St John the Baptist Ferntree Gully Newsletter

Tuesday March 22nd 2022

Letter from the Acting Principal

Our first school working bee will be held on Saturday 2nd April from 1:30 - 4:00pm.  Families who attend two school working bees for the year will be reimbursed their $100 maintenance levy.  Our jobs for the day will be as follows (weather permitting):

  • staining of the deck outside the Year 1/2 classrooms

  • spreading mulch in garden beds around the school building

  • re - filling the sandpit

  • spreading soft fall mulch around the play equipment on the oval

  • maintenance on cupboard hinges in the classroom block

  • staining of doors / wall outside the hall toilets

  • Tidy up of storage portable / lower classroom block

Tools required:

wheelbarrows, shovels, rakes, gardening gloves, cleaning equipment

We look forward to welcoming many families to our working bee.  Together we will achieve a lot.  The working bee will be followed by a sausage sizzle for us to enjoy after an afternoon’s work!

Excursion - Environmental Science

On Thursday the Year 3-6 SRC leaders and our school captains will participate in an excursion to our local quarry.  They will work with Teresa Mackintosh from Melbourne Water to conduct water testing and identification of water bugs.  We look forward to them sharing their findings and new learning with us when they return.

Regional Swimming

We wish the following children all the very best as they represent our school in the Regional Swimming competition:

Sophia A, Samuel O, Emily S, Jillian R, Thaaruni S

Go SJB!

Rapid Antigen Tests

A new set of Rapid Antigen Tests (RATs) were handed out last week to families.  If you only received one box per child, please call into the office to collect another set.

Running Club

Running Club is back for 2022 and will be commencing this Wednesday the 23rd of March.

All students are invited to attend Running Club; however, junior students (P - 2) must be accompanied by a parent. All students (P - 6) must bring a completed permission slip (see the attached document) before being allowed to attend any sessions.

During Running Club, students will use the bike/walk path that leads to Kings Park in Upper Ferntree Gully.  In the case of inclement weather, fitness work and exercises will be held in the school hall.

If you have any questions about Running Club please contact Tess Farry. 

Running Club Permission Form

Download

Congratulations Matilda!

Congratulations to Matilda H for being selected to attend the Basketball Victoria U12 Skills Camp.  Matilda will work with Victoria’s Metro High Performance coaches and was selected based on the skill level she demonstrated in the VJBL competition.

Have a great day Matilda!

Free Dress Day - Touch of Green

Thank you to everyone who contributed to the “touch of Green” out of uniform day last Thursday.  We raised $144.40.

Term 1 Dates for the Diary

Tuesday 29th March - School Advisory Council Meeting 7:30pm

Friday 1st April  - Year 3/4 Level Mass

Saturday 2nd April - Working Bee 1:30 - 4:00pm

Friday 8th April - Holy Week Prayer Service 9am and repeated at 9:30am

Working Bee - Saturday April 2nd

If you are able to attend this working bee, please complete the attendance form below (if you have not already done so) and return to the school office.

Working Bee Attendance Form

Please return the attendance slip for the working bee to assist us in our planning/catering.
Download

Religious Education Focus during the Season of Lent

As is our tradition at St John the Baptist School, children and families will be asked to support Caritas Australia and their good works performed globally. A different Case Study will be highlighted each week during Lent, through RE lessons and/or Prayer times. Please support your child's class as they collect coins for this worthwhile cause. Collection boxes are located in each classroom and the school office. 

Third Week of Lent (Week beginning Monday 21st March)

We are now in the third week of Lent with the Project Compassion story of Janice, a Wagilak woman and traditional dancer who tells her family’s stories through movements handed down over generations.

Like many remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, Janice’s faces a range of challenges – low employment and education, financial hardship, poorer health and lower life expectancy.

With your help, Caritas Australia supports Djilpin Arts Aboriginal Corporation, which operates a centre for traditional and contemporary Aboriginal arts and culture, providing employment and generating income for local communities.

Janice believes that Djilpin Arts’ work is essential to create opportunities for young people to stay on-country, to share intergenerational knowledge between elders and the younger generation - to promote healing, and to keep culture alive.

Watch a short film about Janice’s story here.

Please support Project Compassion: lent.caritas.org.au

(Photo: Richard Wainwright/Caritas Australia )

ANZAC Day

ANZAC items are available for purchase from the school office prior to ANZAC Day on Monday April 25th.

Badges available for $2 and $5

Wrist badges $3.00

Key rings $4.00

Bag tags $4.00

Pens $5.00


Student Awards

Prep M

Alice G -  for entering the classroom in the morning with a more positive attitude and for always offering to help her peers in their learning such as sounding out words or repeating instructions for people at her table. 

Xander M - for working on showing whole body listening when on the floor learning and for having a go at sounding out new words during writing time. 

