Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome to the new school year, especially to the many new families who have commenced school at St John’s for the first time. The children have quickly settled into their new classrooms and the school-wide procedures and expectations. Thank you for ensuring your children are well-presented each day in the correct school uniform and are equipped and prepared for learning.

On Monday 30 January, the staff of St John’s had the privilege of beginning the school year with Fr Francis in mass. During the celebration, the following blessing for the new school year was shared. It promotes thought and encourages each and every one of us to reflect on our responsibility as a member of a Catholic school community. 

We are grateful for the gift of a fresh new year,
we ask blessings on our whole school community:
 
May every classroom be a place of respect and possibility.
May every staffroom and playground be a place of
friendship and laughter.
May every hall and assembly be a place of connection.
May every library be a place of discovery.
May every tree and plant call us to care for creation.
May every snack and lunch remind us of those who are
hungry.
May every student grow in confidence and love of life.
May every teacher find daily vision and hope.
May every support worker help create a sense of belonging.
May every leader find openness and patience.
May every parent grow in wisdom.
May every name in this school be blessed
Because each person is precious
And only together can we learn and grow.

by Michael McGirr. 2023

We are waiting in great anticipation for our Kindergarten students to commence on Tuesday 7 February. Starting school comes with many challenges, a new environment with new faces, new routines and expectations. As all our students settle into life at school, you are encouraged to continue to support this transition by making time for them to share their experiences, talking positively about school and keeping teachers informed about any changes to their normal routine.

Working together we will continue to maintain a positive school environment, an environment that allows optimum spiritual, academic, social and emotional growth for your child. If you have any questions or concerns, please be sure to contact your child’s teacher, school office or myself.

Looking forward to an amazing year!

Mr Matt Downes
Acting Principal

On Friday 10 February, there will be a whole school Liturgy at 9:30 am at which the 2023 student leaders will be officially inducted. Morning tea will follow in the Joseph Room for the families of the 2023 leaders. An invitation will be sent home today to the families of the student leaders. Please RSVP by Tuesday 07 February for catering purposes. All parents and carers are warmly invited to attend the Liturgy in our parish Church.

Classroom teachers are currently preparing parent information videos that outline specific information for the year ahead. These videos will be shared with parents towards the end of next week.
 
On Monday 20 February to Thursday 2 March, Kindergarten teachers will be hosting parent / teacher meetings. The purpose of these meetings is to provide parents with an opportunity to meet their child’s classroom teacher and for teachers to provide feedback to parents following the Best Start Assessments.
 
On Monday 20 March to Friday 31 March, teachers from Year 1 to Year 6 will be hosting learning conversations. These conversations will involve discussions between classroom teachers, parents and students on achievements, areas for growth and the formation of learning goals. Kindergarten Parent/teacher meetings and Yr 1 - 6 Learning Conversations will need to be booked via Compass. More information will be sent to parents in the coming weeks.
 
To communicate with your child’s teacher, parents/carers should:

• Email your child’s teacher directly. Teachers will reply within 2 working days, between 8:00 am and 5:00 pm only
• Alternatively, phone (42614611) or email (info@sjddow.catholic.edu.au) the school office regarding changes to afternoon pick-up arrangements or to request a meeting.

The Seesaw app will be used by classroom teachers to share and celebrate learning with parents and carers. The conversation feature is no longer an option for sending private messages to classroom teachers. If you need to communicate with your child’s teacher, please email the teacher directly or contact the school office.

Class teacher emails are attached below.

Thank you for your understanding and support. I’m sure that you can appreciate the importance of having clear and consistent protocols for communicating with the school.

“We know not what the hidden designs of God may be.”
Mary MacKillop 1890

SACRAMENTAL DATES

Sacramental dates are being finalised and will be sent to parents/carers of Year 3 (for Reconciliation followed by First Holy Communion) and Year 6 students (for Confirmation) on Monday the 6th of February, via Compass. Please note: To enrol for the sacrament of Reconciliation your child needs to be a baptised Catholic and must have at least one parent who is Catholic. If you (the parent) is Catholic and your child has not yet been baptised or has been baptised in another Christian faith but not received into the Catholic Church and you would like them to be, you will need to contact the parish office (Ph: 4261 1315) to make an appointment to see Father Francis.

