Our Vision and Mission

Vision

Love to Learn, Learn to Love
Learn to Live, Love to Live

Mission

At St. John’s Primary School we will:

* Foster faith and spiritual development through a strong Religious Education program.
* Provide high quality education addressing the individual learning styles and needs of every child.
* Nurture the ongoing development of relationships and community, within our school and beyond.
* Ensure that all community members have the wellbeing and safety of all children and young people at the forefront of all they do and every decision they make.

Working with Children & Volunteering

Parents and volunteers are encouraged to support St. John’s Primary School and our students by volunteering their time to help in classrooms, school events, excursions, canteen and various other times as invited by the school. In 2008, new State Legislation required volunteers working with children in Victoria to have a current Working with Children Check (WWWC).

If you would like to volunteer your time at St. John’s Primary School for any purpose/event, you will need a current Working with Children Check (WWCC), this is Victorian Government legislation.

Working With Children Check website

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September 8th 2025: Newsletter #29

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.

Prayer Week 8- Father's Day

From the Principal

Hello everyone, and welcome to a new week at St. John's!

With 2 weeks left until the end of term we are full steam ahead across our school community. My thanks to all those who helped to make the Father's Day Stall a hit and to all those who attended our breakfast on Friday- it was great to see so many families sitting together and sharing a meal.

Our Gr 1 and Gr 3 classes have some expos coming up and I encourage all community members to view these as it is a great showcase of student learning.

Footy Colours Day: Our annual celebration will take place on Wednesday September 17th and we invite children to wear the colours of their favourite sporting team. More information will feature in next weeks newsletter.

2025 Term 3 Assembly Roster: Monday Sep 15th- Grade 2

Enjoy the week ahead, Ben.

Student Mobile Phones & Smart Watches

As previously advised, we have guidelines regarding the use of mobile phones and smart watches by students whilst at school or on any camp/ excursion. As a rule, our students are very good at handing their phones in at the office each day but we have noticed a number of students using their watches to communicate with parents, which as per the linked guidelines, is against our expectations. Smart watches have the capacity to be placed into school mode and I encourage families to ensure that this is done.

Mobile Phone Policy

FoodBank

At St. John’s, we are proud of our strong tradition of caring for one another. One way we do this is through our Food Bank initiative, where families volunteer to provide meals for others in our school community during times of need—whether it’s supporting someone through illness or offering comfort during a time of loss.

We’re currently inviting families who are willing to donate a meal—either homemade or store-bought to support this important initiative. These meals make a real difference to those receiving them.

If you are able to make a donation please contact our Pastoral care Leader Jasmine - jkoch@sjdennington.catholic.edu.au

Happy Father's Day

Last Friday morning, we welcomed dads, grandads and special people in our students lives to a Father’s Day Breakfast. It was a fantastic opportunity to come together and celebrate the positive impact these important role models have on our children. Thank you to everyone who joined us, the smiles and laughter made it a truly special morning.

We hope you all had a great day yesterday. We appreciate everything you do, not just on Fathter's Day, but every day.

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Year 1 EXPO

Year 4 Literacy

During literacy we are learning about our communities biggest concerns. As we are learning to write persuasive texts, we have been reading letters to the Warrnambool City Council & Moyne Shire Council protesting the conditions of our roads, Port Fairy's new bridge project and horses accessing the local beaches. We have also had many opportunities to share our opinion on Warrnambool's newest play centre and of course, the new KFC! The Grade 4 students have had some very strong arguments. Who knows, maybe one day, they will be representing us in Parliament!

Conversations about these community concerns have sparked some curiosity in our space so the students are attempting to solve the Port Fairy Bridge concerns. We are in the design stage of creating the new bridge and we can't wait to test their strength over the coming weeks. Check out some of the plans.

Hands on Learning

Hands On Learning has been full of creativity and teamwork this term! We’ve been busy building bird houses to place around the garden, giving our feathered friends a safe new home, and painting bright, abstract fence posts to liven up our school’s perimeter fence. These projects have been a great way to learn new skills, work together, and make our school look and feel more welcoming.

We’ve also got plenty to look forward to in Term 4. We’ll be inviting Lyndoch into our school to share what we’ve been creating, and we’re excited about visiting Loved & Shared. Both will give us the chance to meet new people, learn from others, and show how our work in Hands On Learning makes a positive difference to our school and our community.

Wellbeing

Anxiety & Young People

"Anxiety is a normal and healthy response to stress. However, when it becomes overwhelming and persistent, it can interfere with a child's daily life. To tackle this problem, it's essential to understand what anxiety is."

Click here for your special report

Self Care September

Happy first day of September (and Spring!) Attached is the action for happines calendar you might like to follow this month.

SchoolTV- Multilingual videos now available

Because wellbeing shouldn’t get lost in translation, SchoolTV has introduced a powerful new feature — multilingual videos.

Until now, families could access written content in more than 60 languages. Now, expert-led videos are also available in Chinese, Hindi and Arabic, with more languages to be added next year. This new feature ensures every family can access trusted, practical guidance in a way that feels familiar, inclusive, and easy to understand.

Explore this feature for yourself by clicking the link below to view SchoolTV content in your preferred language. You can access SchoolTV through the SZ app or on our website.

Start viewing translated content today

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to the following students who celebrate their birthday this week: Riley F, Teddy H, Ollie S and Jaxon C. We hope you have a terrific day!

