation

Congratulations!

Camp Australia

Newsletter

Community Notices

Don Bosco Winter Camp

A New Look 2020 Winter Camp

One of the most special parts of the Don Bosco Camp is having such a large number of incredible young people gathered together for a week of fun and games.

Given the present situation with COVID-19 and the uncertainty around what the future holds, the camp has made the prudent decision to keep its grounds closed for the July Winter camps. However, this does not mean that our campers will be left without a camp experience during these school holidays!

Our leaders have always prided themselves on being adaptable, running the best possible camp whether it be in scorching heat, freezing hail, or slippery mud – and we know the current global situation will be no exception.

That is why we are introducing the first ever Don Bosco Virtual Camp!

Bookings Now Open - 

Ages - 9-13 years Mon 29th June to Thurs 2nd July -  10am to 3pm, cost $20. Cut off date for bookings 26th June.  

Ages - 13-14 years Monday 6th July - Thurs 9th July 10am to 3pm, Cost $20. The cut off date for bookings is the 3rd July.

See the Website at:

  https://www.donboscocamp.org.au/holiday/winter-camp-bookings 

or Email: dbc@donboscocamp.org.au PH: 03 5987 2692 

St Joseph's College

P&F Sponsors

St John the Baptist Ferntree Gully