If you have any questions, after receiving the information on the 6th of February, please email maguirer02@dow.catholic.edu.au

THE PRESENTATION OF THE LORD – FEBRUARY 2

The Presentation of Jesus at the Temple celebrates an early episode in the life of Jesus. Other traditional names include Candlemas, the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin, and the Meeting of the Lord. This relatively ancient feast celebrates the 40th day after Christmas when Jesus was presented in the Temple at Jerusalem. At the heart of this celebration is the encounter of Simeon and Anna with the Christ Child in the Temple. It is in that holy encounter that Jesus’ divinity is manifested by a human prophet for the first time. At His birth, the angels proclaimed His divinity to the shepherds, but in the Temple, Simeon was the first to understand and proclaim Jesus as the Savior of the World.

THE FEAST OF OUR LADY OF LOURDES – February 11

On February 11, we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, the title given to Mary when she appeared to Bernadette Soubirous in 1858 in Lourdes, France. The first appearance was on Feb. 11, and she would meet with Bernadette a total of 18 times through to July 16 of that year. On March 25 she said to the little shepherdess: "I am the Immaculate Conception." Since then Lourdes has become a place of pilgrimage and many cures and conversions have taken place. The message of Lourdes is a call to personal conversion, prayer, and charity.

Dates for your diary:

• Fri 10 Feb  9:30 K-6 Mass 9:30 – Induction of Yr 6 Leaders and Mini-Vinnies Team (in the church)
• Thurs 16th Feb 11:15am – Reconciliation - Half of Year 6
• Fri 17th Feb 9:30am – Year 3 Grade Mass
• Fri 17th Feb 11:15am – Reconciliation - Half of Year 6

PRAYER INTENTIONS

We pray for the peoples of all the world, that the Lord may graciously preserve harmony among them,
St Mary of the Cross MacKillop, pray for us.
St John the Evangelist, pray for us.

Renee Maguire
Religious Education Coordinator

The P&F Annual General Meeting will be held in the Library on Tuesday 21 February 2023 at 7 pm. The primary purpose of the P&F is to provide an opportunity for parents to be involved in the school through social events, fundraising and supporting various school initiatives throughout the year.

At the meeting, all positions will be declared vacant and an election will take place. If any parent wishes to nominate themselves or someone else for any of the positions, please complete the form by Friday 17 February 2023. I look forward to seeing you all at the meeting.

Aunty Jo and Uncle Mark will continue as our Aboriginal Education Assistants (AEA) this year at St John’s. They will be working each Monday and Tuesday offering a range of cultural experiences such as dancing, art and didgeridoo playing (boys), along with a range of cultural immersion opportunities.

Dates for Swimming, Cross Country and Athletics Carnivals

• 3 March — SJD Primary School Swimming Carnival
• 7 March — South Coast Region Swimming
• 13 March — Diocesan Swimming Selection Trials
• 17 March — SJD Cross Country Carnival
• 7 April — SJD Cross Country Carnival - BACKUP Date
• 2 May — Diocesan Cross Country Carnival
• 23 May — Diocesan Cross Country - BACKUP Date
• 27 June — SJD Athletics Carnival
• 8 August — South Coast Regional Athletics
• 15 August — Diocesan Athletics Selection Trials

Primary Swimming Carnival

St John’s Primary Swimming Carnival will be held on Friday, 3 March. Attendance is compulsory for all Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 students. Novelty events will be run on the day, and each primary grade will attend one session. Primary non-swimmers are included in these activities. 

Entry is also open to Year 2 students who will be turning 8 this year to compete in 50-metre events. Year 2 students must be very competent 50-metre swimmers. Students compete in their age group for freestyle and for all other strokes compete in junior (8, 9 & 10 years), 11 years and senior (12 & 13 years) categories. 

We look forward to a great day of participation, fun and sportsmanship.

A permission and entry form will be published on Compass for all primary students.

