March 4th, 2024: Newsletter #5
- Acknowledgment of Country
- Week 6 Prayer
- From the Principal
- Breakfast Club
- Project Compassion
- Working with Children Check
- 2024 Residential Addresses
- School Photos- Tomorrow
- School Athletics Carnival
- FIRE Carrier
- Learning Walks
- Wellbeing
- Specialist News
- Division Swimming
- District Tennis
- Around our School- Week 5
- Student Awards
- Happy Birthday
- Parents & Friends Social Group
- School Sponsorship
- Emmanuel College
- Star of the Sea Bulletin
- Community Notices
- Upcoming Events
Acknowledgment of Country
St. John’s school community respect and honour Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders past, present and emerging. 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.
Week 6 Prayer
From the Principal
Welcome to the 6th week of term.
Lions Eye Health Program: We are fortunate to have the Lions club provide Free Vision screening for students in Foundation, Grade 3 and Grade 6 on 14th March. A paper permission form has been sent home today for every student, if you wish to access this program please complete the form. Please return the form to the school office by this Friday.
Learning Walks: These great events are back on again soon, with specific focuses on our Little Learners program and our exciting Maths program. Check out the flyers further on in this newsletter.
Assembly: Will be held on Tuesday 12th March next week due to the public holiday on Monday.
We look forward to the week ahead, Ben.
Breakfast Club
Breakfast Club will not be running tomorrow, it will resume as normal next Tuesday at 8.15am in the Library.
Project Compassion
As we've written about previously, Caritas is one of the Catholic Church's charities and throught the Season Of Lent, it operates Project Compassion which is its main fundraiser for the year.
Project Compassion draws on the works of former Bishop Oscar Romero who challenged people to "Aspire not to have more, but to be more". Project Compassion allows us to focus on the works of Caritas around the world and in our own country, it is also a time for us to collect small change, place it in the Project Compassion box and donate it to people across the world such as the ladies spoken about in the article below.
Working with Children Check
A reminder that if you wish to volunteer your time at school events and at various other times you are required to have a current Working with Children Check (WWCC Check), this is Victorian Government legislation. When you arrive at school, sign in on the iPad and enter your Working with Children card details.
The application is completed online and it is free. Please click here.
2024 Residential Addresses
School Photos- Tomorrow
Our annual school photos including sibling photos will be taken by Arthur Reed Photos tomorrow,
Students are to wear their sports uniform.
There is no need to return any forms or money to school. Unique image codes will be issued to all students on/after photo day so families can register online to view images when they become available in the webshop.
Registration is simple, just follow the 3 simple steps on your child’s personalised flyer once you receive it and remember to add the codes for all your children attending this school. Even if you registered last year, it’s important that you do again this year using your child’s 2024 image code to link their images for the current year with your contact details.
When images are ready to view and in the webshop, all parents who have registered will be notified by SMS and email. Once registered, please wait for notification that 2024 images are online to view before making your purchase.
School Athletics Carnival
Our School Athletics Carnival will be held this Wednesday 6th March at BrauerAnder Park.
Students are to be dropped off by 8:45am at BrauerAnder Park ready to assemble in House colours. Bus children can catch the bus to school as normal and will be transported to the venue via staff vehicle.
Children are to wear their sports uniform and hat, please plan for wet weather. (If there is a change then we will notify families via Facebook and SZ App)
No food will be provided at the venue, so please ensure your child has a fully packed lunch as well as a drink bottle filled with water. A coffee van will be on site for parents, grandparents and teachers.
Students will compete in their age groups for the events according to the School Sport Victoria guidelines. Age groups are determined by their age at 31st December 2024 eg. if a child is 7 now but turns 8 on December 10th this year, then they compete as an 8 year old.
1500m and 800m running have been conducted at school with Mrs Boyd. Times and points have been allocated to the scoring for the day. Younger students will be doing some modified events Eg. Vortex instead of shotput.
Only staff and event helpers will be able to enter the actual athletics field, parents are welcome to view the events from the outside of the fence.
Please note the day will conclude at the earlier time of 2.00pm. All students must be collected at BrauerAnder Park and classroom teachers must be notified when leaving.
The only exception to this is students that catch the bus home and students attending TheirCare- these students will be transported back to school via staff vehicles.
FIRE Carrier
As mentioned previously, St. John's is commencing the process of becoming a FIRE (Friends Igniting Reconciliation through Education) Carrier school. We will be inviting students and parents/grandparents/carers to join our working group so that we can develop this initiative together. Any member of our school community is welcome to come and meet with us (Jan Madden and Kristie Prendergast) on Thursday 14th March at 3.00pm to discuss our vision and ideas for the year. If you would like more information please email either Jan or Kristie.
jmadden@sjdennington.catholic.
Learning Walks
This year at St John's there have been several changes to how Maths and Literacy are taught. We would love to invite you to attend a learning walk to see these changes in action and witness the students engaged in their learning.
Learning Walk - Maths: Monday 18th March at 9.00am. Our Maths Learning Walk will take you through our Grade 3-6 classrooms and chat about why we have made some changes in our Maths teaching.
Learning Walk - Literacy: Thursday 21st March at 9.00am. Our Literacy Learning Walk will take you through our Grade Foundation-2 classrooms and chat about why we have made some changes in our Literacy teaching.
