Week 10 September 11th 2023: Newsletter #29
- Acknowledgement of Country
- Week 10 Prayer
- From the Principal
- Important School reminders
- Assembly
- Term 4 Important Dates
- Hats
- Footy/Netball Day- This Wednesday!
- St. John's Dance Concert
- Around our School- Week 9
- TheirCare
- Student Awards- Week 9
- Happy Birthday
- Grandparent's Day
- 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 10 Prayer
From the Principal
Gratitude: My sincere thanks to all community members for your support and commitment as we have navigated our way through many ups and downs over the course of this term. Its hard to believe we have hit this point in the year already but it has certainly been a busy term. We enjoy now 2 weeks to take a deep breath, enjoy some quiet time and then get set for the final term of the year.
Staffing Updates: This Friday we farewell Nathan Porter from our teaching staff as he moves to Sydney to be closer to his fiance. Nathan has been a great acquisition to our staff and has really built strong connections with students, staff and parents and we will miss his deep thinking and analytical mind. Good luck Nathan.
We look forward to Grace Lucas moving into the Gr 3/4 team, she will spend most of this week working in this team and spending time with the children in those classes.
We are also excited to welcome Kristie Painter back onto staff next term as she returns to part time work following the birth last year of her son George. Kristie will fill a variety of roles on her working days of Monday & Tuesday. Welcome back Kristie.
Congratulations Dennington Dogs: Congrats to the U13 Netball team from the DFNC who won the WDFNL Premiership on Saturday. The side features current student Lexi as well as several fiormer students. Good work Dogs!
Enjoy your holidays, Ben
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.
Assembly
Assembly will be held this Friday at the earlier time of 1.30pm in the Stadium. School concludes at 2.20pm.
Term 4 Important Dates
- Wednesday October 11th: Grandparent's day
- Monday October 23rd: School Closure Day- no students attend on this day.
- October 24th/25th: Gr 3/4 Camp
- Monday October 30th: F-4 swimming program commences for 2 weeks
- November 13th/14th/15th: Gr 5/6 Camp
- November 30th: Foundation Extended Stay program
- December 4th/5th/6th/8th: Gr 5/6 Surf Awareness program
- Thursday December 7th: Gr 1/2 Extended Stay program
- Wednesday December 13th: Mass of Thanksgiving @ 10am
- Thursday December 14th: Gr 6 Graduation Ceremony
Hats
Advanced warning that hats will be required to be worn in Term 4 as per our sunsmart policy, so it's a good idea to hunt around for it now or purchase a new one from Lowes if need be. Students without a hat will play in the undercover area.
Summer Dresses
We have a few summer dresses left over from our discontinued uniform shop that we are clearing out for $5 each. Cash only. Sizes 10 -18. Please call the office if you are interested in purchasing a dress.
Footy/Netball Day- This Wednesday!
St. John's Dance Concert
So much fun was had at our bi-annual school concert, with the theme Dance Through the Decades. With a crowd of over 800 people, students took to the stage proudly and performed dances they had been practicing for all of term 3. We kicked the night off with everyone in the stadium dancing to the Macarena followed by the staff performing a surprise dance that they had also been practicing for weeks. The Foundation students then danced through the 1930s and 40s. The 5/6 students finished the dances in the current decade, where everyone again was invited to take part in the Nutbush.
A big thank you to all the parents who had all the children in amazing costumes. The children not only did a fantastic job with their dances but also with their respectful behaviour and appreciation of each other's dances.
A huge thanks to Mrs Madden, Mrs Atwell, Miss Lane and Miss Mugavin for the countless hours they put into this event.
Around our School- Week 9
TheirCare
To make a booking with TheirCare, our outside school hours care provider please click on the following link https://theircare.com.au/
Please select St. Johns Dennington as the booking location.
Student Awards- Week 9
Happy Birthday
A big Happy Birthday to Jaxon C, Heidi B and Gracie S who celebrate their special day this week. We hope you have a magical day!
Grandparent's Day
Please click this link to RSVP by Monday 9th October
Parents and Friends Social Group News
Meeting
Our next meeting will be held next term- Tuesday 3rd October 6.30pm at the Cally Hotel. An RSVP will be in the facebook group closer to the date.
Dennington's Day Out!
Would you like to be a part of the pop up shop section at DDO?
Applications are now being processed and we would love to hear from you! Please send an email to ddo@sjdennington.catholic.edu.au for more information.
We have begun putting together prizes for the annual DDO Raffle. If you would like to donate or have suggestions of a business we could approach please get in contact with Kate Cuzens or email ddo@sjdennington.catholic.edu.au
Our next meeting will be held on 13th September 7.00pm in the Gathering Space.
$5,000 Major Raffle
Thank you to everybody who purchased a ticket for our $5,000 raffle. The prize was a $5,000 voucher to Warrnambool italktravel & cruise and the winner was drawn at the dance concert last week. We raised over $6,000 to go towards new play equipment for the school!
Wednesday Treats
This is our final week of Wednesday Treats for the year. A huge thank you to Emily and Taliah for coordinating Wednesday Treats. You both have done an amazing job and your time and effort is very much appreciated. Also special thanks to our trusty weekly volunteers! Wednesday Treats will return in Term 2 and 3 next year.
Tuesday volunteers 9.00am: Emily, Taliah, Laura, Melanie and Rosemaria.
Wednesday volunteers 12.00pm: Jo, Issy and Jess.
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:
De Visscher, Dawson, Davies and Darmody.
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
Please note new date for the Dennington Oval LINK Celebration
Upcoming Events
Wednesday 13th September: DDO Meeting in the Gathering Space at 7.00pm
Friday 15th September: Last day of Term of 3 at 2.20pm
Monday 2nd October: Term 4 commences
Tuesday 3rd October: P & F Dinner Meeting at the Cally at 6.30pm
Wednesday 11th October: Grandparents & Special Friends Day
Friday 13th October: Healthy Moves Display in the Stadium
Monday 23rd October: School Closure Day
Tuesday 24th/Wednesday 25th October: Grade 3/4 Camp
Monday 30th October: F-4 Swimming program commences
Sunday 12th November: DDO