Week 9 June 19th, 2023: Newsletter #19
- Acknowledgement of Country
- Week 9 Prayer
- From the Principal
- St. John's Feast Day
- Breakfast Club
- Sacramental Program- Eucharist
- Hands on Learning
- Around our school in Week 8
- Important School reminders
- Covid 19 Management
- Student Awards - Week 8
- Learning Walks
- Parents and Friends Social Group News
- School Sponsorship
- Star of the Sea Bulletin
- Community Notices
- Upcoming Events
Acknowledgement of Country
St. John’s school community respect and honour Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders past, present and future. 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.
Week 9 Prayer
From the Principal
Hello everyone, welcome to another week of learning, living and loving at St. John's, hopefully this finds you all well after enjoying the long weekend.
School Reports: A reminder that this afternoon all school reports will be released for Semester 1. Should you wish to speak with your child's teacher regarding the reports please contact them to arrange a convenient time.
End of Term: A reminder that this Friday is the final day of Term 2. Assembly will be held at 1.50pm and classes will conclude at 2.20pm.
Term 3 classes commence on Monday July 10th.
Sympathies: Our love and prayers are with Mrs Boyd and her family after the passing of her grandmother - may she rest in peace.
Enjoy your week, Ben.
St. John's Feast Day
The Feast Day of St. John the Baptist is held every year on June 24th, at St. John's we will celebrate this important day on Wednesday June 21st.
We have a day of fun planned which will feature the following events;
- 10.00am Mass- this will be held at St Pius X church, all families are welcome to attend.
- Casual Clothes- we encourage children to wear the colours of their sporting house.
- Sausage sizzle for lunch- there is no charge for this and Gluten Free students will be accommodated. Children will still need their snacks etc. for 1st lunch.
- House activities will be condcuted with our school captains organising these.
We are hopeful that 3-4 parents may be able to help cook the BBQ from 11.00am onwards for around 2 hours. If you are able to assist please email Ben. This time will count against your PPL hours.
Breakfast Club
Thank you to the staff, students and families who have supported Breakfast Club. We welcome all students to Breakfast Club, it's a great relaxed way to start the school day. We have a committed group of senior students who set up, cook, serve and clean up after Breakfast Club.
We are lucky enough to have support from one of our families who organize and deliver a donation of milk each week.
We are looking for a business that may be able to supply us with bread, english muffins and fruit bread this year if anyone has any connections. The amazing family who has donated since we began Breakfast Club is no longer in the bread business.
A number of families have asked if they can donate an item to support Breakfast Club. If you feel like this is something you would like to do (but please don't feel pressure to) Donations of one item from the following list is welcome and can be left at the office.
Jam, Vegemite, honey, Cheerios, Nutri Grain, Milo and Hot Chocolate.
Sacramental Program- Eucharist
The Sacrament of First Eucharist will be celebrated in our community on Sunday August 20th, 2023. Typically, this sacrament is celebrated when a student is in year 4, but your child may be in another year level and would like to participate, for example if they missed it.
Please fill out the registration link and we will be having a formation meeting in St Pius X Church on Wednesday July 19th at 7pm. Please mark this date on your calendar.
Please contact Tom Beks if you have any questions.
The link can be accessed here; https://forms.gle/VHtvbMi6Ym6rNmVY7
Hands on Learning
Around our school in Week 8
Important School reminders
Russell Street Crossing: If parents and children are needing to cross Russell Street then it must be done at the supervised pedestrian crossing. This is the only safe place to do.
Parking: Please refrain from parking in the designated disability car spaces in the carparks if you do not have a sticker displayed on your vehicle. It is important these spaces are reserved for families that need them.
We also ask that if you have to hop out of the car to assist your child into the car that you park your car and collect them rather than hold up the loop.
Entering the School Buildings: All visitors during the school day must enter via the front office. This includes children late to school.
Student Messages: Please ensure change of pick up arrangement messages etc are received by the office ideally by 3.00pm and no later than 3.10pm to allow office staff adequate time to pass them on to students.