Mrs Michelle Atkins
Sports Coordinator

Sports uniform days will be: 

• Tuesday - Year 4, Year 5, 2 Green
• Wednesday - Year 6, Kindergarten, 2 Blue
• Thursday - Year 3, Year 1, 2 Red
• Friday - whole school

Borrowing from the Library will begin next week, all students must bring their library bag on their library days.

Thank you for your continued support of the school uniform policy. As a general reminder, it is expected that all students are in the correct school uniform daily. The policy explicitly outlines the school uniform required for both boys and girls enrolled at St John's. On the rare occasion, that your child cannot wear the correct uniform, a written explanation should be provided to their teacher.

The policy also includes expectations on the wearing of jewellery, nail polish, make-up and haircuts. All long hair MUST be tired back, regardless of gender. The emphasis is on neat and tidy hairstyles and extreme haircuts, as well as coloured hair, is not permitted.

School uniforms are expensive and the school is always ready to provide financial assistance to families in this regard, ensuring no family is disadvantaged. Please contact the school office on 4261 4611 for further assistance.

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.

Get the Compass mobile app

Access student information on the go with Compass mobile app for iPhone & Android phones.

Automatically Update apps

It is important that your mobile device has the most current version of the app. Make sure that the apps are set to automatically update.

iPhone

Go into Settings and scroll until you see iTunes and App Store. Tap on iTunes & App Store. Then scroll down the bottom until you see AUTOMATIC DOWNLOADS. To turn on automatic app updates, tap in the white oval next to App Updates.

Android

Open the Google Play Store app. Tap Menu Settings. Tap Auto-update apps. Select an option: Over any network to update apps using either Wi-Fi or mobile data. Over Wi-Fi only to update apps only when connected to Wi-Fi.

Get Notifications

An app notification is a message or alert sent by Compass to the user. Notifications sent this way do not require the Compass app to be open and messages are displayed on the screen of the mobile even when the device is locked.

iPhone

Go to Settings > Notifications, select the app, and make sure that Allow Notifications is on. If you have notifications turned on for an app but you're not receiving alerts, you might not have Banners selected. Go to Settings > Notifications, select the app, then select Banners.

Android

Open your phone's Settings app. Tap Apps & notifications Notifications. Under "Lock screen," tap Notifications on lock screen or On lock screen. Choose Show alerting and silent notifications. On some phones, choose Show all notification content.

Parents and carers are reminded that the area surrounding St John’s is designated as a School Zone. Police and Council Rangers constantly patrol the area and they will have no hesitation in prosecuting drivers for driving offences.

All NSW school zones are sign-posted with regulatory signs that list the operating times of the school zones. 

For the safety of all, please ensure that you adhere to the signage and following the directions of our School Crossing Supervisor.

Full list of School Zone offences are available from the RMS website.

School students will be required to have a valid School Opal Card or travel pass for the commencement of school in January 2023.

To the following students who celebrated their birthday in January and celebrating in February — we wish you a very happy birthday and hope you had/have a great day.

Made Fresh, operate our canteen, a canteen menu has been included below and other benefits include the following:

• Operational five days a week from 8:00 am (Breakfast)
• Online ordering (Flexischools)
• Extensive menu options and quality food items
• Ongoing compliance with NSW Healthy Schools canteen guidelines

If students are ordering ice blocks as part of their lunch order, this will not be given to the child in the lunch order, the child will be required to go to the canteen after they finish eating their lunch for collection.

The “NSW Police Legacy Child Safety Handbook” is a comprehensive and free resource to assist parents, carers as well as teachers on a range of topics essential to child safety.  

The updated digital edition also includes important content updates from: NSW Rural Fire, NSW Ministry of Health, NSW Police Force, Fire and Rescue NSW, Transport NSW, State Emergency Services, NSW Department of Family & Community Services, eSafety Commissioner and NSW Office of the Children's Guardian.

Please click on the cover below to view the updated digital handbook:

Here are additional links where the digital handbook can be viewed:
NSW Police Legacy – https://www.policelegacynsw.org.au/resources/

Child Safety Hub website – http://nsw.childsafetyhub.com.au/handbook/

Services & Programs

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