October 8th 2024: Newsletter #30

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 1 Prayer

From the Principal

Welcome everyone to the new school term. Please note the following information;

Welcome Rylee: This week we welcome Rylee Hunt and her family into our school community. Rylee is in Gr 5 and will join 5/6MK and comes to us from Macarthur PS- we wish her well as she commences with us. 

Term 4 Assemblies: Our first assembly for term 4 will occur on Monday 14th October at 2.30pm. The schedule for our assemblies is as follows;

• Monday Oct 14th- 2TB
• Monday Oct 21st- FNR
• Monday Oct 28th- 1EK
• Monday Nov 4th- 3/4JM
• Monday Nov 11th- 2RH
• Monday Nov 18th- FHD
• Monday Nov 25th- 1GL
• Monday Dec 2nd- 3/4AM
• Monday Dec 9th- 3/4DH
• Wednesday Dec 18th- Gr 5/6

2025 Class Structure: We are pleased to confirm that in 2025 we will have the following structure. You will notice that Kristie Painter will return to a classroom role in 2025 and also we welcome back to the teaching staff Katie Buwalda. 

• Foundation (3 classes until 1.10pm then they will combine into 2 classes) taught by Hayley Dwyer, Kristie Painter and Katie Buwalda
• Grade 1- 2 classes taught by Ella Kissick and Grace Lucas
• Grade 2- 2 classes taught by Rick Hynes and Natalie Ryan
• Grade 3- 2 classes taught by Megan Kelly and Daniel Harrington
• Grade 4- 2 classes taught by Alicia Moloney and Jordan Miller
• Grade 5/6- 2 classes taught by Kristie Prendergast and Nathan McInerney

The above groupings represent a continued move in our shift in philosophy from multiage classes to straight age classes, we expect this transition will be fully implemented within the next 4-5 years. As explained last year, staff have considered this move for a period of time now, staff still possess the fundamental belief that there is no classroom that exists where all students are at the same level and require the same things, delivered in the same way. So regardless of classroom structure, a child’s education will come down to the quality, effectiveness and commitment of the school and the teacher/team responsible for that child.

At St. John's every teacher focusses on creating a classroom that caters to all children as individuals and identifying opportunities to extend or support learning. Effective teachers engage all students and students who are motivated and interested will learn whether the class is structured by grade, age, ability, or multi-grade.

Class Placement: 
Class Placement refers to the placement by staff of each child into an appropriate classroom for 2025 based on learning levels and needs, social development, and classroom size.
The guidelines staff use for student placement at St. John’s include: academic levels, individual social/emotional/behavioural needs and peer relationships. Other practical factors to impact on the placement will include teacher recommendations, class size, groupings available, and a range of abilities in each class group. 

Families are able to contribute to this process by informing the school of any specific requests or thoughts regarding class placement for you child/children. These requests are to be emailed to principal@sjdennington.catholic.edu.au no later than Monday October 17th. Any considerations provided after this date will not be taken into consideration. 

In all these processes, professional, respectful co-operation and student welfare will be upmost in all our minds; we thank you in anticipation of your considered support.  

We look forward to the week ahead, Jan & Amy.

Uniform

As we enter Term 4 students are welcome to wear their summer uniform, but for the first few weeks of term children can also continue to wear their winter uniform if they wish.

Hats must now be worn by all students during break times, students without one will play in the undercover area. We do not provide spare hats for students.

SUMMER UNIFORM:

Girls: Blue and white fine check gingham dress or light blue polo shirt with logo and blue shorts, white socks, black shoes, navy windcheater or polar fleece jumper with school logo, school hat.

Boys: Grey shorts, light blue polo shirt with logo, grey socks, black shoes, navy windcheater or polar fleece jumper with school logo, school hat.

Please make sure all items of clothing are clearly labelled.

Lunch Orders

Term 4 Lunch Orders: We have now arranged with Morris Road Takeaway to become the supplier of our lunch orders, this service will commence in the week commencing Monday October 21st. Lunch orders will be available on Tuesdays and Fridays. Families can send their orders into the office the day prior or directly to Morriss Road Takeaway, 116 Morriss Road Warrnambool.

School Camps

This term our camps program operates throughout all grades with extended stays, school sleepovers and off site stays taking place.

For many students, school camp is the highlight of the year. It’s a chance to learn away from the walls of the classroom and engage in activities outside of the mainstream curriculum. Being away from home can also be a challenging time for students (and parents), however attending camp is an important milestone and the benefits are overwhelmingly positive. Benefits include but are not limited to:

• Builds independence
• Builds Resilience and Confidence
• Builds Relationships
• Builds Social Skills
• Builds Physical Fitness
• Builds Connection Between Teachers and their Students
• Most importantly, camps are just plain good fun.

