August 19th, 2024: Newsletter #25

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 6 Prayer: A Thank You for Books

For the places they show us, and the people we meet,
We say 'Thank You God' for books.

For fascinating facts and interesting information,
We say 'Thank You God'  for books.

For creepy tales and funny stories,
We say 'Thank You God'  for books.

For helping me with my homework,
We say 'Thank You God'  for books.

For illustrations and cartoons,
We say 'Thank You God'  for books.

For things to do on a rainy day,
We say 'Thank You God'  for books.

For all the titles I've yet to read,
We say 'Thank You God' for books.

From the Principal

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

Roundabout Construction: Many families would have noticed that there has been traffic works at the Russell St & Coghlan's Rd intersection- we anticipate that in the September holidays the developers will be building a roundabout which will assist in traffic management greatly. 

CAT Maths: Congratulations to all the children who entered the latest CAT Maths competition in May. The Computational and Algorithmic Thinking (CAT) competition gives students the opportunity to develop their problem-solving skills through algorithmic thinking.

We look forward to the week ahead, Ben.

2025 Traineeships

Over the course of this week we will be advertising our 2025 Trainee positions- these are a great opportunity for someone looking for a Gap Year position who may be interested in education or child related work. A role description is included below. 

P&F Major Raffle

It's that time of year again where we ask families to join in the P&F's Major Raffle- tickets will be coming home this week. 

NAPLAN in the Media

Over the past week, there has been a great deal of media about the standards achieved by our students in the recent NAPLAN assessments.

We need to be cautious about narratives in the media stating that Australian students’ performances in NAPLAN and other standardised tests are getting worse. It has been reported that in 2024, about one in three school students were into the bottom two proficiency bands, with the remaining two-thirds in the top two. About one in 10 students were rated as needing additional support. 

Sally Larsen,  a senior lecturer in education at the University of New England, in her study clearly shows no long-term decline in NAPLAN results from 2008 through to 2022. It even shows some considerable gains. In particular, year 3 and year 5 reading showed good progress at the population level over the 14 years of NAPLAN to 2022.

It is important to note that in 2023, some of the processes around NAPLAN  changed. This included reporting results in four proficiency levels within each year, rather than the 10 bands used from 2008 to 2022. Because there are now fewer categories in the new reporting of proficiency, there are now higher percentages of students in each category. As is clearly evident from the media report, categorising students into fewer proficiency levels can be misinterpreted.

As in all occasions when it comes to the media, it is important to ensure balanced opinions based on truth as opposed to spin. 

Finance Updates

School Fee statements have been emailed to families last week. 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.

Book Week- This week

This Wednesday 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, younger siblings may also wish to dress up.

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.

The students will participate in the following activities:

9:15am-9:45am  Book Week Parade.

10:00am-10:50am Activities in House groups.

Hooptime

Last Monday 12th August we had five year 3/4 teams represent St. John's at Hooptime basketball at the Arc stadium.  On Friday 16th August our 5/6 girls and boys teams also played in the senior competition.

It was very pleasing to see the high level of respect that all students displayed throughout the day towards their teammates, teachers, opponents, referees and team officials. All students should be very proud of their efforts. One 3/4 futures mixed team and the 5/6 boys team both did exceptionally well by winning all their games. These two teams will play at the next level early in Term 4. More information will be sent out to families of the students from these teams.

A special thanks to the parents on Friday who stepped in to help out with scoring, this was very much appreciated.

Lastly, thank you to Mr Harrington who has been working very hard during his lunch breaks taking all teams for practice.

Margie Smith - P.E Teacher

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 consist of a egg and bacon rolls (and a coffee for the Dads/special person) We hope you are able to come along!

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.

Lowes

Around our School- Week 5

Prev

Showing images 1 - 8 of 18

Next

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to Starla M, Gen R, Shono V, Hudson C, Ida O and Scout V who celebrate their birthday this week! We hope you have a terrific 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.

Family Photo Fundraiser

We have organised a family photo fundraiser this term. Please see the flyer below for details. 

Sittings are open to everyone so spread the word but more importantly book your spot to avoid disappointment. Click the following links to book your session time. 

Session 1 on 31st August 2024 at Koroit Train Station 

https://www.trybooking.com/CUPPH

Session 2 on 7th September 2024 at Warrnambool Botanical Gardens

https://www.trybooking.com/CUPPO

Wednesday Treats

Roster:

Tuesday 20th Aug 9.00am - Theresa, Melissa C, Jo, Kate and Melissa A.

Wednesday 31st Aug 12.00pm - Adela, Nicole M and Nicole D.  

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

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

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

Monday 26th August: Father's Day Stall

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