February 10th, 2025: Newsletter #3

Acknowledgement of Country

St. John’s school community respect and honour Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders as the traditional custodians of the land on which we learn, pray and grow. 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. 

Specialist Day Swap- This week.

For this week only specialist days will swap:

Juniors F - 2 will have their specialist day on Thursday and will wear their sports uniform on this day.

Middle/Senior 3-6 will have their specialist day on Friday and will wear their sports uniform on this day.

Thank you in advance.

Week 3 Prayer

From the Principal

Hello everyone, welcome to another week at St John's.

As we journey this week into week 3 of term, the reality of what school likes like returns for all students and their families. For some it will be easy, for others this year will present challenges. Some approach school reluctantly, some full of excitement, others with apprehension. And parents and caregivers and teachers will do their best to guide them through this adventure, the highs and the lows, the successes and the failures. Watching the little ones step out of home for the first time in this new stage of life brings many emotions. Some come with enthusiasm, others are wary and others are, to say the least, reluctant. They cling on to what they know.

The late Barry Dwyer was an educationalist and author of note. He had a profound understanding of the nature of education. In one of his books, he suggested that all students come with a set of questions that they try to answer over the years. 

Who am I?
Am I worthwhile? Am I competent?
What is of value, important?
Is the world to be trusted?
Can I make a difference?
Why am I here? Where am I going?
Why did this happen to me?
What should I celebrate?
Is there a God?
How could God love me?

They are good questions and some of them can take a long time to answer. For those teachers, parents and caregivers who accompany children and young people on their journey, it is worth taking some time to think about how you would answer them yourself and how you found out the answers. For example, little children know the answer to ‘Who am I’ in relation to their family but when they step out into the wider world of school that question requires a greater understanding. Who am I now in this group, in this place? What am I good at? Sometimes young people are told that you can do anything you want, you can be whatever you want and then they discover that isn’t true. So how do we help them discover what is worthwhile and how each of them can make a difference. How do we as parents or caregivers or teachers address that question now? And how we help our children to understand that they can make a difference.

How do our children come to answer the God questions? Just because we tell them that God exists is not enough. Awareness of God’s existence begins with an experience of awe and wonder, that there is something (someone) greater than just me and my awareness. In the words of Rabbi Abraham Herschel; The beginning of our happiness lies in the understanding that life without wonder is not worth living. What we lack is not a will to believe but a will to wonder. Awareness of the divine begins with awe and wonder.

How do we nurture that? Celebrating is such an important part of education, not just the successes and the highs but rejoicing in life itself. Jesus was a great teacher, not simply because he told good stories but because he connected with people, he listened deeply to them, he came to appreciate their deepest longings – he had a special ear for the marginalised, the outcast, those who received no hearing from others. He was a good teacher because he was hospitable, in other words he encouraged people to come, to talk, to explore. They did not feel condemned or stupid or outcasts – they felt safe in his presence.

As we reflect on the above, the challenge is for us all to reflect on that what we do, how we care for our children, how we encourage and support them, how we help them to discover new ways and new ideas, how we help them to appreciate each other is building a better world, a better future, helping to bring about the vision of God. And in doing so, may we always remember that we are all precious in God’s sight.

Late Arrival/ Early Departure or appointments during the school day: If a student leaves during the school day, they must be signed out at the Office by an adult. Similarly, if they are arriving late or leaving early, they must be signed in or out by an adult. 

Social Media Use by Primary Age Children: All families should be aware of recent legislation passed in Australia that bans children under the age of 16 from using most social media platforms. This law aims to protect young people from online harms, such as cyberbullying and exposure to inappropriate content, by ensuring that social media companies take responsibility for verifying users' ages and preventing underage access. The legislation has been passed by both houses of the Australian Parliament and will come into effect in late 2025, giving social media companies time to implement the necessary age-verification measures.
As a result, students will no longer be able to create or maintain accounts on platforms like TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram. This change may impact how students interact and communicate outside of school, and we encourage parents to discuss these new rules with their children to help them understand the importance of online safety. 

Attendance: As we commence the year I would like all families to understand the importance of prioritising attendance at school above many other things. Whilst we understand that at times, parents will go on holidays during school terms we are noticing a number of students are being withdrawn from school for non essential appointments. As staff, we ask all families to ensure that you are making attendance at school a high priority in order to ensure the best learning outcomes can be achieved for all children in our school. 

