August 12th, 2024: Newsletter #24

Acknowledgement of Country

St. John’s school community respect and honour Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders past and present. We acknowledge the stories, traditions and living cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples on this land and commit to building a brighter future together, working together towards a reconciled Australia. 

Week 5 Prayer

Almighty and everlasting God, You have taken up body and soul into the heavenly glory the Immaculate Virgin Mary,

Mother of Your Son: Grant, we beseech You, that, ever intent upon heavenly things,

we may be worthy to be partakers of her glory.

Through Jesus Christ Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,

One God, forever and ever. Amen.

From the Principal

Welcome everyone to the new school week. A few important points to note.

First Eucharist: Congrats to our children who participated the Sacrament for First Eucharist yesterday- my thanks to the parish community for supporting them in their journey. The children were Kiara, Nate, Chet, Teddy, Macy & Ella. 

Breakfast Club: Is back on tomorrow! 

School Closure Day: A reminder to all families that there is no school on Monday August 19th due to First Aid training for staff. No students are to attend school on this day. 

No Assembly next week: Due to the closure day there will be no assembly held next week. 

We look forward to the week ahead, Ben.

Finance Updates

School Fee statements have been emailed to families today. If you did not receive your statement, would like to commence a direct debit or have any questions please contact Sarah Burchell - sburchell@sjdennington.catholic.edu.au

Parent Participation Levy: It is the responsibility of each family to log their PPL hours. Please ensure you complete the Google form on the Schoolzine app or on the paper register located in the office foyer each time you volunteer at the school. If you have any questions please contact the office.

The Right to Disconnect

The Fair Work Act 2009, was recently updated to include provisions that give employees the right to disconnect from communication received outside of their designated working hours. This new rule takes effect from 26 August 2024. For schools, this includes communication from parents, students, colleagues, or others within the school community. 

Staff access their work emails normally between 8:00 am – 5.00 pm when possible and will endeavour to respond to emails within 24-48 hours. This applies to other forms of communication such as See Saw. Staff are not expected to respond in this time frame during weekends, public holidays, and, for teaching staff,  during term breaks.

We ask all members of the school community to be aware of this new provision and to restrict communication with school staff to school working hours. If you communicate outside of these hours, please be aware staff may choose to but are not expected to respond outside their work hours.

Support for our Families

The generosity of our school community has always been outstanding and we are again asking for more help for many of our families experiencing hardship. This initiative aims to provide meals to those requiring some assistance, enhancing our strong and compassionate community.

If you are able to assist by providing the school with frozen meals which we can distribute as required, then we would greatly appreciate your support.

Please speak with Ben van de Camp if able to assist.

Book Week

On Wednesday 21st August, we will be celebrating book week. Our parade will be held at 9.00am in the Stadium. Parents/family members are most welcome to come along to the parade.

The theme this year is 'Reading is Magic. Students are invited to dress up as their favourite book character but there is no expectation that new items or costumes are purchased. There will be some dress up items provided on the day for students who would like to borrow something.

Dress-ups/Costume donations

If you have any dress-ups at home that your children no longer use we would love for you to donate them to school.  They will be used for children who do not have something to wear on days such as Book Week and also for play in our quiet area. 

Art Show

The Art Show will be an excellent demonstration of artwork that has been designed and created over this term. Each child will have 3-4 pieces of art on display in a variety of settings around the school. Please arrive at the front office at your House Groups assigned time. We look forward to sharing the creativity with you!

Father's Day Breakfast

Our annual Father's Day breakfast is being held on Friday 30th August. Please click on the link below to indicate if you are able to attend by Monday 26th August. Breakfast will consisit of egg and bacon rolls. We hope you are able to come along!

TheirCare

The following dates have been approved by DOBCEL as student free days. Theircare will operate on these days and are open for bookings now.

• Monday August 19th- Staff First Aid & Child safety training
• Monday October 7th & Tuesday October 8th- Staff Indigenous Education training

We have also inquired with TheirCare around school holiday programs being offered at St. John's but their response has been that there is not enough demand for a program to be offered yet. If parents did want this to occur then I encourage you to speak with TheirCare. 