Student News: If you have some exciting news you would like to share with our school community we would love to hear about it. Please email admin@sjdennington.catholic.edu.au
Parent/School Communication: When contacting school staff please refer to our Communications Guidelines for the appropriate processes, this can be found under the forms and documents tab on our schoolzine app and in the Parent Information tab in PAM.
Parent Participation Levy: Please ensure you record the activity and the amount of hours you volunteered your time for on the following form - Parent Participation Levy Activity Record
Covid 19 Management
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.
- Principals are no longer required to inform their school community of a positive case associated with the school.
- Staff or students who are positive are strongly recommended to stay home and isolate for a minimum of five days.
- Symptomatic students or staff should not attend school, even if failing to test positive on a RAT or PCR.
Close Contacts: Children who are household clsoe contacts can continue to attend school provided they are symtopm free and test negative daily. This should occur while household members are in isolation.
Masks: Staff and students who wish to wear a mask will continue to be supported to do so. Masks are available from the administration office for anyone wishing to obtain one. Any staff or students who are close contacts are recommended to wear a mask indoors.
RAT Kits: RATs are available for all Victorians from council sites. Individuals can obtain two free packs (10 tests) for themselves and two free packs (10 tests) for each household member. People with disability and their carers can get up to four free packs (20 tests) in line with existing RAT distribution for people with disability. The RATs are available at the Civic Centre (25 Liebig Street) and the Archie Graham Community Centre (118 Timor Street). We also have RAT tests available from the front office.
Medically At Risk Students: Students who have chronic health conditions, especially affecting the respiratory system ie Asthma, must have up to date health support plans. Families who are unsure about the status of their child’s plan should make contact with teh school administration office.
General Illnesses: As we approach the winter months we encourage all families to be cautious when sending children to school who are still symptomatic with contagious diseases such as cold, flu etc.
Student Awards - Week 8
Learning Walks
Parents and Friends Social Group News
Meeting
Our meeting was held last Tuesday night where we finalised plans for the student disco and Pie Drive. It was a nice quick meeting, thank you to everyone who braves the cold weather to come out. If you have ideas of what our social event could be for Term 3 please email parents@sjdennington.catholic.edu.au
Our next meeting will be held in the Gathering Space on Tuesday 18th July at 7.00pm.
Pie Drive
Thank you to all of the families who placed orders to fill their freezers. All orders have now been placed and pick up will be later this week before we break for holidays. Keep an eye on the facebook page for details regarding pick up.
Student Disco
Our Student Disco was held last Friday and it was great to see all of the smiles on the children's faces.
Thank you to all of the Parent’s and Students for being so patient with the sign in and out process. A big thanks to all of the parent volunteers who helped out on the night. Don’t forget to log your participation hours!
The night was a huge success thanks to DJ Sommertime and MC Megan who created a great atmosphere. There would have been some very tired children from all of the dancing they did.
A massive THANK YOU to Dominique who organised the whole event and set it up to be the great night it was. A lot of hours and sleepless nights went into making sure our children would have a night they will be talking about for a long time.
Dennington's Day Out!
This year’s ‘Dennington’s Day Out’ will be held on Sunday 12th November. For further information, or to discuss the Corporate Sponsorship packages below, please contact ddo@sjdennington.catholic.edu.au
The next meeting will be held at the Cally Hotel on 12th July at 7.00pm.
Cake Raffle
Each week on a Friday, 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 Friday. The Johnnies will come around to the classrooms during the day to write out tickets and collect money.
The following families are rostered on this week:
Kotwica, King, Kermeen and Romanes
School Sponsorship
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.
A big thank you to Fry Painting, O'Brien Electrical Warrnambool, Brownies Shed, Tubbie & Rayz Indoor Batting house and Carry On Travel who sponsor our school!
Star of the Sea Bulletin
Sunday Mass is held at 10.00am 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
Monday 19th June: Student Reports released at approx 2.30pm.
Friday 23rd June: End of Term 2. School concludes at 2.30pm.
Monday 10th July: Start of Term 3.
Wednesday 12th July: DDO Meeting at the Cally Hotel at 7.00pm.
Tuesday 18th July: Parents and Friends Social Club Meeting at 7.00pm in the Gathering Space.
Tuesday 25th July: Learning Walk at 9.00am
Friday 25th August: Learning Walk at 9.00am