Japan Cultural Experience Trip 2025: Due to a lack of participants across all Warrnambool Network Catholic Primary Schools the 2025 Japan cultural experience trip has been cancelled. The program will be reviewed for viability in future years. 

Condolences: Our sympathies are with the family of our maintenance man Stephen, also known as Hawk, after his partner Roz passed away recently, Roz is also the great aunt of our student Turam. On a personal note Alison, Hannah and I are appreciative of the prayers and support following the death of Alison's mother Sue recently. May both Roz and Sue rest in peace. 

Enjoy the week ahead,  Ben.

2026 Foundation Enrolments

Whilst it seems very early, we are inviting exisiting school families to commence the enrolment process for 2026 Foundation enrolments in order to ascertain how may spots we have available for new families as we expect enrolment demand to be high again. This can be done via the enrolment tab on our school website. 

2025 Sacramental Program

In 2025 the Star of the Sea Parish are offering families, who have baptised Catholic children to have their children receive Sacraments as relevant to the child's grade level. The program is very child centred, and provides all families with the opportunity to support the child as they receive the sacrament.  

As an initial registration point, we ask all families who wish for their child/ children to participate in the Sacramental program to register their interest by completing the registration form linked here:https://forms.gle/3JXvKKsmtcKgfEs38

The key dates for these sacraments in 2025 are: 

Reconciliation (Grade 6)

• February 18th- Parent information meeting, 7pm at St Joseph's Church (students and their parents).
• March 24th- Reconciliation Education Day at Emmanuel College (students only).
• 3rd April- Reconciliation celebration, 6pm (students and their families)

Confirmation (Grade 3)

• April 28th- Parent information meeting, 7pm at St Joseph's Church. 
• May 11th- Presentation of candidates at Mass.
• May 27th- Confirmation celebration 6pm

Eucharist (Grade 4)

• July 29th- Parent information meeting, 7pm at St Joseph's Church. 
• August 5th- Eucharist Formation Day (school supported)
• August 10th-Presentation of candidates at Mass
• August 24th- Celebration of First Eucharist 

If you have any questions or would like to chat about this further please contact Grace Lucas at school or send an email to glucas@sjdennington.catholic.edu.au

Learning and Teaching with Jan & Amy

We are going to introduce different memebers of our staff through this section of the newsletter. We would love for you to meet the members of our Student Support Team.

Tell Me Abouts

This year we are commencing a new initiative that we hope will enhance relationships and communication between teaching staff and our school families.

Each term we publish a document in week 2 that outlines what is happening in class, we do this in the hope that families will sit with their child/ children and discuss what is happening in the classroom, this document is referred to as an "Ask Me About".

The new initiative is called "Tell Me About" where the teachers will sit and listen to parents/ guardians speak to their child's classroom teacher about their child. The session will run for ten minutes.

Some question prompts for you to consider could be but are certainly not limited to these.  

• When you think about your child, what makes you proud?
• Do you have any suggestions on how to best connect with your child?
• What sparks your child's interest/ passions?
• What triggers frustration or withdrawal in your child?
• Is there anything else you think I need to know?

The "Tell Me About" Sessions are for Parents/ Guardians and Teachers only, our students will be involved in the 3 Way Conversations which are held in term 2. 

For those families who need it, we will have staff available to supervise school aged children whilst you are attending your "Tell Me About" session. 

The "Tell Me About" sessions will be held on Monday Feb 17th and Tuesday Feb 18th from 2.00pm-5.00pm. Bookings are now open on PAM, click on Parent Teacher Interviews and select a time. Parents with more than one child are asked to leave  ten minutes in between bookings. If you require any assistance please contact the office.

Please note, Tell me About for Gr 4JM will take place on Wednesday February 26th. 

Bookings for "Tell Me Abouts" will close 4.00pm this Thursday February 13th. 

Financial Information

School fee statments will be emailed this week. If you do not receive your statement by the end of the week please contact the office.

If you hold a current Pension or Health Care Card, you may be eligible for one of the following support programs listed below. If you do think this applies to you, or have any questions regarding school fees please speak with Sarah Burchell, our Finance Officer.

The Family Fee Assistance scheme: Families who have a valid health care or concession card and qualify for the scheme will pay $520 per annum for primary school tuition fees. The discounted fee covers tuition and capital fees only. It does not cover additional charges such as camps, student fees, and excursions.  

Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF): If you are a parent/guardian who is new to the school, an existing parent/guardian and your circumstances have changed or if you have not previously applied for the CSEF allowance, please submit an application form to claim the CSEF allowance. The allowance is for eligible families who hold a valid meanstested concession card or are a temporary foster parent or a gold card veterans affairs pensioner. Payments are made to the school and will be deducted from a family’s school fees. Applications and a copy of your card need to be submitted by Thursday 3 July 2025 and returned to Sarah Burchell. Further details about the CSEF allowance can be found at the Department of Education and Training’s website.

School Savings Bonus: New families and new applicants that qualify for the Camps Sports & Excursion Fund will also be eligible for the School Savings Bonus. The $400 bonus will be provided directly to the school and will be applied directly to your fee account. The $400 School Saving Bonus is available for each child. That means an eligible family with three school-aged children will receive a total reduction of $1,200 to school fees. 

In 2025, our school fee structure, as approved by our Governing Authority DOBCEL is;

• Student Levy  $150
• Family fee  $1090
• Building Levy  $240
• Gr 5/6 Camp $350
• Gr 3/4 Camp  $200
• Gr F-4 Swimming $100
• Gr 5/6 Surf Awareness  $100
• Participation Levy  $200

Our fees only make up the difference between the Government (Federal and State) funding we receive and the amount the Government determines as the cost of educating a Primary student. Fees do not mean that we have extra money in our budget to expend on additional resources.

It is an expectation that school fee accounts are finalised by Term 4 each year. It is a good idea to plan how you are going  to pay your fees now as it is never pleasant for us, or you, if we have to chase up school fees at the end of the year.  We offer a variety of payment methods including direct transfer and EFT. We also offer direct debit for families each fortnight as an option to pay school fees. Direct debit is a good way to spread the cost throughout the year. School fee statements are emailed out in Week 3 each term. if you do not receive your statement please let the office know asap so we can update your email address.

Opening the Doors Foundation

The Opening the Doors Foundation provides grants to families to assist with the extra costs incurred in the schooling of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander primary or secondary school students. The 2025 Grant Round is now open and closes on 14th March 2025.

Please note that due to a substantial increase in applications, the Foundation’s Trustees have had to modify the eligibility criteria. The updated criteria and guidelines are outlined on both the Opening the Doors Foundation website and the Opening the Doors Foundation Application. 

Phone: 1300 236 356     Email: applications@openingthedoors.org.au

CDFpay

We are now using CDFpay for all online ordering such as lunch orders, Wednesday Treats, various events and fundraising activities. CDFpay is an app that you download to your phone. 

• In the app store search for CDFpay
• Create a new account
• When searching for our school, start with our postcode of 3280 and our school will come up in the shortened list to select from
• You will need to add each of your children and select their 2025 classroom. Please make sure this is correct, as this is where the lunch order will be delivered to. 

If you need any assistance please contact the office but it is important to note that due to privacy restrictions associated to this app, we can not add students or amend your account for you in any way.

Lunch Orders

Lunch orders from Morriss Road Takeaway begin tomorrow, Tuesday 11th February and are available to purchase on Tuesdays and Fridays each week. All orders are to be placed through CDFpay. 

There is no need to write your order on a bag and drop it in to school or the shop, orders that you place on the app will go directly to the shop and then delivered to school. The close off time for online ordering is 9.30am on the day. 

Breakfast Club

Breakfast Club resumes tomorrow- Tuesday 11th February! It is open to all students accross the school and runs weekly on a Tuesday morning from 8.15am - 8.45am in the Library, facilitated by Jasmine our Pastoral Care Leader and Mel, our newly appointed Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader. 

Breakfast Club gives students the opportunity to eat a wholesome, nutritious breakfast with their peers along with fostering positive impacts such as physical and mental health, social skills and concentration. 

School Athletics Carnival

School Photos

Our annual school photos including sibling photos will be taken by Arthur Reed Photos on Tuesday 4th March.

Students are to wear their sports uniform on this day.

BushFire at Risk Register (BARR)

Our school is listed on the Bushfire at Risk Register. 

With the implementation of the new national Fire Danger Rating (FDR) system, all schools on the "Bushfire and Grassfire At Risk Registers" will be closed on days classified as Catastrophic FDR.

