Week 8 August 28th, 2023: Newsletter #27
- Acknowledgement of Country
- Week 8 Prayer
- From the Principal
- End of Year Arrangements
- Parent Participation Levy
- Finance News: School Fees
- We Are Hiring!
- Important School reminders
- Book Week- Dress up day
- Student News
- Around our school- Week 7
- TheirCare
- Student Awards- Week 7
- Happy Birthday
- Parents and Friends Social Group News
- School Sponsorship
- Star of the Sea Bulletin
- Community Notices
- 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 8 Prayer
From the Principal
Happy Monday everyone.
Over the past few weeks I have been lucky to have had a number of conversations with parents regarding student learning and often I walk away from these chats thinking, what does learning look like at St. John's?
The first fundamental principle is that children will only learn when they are happy and they feel safe- this is integral to learning success. Happiness and safety is built on relationships, relationships with self, peers and staff; when we get the relationships right we operate in an environment that promotes wellbeing and academic growth. Wellbeing is our number one priority at St. John's.
Learning at St. John's is individualistic- a daily learning program takes many different factors into account. These factors include the learning style of the child, the environment in which they learn best, their capacity to engage with staff and their peers and how they view themselves as a learner. As teachers we often talk about equity as opposed to equality.
Equality: means each individual or group of people is given the same resources, opportunities and in the context of a school, is treated and taught exactly the same way as every other child.
Equity: recognizes that each person has different circumstances, and in St John's case, allocates the people, resources and learning experiences needed to ensure that each individual child experiences learning success.
The differences between Equity & Equality are best illustrated in the 1st image below.
As teachers, we also know and value the fact that success for people is measured and achieved in different ways, again well demonstrated in the 2nd image below. Whilst there is a place in schools for standardised assessments such as NAPLAN, there is always room for success measures that are tailored to individual students and their unique needs.
So in short, what does learning look like at St. John's? There are 246 answers to this question. Each child is taught, nurtured and challenged in the way that suits them best, in order to bring about learning success that is reflective of their identity and capability!
Enjoy your week, Ben
End of Year Arrangements
As we move to the end of Term 3, I wanted to advise you of some important date changes related to the the end of the school year so that you can plan ahead as needed. Please read the attached Warrnambool and District Catholic Schools Network letter.
In summary: end of 2023 School Year key dates as follows
- The last day of school for students in 2023 will be Friday December 15th.
- Staff conclude on Monday December 18th. This is a staff meeting day and no student supervision is available.
Parent Participation Levy
The PPL is a key aspect of our parent and community engagement program. The PPL is outlined in its entirety in the attached document. Please take the time to read this document as it is important you understand these guidelines.
There is a tile added to the schoolzine app where you will be able to record the activity and the number of hours you volunteered for. There is also a paper sign in sheet at the office.
Finance News: School Fees
Just a reminder that we are nearly three quarters of the way through the year! Our governing body is looking at our fee collection and will be asking questions about any fees that haven't either been paid, have a payment plan or signed paperwork, very soon. It is a requirement by DOBCEL that all school fees are paid by the end of the year. If you haven't set up a payment plan yet or signed paperwork stating how you intend to pay, please contact the office ASAP.
We Are Hiring!
We're on the hunt for teachers and trainees!
Important School reminders
Russell Street Crossing: If parents and children are needing to cross Russell Street then it must be done at the supervised pedestrian crossing. This is the only safe place to do.
Parking: Please refrain from parking in the designated disability car spaces in the carparks if you do not have a sticker displayed on your vehicle. It is important these spaces are reserved for families that need them.
We also ask that if you have to hop out of the car to assist your child into the car that you park your car and collect them rather than hold up the loop.
Entering the School Buildings: All visitors during the school day must enter via the front office. This includes children late to school.
Student Messages: Please ensure change of pick up arrangement messages etc are received by the office ideally by 3.00pm and no later than 3.10pm to allow office staff adequate time to pass them on to students.
Student News: If you have some exciting news you would like to share with our school community we would love to hear about it. Please email admin@sjdennington.catholic.edu.au
Parent/School Communication: When contacting school staff please refer to our Communications Guidelines for the appropriate processes, this can be found under the forms and documents tab on our schoolzine app and in the Parent Information tab in PAM.
Book Week- Dress up day
Dress up day was a blast! This year our theme was Read, Grow, Inspire. Prior to the day students were reading and working in class on a range of the new shortlisted books. It was great to see students (and staff!!!) embracing the day and getting into character. Hats off to the Mums, Dads and Grandparents for their creativity and hard work on putting these wonderful costumes together!
Student News
Over the weekend, Kiara and Olivia’s sub junior calisthenics team came first at the Horsham calisthenics competition with Miss Mugavin as their coach! Wow, what a fantastic effort girls- we are all so very proud of you!
