Dear Parents and Carers,

As this is the last newsletter for the year, I would like to take the opportunity to thank you for entrusting us with the education and well-being of your children. Your support, involvement, and collaboration have been invaluable and greatly appreciated. I hope you find time this holiday season to relax, away from the morning routines of school, and create fun memorable experiences with your children.

I also need to acknowledge our incredible staff. Their dedication and hard work have been the driving force behind our success this year. Their passion for education and commitment to nurturing the potential of every child have made St John’s a place of inspiration and growth.

Thank you to Fr Francis for his unwavering support for our parish school and his tireless efforts in creating an inclusive and welcoming St John’s community. He is an inspiration to us all through the work of his ministry and his deep commitment to our parish community.

On Friday we will farewell our Year 6 students for the last time with a farewell guard of honour at 2:20 pm. In congratulating Year 6, I would also like to acknowledge our leaving families. As your time at St John’s comes to an end, I extend my sincere thanks for the many ways that you have supported our school throughout your association.

2024 Student Leaders

It is with much pleasure that I announce to the school community our student leaders for 2024. In congratulating the following children, I would also like to acknowledge and commend all the Year 5 students who nominated themselves for positions of leadership.

Staffing News

An overview of the staffing arrangements for 2024 is included below. In providing you with this information, I would like to acknowledge the following staff who will not be returning next year:

• Mrs Tracey Steep (Library) will be retiring at the end of the school year after thirty-nine years of service to St John’s. In 1985, Mrs Steep accepted her first full-time teaching position at St John’s as an infants teacher. I wish her all the best as she transitions to retirement and I hope her journey ahead will be as fulfilling and inspiring as the one she leaves behind.
• Mrs Tanya Ernst (Year 2 Learning Support) will be taking leave from teaching in 2024 to experience life in Italy. I wish her all the very best for the year ahead and look forward to her return in 2025.
• Mrs Tiana Cardamone (Kindergarten) will continue her maternity leave for the 2024 school year. I wish her well as we eagerly await the birth of her baby.
• Mrs Katrina Douglas (Kindergarten Learning Support) will be taking leave from teaching in 2024. I wish her well with her new endeavours.

As we farewell the above staff members, I also welcome Miss Valeria Perez (Creative Arts – Music) who will join our school community in 2024.
 

I wish all families a holy Christmas, an enjoyable and safe holiday break.

Mr Matt Downes
Acting Principal

Advent

Advent Prayer for Children

​​My Lord Jesus,

I love You and thank You for this Advent season.

Please help me to understand all that You have done for me.

Your loving mother held You in her heart and brought You into this world.

Help me to do the same.

My loving Jesus, I choose You, this Advent, as my King and my God.

Draw me close to You and help me to see my sins so that I can change the things that You want me to change.

Mother Mary, pray for me this Advent so that I may do all that God wants me to do.

You said “Yes” to all that God asked of you.

Please pray for me that I may do the same.

I love You, Jesus.

Amen.

Father Francis warmly invites you to attend a Christmas Mass with him. Mass will be at 5 pm on Christmas Eve (Sunday 24th December) and 9 am on Christmas Day. Both Masses will be outdoors under the COLA.

St Vincent De Paul Annual Christmas Appeal — Thank you 

Thank you to each and every family who was able to support the ‘St Vincent De Paul Annual Christmas Appeal’. The Dapto St Vincent De Paul Society provides approximately 120 hampers to families experiencing difficulties in our local area. Members of the Dapto St Vincent de Paul Society were amazed and so appreciative of our efforts. The generosity of our school community is something quite special. Thank you for supporting St Vincent de Paul and the wonderful work that they do.

St John's School Christmas Concert

St John’s Christmas Concert!! 15th December 2023 at 1:10 pm (please note that our start time is 10 minutes earlier than previously advertised. Everyone is most welcome. We look forward to celebrating with you.

Year 6 Graduation 

On Thursday evening last week our Year 6 students celebrated their graduation from Primary School. Fr Francis celebrated a beautiful Mass with us, followed by formal speeches and awards and then dinner and a disco. We wish Year 6 all the very best in their next adventure in high school.

A big thank you goes to the many children who came along to Graduation to sing in the school choir. Their singing was beautiful.

Congratulations to the following children who received a special Year 6 award:

Anna Watson Award — for displaying a consistent and commendable effort to assist and improve their local school and community — Lucas F

Stephen Jones Award — for showing all the wonderful attributes that an active citizen makes in their school community, for being passionate, considerate of others and always willing to contribute positively in any capacity — Lucas E

St Mary of the Cross MacKillop Awards — for displaying an outstanding positive attitude, great commitment towards their education and living by the motto of never seeing a need without trying to do something about it — Temperance A-P, Tara L, Sam McQ, Jacob M

Rotary Award – Citizen prize — for being a caring, active and engaged member of the St. John's Parish School Community, and for making a positive difference in the world around them — Peter S

St Vincent de Paul Award — for displaying compassion and a deep passion for helping people in need, for displaying empathy and thoughtful consideration in every interaction with others — Sophie A

St John the Evangelist Award — for being an exemplary student who embodies the values ingrained in our Catholic faith, for displaying a profound commitment to faith, learning, love, respect and contributing meaningfully to the Parish and School Community - Xander I, Xavier N

Dates for your diary

Prayer Intentions

We pray for all families in our school community who are in need of our prayers.
We pray for the needs of our country and our world.
St Mary of the Cross MacKillop, pray for us.
St John the Evangelist, pray for us.