Prep S

Georgia C-  for showing fantastic whole body listening. You are such a wonderful role model to your friends in our class, showing them how to listen to the speaker and follow school rules. Keep up the fantastic work Georgia!

Louis T- for showing persistence in your learning! You persist with your writing to make sure you are writing all of the sounds in every word and it is to the best of your ability. It is fantastic to see you also are always up for a challenge in mathematics! Keep up the wonderful work Louis!  

Year 1/2BC

Olivia B - for working well in all areas of her learning and showing persistence when writing extended writing pieces.  

Johan H - for his kindness to others, and his hard-working attitude towards his learning. 

Charlotte W - for her conscientious attitude in all areas of her learning and her thinking skills in mental computation games and activities. 

Year 1/2BE

Judd P - for excellent work in maths activities and your enthusiastic approach to learning. Keep up the great work!

Amy C - for making excellent progress in reading and writing. Keep up the great work!

Year 1/2BR

Vincent F - for your excellent persistence and attitude towards your writing tasks this year. You are always giving your spelling a go even when you find it tricky and use the tools around you to help you. Amazing work Vincent, I am very proud of you!

Frankie S - for your excellent participation in class discussions and always trying your best during learning time. I am always impressed with your ability to give everything a go even when it is a bit tricky - your resilience and grit is outstanding!

Year 3/4KC

Millie B - for consistently striving to excel in all academic areas and for being a truly inspirational role model in our class!

Jasmine R - for moving outside her comfort zone to build good peer relationships.

Year 3/4SM

Etta R - for demonstrating good sportsmanship to others and being genuinely happy for their successes. You are a positive role-model. Thank you for your generosity of spirit and enthusiastic joy. CONGRATULATIONS. You are amazing!

Zaylen L - for thinking deeply and using a variety of Maths concepts when problem solving. Your initiative and enthusiastic approach to teamwork is contagious! CONGRATULATIONS you are amazing!

Year 5/6FJ

Shakira AB - for dedicating yourself to monitoring your writing and including excellent precise vocabulary, in particular tier 2 words, when writing narratives this term. The results are very pleasing Shakira.

Tina I - for presenting yourself in such a mature manner when conducting our Open Day School Tours with prospective families. You are a credit to our school and a wonderful role model.

Riley F - for being intrinsically motivated when editing and revising tasks in class. You are preparing yourself well for secondary school this early in Year 6. Keep up the terrific work Riley.

Year 5/6RJ

Venice J - for excellent manners, reflective thinking during discussions and great attitudes to help co-operative teams benefit and achieve.

Luka S - for your positive attitude towards learning. You show great focus, wonderful listening and excellent persistence when tackling any tasks.

Gordon L - for your outstanding contributions to our classroom discussions by building on the ideas of others, showing deep thinking and providing excellent responses.

Parents and Friends of St John the Baptist School

Hot Cross Bun Fundraiser

Hurry and get your orders in to the office for these delicious Easter treats or purchase your Bunny Buck$. Orders will only be placed for paid orders. Cash accepted but preferable method of payment directly into Parents and Friends Bank Account - BSB: 083 347 A/c 472520725. Please use Surname as reference.

Order form attached below.

Hot Cross Bun Order Form

Download

Easter Raffle

Please return money and ticket stubs to the office by April 4th to win our fabulous hamper with goodies such as chocolates, movie and shopping vouchers, Puffing Billy tickets, kids activity packs, Entertainment book subscription and loads more!

Don’t forget to write your name, phone number and eldest child’s class on the stubs and tear off and keep the individual tickets. Prize Drawn 7th April. More tickets available at the office for more chances to win!

Get your raffle tickets/money back to the office

The Entertainment App is Back!!!

Canteen News

Canteen is open every Wednesday & Friday

Hot Cross Buns........in the Canteen - Wednesday April 6th

Don't forget to return your 'Hot Cross Buns in the Canteen' form to the office.  Please note - hot cross buns are also available in gluten free.  When ordering, please write 'Gluten Free' clearly on the form.

This promotion is INSTEAD of normal canteen on Wednesday April 6th.

Hot Cross Buns......in the Canteen Order Form

Download

Canteen Helpers Roster


Wednesday March 23rd

Roslyn Davies

Friday March 25th

Mark Molan

Kylie Martin


Wednesday March 30th 

Nat Conway

Friday April 1st

Anna Kristof

Amanda Hobba

Caroline Walsh


Uniform Shop News

Winter Uniform News

Parish News

Camp Australia News

Community Notices

Victoria School Guides

To assist your decision making in relation to your child's education for 2023 and beyond, please find below a link to the 136 page 2022 edition of the Catholic Education Guide.

CLICK HERE - Victoria School Guides

St John the Baptist Ferntree Gully