For any questions or to let us know you'll be coming along, please email Ben - principal@sjdennington.
Wellbeing
A huge Thank you to Jo and The Cally Hotel and their suppliers Midfield Meats and PFD for making and donating 30 lasagnas to our school for families who require some extra support.
We have already delivered 10 of these to school families.
*The Cally sell these family lasagnas to the public for $20. If you are looking for a quick easy meal be sure to head down there!!
Specialist News
In Digitech this term, the junior classes have been exploring the camera on an iPad. We've looked at how to take a photo and check that it's not looking up their nose, or on the ground or had a finger over the lens. We have used filters, markup tools to draw around a photo, and edit a photo. Last week the foundation class used the KaleidaCam app to manipulate the world around them through the iPad camera.
Division Swimming
Congrats to Ava M, Billy F, Daniel H & Mila N who will represented the school last week at the Division Swimming Carnival. All four swimmers did really well personally, special mention to Daniel and Ava who have qualified to swim in Horsham on March 22nd.
Specific mention to Daniel who was declared the overall champion for the 12 year old boys.
District Tennis
Caleb, Brax, Mila and Greta competed in the District Tennis Competition at the Supergrasse Tennis Complex last week (competing against Allansford PS, Kings College, West PS, Merrivale PS and Woodford PS). They all did a wonderful job, playing in VERY hot conditions, showing great sportsmanship in each match, they should be proud of the way they played. The players played a series of singles matches, playing the Fast4 format. Caleb came 2nd in his group of players which was a fantastic effort. Well done to all these students!
Around our School- Week 5
Student Awards
Happy Birthday
Happy Birthday to Sienna C, Billy F, Isla R, Ryder H, Mailee I, Braxton C and Lincoln D who celebrate their birthday this week, we hope you have a brilliant fun filled day!!
Parents & Friends Social Group
Our AGM is quickly approaching on Tuesday 19th March at 7.00pm with all positions needing to be filled.
This group organises all fundraising and social events for the school community and is made up of a variety of parents. This variety helps us to provide feedback to the Principal regarding a range of topics from school uniforms to play equipment.
It is always great to see new faces and I would encourage all families to try and get along to a meeting throughout the year. The group meets monthly and it is a great opportunity to have a say on things happening in your child's school.
At the AGM we’ll be hoping to fill the following roles;
President (Currently held by Malynda De Bono) Vice President (Currently held by Amber Serra & Ali Fechete) Secretary (Currently held by Jen Milne) Treasurer
Nominations for these positions will be taken at the AGM. Should you have any queries regarding these positions then please feel free to speak with the incumbent person or if you would like a role description then please speak with Ben van de Camp.
Dennington Dash
Dennington Dash will be held on Friday March 15th. A great opportunity to get out and run/walk with friends while raising money for the school.
IT’S TIME TO REGISTER! Flyers were sent home with each family last week which have a QR code to register. Alternatively use the QR code below.
Get your sporting club involved for a competitive race or bring your friends and family along for a social stride. All welcome to come along and help raise funds for our school.
There are some great prizes to be won on the night including winners of each category and raffle prizes. Raffle tickets were sent home with each family last week so check those bags! Tickets are to be returned to school by Thursday 14th March.
We are on the lookout for volunteers to help on the night with registrations, marshalling and helping on the BBQ. There is a post in the facebook group asking for volunteers. Please comment if you are able to help out.
Dennington's Day Out
Dennington’s Day Out is our school’s biggest fundraiser for the year and it takes a year's worth of planning to pull it off. The next meeting will be held at the Cally Hotel on Wednesday 27th March.
There are still plenty of opportunities to volunteer within the group so come along and have your input.
Easter Raffle
Raffle tickets will be sent home with each family this week. Tickets are $2 each. If you require more tickets please collect them from the office.
We also kindly ask that each family donates an Easter related item for the prizes. These can be taken directly to the office.
Tickets are due back Monday 25th March. The raffle will be drawn on Thursday 28th March (last day of Term 1)
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. 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 Monday 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 next Tuesday 12th March:
Brooks (Seth), Brown (Harvey), Brown (Louie), Brunton and Burchell (Levi).
School Sponsorship
A big thank you to O'Brien's Electrical, Joinery by Jarrod, Fry Painting and Carry on Travel who sponsor 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.
Emmanuel College
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
Come and Try Hockey for FREE
Come and Try Hockey for FREE on the new synthetic hockey pitch continues this week!
Free Clinics - Saturday 2 March 9-10am, Wednesday 6 March 4.15pm-5.15pm.
Parents are also encouraged to try hockey too! More information and register on the link below:
Upcoming Events
Tuesday 5th March: School Photos (students are to wear sports uniform).
Wednesday 6th March: School Athletics Carnival.
Monday 11th March: Public Holiday.
Friday 15th March: Dennington Dash.
Monday 18th March: Sacrament of Reconciliation, St Pius X Church at 6.00pm.
Monday 18th March: Maths Learning walk at 9.00am
Tuesday 19th March: P&F Social Group AGM and first meeting.
Thursday 21st March: Literacy Learning walk at 9.00am
Wednesday 27th March: DDO Dinner Meeting.
Thursday 28th March: Last day of Term 1.