August 26th, 2024: Newsletter #26
- Acknowledgement of Country
- Week 7 Prayer: Social Justice Sunday
- From the Principal
- 2025 Traineeships
- P&F Major Raffle
- Art Show- This Wednesday!!
- Goodstart Kinder Visit
- Hands on Learning
- Melbourne Renegades visit
- Digi Tech
- Father's Day Breakfast-RSVP's due by 4.oopm
- St. John's Got Talent
- Student News
- Student Awards
- Around our School- Week 6
- Happy Birthday
- Parents & Friend's Social Group
- 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 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 7 Prayer: Social Justice Sunday
Yesterday, the Australian Catholic Bishops produced a Social Justice Sunday Statement. This 2024 statement is titled TRUTH AND PEACE - A GOSPEL WORD IN A VIOLENT WORLD.
The bishops explore that peacemaking involves building a culture of dialogue and encounter. Education, as we know, plays a vital role in promoting peace. The statement explores the concept of the Architecture of Peace, or the real steps we take to create peace. Catholic Education in our Diocese, together with Catholic Education right across the globe has recognised the importance of building peace in our schools and wider world. A peace that reveals the presence and love of God. One of the building blocks of this Architecture of Peace is dialogue. Here is some wisdom from the statement.
Genuine dialogue seeks the truth despite these differences and requires that all involved in the dialogue bring respect and openness to the table. The Pope insists that there are fundamental, objective truths which all participants can strive to discover and accept despite their differences.
A culture of dialogue presumes a culture of encounter which is therefore another essential element of “the architecture of peace”. A culture of encounter is grounded upon the recognition of the dignity and rights of all people, especially those who are vulnerable, powerless or on the margin.
Instead of closing in on ourselves and clinging to our own positions and convictions, we choose instead to welcome opportunities to listen to others and understand what they think and why. This is the opposite of life in a bubble or in an ideological echo-chamber which a post-truth world imposes. It involves the attempt to see the truth of the other, since we cannot make peace with someone we cannot see. Only a new kind of seeing will enable the connection that dialogue presumes. p.8
From: https://socialjustice.catholic.org.au/2024/07/25/social-justice-statement-2024-25/
From the Principal
Welcome everyone to the new school week. Please note the following information;
2025 Enrollments & Classes: Over the course of our next month we are deciding what our class structure will look for 2025. if you are aware that your child will not be at St. John’s in 2025 then can you please contact Ben van de Camp as soon as possible.
Catholic schools are leaders in Student Wellbeing: The recently released NAB Education Insights Special Report, part of their 2024 State of Education Series, has found that students attending Catholic secondary schools rated their emotional and mental wellbeing the highest of any Australian school sector.
The score for Catholic schools was 68.5, on a scale of 0 to 100, which was higher than independent schools at 66.6 and government schools at 64.
The Victorian Catholic Education Authority (VCEA) is pleased by the results of the research, which reflect the strong commitment to pastoral care shown by principals and school staff in Catholic schools.
Catholic school students also reported the lowest feelings of loneliness, which speaks to the strong commitment by Catholic schools to involve families, parishes and the wider community in the life of the school.
The reported scores for emotional and mental wellbeing and loneliness are both improvements on 2023 results.
Read the NAB Education Insights Special Report below.
We look forward to the week ahead, Ben.
2025 Traineeships
We have advertised 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. Further details can be found on our website under the employment tab.
P&F Major Raffle
It's that time of year again where we ask families to join in the P&F's Major Raffle. Each family will today receive 5 tickets to sell and these have been sent home with the eldest child, if you do not receive your tickets then please contact the school and if you require additional tickets, please contact the office.
Payment methods are either cash or via Bank Transfer into the P&F account- if completing bank transfer please make sure you put Raffle and family name in the relevant area.
This is an important fundraiser for our school and we thank families in advance for their support.
