We respectfully acknowledge, and pay our respects to the Elders of the Kulin Nation, both past and present, as the Traditional Custodians of the land on which St John the Baptist Catholic Primary School is situated.

Dear Parents & Guardians

We have a worldwide audience: Our Grandparents ZOOM Liturgy on 5th November was well attended. I received some wonderful feedback from a grandmother in Portugal:

I have three grandchildren at St Johns.  I just wanted to tell you how much it meant for all three of them to actually be able to see Maria, (Nanna) in Portugal on the Grandparents day ZOOM. We forget that the grandparents that live far away miss out on so much. Who knows when she will feel comfortable traveling overseas again.

A huge thank you to Mrs Hance and the school leaders for leading such a special celebration.

Teaching Structure 2022: Our teaching structure for the 2022 School Year has now been finalised as follows: 

• Foundation -  Chantelle Davies 
• Foundation - Georgia Williamson
• Grade 1/2  -  Brooke Baker & Raelee Browning
• Grade 1/2  -  Olivia Hunt
• Grade 1/2  -  Bernadette Hance & Anna Hughes
• Grade 3/4  -  Danielle Kemp & Jodi Kennedy
• Grade 3/4  -  Sarah Manelski & Rebecca Taylor
• Grade 4/5  -  Rhiannon McFarlane & Jacqui Dennis
• Grade 5/6  -  Alycia Matthews
• Grade 5/6  -  Daniel Stark
• Sport/PE - Jacqui Dennis
• Art - Simone Vanderputt
• Italian - Simone Vanderputt
• STEM - Rebecca Taylor
• Drama - Rhiannon McFarlane

School Attendance Policy/Student Absences: A quick reminder to all families that schools are required by law to account for all students each day. This is achieved by twice daily marking of the roll, confirming students who are absent and obtaining a reason for student absences in writing.  

We are required to account for all students, be they present or absent, at the beginning of the school day. How you can assist with this process: 

• Parents are required to submit a Skoolbag Absentee Form (via the Eforms section of the Skoolbag App) at their earliest convenience on or prior to their child’s absence - Ideally this would be submitted prior to 9am. 

• If you have forgotten to submit an Absentee Form you will be sent a text reminder - please ensure this is actioned at your earliest convenience. 

• If your Skoolbag App is not working please email both Di (dohehir@stjohnskwr.catholic.edu.au) & Nancy (nrintoule@stjohnskwr.catholic.edu.au) to advise the reason for your child's absence and their likely return to school date. 

• What if an absence advice is not submitted - by law, if we have not received an absence advice from a parent and attempts to contact them are unsuccessful we are required to then make contact with the emergency contacts to ascertain your child’s whereabouts and reason for absence. 

If you require further clarification of this policy please follow the link to our website: 

https://www.stjohnskwr.catholic.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/DOSCEL-School-Attendance-Policy.pdf

Colour Run (Whole School): To celebrate the end of the year and to farewell our wonderful Grade 6’s, we are holding a Colour Run on Friday 10th December.

The children, in their grade levels, will run through an obstacle type course where teachers will spray Indian Holu colour powder on the children’s clothing. Note: This is not compulsory and children may opt for the NO colour run.

Children wishing to participate, are encouraged to wear eye protection (swimming goggles work well) and a white or light coloured t-shirt to show off the colours. Appropriate enclosed footwear must be worn. 

The Hulu colour powder is non-toxic, non-flammable, skin safe, biodegradable and environmentally friendly.  Made of corn starch and food grade colours, it is safe for all.

An example can be watched:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyGDsS3DzWw&feature=emb_logo

Permissions for this event will be sought via Operoo shortly, please ensure permissions are actioned in a timely manner. 

End of Day Operoo Form: Commencing next week the end of day Operoo form will only need to be completed if you are picking up from the car park (staggered times will no longer apply with all students being dismissed at 3:10pm), all requirements in relation to social distancing and gathering still apply to all areas of school. Please note the following: 

• If you require car park pick up on any days for the week the Operoo form MUST be completed by 12noon on Mondays.
• Please remind your children of  their end of day movements each day ie. OSHC, meeting family member at the side gate etc

• Bus travellers - you will receive an Operoo form to complete in relation to bus travel for the remainder of the year, please read this information carefully and complete by no later than 10am, Friday 19 November to allow for organisation of bus lists for the coming week. 

