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

Congratulations to the following students recently elected as their class SRC Representatives:

    3/4K:  Ranit Timothy & Isla Hughes

    3/4M:  Archie McKinlay & Isla O’Neill

    4/5M:  Hudson Delaney & Indiana McKinlay

    5/6M: Jai Milner & Isabella Ellesley

    5/6S:  Jasper Craven & Lacey Hester

Sacramental Program: Lent is a wonderful time to celebrate the reconciling love and the healing graces our Lord offers us. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is the most natural way to celebrate God’s forgiveness and love.

On Thursday 24th March, 7pm at St John's Church, a number of our Grade 3  students are completing this Sacrament.  

For Sacramental enquiries please contact the Parish Sacramental Coordinator, Leonie Hester: lhester@bunyip.catholic.edu.au

Swimming: Last Friday was our House Swimming Sports, congratulations to MacKillop House and all of our students for the fantastic sportsmanship shown during this event.  

Congratulations also to Emelia Scamporlino, Ryan Fraser and Jai Milner who all placed 2nd in their events at the Division Swimming Carnival last week. 

Uniforms:  At St John’s, we believe that our uniform and dress code promotes a sense of belonging and pride in the school, thus giving the school a unique identity. Therefore I ask for parent support over the next few weeks as we remind children of what is acceptable and unacceptable. Inappropriate jewellery, the wearing of nail polish, incorrect socks and shoes will be a focus. 

Cultural Diversity Week & Harmony Day: This year Harmony Day will be celebrated on Monday the 21st March and Cultural Diversity Week will be celebrated between Saturday the 19th March to Sunday the 27th March. Each grade in the school will be learning about these dates which help to celebrate Australia's cultural diversity, inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone.

Free Dress Day/Easter Raffle:  Tuesday 29th March:  Children may wear free dress on this day and are asked in return to donate an Easter item (Chocolate eggs or Easter themed toys), these items will be used to make up our Easter raffle prizes. See flyer below for full details, raffle tickets will be sent home Friday 18th March. 

KidsROAR Personal Safety Program: In 2019 our school participated in the ‘KidsROAR’ program, this program is committed to the prevention of abuse on children through education on Personal Safety. Their programs are based on the Protective Behaviours Themes:

    ‘We all have the right to feel safe at all times’ and,

    ‘We can talk to someone we trust about anything, no matter what it is’

We are again providing this program for all of our students in 2022. Student sessions will be held over 2 days (31st March & 1st April) where we will be discussing body safety with the children and the fact that they have the right to feel safe at all times. This is a very important subject and we want every parent to have the opportunity to be a part of it. A parent ZOOM information evening session is being offered on Tuesday 29th March at 7pm.  Further information and a link to this session will be sent out to families closer to the date.

COVID Requirements: The current COVID requirements are anticipated to remain in place for the remainder of term, we thank parents for their continued support in relation to this. 

Student Absence notifications: A reminder that all student absences should be notified via the Eforms section of the Skoolbag App preferably prior to 9am on the day of absence, this ensures the notification is received by administration and the roll reflects the absence correctly.

Enrolments for 2023: Enrolment packs for 2023 are now available, electronic copies can be downloaded from our website or emailed upon request, hard copies can be collected from the office or posted.  Enrolment interviews will be available shortly with our Open Morning for prospective parents planned for early May.  If you have any queries in relation to enrolments please contact the office.

Regards 

Chris Dortmans, Principal

After a long weekend to refresh everyone’s batteries it was great to get back into Junior Learning this week. 

Foundation Students begin their first full week of school, no longer having Wednesdays at home. They also began a new maths topic on Length, they will be comparing items and using mathematical language such as longest and smallest. In Literacy, they have started a Narrative Writing unit. Students will be looking at what Narrative stories are through an Author Study. This week we will be reading narratives by Matt Cosgrove, such as ‘Macca the Alpaca.’

Well done to the Grade 1/2 students who participated in the House Swimming in Week 6 we are all proud of your Resilience and efforts in the pool! In their learning Grade 1/2 students are learning about Narrative Features. This week they will be exploring Character Feelings in Narratives and how they can show this in their own writing. In Maths, Grade 1/2 students will build on their knowledge of length by measuring objects using informal units, putting together unifix, icypole sticks and other objects to measure how long something is.

Finally, please remember that Junior Library Day is on Thursday, remind your child to pack their library bag and books to return that day.

What a fun day we had last Friday at the House Swimming Sports! Well done to all students on excellent participation and sportsmanship. A big thank you to Mrs Dennis for making this extra-curricular activity possible. 

In the classroom we are exploring Narrative writing. In all the 3-6 classrooms we are discovering the many elements involved in producing engaging stories for others to read. Including hooking the reader with a sizzling start, carefully selecting interesting adjectives to describe characters, settings and events. As well as conventions such as spelling and punctuation. 

In Maths, we will continue to learn about the Four mathematical operations in addition and subtraction as well as multiplication and division. Our unit on Length will be finalised this week and the topic of Chance will be introduced next week.

On Monday, the Grade 3 and 5 students will take part in a  NAPLAN Practice test, as a school we are making the transition from paper tests to an online platform, this test will allow us to ensure the technology requirements are up to the task but also give the students their first look at the inline format, preparing them for the official NAPLAN testing days in May. If you have any questions, please contact your child’s teacher.

Preparations are in full swing for the 3/4 Camp to Sovereign Hill, please read through all correspondence carefully and speak to us if you or your child 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.