Student Awards- Term 3 Week 8

Miss Buwalda - Sage F for her curiosity during Share Time. Thank you Sage for asking such insightful questions.

Miss Dwyer - Bonnie E for her dedication and brilliant effort towards all learning tasks each and every day.

Mrs Archbold - Eva M for the detailed drawings that she has been producing during our Inquiry lessons this week.

Miss Kissick - Mia Y for always displaying respectful listening in learning times. Keep it up Mia!

Miss Lucas - Nellie M for having a superb term 3! I am proud of all your efforts across your learning.

Mr Hynes - Lyra E for excellent effort completing her Information Report poster on lions! Well done!

Miss Ryan - Zoe M for her excellent research and dedication shown in her axolotl information report.

Mr Harrington - Oscar E for his amazing results in his multiplication and division post assessment last week!

Miss Kelly - Charlee S for forever showing such a positive attitude and resilience each and every day.

Miss Moloney - Olivia R for your willingness to share more in your learning and asking questions. It is so great to hear your opinions when we debate or share your strategies of solving problems.

Mrs Mugavin - Bella J for being eager to get involved in the ‘What You Rather’ debates this week! You were very persuasive because you used so many high modality words and used lots of examples when sharing your opinion! Well done!

Miss P - Indy V for your great ideas and work on your Genius Hour presentation

Mr McInerney - Freya T for showing great initiative to seek support to enhance your maths understanding.

Around our School- Term 3 Week 7

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Student News

On Saturday, Zoe performed at the Northern District Calisthenics Competition. Her team were overall winners, coached by our very own Maleiah Mugavin. This was their 3rd straight competition win as they head towards the state championships in Bendigo during the next school holidays.

On Sunday, the Warrnambool Rangers Girls Under 14s played in the soccer semi-final against Warrnambool Wolves. The conditions were challenging and they didn't get the win, but they have had an outstanding season in the first year of the girls competition for the region. Evie, Ivy, Charlotte, Liv and Ella played amazing soccer all season.

Parents and Friend's Social Group

Bunnings BBQ & Cake Stall- We need your help!!!!

Our school is hosting a fundraising Bunnings BBQ and cake stall this Saturday 13th September and we are looking for volunteers to assist with both stalls, as well as cake stall donations. If you can assist or have any questions please contact Ali Fechete on 0408 987 064 or Amber Serra on 0449 930 499.

Volunteer Form

Meeting

Our next Parents and Friends meeting will be Wednesday 15th October at 7.00pm in the Gathering Space.

Father's Day Stall

A huge thank you to Regina & Jo for all your time organising and running the Father's Day Stall and thanks to all the volunteers that helped out last Wednesday.

Dennington's Day Out

We are looking for volunteers to help put our sponsor/ family packs together on the first Monday of term 4. More information about this to come, please keep an eye on our parents/ guardians Facebook page.

We will also have more opportunities in the lead up to DDO to complete participation points.

The following meetings have been set for:

Tuesday 7th October 7.00pm
Tuesday 21st October 7.00pm
Tuesday 28th October 7.00pm
Thursday 6th November 7.00pm

Volunteer Form

Wednesday Treats

This weeks treat is Dim Sims and Sausage Rolls. Orders close tomorrow Tuesday 9th September at 8:30am.

Steamed Dim Sims $1.00 each and Sausage Rolls $2.00 each. Drinks $2.00 each.

Roster:

Tuesday 9th September - Melissa, Laura, Emily

Wednesday 10th September - Elyse, Theresa G & Bianca

Our FINAL Wednesday Treats for 2025 is POTATO CAKES on Wednesday 17th September!! Orders will open on Wednesday 10th September and close on Tuesday 16th September at 8.30am.

Potato Cakes $2.00 each Gluten Free Potato Cakes $2.00 each. Drinks $2.00 each

Roster:

Tuesday 16th September - Taliah, Laura & Kiri

Wednesday 17th September - Lacey, Elyse & Rebecca

Please remember: Orders are required to be placed online via the CDFpay app. Each Wednesday the order for the following week will be uploaded to the app. Orders will close at 8:30am each Tuesday so please make sure you get your orders in on time as we can not accept late orders or cash this year.

Should you have any questions please feel free to contact Emily McGennan or the front office.

Cake Raffle

Each Assembly we draw a cake raffle for students. The money raised goes to Our noimiated charity, Backpacks Beds.

School families have been assigned a week to bring in a cake. There is no obligation or pressure for you to do so, it is only if you wish to. If you have been assigned a week that is unsuitable and you would like to bring a cake in another week, please contact the office and an alternate date will be arranged.

If you choose to, please drop your store purchased cake into the office with your family name written on top.

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 September 15th:

Raitt, Rhodes, Ridley, Romanes and Roney.

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, Fry Painting, Carry on travel, King Cole Fruit Supply, Total Landscapes and Design and Hiensch Haulage 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/

Community Notices

LESS THAN A MONTH UNTIL THE EPIC SOUND & LIGHT SHOW BEGINS!!!!!
LIMITED SEATING SO GRAB YOUR TICKETS NOW USING THE QR CODE!!!
Mr. M Adventures: Out Of This World LIVE
Date: Saturday, 20th Sept • 10:30am
Venue: Kardinia Church, Dennington
Doors open at 10am
The LIVE show everyone wants to see!!!
'Music for all Generations'
Mr. M