If in the instance you are unable to sell all or some of your tickets, please ensure they are returned to school by Friday September 13th.
Art Show- This Wednesday!!
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, please do not arrive early as you will have to wait until your child's allotted time, this will allow sufficient time for all children and their families to view the displays.
We look forward to sharing the creativity with you!
Goodstart Kinder Visit
On Wednesday 21st August, The Goodstart Dennington 4 year old Kindergarten children visited our school.
The School Leaders and Johnnies greeted the children as they arrived and we started off by reading them a Pete The Cat Book. We then had a dance together and participated in a few activities such as colouring in, puzzles, reading books, playing in the sandpit and on the playground as well as visiting and feeding the chickens. We had a great time with the Kinder children and look forward to visiting their centre again as well as having them return to our school in Term 4.
By Charlotte, Archie, Jagger, Pippa, Imogen, Jasper, Dexter and Dusty.
Hands on Learning
Melbourne Renegades visit
A large group of Grade 3/4 students participated in a cricket clinic last Wednesday. We were fortunate to have a meet and greet with Melbourne Renegades player, Georgia Prestwidge. Our kids loved asking her questions and each student took home a signed ball from her. Our students also were involved in some skill based activities, which were enjoyed by all!
Digi Tech
This term the Grade 3-6 children have had a lot of fun learning how to program robots! We borrowed a special robot kit called Kai's Clan from the Adelaide University Library.
The kids worked in pairs, to solve puzzles. They have shown persistence and patience as they worked together to write code for their robots. They even learned how to fix problems when their robots didn't do what they wanted!
Jayne Brown
Father's Day Breakfast-RSVP's due by 4.oopm
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 4.00pm today, Monday 26th August. Breakfast will consist of 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
Our first round of Semi-Finals was incredibly impressive! The students were all so brave and gave it their all on stage in front of most of the school! We can't wait to see the remaining 3 weeks of performances. Students that make it through to the grand final will not require a new performance - they will be polishing their semi-final performance. The grand final will take place on Wednesday September 18th at 9.30am in the Stadium. Familes are most welcome to attend. All the best to the performers!
Any questions, please feel free to email.
Amy Atwell - aatwell@sjdennington.catholic.
Student News
Nala and Macy had another busy weekend with the Hosham Calistenics competition. They came away with three 1st place, one 2nd, one 3rd and an Honorable Mention. Placing 1st overall in their aggregate.
Evie and Ivy took part in two dance concerts on the weekend for Dance Studio 101. They had a ball and danced their little hearts out!
Marlie also danced in a concert for Dance Studio 101 and loved every minute!
Amazing girls- well done to you all!!
Student Awards
Around our School- Week 6
Happy Birthday
Happy Birthday to Jaylah D, Matthew H, Brax C, Armani S, Xander A, Zahli C and Marlie H 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.
Father's Day Stall
A huge thank you to Regina & Jo for your time in organising our Father’s Day stall and all our volunteers helping the children shop today. We appreciate your time.
Dennington's Day Out
Next meeting will be Wednesday 18th September 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.
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. Please note there are only a couple of spots left for this Saturday in Koroit.
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 27th Aug 9.00am - Taliah, Rebecca B, Melissa C and Jodi D.
Wednesday 28th Aug 12.00pm - Melanie K, Estee S and Jayne L.
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 2nd September:
Olam, Osborne, Page and Palmer.
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
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
Saturday 31st August: Family Photo Fundraiser in Koroit
Saturday 7th September: Family Photo Fundraiser in Warrnambool Botanic Gardens
Wednesday 18th September: St John's Got Talent Final at 9.30am in the Stadium
Wednesday 18th September: St John's annual Football/Netball Day (Dress in your favourite teams colours)
Wednesday 18th September: DDO Meeting at 7.15pm in the Gathering Space
Friday 20th September: Final day of Term 3
Monday 7th and Tuesday 8th October: School Closure Days
Wednesday 9th October: Students commence