Wishing everyone a happy and holy Christmas.

Kylie Stephens
Religious Education Coordinator

PB4L is an evidence-based framework that emphasises school-wide systems of support for all students and staff. These include proactive strategies for defining, teaching and supporting appropriate student behaviours. Positive behaviour supports are implemented for all students, across all school settings, by all staff, at all times. This continuum of support ensures students’ academic and social outcomes.

All student behaviour expectations are founded on our three school rules – Be Respectful, Be Responsible, Be Safe.

On Friday, 15 December, at 2:20 pm, we will farewell Year 6 for the last time with a special whole school guard of honour. In congratulating Year 6, I would also like to acknowledge our leaving families. As your time at St John’s comes to an end, I extend my sincere thanks for the many ways that you have supported our school throughout your association.

Parents, Carers and Grandparents are welcome to join us for this event.

Years 1 – 6: Return to school 31 January 2024

Kindergarten: Best Start from 31 January – 6 February 2024

Kindergarten: First day 7 February 2024

During the End of Year Mass on Friday, we took a moment to recognise Mrs Steep's extensive tenure at St John's. Mrs Steep has been instrumental in shaping the educational journey for numerous students throughout the years. As we say our goodbyes, we extend our heartfelt appreciation for the positive influence she has had on both St John's and the lives of countless students. May her retirement be a time of joy, relaxation, and the fulfilment of well-earned repose following years of dedicated service.

If your child has medication kept in sickbay and is not returning to St John's in 2024, please can you come to the school office before 3pm Friday to collect the medication.  If you would like to collect your child's medication to use at home over the summer break, you are most welcome to do so.

Some medical plans and consent to dispense medication forms expire in December 2023.  If this is the case, you will be receiving a new form to complete and please return to the office when school returns in 2024.

Alternatively, if you know that your child's medication or plan has changed in any way please can you complete a form to return to the office.  

Should you have any questions relating to medications at all please do not hesitate to contact the office.

Over the holiday break all students, Kindergarten to Year 5, are invited to take part in the Holiday Reading Challenge. Reading is a very important and necessary skill that we use every day.  It is a skill that we use when reading books and magazines, watching TV, shopping and playing games. When children stop reading for extended periods of time they often take a few steps backwards. This school initiative is intended to help maintain student reading abilities and continue to foster their love of reading over the Christmas holidays.

By participating in the Reading Challenge your child will be practising the skill of reading on a regular basis, reinforcing good reading habits. Parents and carers are encouraged to help their children find fun and interesting books, fiction and non-fiction.  It is important for your child to read aloud to someone and just as important for them to listen and enjoy stories being read to them. 

Children in Kindergarten to Year 5, have been provided with a Holiday Reading Log. Children are encouraged to record the time they spend reading during the holidays into the Holiday Reading Log. Early in 2024, Diamond, Gold, Silver and Bronze Awards will be presented based on the number of hours spent reading. 

We all know that reading is one of the most important fundamental skills children must master to succeed; almost everything we do involves reading of some form. Hopefully, this challenge will help motivate your child to continue reading on a regular basis during the holiday break.

Kate Thomas

The school fees for 2024 have been approved by Bishop Brian Mascord and all fees will be billed at the end of January 2024:

School Fees are invoiced to families at the beginning of each year and are due 30 days from the date of invoice. Families may choose to pay the total when they receive their invoice or alternatively take up the option to pay by instalments over the school year.  

Should you wish to pay by instalments a Request To Pay By Instalment form which must be completed can be emailed directly to instalments@dow.catholic.edu.au or lodged at the school office.

If you have already completed a form and have instalments listed on your fee statement then you do not need to complete another form.

IMPORTANT:  Please note that if you currently have a child or children at another school in the Diocese and you are paying by instalments at this location, you will not need to complete another Request to Pay by Instalment.  The instalment request carries over from school to school with the same frequency of payment e.g. Weekly, fortnightly, Monthly or Quarterly.

Dear Parents & Carers

Please ensure you download your child's available school reports from the Compass Parent Portal by the end of Term 4 as these will no longer be accessible if your child does not attend a systemic secondary Catholic school in the Diocese of Wollongong, as your access to your child’s Compass profile will cease upon completion of primary school.

To the following students who will celebrate their birthday in January — we wish you a very happy birthday and hope you have a great day.

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With the warmer months upon us, it’s timely to remind students of the dangers of UV rays and the importance of sun safety.

Australia has one of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world, and statistics show that melanoma is the most common cancer affecting young Australians aged 15 – 24 years. The good news is that skin cancer is highly preventable.

The new Sun and UV at School skin cancer resources will assist primary and secondary school students in making healthy, safe, and proactive choices regarding sun protection to reduce their risk of skin cancer.

SunSmart

SunSmart 1.08 MB

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St John's VAC Program - Dec 23 Jan 24

St John's VAC Program - Dec 23 Jan 24 1.43 MB

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Our annual campaign kick starts the school year with inspirational tips, recipes and ideas for families to create healthy and enjoyable lunchboxes the whole year through.

We have teamed up with a range of other health organisations providing plenty of handpicked credible nutrition information on the one website. Visit the Healthy Lunchbox Week website for videos, downloadable recipes and fact sheets.

 

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Minnamurra Rainforest

Minnamurra Rainforest 3.30 MB

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