Around our school- Week 7
TheirCare
To make a booking with TheirCare, our outside school hours care provider please click on the following link https://theircare.com.au/
Please select St. Johns Dennington as the booking location.
Student Awards- Week 7
Happy Birthday
A big Happy Birthday to Brax c, Xander A, Zahli C, Marlie H and Oliver M who celebrate their birthday this week. Best wishes to you, we hope you have a fabulous fun filled day with family and friends!
Happy Birthday Mr Sell!!!! Mr Sell turned 21 last week!! Some pransksters on staff filled his car with balloons and streamers and wrapped it in in glad wrap. The whole school took great delight at watching Mr Sell's reaction!
Parents and Friends Social Group News
Meeting
Our meeting was held last Tuesday where we discussed topics such as the upcoming Father's Day stall, and the $5,000 raffle. Our meetings can be a great way to get involved in fundraising for the school and offering your suggestions.
Next year will be upon us sooner than we think and with that in mind I would like to take the opportunity to remind all parents that at our AGM early next year, all committee positions will be up for grabs. If there is a role that interests you then I would encourage you to approach one of the current committee members and have a chat. The roles are a great way to tick off your participation points for the year and can be flexible with your own lifestyle.
Our next meeting will be held next term- Tuesday 3rd October 6.30pm at the Cally Hotel. An RSVP will be in the Facebook group closer to the date.
Maylnda De Bono- President
Dennington's Day Out!
This week is your last chance to secure sponsorship of our ever growing Annual Fundraiser. With Dennington’s Day Out increasing in popularity each year this is an event your business will not want to miss out on. To beat the cut off please email ddo@sjdennington.catholic.edu.au
Our next meeting will be held on 13th September 7.00pm in the Gathering Space.
This year’s ‘Dennington’s Day Out’ will be held on Sunday 12th November. For further information, or to discuss the Corporate Sponsorship packages below, please contact ddo@sjdennington.catholic.edu.au
Father's Day Stall
Don’t forget that this Wednesday is our First Father's Day stall. Much like the Mother's Day stall children will have the opportunity to shop for some gifts for dad or a special person in their life. They can only spend a maximum of $10 on 4 items so there is no need to send along big notes.
Please also send along a small bag that they can transport their presents home in.
Reach out to Regina on 0419 115 108 if you can volunteer your time to help with the stall. Remember volunteering will count towards your participation points.
$5,000 Major Raffle
Tickets are due back this Friday. 5 tickets were sent home with each family for $25 each. Both sold and unsold are due to come back so please send all money and tickets into school by Friday. If you require more tickets these are available at the office. It would be great if you could please share the social media post to your personnel profiles to help sell more tickets.
The winner of the $5,000 iTalk Travel & Cruise Voucher will be drawn at the school concert on 6th September.
Wednesday Treats
This weeks treat is Dim Sims.
Tuesday volunteers 9.00am: Emily, Tahlia, Elyse, Jo and Theresa.
Wednesday volunteers 11.30am: Lacey, Melanie and Nicole.
Next weeks treat forms are sent home on Tuesday's and are due back by 3.00pm each Monday. No late orders can be accepted. If for some reason you do not receive a form, there are spare copies at the office that you can collect.
Cake Raffle
Each week on a Friday, 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 each Friday. The Johnnies will come around to the classrooms during the day to write out tickets and collect money.
The following families are rostered on this week:
Faulkner, Fary, Egan and Eccles.
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.
Please contact parents@sjdennington.catholic.edu.au for more information.
A big thank you to Fry Painting, O'Brien Electrical Warrnambool, Brownies Shed, Tubbie & Rayz Indoor Batting house and Carry On Travel who sponsor our school!
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 Notices
Could you make a difference to a young life?
Could this be what you are looking for?
Foster carers come from all walks of life. They can be working, not working or retired; married or single; in same-sex relationships; and can own or rent their home. The most essential criteria are that they care, can provide a safe and nurturing home, and have room in their home to support a vulnerable child or sibling group.
If you would like to know more call MacKillop Family Services on 1300 791 677, visit www.mackillop.org.au/fostercare or ring Alana in our Warrnambool office on 5500 2000.
Upcoming Events
Wednesday 30th August: Father's Day Stall
Friday 1st September: Grades 5/6 Hooptime (permissions sent to students partcipating)
Friday 1st September: Father's Day Breakfast at 7.00am - 8.30am
Friday 1st September: $5,000 draw tickets due back
Wednesday 6th September: St. John's Dance Concert- Dancing through the Decades at 6.30pm and raffle draw
Friday 8th September: Healthy Moves Display in the Stadium
Wednesday 13th September: DDO Meeting in the Gathering Space at 7.00pm
Tuesday 3rd October: P & F Dinner Meeting at the Cally at 6.30pm
Wednesday 11th October: Grandparents & Special Friends Day
Monday 23rd October: School Closure Day
Sunday 12th November: DDO