Week 7, August 22nd, 2022: Newsletter #26

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 7 Prayer

From the Principal

Greetings everyone,

Welcome Octavia: This week we welcome Octavia Bidmade into our school community, Octavia and her family have moved to us from St Mary's PS in Colac and will join Foundation JM. 

Staffing News: Each year in 3rd term we start to look at staffing for the following year, this process involves conversations with all staff individually. Both Alicia Moloney and Katie Buwalda have advised me of their desire to have the next 12 months off which has been granted and I am pleased to advise that Margie Smith has announced she is pregnant with her second child.

These positions have been advertised and we expect to make appointments for these positions before the end of term. We also expect to have a replacement for Kristie Painter announced in the next few weeks to allow a transition to take place. 

2023 Trainee Positions: Shortly we will be advertising for our 2023 Trainees, these positions will be advertised via Emmanuel College, this newsletter and via our Facebook page. If you have a child or are aware of a child interested in a traineeship then I encourage them to investigate this option further. 

Book Week Date Claim: We have confirmed that our Book Week dress up and parade will take place on Friday September 9th, this will follow on from a visit by CBCA award winning author Andrea Rowe on Tuesday September 6th. 

Enjoy your week, Ben. 

Father's Day Breakfast

Our breakfast celebrating the fathers and father figures of our school is back on Thursday September 1st from 7:00am - 08:30am in the Stadium.

For catering purposes we ask that you RSVP by completing the form linked linked here; https://forms.gle/7NVpWEsSS4BVr1REA

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.

Important School Reminders

1. Breakfast Club runs from 8:15am-8:40am in the Gathering Space every Tuesday morning. 

2. Wednesday Treats- please ensure orders are returned by 3.25pm every Monday. Orders can be paid with correct money or by direct deposit (bank details are on the forms). No late orders will be accepted.

3.  Lunch orders from the Dennington Store are available Tuesday and Fridays only. Orders can be dropped at school or directy to the Dennington Store the day before. 

4.  A reminder that the loops are to be used for quick drop off and pick up. If your child requires help with their seatbelt etc please use the car parks to keep the loop moving at a steady pace. 

5. Student Absences: Can all parents and guardians please remember that if a child is absent then we require you to contact the school via schoolzine, PAM, or phone to notify us as to why they are absent. This is a government requirement. 

6.  Students playing football etc at lunch times are required to bring a change of clothes- these can be worn over the top of uniforms.

Sacrament of Eucharist

Last weekend, nine Grade four students received the Sacrament of First Eucharist at St. Pius X Church. They were: Michael D, Pippa C, Mailee I, Scout V, Jacob D, Jasper F, Imogen G, Lily H and Max H.

Congratulations to them all for receiving their First Communion and for all their work to prepare for the Sacrament.  Thank you to all the Parents and Teachers who also helped with the program and the Mass. 

Catholic families and children choose whether or not they wish to participate in the Church’s Sacraments.  These are formal occasions and opportunities provided by all Churches to celebrate ways to encounter God throughout Christian life.  Other Sacraments include, Baptism, Confirmation, Reconciliation, Marriage, Holy Orders and Anointing Of The Sick. Like many religions, Christianity celebrates these times in its tradition.  

Maybe you can find sacramental times in your own lives.  Christian or not;  you may feel the presence of a God in your own traditions and encounters in life.

Child Safety

In 2013, the Victorian Parliament held an inquiry into the Handling of Child Abuse by Religious and Other Non-Government Organisations, resulting in the Betrayal of Trust Report. As a result, the Victorian Government phased in Child Safe Standards for organisations that work with children, including schools. All schools were mandated to adopt and enact these policies by law.  We at St. John’s developed and implemented the 7 mandated standards as a result.

St. John’s Primary School is committed to child safety and to our children being principled, caring, balanced members of our community. We are committed to the safety, participation and empowerment of our children and have zero tolerance of child abuse. All allegations and safety concerns will be treated very seriously and consistently. We have legal and moral obligations to contact authorities when we are worried about a child’s safety, which we follow rigorously. The school is committed to regularly training and educating our staff and volunteers on child abuse risks and all staff undertake Mandatory Reporting training. Anyone onsite must abide by our Child Safe Policy and carry a valid Working with Children Check.

We support and respect all children, as well as our staff and volunteers, and are committed to the cultural safety of children from diverse backgrounds, and to providing a safe environment for children with a disability.

As of the 1st of July, all schools must comply with the Victorian Government’s new Child Safe Standards There are  now 11 standards. 

All school policies relating to the new Child Safe standards have been reviewed and updated in accordance with the Diocese of Ballarat Catholic Education Limited (DOBCEL) guidelines.  These are to be presented to the School Board at our next meeting.

Once these policies have been viewed by the School Advisory Council, we will inform families through the newsletter, and they will be available on our website

More information regarding the Child Safe Standards will also be provided through the newsletter in Term 4.

All staff will be inducted in the new policies.

Children will also be made aware of all 11 safety policies with child friendly explanations developed and presented via our school leaders.

If you have any suggestions, comments or questions, please email the school.

In the meantime you click here to read  further information from the Commission for Children and Young People website

Click here to watch a video on the changes.

School Working Bee

Over the next term and a half, we plan to host three working bees. The first of these will be held on Sunday September 11th beginning at 9.00am and concluding at 11.00am. The aim for this working bee is to complete the Indigenous Garden and prepare the Vegie Garden for our spring planting. 

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to the following students who celebrate their birthday this week! Hudson C, Alexis D, Ida O, Kayla F, Scout V, Charli R, Molly S and Alice D. We hope you have a terrific day celebrating with family and friends!

Student Awards

Learning Walks

Parents and Friends Social Group News

Parents & Friends Social Group Meeting

Our next meeting will be held on  Wednesday 31st August at 7.00pm in the Gathering Space. Come along or join us via google meet to give your feedback on the movie night and help plan future events.  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 Wednesday 7th September at 7.00pm in the Gathering Space.

Wednesday Treats 

Orders must be placed no later than 3.25pm Monday. All order forms are to be filled out by parents with the correct money either included or paid into the bank account with details on the forms. EFT payments must be made prior to 3.00pm each monday in order for funds to clear. No late orders or payments will be accepted.

Wednesday 24th August: Hot Dogs

Tuesday 23rd August: Emily M, Nicole R, Edie H and Melanie K

Wednesday 24th August: Regina L, Taliah G and Sarah B

Family Movie Night

Thank you for the great turn out for our Family Movie Night. It was great to see so many school families in attendance. We welcome your feedback and would love input from more families about what future events they would like.

If you would like to provide feedback please send it to parents@sjdennington.catholic.edu.au

Cake Raffle

The following families are rostered on this Friday:

Finnigan, McFadyen, McGennan and McInerney

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. 

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.

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 24th August: Parent Learning Walks at 9.00am (Bookings essential)

Wednesday 31st August: P & F Social Group meeting at 7.00pm in the Gathering Space

Wednesday 7th September: DDO committee meeting 7.00pm Gathering Space

Thursday 8th September: Staff Professional Development - School Closure Day

Friday 9th September: Book Week Dress Up & Parade

Sunday September 11th: Working Bee