St John the Baptist Koo Wee Rup Newsletter

8 June 2022

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.

From the Principal

Principals Report

Dear Parents/Carers,

Car Park/End of Day Procedures: With the completion of our building project we now have more space available in the car park and can return to pre-covid end of day procedures commencing Tuesday 14 June, please note the following in order to make the end of day smooth and safe for all concerned: 

  • There will no longer be an Operoo form to advise of picking up from the car park, all children will be dismissed from the classroom at 3:10pm. 

  • Please remind your children of their end of day movements each morning i.e.: meet mum at the car park, going to OSHC etc (Have a backup plan that your child is aware of - if the car park is full you may park elsewhere and meet them at the hall gate).  

  • Car park gates will not open until 3pm on any given day - please remember the car park is part of our school grounds and a sporting area that classes may be using at the end of the school day and will not  be made accessible to parents before this time. 

  • Please do not create an extended lineup on Salmon street or beyond for the car park - this impedes our buses, local traffic etc - if you are early please utilise the parking spaces behind the hall or park in neighbouring streets. 

  • We understand that congestion is frustrating at the end of the school day however this is common for all schools and we do not have the space to create off street parking for a large number of vehicles for what is a very short period of the day. Please be patient and consider your options to help reduce this congestion and keep the end of day pick up safe for everyone.

  • Please be mindful of last minute phone calls to school regarding pick up arrangements  - we understand some circumstances necessitate this (ie: held up in road works, family emergency  etc). Our preference is for messages advising a change of arrangements for end of day to be done via phone call to the office prior to 2pm - this avoids unnecessary disruption to classrooms at the end of the day. 

New Building: This week we have started to move furniture and resources from the portable classrooms into the new building. There are still some finishing touches and connections to be completed. The hired portables are scheduled to be removed next week (weather permitting) and works on the outdoor rotunda, reflection area and landscaping can commence. 

School Uniforms: We understand that with the colder weather students are wanting to wear coats and beanies.  We encourage students to wear a blue coat in keeping with our school colours and if they wish to wear a beanie, it be the school beanie which is available from the uniform shop.  We are currently investigating coat alternatives for our uniform list.

Cross-country: Congratulations to students who participated in the Division Cross Country last week in their respective age categories - Melina Briganti (15th), Tony Butera (15th), Lucy Banks (18th), Corey Miller (19th) and Annika Miller (24th).   

School Photos: A reminder that school photos can still be ordered via the Schoolpix website, if you have misplaced your order form please use the search function to find your child or contact the office for your order codes. Photos ordered after 7 June will incur a shipping fee. 

Friends of St John's Pie Drive: Pie Drive orders closed today, the delivery date has been changed to Friday 17 June - all orders must be collected between 2:45 - 3:45 pm on this day from the rear of the hall. 

School Disco: Our school Disco will be held on Thursday 23 June from 4 - 6pm, tickets can be purchased via CDFpay, see flyer below for full details.  Please note that this event is for St John's students only. 

RSL Colouring Competition: Congratulations to the following winners of the recent colouring competition run by the Koo Wee Rup RSL in celebration of its 101st Anniversary: 

Luca Chapman, Peyton Crowley, Lily Noble, Mackenna Barker, William Wheller, Ranit Timothy, Ned Flood, Ruby McEwan, Charlea Wright, Jackson Henning, Lachlan Chapman, Liam Peters, Jacinta Ventura, Myla Radivo, River Price, Evie McCauley and Piper Thorp.

Awards will be presented at our next Assembly. 

Rapid Antigen Tests: A further supply of Rapid Antigen Test Kits will be sent home this week. As advised previously, regular testing is no longer required however you are asked to test your child if they show COVID symptoms.

Regards 

Chris Dortmans, Principal

Junior News

A well deserved congratulations to all Junior students who participated in School Swimming lessons over the last fortnight! Your resilience throughout the lessons and respectful behaviour outside of school is to be commended. The Foundation Students had their first bus excursion experience and did amazingly well adapting to the change in routine.

Grade 1/2H has a very exciting move to the new building this week. After a long stay in the portables we hope they enjoy their fresh new classroom. Once all classes are settled and moved in all Junior students will be able to tour the new facilities, including the exciting new library with some very special features for the children to enjoy! We look forward to parents being able to check out the building!