What does this mean?  On a Catastrophic FDR, our school will be closed, along with school bus services.  No one will be allowed on site. Such ratings will be declared ahead of the nominated day. In the event of a Catastrophic FDR an email and a Schoolzine alert will go out to parents.

We are one of the few schools in Warrnambool that this rating applies to. 

Please note: A Catastrophic FDR is different to a Day of Total Fire Ban.

SchoolTV- School Transitions

Whether it is starting school for the first time, moving up to a higher grade or embarking on a journey through secondary school, there is no doubt that any school transition is a very exciting time for children and parents. It means your children are growing up!

However, transitioning is an ongoing process. It can continue long after students have entered their new environment and may encounter difficulties at a number of different stages. These stressors may appear as anxiety and frustration and result in negative or disruptive behaviours. Such behaviours can become problematic making the transitioning process even more difficult for children and parents.

In this edition of SchoolTV, parents will learn practical strategies to assist your child during the transition process and reduce stress and anxiety levels.

Theircare

All bookings and questions regarding our outside school provider TheirCare, are to  be made directly to them on 1300 072 410.  Bookings can also be made at https://theircare.com.au/  and selecting St John's Dennington as the booking location.

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to the following students who celebrated their birthday this week: Lucy C, Ella A, Gracie S, Jemmah K, Elias W, Charlie B and Matthew T.

Student Awards

Around our School- Week 2

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Parents and Friends Social Group

Thank you to everyone who was able to make it along to our first meeting for the year. We discussed fundraising events for term 1.  Our next meeting will be on Monday 24th March at 7.00pm in the Gathering Space. Everyone is welcome, we always look forward to seeing some new faces. Hope you can make it.

Dennington Dash

This year we are celebrating the Dennington Dash turning 10. Our organisers are busy behind the scenes getting ready for the event. Closer to the night will be looking for volunteers to help on the night.

Dennington Dash is a fun event for all. Come along for a 3km fun run/walk, you can go your hardest or just go for a stroll. There are some amazing prizes and spot prizes to be won. After the event, sit back and enjoy a BBQ tea.

Dennington Day Out

Please join us on Tuesday 18th February at 7.00pm in the Gathering Space for our First DDO meeting for the year. We welcome all current committee members and anyone looking to join our committee to come along. We hope to see you there.  

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. Please download the roster below.

All funds raised throughout the year will be donated to various charities. Please drop your store purchased cake into the office with your family name written on top.  If there is no assembly on your rostered day due to a school closure or event, please drop your cake in the week before or after.

All students will have the opportunity to buy a raffle ticket for 20c 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 17th February:

Baker, Barry, Bell, Bell (Charlotte & Xavier), Bermingham and Billings.

The cake raffle roster is linked on schoolzine under forms and documents for your reference.

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.

A big thank you to O'Brien Electrical & Plumbing and Fry Painting that sponsor our school!

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/ 

Emmanuel College Opening Evening

Upcoming Events

Tuesday 11th February: Lunch orders and Breakfast Club commence

Tuesday 18th February: Reconciliation Parent Meeting 

Tuesday February 18th- Dennington's Day Out Meeting at 7.00pm in the Gathering Space.

Monday 24th February: Whole School Athletics Carnival at Brauerander Park

Friday 28th February: Dennington Dash at 5.15pm

Tuesday 4th March: Shrove Tuesday

Tuesday 4th March: School Photo Day

Tuesday 4th March: Structured literacy parent information session at 2.30pm in the Gathering Space 

Wednesday 5th March: Ash Wednesday                                   

Monday, 10th March: Labour Day Public Holiday

Tuesday 18th March: Lions Eye Health Program (Gr. F, 3, 6)

Monday 24th March: Reconciliation Formation Day - Emmanuel College

Monday 24th March: Parents and Friends meeting at 7.00pm in the Gathering Space

Saturday 29th March:  Parents and Friends social lawn bowls at 6:30pm

Thursday 3rd April: Reconciliation Sacrament

Friday 4th April: Last Day of Term 1

Monday 21st April: Easter Monday Public Holiday

Tuesday 22nd April: First Day of Term 2

Thursday 24th April: Closure Day - Southern Zone Collaboration Day (DOBCEL determined date)

Friday 25th April: ANZAC Day Public Holiday

Monday 28th April: Confirmation Parent Meeting (7.00pm St Joseph's Church)

Thursday 1st May: May Races Public Holiday