St John the Baptist Koo Wee Rup Newsletter

4 November 2021

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.

From the Principal

Principals Report

Dear Parents & Guardians

It was wonderful this morning to welcome back all grade levels. From the conversations of the children walking through the gate, they really enjoyed their long weekend, whether it be camping, trick or treating,  visiting family or down the beach.  The weather was much kinder than last Friday. 

As the students return, we have put into place a number of procedures to minimise the risk of COVID transmission. 

They include: 

    • ensuring any workers and visitors on-site meet the current vaccination requirements 

    • taking all steps possible to maximise external air flow and good ventilation 

    • wearing and encouraging the wearing of face masks 

    • implementing separate play areas and limiting mixing of student cohorts 

    • implementing staggered pick-up times to reduce congestion 

    • maintaining physical distancing between staff and, where possible, students 

    • maintaining strong hygiene practices. 

The most important action families can take to reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19, is to ensure that any unwell children remain at home and get tested, even with the mildest of symptoms. Everyone should consider their health before they attend work or school and ensure that they are free from coronavirus symptoms and have not had contact in the past 14 days with a person confirmed to have coronavirus or a person suspected to have coronavirus.

Last weekend the Catholic Community celebrated the feasts of All Saints and All Souls days. All Saints Day is a special feast day on which Catholics celebrate all the saints, known and unknown. While most saints have a particular feast day on the Catholic calendar (usually, though not always, the date of their death), not all of those feast days are observed. And saints who have not been canonised, but whose sainthood is known only to God—have no particular feast day. In a special way, All Saints Day is their feast. 

You may be interested to know that Halloween is connected to this Catholic recognition of those who have died. The eve of this festival is Halloween, also known as "All Hallows Eve." All Saints Day is celebrated November 1.

End of Day Operoo Form Reminders:

    • Parents are required to complete this each day.

    • The form opens at approx 3:30pm for the following day and closes at 12noon on the day it relates to - please ensure this is completed at your earliest convenience prior to the form closing to avoid unnecessary followup. 

    • If your child is absent please select the “My child will not be attending school on this day” option. 

School Hats: During Term 4, school hats must be worn at recess, lunch and 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.  Hats can be purchased online from the uniform shop.

Canteen: Canteen will recommence on Monday 8th Nov

    • Canteen days - Mondays & Thursdays - lunch orders only (no over the counter sales)  

    • All orders must be placed via CDFpay, orders close at 8:45am on canteen days

    • Families with credits in their CDFpay account are encouraged to use their credit balance before the end of the year

Whole School Liturgy: This Friday (5th November) would have traditionally been our Grandparents Day, however due to restrictions we cannot run this event. We still wish to  recognise how special Grandparents are with a whole school Liturgy at 11:30am. Further information and ZOOM link will be sent out soon - please share the link to Grandparents and invite them to take part. 

Class Structure 2022: Our classroom structure will remain the same as this year:

    • 2 x Foundation

    • 3 x Gr 1/2 

    • 2 x Gr 3/4

    • 1 x Gr 4/5 

    • 2 x Gr 5/6

Shortly we will begin the process of planning our class lists for the 2022 school year. Whilst this is a difficult and time consuming task, we are blessed to have knowledgeable staff who are aware of student needs and work collaboratively to make professional judgements in relation to class planning and student placement. 

When deciding our individual class structures, a number of factors are taken into account, which include:

    • Student’s social, emotional, academic and physical development
    • Student’s cognitive development
    • Student relationships
    • Smallest class sizes possible
    • Family dynamics, eg sibling placement
    • Teacher knowledge, skill and expertise
    • Enrolment numbers at the various levels


If your child has a particular need or there is important information that we should be aware of when considering class placement for the 2022 school year, we ask that parents put this information in writing and submit via email to principal@stjohnskwr.catholic.edu.au before Tuesday 9th November.

Regards 

Chris Dortmans, Princiapl

SOCKTOBER - Crazy Sock Day - Friday 12 November

Wear your CRAZY SOCKS to school on this day - put them on your feet, hands, in your hair etc), in conjunction with school uniform.  Gold coin donation in support of Catholic Mission. 

The St John’s community have always been very generous in donating to this cause. This has been a very difficult year for lots of people globally and especially those people who live in constant fear of poverty and illness. We understand that the hardships placed on our own families have been very different this year, so we ask that you support this cause if you are able.

Friends of St Johns - Card Fundraiser & Scholastic Book Club

CARD FUNDRAISER

Mixed box of 40 cards for $30. 

These are available now via CDFpay:

https://stjohnskwr.cdfpay.org.au/MonitorOnline/app/#/login

Orders will close at 12noon on Friday 5 November. Late orders cannot be accepted.

Delivery is expected a couple of weeks after orders close.  

SCHOLASTIC BOOK CLUB

Scholastic Book Club brochures will be sent home by the end of the week for families interested in purchasing. See brochure for how to complete your purchase online. 

Orders will close Friday 19 November, late orders cannot be accepted. 

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

Dates

Term 4 
Fri 5 Nov - Whole School Liturgy via ZOOM, 11:30am (Grandparents invited to participate via ZOOM - please share the link with them)
Fri 12 Nov - Crazy Sock Day (Gold coin donation) 
Wed 8 Dec - Grade 6 Graduation (TBC - details be provided to families in the coming weeks as we are able to confirm planning) 
Fri 10 Dec - Reports Home 

Mon 13 Dec - Meet Your Teacher Day

Thu 16 Dec - Students Finish

Uniform Shop

The uniform shop is open for online ordering only at present, if placing an order you will be contacted when this is ready for collection. Please ensure you sign in using the QR code provided, wear a mask and maintain social distancing in line with current COVID restrictions when collecting. 

If you need to exchange an item please e-mail Belinda at uniform@stjohnskwr.catholic.edu.au with details and return the item via the office (please ensure it is unwashed with tags still attached) and your name is attached to the item returned. Exchanges will be processed on the next uniform shop day. 

For Uniform ordering through CDF pay—Visit https://stjohnskwr.cdfpay.org.au  or scan QR Code. (Guidelines for setting up your CDFpay account can also be found on Skoolbag).

As we are a ‘Sun Smart School’ we also require the children to wear a school hat from September to April with the ‘No Hat-No Play’ policy strictly enforced during 1st and 4th terms.

School uniform guidelines are available in the Parent Information section of Skoolbag, on our website or a hard copy can be obtained from the office. 

School Banking

School Banking -  Currently suspended due to Remote Schooling. Usual banking day is Wednesday each week.  

If you are wishing to set up a new school banking account please visit: www.commbank.com.au/schoolbanking

Birthdays - 28 Oct - 10 Nov – Annika Miller, Zofia Town, Lacie Brown-Blackley, Indy Brady, Isabelle Wlazly, Oscar Wilson, Samuel Emanuelli, Oliver Emanuelli, Keira Kawalko, Harper Hill, Mitchell McConnachie, Rory Quinn

Koo Wee Rup Catholic Parishes in Partnership

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. 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCL-fMRNQrnl0Y_VRgO0u0DQ

St Joseph's, Iona - Sunday 11am Holy Family, Maryknoll - 2nd Sunday, 8am 
St James, Nar Nar Goon - Saturday 6pmSt John's, Koo Wee Rup - Sunday 9:30am
St Mary's, Lang Lang - 3rd Sunday, 8am