School Hats: A reminder that during Term 4 school hats must be worn at recess, lunch and for all outside activities. This is in line with our SunSmart policy. If students do not have a hat they will need to stay under the veranda at recess and lunchtime.  Hats can be purchased online from the uniform shop.

School-age children and TV, YouTube, games and movies:

‘There’s a rising trend of children watching adult content. Sex scenes, violence and inappropriate language, once shown on television during an adults-only time, are becoming staple viewing for many of today’s children. 

In a recent poll of 1,800 US parents, 40% admitted allowing their children to watch movies that are unsuitable for their age group.

Michael Grose when speaking with Aussie parents suggests that the trends are similar here. ‘Very few of the parents he spoke with referred to the classification guidelines when choosing content for their children’.

From conversations with our children, and observing the games they like to play, it is evident that many are exposed to violent games, movies or video clips.

(Please read the full article via download below).

Regards 

Chris Dortmans, Principal

It is wonderful to be back at school and well into the swing of classroom life once again!

In the senior levels we have enjoyed spending time re-establishing friendships and participating in plenty of team building and wellbeing activities, as well as making sure we are working hard on our learning goals. We are having regular brain breaks including some mask-free time outside and games/exercise to ease our way back.

In the classroom we have had a cross-curricular focus on the local creation story ‘Bunjil the Eagle’, incorporating Literacy (reading, vocabulary and writing), Maths (mapping), Religion (Creation) and Inquiry (Australian History).

Crazy Sock Day was a lot of fun and we thank you all for participating and your generous donations. As we move into our next Religion unit based on Advent, we invite all families to join us in prayer via Zoom. For the 4/5/6 grades this will be held on November 22nd at 7pm and for our 3/4 grades the following Monday, November 29th at 7pm. Zoom links for these events will be sent out through Seesaw.

Thanks again for all your support throughout the year, as the Grade 6 students begin to prepare for Graduation we are reminded again just how quickly time flies! Let’s all make the most of being back at school and ensure the remainder of the year is memorable for all.

It is wonderful to be resuming the Junior News after so long apart. Grades Foundation, One and Two have all returned to school life with ease! It is almost like we never left! Upon our return Junior students have engaged in fantastic lessons in all areas of the curriculum.

In English students have completed their 5 Fairy tales Unit. All students from Grades F-6 explored the same 5 Fairy Tales at differing levels of learning. The Fairy tales included; Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs, Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk and the Ugly Duckling. For the next 3 weeks all children will be engaging in a film study. Foundation students will be exploring 3 short films with matching texts. This week they will be studying ‘The Gruffalo’, written by Julia Donaldson. The will be learning about vocabulary, adjectives and comparing and contrasting. Grades 1/2 will be extending their learning in their film study about ‘The Gruffalo’s Child’ also written by Julia Donaldson and the sequel to ‘The Gruffalo’. They will be learning about Julia Donaldson as an author, understanding rhyming words, comparing and contrasting, vocabulary and visualising.

We would like to thank all Junior families for their ongoing commitment to reading and literacy skills at home over the course of Remote Learning. Remember to keep practise reading daily for 10+ minutes and include practise of your M100 Words.

A reminder that Scholastic Book Club orders close on Friday 19 November, brochures for this were sent home with all children two weeks ago. 

Please Note: Late orders cannot be accepted. 

Orders are usually delivered within 2 weeks of the closing date. 

Including the communities of:  St Joseph’s Iona,  St James Nar Nar Goon,  Holy Family Maryknoll,  St John’s Koo Wee Rup and St Mary’s, Lang Lang

Administrator:  Fr. Peter Kooloos  Ph: 03 5997 1510   Fax: 03 5997 2220 Mob: 0438 622 766

Baptism Enquiries: Carmelina De Cesari   Mob: 0401 911 092   carmelinadecesari@gmail.com

WEEKEND MASS TIMES: Masses have resumed in line with current guidelines. Please contact the Parish office on 5997 1510 for further confirmation of guidelines if required.