Dear Parents and Carers,

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your support over the last six years. As I write my last newsletter, I do so with a heavy heart. It has been an honour and privilege to serve the school community and I will take with me many fond memories of my time at St John’s. It has been an incredibly rewarding journey and I leave proud of what we have achieved together. Our school today is a welcoming, inclusive and modern learning environment, with students supported and encouraged to achieve high levels of academic success and to be the best version of themselves.

Saying goodbye is never easy, especially when you are leaving something that you love, but what I do know is that God has a plan for each of us. He knows each of us intimately and his love for us is unconditional. He leads us to places that only he knows and walks with us as we journey into the new and unknown. I have been most fortunate in my professional life and I remain grateful for all the opportunities that have been afforded to me during my principalship.

Each and every day it is the smiles of the children as they enter the school gate and the privilege of gently encouraging others, the stories shared with me, the excitement of a birthday, losing a tooth, badly behaved pets, holidays and much, much more is what I have loved the most.

Thank you to Fr Francis for his unwavering support for my leadership and our parish school. He is an inspiration to us all through the work of his ministry, constantly positive and deeply committed to our parish community.

Thank you to the St John's staff for their deep commitment to the care and wellbeing of our students. We are so very fortunate to have such a dedicated team of professionals who continue to provide wonderful learning experiences in a safe and supportive school environment.

Staffing News

Congratulations to Mr De Battista following his appointment as Acting Assistant Principal for 2023. I’m confident this news will be well received by the school community and in congratulating Mr De Battista, I wish him every success in his acting appointment. 

In 2022, Mrs McEntee engaged in a teacher exchange professional learning experience. Following a successful year, the temporary exchange has now been made permanent and Mrs McEntee will not be returning to St John’s. I would like to acknowledge and sincerely thank Mrs McEntee for all that she contributed to our school over many years.

We farewell Mrs Shelton, who has been teaching Gunyah 2 for the last four years. Mrs Shelton's contract concludes at the end of the year and she will not be returning in 2023. In wishing her well for the next steps in her career, I would like to thank her for her work and the significant contribution she has made to the children in our specialist setting.

Thank you also to Miss Sam Moon (First Aid) who will conclude her time at St John’s at the end of the year. Miss Moon has been working at St John’s for the last two years while completing her Nursing Degree. With her studies now finished, I wish her well for her future career in nursing.

I warmly welcome Miss Olivia Boyd-Skinner (Gunyah 2), Bianca Koczka (Teacher) and Chloe Mele (First Aid) who will join our school community in 2023.

Important Reminders

All students (Years 1 – 6) return to school on Tuesday 31 January 2023. Kindergarten's first full day at school is Tuesday 7 February 2023

Please ensure that your child/ren return to school wearing the correct summer uniform and note that sports shoes MUST be predominately white, not fluorescent in colour. For your convenience, the school uniform policy is attached below.

I would like to wish all families a Christmas filled with the wonder of the birth of Christ, the warmth of the Holiday spirit and the love of family and friends.

Yours sincerely
Andrew Heffernan
(Principal)

Do not be afraid. Love one another, bear with one another, and let charity guide you in all your life
Mary MacKillop (1873)

The fourth Week of Advent begins Sunday 18th December
On the fourth week of Advent, we light the final purple candle to mark the final week of prayer and penance as we wait for the birth of our Savior. This final candle, the “Angel’s Candle,” symbolizes peace. It reminds us of the message of the angels: “Peace on Earth, Good Will Toward Men.” In this final week of Advent, we are invited to make some time to be with others and with God-with-us in our own lives and in all of creation.

The Feast of St John the Evangelist — 27th December

St. John was born in Bethsaida, and like his brother James, was a fisherman. He was called while mending his nets to follow Jesus. He became the beloved disciple of Jesus. He wrote the fourth Gospel, three Epistles and the Apocalypse. His passages on the pre-existence of the Word, who by His Incarnation became the light of the world and life of our souls, are among the finest of the New Testament.

He is the evangelist of the divinity of Christ and His fraternal love. With James, his brother and Simon Peter, he was one of the witnesses of the Transfiguration. At the Last Supper, he leans on Jesus' chest. At the foot of the cross, Jesus entrusts His Mother to his care. John's pure life kept him very close to Jesus and Mary. In years to come, John was exiled to the island of Patmos under Emperor Domitian but lived to an old age.

(Excerpt from the Daily Roman Missal)

Vinnies Christmas Appeal

Thank you for supporting St Vincent de Paul and the wonderful work they do with your donations. Many families will benefit from your generosity. Two of our students, Lewis and Izak demonstrated how they live by Mary MacKillops quote ‘Never see a need without doing something about it’. They  raise money all year by recycling cans and bottles to buy groceries for the Christmas Appeal. This year they raised $524.40 to purchase custard and lollies.

Christmas Concert

Thank you to all of the parents and carers who were able to attend the Christmas Concert. It was wonderful for the students to share their performances with you.

Christmas Prayer

Loving Father, Help us remember the birth of Jesus,
That we may share in the song of the angels,
The gladness of the shepherds,
And worship of the wise men.
 
Close the door of hate
And open the door of love all over the world.
Let kindness come with every gift
And good desires with every greeting.
Deliver us from evil by the blessing, which Christ brings
And teach us to be merry with clear hearts.
 
May the Christmas morning make us
Happy to be thy children
And Christmas evening bring us
To our beds with grateful thoughts
Forgiving and forgiven
For Jesus sake

Prayer Intentions

We pray for all families in our school community who are in need of our prayers, as well as our country and world.