A special thanks to the staff (Teachers, LSOs and Trainees); without whom our camp program would not be possible.

Roundabout Construction

The intersection of Russell Street and Coghlan's Road is now closed to allow the completion of the new roundabout. 

It is expected this closure will be in place until Friday 18th October 2024. 

During this time there will be three school pick up locations:

1. Russell Street loop - as per normal

2. Coghlan's Road loop - as per normal, with reduced space available for car line up along Coghlan's Road

3. Dennington Football Oval - children will wait inside of the netball court, with a staff member, and we will create a loop type set up around the oval under the trees near the netball court. Your child will be called as you pull up.  

Regional Athletics Carnival

Good luck to the following students who are competing at the Regional Athletics Carnival in Ballarat this Friday:

Charlotte S (1500m, 800m), Greta G (1500m), Maddi H (1500m), Charlotte M (high jump, 100m), Emmillion O (high jump, boys 9/10 yrs relay team), Harvey O (boys 9/10 yrs relay team), Harley J (100m, 200m, boys relay team), Harry M (200m, boys 9/10 yrs relay team).

We wish you all the best, it is an amazing achievement to reach this level and we are very proud of you all.

Happy Birthday

Best wishes to Charlotte B, Nellie M, Lottie S, Aurora B, Evie D, Bentley H and Harper F who celebrate their birthday this week! We hope you have a fantastic day.

Belated birthday wishes to Imogen B, Caleb G, Evie S, Nash H, Jude M, Harper H, Jaxon B, Milla B, Arlo O, Dakota A, Zahli H and Fern S who celebrated their special day during the holidays- we hope it was a great day for you all!

Holiday News!

We love hearing about what our students get up to over the holiday break. Thank you for sharing your adventures with our school community.

Charlotte's team at LockArd callisthenics came runners up State champions in Melbourne! 

Beatrix's family visited South Korea! This was Beatrix's 20th county she has visited and her parents 50th! That is impressive!

Marcus has played soccer the last seven months for Warrnambool Wolves and didn’t lose a game, his team won the finals in the west region! Well done! Meanwhile Evie travelled to Sydney to meet her gorgeous new baby cousin Boughey!

Marlie and Amber thoroughly enjoyed the production Mary Poppins!  Marlie, Nash, Arlo and family went camping at their favourite spot Rocklands and celebrated Nash's 11th birthday with family and friends while they were there- Happy Birthday Nash!

Nikson and Easton visited many destinations during the holidays but a standout was Kryal Castle in Ballarat where they enjoyed an epic day of dragon-fueled fun! 

Zivah's family spent time at the beautiful scenic Blue Lake whilst visiting Mount Gambier. 

Around our School - Week 10

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Parents & Friend's Social Group

Dennington's Day Out

Our next meeting will be THIS Thursday 10th October at 7:15pm in the Gathering Space. We would love to see some new faces if you would like to be involved.

Dennington’s Day Out is fast approaching and there will be opportunity for participation points for those wanting to help out. 

If you would like to help out with sponsor and family packs, we will be completing them this Friday from 9.00am, Please remember to sign in at the office.

This Sunday we are looking for some helpers to help with show bag making. This will be done in the stadium from 2.00pm-4.00pm. 

We will require helpers on Saturday 9th Nov to set up and also from 7.00am on Sunday 10th Nov to set up and from 3.00pm to pack up.

Family packs will be coming out shortly and will consist of information regarding rides wristband purchasing and raffle tickets.

WANTED - Haunted House Decorations

We are having a haunted house at DDO this year! If you have any spooky ideas or you happen to have any items that we could please use for our Haunted House at DDO it would be greatly appreciated. Please contact Julie Bartlett at the office or our DDO committee. 

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 next Wednesday 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 14th October:

Ryan (Franklin), Ryan (Lyla), Sachse, Schneebeli and Scott.

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

Wednesday 9th October: Students commence at 8.55am

Thursday 10th October: DDO Meeting at 7.15pm in the Gathering Space

Friday 11th October: Regional Athletics

Tuesday 15th October: P & F Meeting at 7.00pm in the Gathering Space

Friday 18th October: Grade 5/6 DAMSWAK Cricket Carnival 

Monday 21st October: Grade 3/4 Hooptime - Hamilton (more details to follow)

Monday 28th October: Grade 5/6 Hooptime - Hamilton (more details to follow)

Sunday 10th November: Dennington's Day Out