St. John's Got Talent

Every second year, St. John's hosts our talent show - St John's Got Talent. Students from Foundation to Grade 6 are invited to do a solo performance or work with a small group of their choice. They can perform any talent they like - singing, dancing, gymnastics, comedy show etc.

The students will have time every Tuesday at first lunch to practice and get themselves organised, with support from myself and some other staff members. All performances will then perform at the Semi-Finals (which takes place over several weeks) and then a small number of performances will be selected to perform at the Grand Final. Families will be notified if their child has made the Grand Final. Children are welcome to wear a costume during their semi-final if they wish, this is not compulsory. It is a very fun time, with many students looking forward to the bi-annual, St. John's Got Talent. 

Any questions, please email me aatwell@sjdennington.catholic.edu.au

or Jan Madden at jmadden@sjdenningotn.catholic.edu.au

Thanks, Amy Atwell.

Student Awards Term 3 Week 4

Around our School- Week 4

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Judo at St. John's

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to Amy C, Xavier B, Ella C, Connie W, Turam C, Dexter B and Lilith L who celebrate their birthday this week! We hope you have an amazing day!

Parents & Friend's Social Group

Our next meeting will be Tuesday 27th August at 7.00pm in the Gathering Space.

Dennington's Day Out

Next meeting will be the 21st August at 7:15pm in the Gathering Space.

Applications are now open for our mini entrepreneur stalls at this year's Dennington’s Day Out. If your child is interested and would like to have a stall please register with the below link. 

There is still time to sponsor, If you or know someone that might be interested please email ddo@sjdennington.catholic.edu.au to enquire about the packages or check out the DDO facebook page. 

Father's Day Stall

Our Father’s Day stall will be held on Monday 26th August. We are looking for volunteers to help on the day with setting up, helping kids with their shopping and packing up. If you can help for an hour or two or even the day please let Regina Laird know. We appreciate any help you can give and your time will go towards your participation points.

Wednesday Treats

Roster:

Tuesday 13th Aug 9.00am - Taliah, Rebecca B, Lacey and Shelley F.

Wednesday 14th Aug 11:45am - Julia T, Aimee D and Hannah.  

Order forms for next week will head home on Wednesday. Please make sure all EFT payments and order forms are handed in by 3.00pm Monday as we can not accept late orders. Should you have any questions please feel free to contact Taliah Gleeson or Emily McGennan.

Cake Raffle

Each week on a Monday, families are rostered on to bring in a cake which will then be raffled and drawn out at assembly. All funds raised throughout the year will be donated to the Good Friday Appeal the following year.

All students will have the opportunity to buy a raffle ticket for 20c each Monday with a limit of five tickets per student. The Johnnies will make a P.A announcement at first lunch, calling all students who wish to purchase a ticket, to the Library.

The following families are rostered on for Monday 26th August:

Noonan, Oakley, O'Donohue and O'Grady.

Please drop your store purchased cake into the office with your child's name written on top.

School Sponsorship

A big thank you to O'Brien's Electrical, Joinery by Jarrod, Fry Painting and Carry on Travel who sponsor our school!

Would you like to advertise your business in our school newsletter? Businesses can advertise for only $100 a year and will have a business card sized listing in every school newsletter.

Please contact parents@sjdennington.catholic.edu.au for more information.

Star of the Sea Bulletin

Sunday Mass is held at 9.00am at St. Pius X Church. School families are always welcome. 

The Parish office can be contacted on 5562 2231 and this weekends bulletin is featured below. Other information and contact details can be found on the Star of the Sea South West Coast website: https://www.ballarat.catholic.org.au/parish/southwestcoast/ 

Community Notices

Upcoming Events

Friday 16th August: Grade 5/6 Hooptime

Monday 19th August: School Closure Day

Wednesday 21st August: Book Week, parade at 9.00am

Wednesday 21st August: DDO Meeting at 7.15pm in the Gathering Space

Tuesday 27th August: Parents and Friends Meeting at 7.00pm in the Gathering Space

Wednesday 28th August: St. Johns Art Show from 6.00pm

Friday 30th August: Father's Day Breakfast from 7.30am - 8.30am