St Mary of the Cross MacKillop, pray for us.
St John the Evangelist, pray for us.

Renee Maguire
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.

Principal Awards and school medallions will be present on Thursday morning in the Hall at 8:45 am.

Last Thursday, we celebrated Year 6 Graduation with a liturgy of thanksgiving in our parish church. It was a beautiful time for Year 6 and their families and following the liturgy, a number of awards were presented. 

Congratulations to the Year 6 recipients for the following awards:

Anna Watson MP — Community Spirit Award
Angel Barbaro

Stephen Jones MP — Active Citizenship Award
Hamish Rose

Mary MacKillop "St Mary of the Cross" Award
Jackson Jongsma
Beau Ledwidge
Lani Ly
Georgina Keys

On Friday, 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.

Congratulations to Rohan G, Evie S and Alyce B, who were finalists in the annual Anna Watson MP Christmas Card Competition

Dear Parents and Carers

Please download the resource lists for 2023.

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.

Before and After School Care Voucher

Families with children aged 4 to 13 years that attend a primary school in NSW can receive a $500 voucher per child to reduce the out-of-pocket costs of before and after school care. 

This includes children who are starting kindergarten in 2023.

Back to School Voucher

The Back to School NSW Vouchers program will provide 3 x $50 vouchers, totalling $150 for each eligible child.

The vouchers can be used: towards the cost of school uniforms, shoes, bags, textbooks and stationery at registered businesses before 30 June 2023.

Applications open in December 2022.

Congratulations!

St John’s Primary School (Dapto) was the highest tub selling orgnisation for Billy G Gourmet Cookie Dough in 2022!

To reward your incredible effort selling 2,620 tubs, St John's has won a $1,000 Coles Myer Gift Voucher.

Thank you for fundraising with Billy G’s Gourmet Cookie Dough this year, and we hope to see you again in 2023!

2023 School Fee Information

School fees for 2023 have now been invoiced and statements will be issued by the end of Week Two with annual or first instalment payment due on 28 February 2023. You may also view your school fee account in the Compass Parent Portal.

Please note the following:

• The invoicing of school fees and the distribution of school fee statements each month, is now a function carried out by the Catholic Education Office.
• Payment of fees, whether as an annual payment or payment by instalments is due on the date/s provided on your school fee statement.
• If an amendment is made to your school fee account eg your child changes subjects in a secondary school, etc. you will be emailed a statement which will provide a new schedule of payments and due dates. Please review this schedule to make any changes to your payments that are necessary.
  
  

Reminders for late payments

SMS and email reminders are automatically generated by our accounting software based on the number of days a payment is overdue and are distributed by the Catholic Education Office. For those families that may have difficulty in paying their school fees, these reminders may cause some distress. This is not our intention. Our intention is to support the collection of school fee accounts centrally and in so doing, alleviate some of the administrative work of our schools.

School fee account enquiries

Please note, despite the centralisation of various functions, St John's will always be your point of contact for matters pertaining to fees. If you wish to discuss your school fee account, please contact the school office. The role of the Catholic Education Office is to action centralised tasks on behalf of schools.

If you wish to pay by instalments

Many families have already elected to pay their school fees by instalments. If you wish to avail yourself of this option please complete a Request to Pay by Instalment Form which is available on St John's Dapto website or at the school office. On completion of the request either email it to instalments@dow.catholic.edu.au or submit at St John's Dapto school office. Following receipt of the request, instalments will be generated on your account and a schedule of payments and due dates will be provided on your next school fee statement. Please note it is only necessary to complete this form once during the period of child/children’s enrolment unless you wish to amend your payment frequency.

Difficulty with payment

If you are experiencing financial difficulty, we encourage you to contact the school to discuss an arrangement that will assist you to meet your commitments. This may include the completion of a Diocesan Application for Fee Concession which is available from the school office. Be reassured that your situation will be treated with strict confidentiality and respect for your circumstances. If you wish to submit an application, please do so at the office. Please note, if you have children in more than one school, it will only be necessary to submit one application.

For those families that received a Fee Concession in 2022, you will receive an email prior to your annual review date attaching a further Application for Fee Concession. You may also initiate an earlier review if you wish to do so by contacting the school office.

For further information regarding school fees, please access the Diocesan School Fee Management Policy and Frequently Asked Questions which is available on our website.

The school fees for 2023 have been approved by Bishop Brian Mascord and all fees will be billed at the end of January 2023:

Tuition fees

The Primary tuition fee (per annum) for 2023 is: $1,781 per family.

SEDSO building levy

The SEDSO Levy (per annum) for 2023 is: $1,187 per family.

Resource fees

The Resource Fee (per student) for 2023 will be:

• Kindergarten - $180
• Years 1 and 2 - $170
• Years 3 to 6 - $190

Additional costs

The following are additional costs (per student) for 2023:

• Sport Levy - $20
• Life Education - $7
• Kindergarten Excursion - $44
• Year 1 Excursion - $35
• Year 2 Excursion - $45
• Year 3 Excursion - $35
• Year 4 Excursion - $47
• Year 5 Excursion - $7
• Year 5 Camp - $352
• Year 6 Canberra - $220
• Year 6 Excursions - $97 (Jamberoo $65, Mass with Bishop $16, Activate Fire $16)
• Year 6 Jersey - $46.00
• Year 6 Leadership Program - $13.00

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.

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 2023, 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.

Matthew Downes
Assistant Principal