Week 4, August 1st, 2022: Newsletter #23
- Acknowledgement of Country
- Week 4 Prayer
- From the Principal
- Sacrament of First Eucharist
- Covid 19 Term 3 Updates
- Catholic Schools Parents Association
- Gateway Plaza Promotion
- Rotary Father of the Year
- Happy Birthday
- Student News
- Student Awards
- Catholic Social Teachings
- NCCD
- Parents and Friends Social Group News
- Cake Raffle
- School Sponsorship
- Our Diocesan Community
- Star of the Sea Bulletin
- Community Noticeboard
- Upcoming Events
Acknowledgement of Country
St. John’s school community respect and honour Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders past, present and future. 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.
Week 4 Prayer
From the Principal
Greetings everyone,
Congratulations Fr Bill! Recently at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Ballarat two new priests were ordained for the Ballarat Diocese. We congratulate Fr Matthew Restall and Fr Bill Lowry. Fr Bill has been appointed to the Star of the Sea Parish (Warrnambool) and will be living in the St Pius X Community with Fr John Corrigan. No doubt we will see Fr Bill visiting our school soon, and saying Mass for our students and staff.
Before & After School Care: We are currently in the process of investigating the viability of engaging an outside provider to provide the school with onsite before and/or after school care. Please note that this will be a numbers based decision so if there is not enough interest then it will not happen and we will maintain exisiting arrangements with the Warrnambool City Council. If this is something that interests you, then please complete the survey by clicking on the link below;
https://www.surveymonkey.com/
Enjoy your week, Ben.
Sacrament of First Eucharist
The dates for Eucharist are as follows:
August 1st Family Week 2
August 7th Children’s pictures displayed in the Church
August 8th Family Week 3
August 14th Prayer scrolls distributed at Mass
August 15th Family Week 4
August 21st Sacrament of Eucharist as part of Mass
If you have any questions please email Damien Webster- dwebster@sjdennington.catholic.edu.au
Covid 19 Term 3 Updates
Rapid Antigen Testing: RAT's will be provided to students and staff for the remainder of the school year. On a semi regular basis, students will be provided with RAT's but if at any stage you require additional kits, please contact the office.
Rapid antigen test screening requirements: Students who have tested positive for COVID-19, and have completed their 7-day isolation period, do not need to undertake rapid antigen test (RAT) screening for 4 weeks after their release from isolation. Please note that this time frame has recently reduced from 12 weeks to 4 weeks.
Vaccination Mandate: The new COVID regulations have lifted the mandate for all employees and volunteers to be vaccinated. This means there will be no requirement for adults entering the school to declare their vaccination status.
Transport: Parents/carers who are positive cases are able to leave isolation if other arrangements cannot be made to transport someone they live with to and/or from school.
The person leaving self-isolation must travel directly to and from the location, making no stops, unless there is an emergency or as required by law.
They must remain in the vehicle at all times, unless it is reasonably necessary to leave the vehicle to deliver the person to and from school. They must wear a face covering at all times while transporting and delivering the child.
Household contacts: Students who are household contacts of a COVID-19 case are not required to quarantine. They may return to school as long as they undertake rapid antigen tests (RAT) 5 times during their 7-day period. They are required to notify the school that they are a household contact. Students aged 8 years and above who are household contacts are required to wear facemasks when indoors at school unless they have a valid exemption. If a student household contact returns a positive RAT result, they must isolate for 7 days.
Continuity of Learning: Our school community has been fortunate that we have not had significant staff numbers impacted by COVID such that we have continued to provide quality learning and teaching and student care. I remind families that this could change quickly and the school may be required to ask some classes or year levels to stay home if we do not have adequate staff numbers onsite. We hope that this is not the case, but if it does become a necessity, we will work hard to minimise any disruption.
Catholic Schools Parents Association
This important group is looking for feedback from parents regarding all matters relating to catholic education and they would love to know your thoughts.
Click here for CSPA Parent Survey
Gateway Plaza Promotion
Gateway Plaza is planning a promotion to coincide with the 2022 Commonwealth Games, giving shoppers the chance to win sporting equipment for their local primary school. For the duration of the Games, shoppers will be asked to drop their Gateway Plaza receipts into their school's entry box at the plaza. These boxes are located between Coles and Lowes. Each dollar spent earns a point for our school. The total points are calculated based on the number of students in each school.
1st Prize: $1500 worth of sporting equipment
2nd Prize: $1000 worth of sporting equipment
3rd Prize $500 worth of sporting equipment
Please consider supporting the school when shopping at Gateway Plaza!
Rotary Father of the Year
A number of our students have submitted entry forms and details for the Rotary Father of the Year awards; they make for very interesting reading. We know we have loads of brilliant dads and father figures in the lives of our students and we thank them for being the great fathers and father figures that they are.
Happy Birthday
Happy Birthday and best wishes to the following students who celebrate their birthday this week- Lenny W and Lawson C. We hope you have a great day!
Student News
We have had a few new exciting arrivals in our school community! Nikita B in FKB has a gorgeous new little sister Lilly Sophia.
Indi M in FJM is also a proud big sister to beautiful Gabriella Mae!
Student Awards
Catholic Social Teachings
NCCD
Parents and Friends Social Group News
Parents & Friends Social Group Meeting
Next meeting is THIS WEDNESDAY at 7.30pm in the Gathering Space. Come along to help us plan the upcoming family movie night. To RSVP please comment on the meeting post on the parent Community Facebook page or email: parents@sjdennington.cathoic.edu.au
Dennington Day Out Meeting
The next meeting will be held NEXT Wednesday 10th August at 7.00pm in the Gathering Space.
Wednesday Treats
Orders must be placed no later than 3.25pm each Monday. All order forms are to be filled out by parents with the correct money either included or paid into the bank account (details on the forms).
Wednesday 3rd August: Potato Cakes
Tuesday 2nd August 9am: Emily M, Elyse S, Louise L and Melanie K
Wednesday 3rd August 12pm: Nicole R, Kelly S and Sarah B
Family Movie Night
Save the date- 19th August at 6.30pm in the Stadium. More details to come!
National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children's Day
THIS Wednesday August 3rd the school will be celebrating National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day. The P & F is excited to be including this day in the school calendar. We are on the hunt for Parent and grandparent volunteers who can assist with activities on the day. Please fill out the google form if you are able to help on the day. Click here for the form.
Cake Raffle
The following families are rostered on this Friday.
Kermeen, King, Laird and Lockland.
All students will be able to buy a raffle ticket for 20c each Friday. The Johnnies will come around to the classrooms during the day to write out tickets and collect money.
All funds raised throughout the year will be donated to the Good Friday Appeal the following year. If assembly is cancelled on your rostered week you will not be required to bring in a cake/slice.
School Sponsorship
A big thank you to Fry Painting, Brownies Shed, South West Pipe Relining and gforce employment & recruitment who support 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.
Our Diocesan Community
Please click here to view the latest edition of Our Diocesan Community
Star of the Sea Bulletin
Sunday Mass is held at 10.00am 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 Noticeboard
Upcoming Events
Wednesday 3rd August: Parents and Friends Social Group meeting at 7.30pm - Gathering space
Wednesday 3rd August: National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day
Friday 12th August: DOBCEL Holiday - School Closure Day
Monday 15th August: DOBCEL Holiday - School Closure Day
Wednesday 10th August: DDO meeting at 7.00pm in the Gathering Space
Friday 19th August: Family Movie Night- 6.30pm in the Stadium.
Thursday 8th September: Staff Professional Development - School Closure Day