In the classroom students continue to read poems, discussing and identifying common features including rhyme and repetition across different texts. Foundation students are becoming experts at finding rhyming word families such as -at, -an, -ab, -ad, -ag, -ap. Whilst grade 1 students are looking for repetitive poems as they work their way through ‘The Big Book of Rhymes’.

A new maths unit on Money has begun for the next 3 weeks. It is a great topic to practise at home, looking at identifying different coins and notes. Some activities include ordering by value (Smallest to Largest & Largest to Smallest), counting money and playing pretend shop!

Middle/Senior News

We can tick swimming off the list! Well done to all students for your resilience and flexibility during our alternative timetable for swimming. We are lucky to have these opportunities through school and we are pleased to see our students make the most of them. 

The big move to our new building is happening as we speak for our Grade 4/5/6 classes. This is very exciting and we are extremely grateful to have brand new facilities to learn and collaborate in. 

In the classroom we continue to read and write a range of poetry. It has been lovely to see students engage in some traditional Australian Ballads through the works of Banjo Paterson (Waltzing Matilda, The Man from Snowy River and Mulga Bill’s Bicycle to name a few). Poetry ties in nicely with our exploration of Psalms in Religion. In mathematics we will be working on Money and Time.

Whole School Musical - Madagascar Jr.

SAVE THE DATE

Thursday October 27th, 2022

Pakenham Cultural Centre

Students in our F-2 Grades have been working hard on their dances in Performing Arts ready for our Term 4 musical. More information about tickets and costuming will be given out closer to the event, but this will be one not to miss!!

Religion

St Vincent De Paul Winter Appeal

We are asking all families for contributions towards our St Vincent De Paul Winter Appeal; we seek donations of non-perishable food items, toiletries, warm winter clothing, coats and blankets. Donations may be sent into school from now until Wednesday 22 June 2022.

St John's families are traditionally very generous and we invite you to contribute in this tangible way to the needy in our community.


Dates

June

Thu 9 - Class Liturgy, FD & 4/5M
Mon 13 - Queens Birthday - Public Holiday
Fri 17 - Interschool Winter Sports, Gr 5 & 6
Fri 17 - Pie Drive Pick Up (2.45pm - 3.45pm)
Sun 19 - Sacrament of First Holy Communion (Eucharist), 9:30am, St Johns Church
Thu 23 - St John the Baptist Feast Day Mass, 9:15am, St Johns Church
Thu 23 -  School Disco, 4 - 6pm (See flyer for full details - ordering via CDFpay opens by Sat 28 May)
Fri 24 - School Closure Day - Staff Professional Development
July
Mon 11 - School Closure Day
Tue 12 - Term 3 commences
Thu 27 Oct - Whole School Musical - Madagascar Jr. 

Uniform Shop

The Uniform Shop is open for online ordering only at present, if placing an order it will be sent home with your child on the afternoon of the next uniform shop day.  

Uniform shop days are Monday & Thursday , orders must be placed by 2pm on these days. 

If you need to exchange an item please e-mail details of your requirements to Belinda at uniform@stjohnskwr.catholic.edu.au with details and return the item via the office (please ensure it is unwashed with tags still attached) and your name is attached to the item returned. Exchanges will be processed on the next uniform shop day. 

For Uniform ordering through CDF pay—Visit https://stjohnskwr.cdfpay.org.au  or scan QR Code. (Guidelines for setting up your CDFpay account can also be found on Skoolbag).

As we are a ‘Sun Smart School’ we also require the children to wear a school hat from September to April with the ‘No Hat-No Play’ policy strictly enforced during 1st and 4th terms.

School uniform guidelines are available in the Parent Information section of Skoolbag, on our website or a hard copy can be obtained from the office. 

Birthdays - 25 May - 21 June - Averey Miller, Rory Haring, Gus Flood, Ned Flood, Jace Murphy, Mia Tavares, Laylah McCauley, Max Soutter

Koo Wee Rup Catholic Parishes in Partnership

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. 

St Joseph's, Iona - Sunday 11am Holy Family, Maryknoll - 2nd Sunday, 8am 
St James, Nar Nar Goon - Saturday 6pmSt John's, Koo Wee Rup - Sunday 9:30am
St Mary's, Lang Lang - 3rd Sunday, 8am