St John the Baptist Ferntree Gully Newsletter

On Friday as a school we had our first Emergency Drill for the year. The students were terrific in the way everyone moved calmly, promptly and in an orderly manner in their two lines to the Evacuation Point on the school oval. As a school we hope that there will never be a need to enter into such a scenario, however, in the event that such a situation does occur we know that staff and students will be prepared and ready to respond. Well done to all!!

In consultation with the Parish the Sacrament of First Eucharist will now be held on Saturday 17th June at 3:00pm.  This is an amendment to the previous date of Saturday 10th June which coincided with the King’s birthday long weekend.

Caritas is the Catholic Church's international aid and development agency in Australia. They are committed to working alongside the most vulnerable. Project Compassion spans across the six weeks of Lent each year, bringing schools, parishes and supporters together to raise funds for people living in some of the most vulnerable communities across the world.  Our support contributes to changing lives today and for future generations.

We are very excited to partner with Marty and Carly McGauran from Inform and Empower. Marty is a qualified teacher and educational consultant in the area of ICT and Digital Learning. His sister, Carly is a psychologist with over 20 years experience working with children, adolescents and adults.  Marty and Carly work together to provide insightful, practical and engaging presentations to support students and families in navigating the digital world that our children are growing up in.

Partnering with Inform and Empower will provide our students with the opportunity to participate in termly live streamed incursions that align with the curriculum, are developmentally appropriate for children and aligned with eSafety’s Best Practice Framework for Online Safety Education

This week and next the Year 3 and Year 5 students will participate in NAPLAN.  

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is an annual national assessment for all students in Years 3, 5, 7, and 9, and is the only nationwide assessment that all Australian children undertake.

It’s a measure to see whether or not young Australians are developing the literacy and numeracy skills that provide the critical foundation for other learning, and for their productive and rewarding participation in the community.

The NAPLAN assessment period will commence Wednesday 15th March and conclude Monday 27th March. The Year 3 and 5 students will commence their NAPLAN program with Writing, followed by Reading, Conventions of Language and then conclude with Numeracy.

We wish all students the best as they undertake the NAPLAN assessments.  We know that all students will try their very best in each of the NAPLAN assessments. Good luck everyone, we know you will be terrific.

In the coming weeks classroom levels will be released for Term 2 curriculum planning.  As a school we strongly value providing our students with quality Learning and Teaching. Providing quality Teaching and Learning opportunities requires a great deal of time, planning and consideration along with the opportunity for teachers to work collaboratively with one another. 

We thank Ursula De Corrado for her work as Learning and Teaching and Literacy Leader in facilitating such days and Marialisa Mandarino for her facilitation in the area of Faith in Education. We are very fortunate to have a wealth of expertise in our leaders and teaching staff.

As we approach the end of the term families will receive communication from Jo Stoica - Learning Diversity Leader, in relation to making time for a PSG meeting.  PSGs are an opportunity to review and reflect on the goals set in student Personalised Learning Plans for the term, to celebrate student growth and set goals for Term 2.

At St John the Baptist School we strongly value the partnerships developed at PSG Meetings dedicating time and the release of teachers through CRT employment to run such meetings.

We thank everyone involved for their commitment and partnership in supporting our students in their learning journeys.

A big thank you to the Heywood family for the kind gift of the Apology to Australia’s Indigenous People from Parliament House. This will be displayed in the school foyer in the coming weeks.

Thank you to the Brodie family for the removal of the broken tree branch. Once again we greatly appreciate the kindness and generosity of our school community.

We have recently worked with Digital Schools to commence updating the School’s Website. We now await new content to be placed on the website.  Further updates will continue throughout next term.  We look forward to seeing the website with updated material in the near future. Watch this space!!

Please note the updated COVID-19 settings for Term 1, 2023:

It is recommended that rapid antigen tests (RATs) are used by students and staff if they: 

• have symptoms of COVID-19 infection, no matter how mild 

• are a household or close contact of someone who has COVID-19  

• are a social contact of someone who has COVID-19

• The Department of Health recommends that all Victorians report their positive RAT result via the online form or by calling 1800 675 398.

Our next meeting will be Monday March 20th 7pm in the school hall.  Please come along and join us, our agenda will be covering the above events, our Mother’s Day stall and some gift preparation and planning for term 2.  We would appreciate any support or input you may have.  We currently need some expertise in online sales platforms and any connections to donors or sponsors.  

March

15th     NAPLAN commences

16th     School Open Day

17th     St Patrick’s Day - wear something green, gold coin donation

17th     St Patrick's Day Cathedral Mass - Year 6 leaders

20th     P & F Meeting 

21st     Harmony Day

22nd     School Advisory Council

25th     Parish Trivia Night

27th     Athletics Day

30th    Sacrament of Reconciliation

April

2nd     Daylight Savings Finishes

3rd    Assembly 3/4G

6th     Holy Week Prayer Service

6th    Term 1 concludes at 2.00pm

24th     School Closure Day - Faith in Education Focus

25th     ANZAC Day - School Closure

26th     Term 2 commences

26th     P&F Meeting at 7.00pm

Canteen orders can be placed via www.flexischools.com.au

Orders must be placed no later than 7.30am on the Wednesday or Friday.