Term 4, Week 6 2024

As the end of the year approaches, it's a great time to reflect on what achievement looks like for each individual student. Every child is unique, and so are their highlights, challenges, and memories. What one student finds challenging, another may see as a strength. For some, success might mean an academic growth in a subject they once struggled with. For others, it might be reaching a personal social or emotional goal. Regardless of the form it takes, all achievements are worth celebrating.

Beyond the day-to-day lessons in the classroom, it’s often the additional experiences that make the school year truly memorable. These can include incursions, Masses, guest performances, excursions, camps, sporting events, choirs, clubs, and other extracurricular activities. These opportunities offer students a chance to learn in a more holistic way, allowing them to showcase and celebrate their growth in a variety of areas.

The combination of classroom learning and these enriching experiences creates a busy, yet unforgettable school year. We are grateful to the staff who work tirelessly, day in and day out, to plan and provide these valuable opportunities for our students.

Reports and Assessments
Over the coming weeks you will again receive information on your child’s learning through the rubrics and assessments their teacher will post on Seesaw. These rubrics are evidence of individual achievements in different learning areas. They are constructed against the learning outcomes prescribed by the Australian Curriculum and provide information on what has been successfully achieved and information of areas for future growth. Following these rubrics, the end of year final report will be distributed digitally via SEQTA Engage at the end of Week 8.

Christmas Markets and Colour Run
Once again, our Year 6 students will host the annual Christmas Market. This will be held during the school day on Friday 29th November and has been a learning focus for our Year 6 students in the learning area of Humanities and Social Sciences.  The Year 6 students are currently busily preparing for the event which will see the children have on offer a range of items for sale to our student community. Each class will visit the Christmas Market prior to the Colour Run and students will be able to purchase one item for either $1 or $2. A flyer was sent home to all families earlier this week.

End of Year Thanksgiving Mass
Please join us as we celebrate the conclusion of the 2024 school year at the Thanksgiving End of Year Mass. This whole school celebration will occur on Friday 6th December at 9:30am in the St John the Baptist Church.  Following Mass, a morning tea will be provided in the Church Foyer to thank our volunteers for their dedication and generosity across the school year. Everyone is welcome!

Best Wishes 

Please be reminded to complete the updated RRHAN-EC course in order to keep volunteering in 2025. 

The completion of the online update will need to be completed before 31 December 2024 when your current certificate expires. You need to complete the new RRHAN-EC online update unless you already have a current certificate with an expiry date of 31 December 2027.

To access the online update please use this link to login as ‘Non Department for Education staff login’ OR if you don’t already have a plink login, register here.

If your RRHAN-EC has already expired or you are new to education, please refer to the following guide which will help you to determine which course you need to do.

Which course is right for you?

My certificate expires on 31 December 2024 – do the online update only (takes about 2 hours).

My certificate is expired – start with the fundamentals.  If you also work directly with children and young people, do the masterclass after you’ve finished the fundamentals course.

Buddy Mass
We have finished our Buddy and Class Mass times for the school year. Thank you to all those families who were able to join us over these four terms.

Relaxing Recesses
Students have been enjoying the opportunity to access the school library during recess times on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. It has provided the students with a space to enjoy and engage in quiet activities such as colouring in, drawing, reading and puzzles.

End of Year Thanksgiving Mass
To celebrate the end of the school year and all of our accomplishments over 2024, we will be joining the parish for a Thanksgiving Mass at 9.30am in St John the Baptist Catholic Church on Friday 6^th December, Week 8.

Graduation Liturgy
The Year 6 will celebrate their schooling and time here at St John the Baptist with a Graduation Liturgy. This will take place on Monday 9th December, Week 9 in the St John the Baptist Church at 6pm.

Sacramental Programme 2025
We are now accepting enrolments for the 2025 Sacramental Programme.

If your child or children are aged 8 years or over, or will be turning 8 before August 2025 and you believe them to be ready to be involved in the program, please complete the details via this link: https://forms.office.com/r/SfukXUA6kG

Amanda Razon
APRIM

Dear St John’s Community,

What a week we have had weather-wise, it has been nothing short of amazing. I would like to start this week by highlighting our successful celebration during PE Week. Last Tuesday 12^th November all students came to school in their sports uniforms. Each class was presented with an Australian-based quiz to test their knowledge and understanding on a wide variety of sports. All classes submitted their answers online and we awarded a Junior Primary and Senior Primary award to the class that got most right. Congratulations to Year 2S and Year 5G for being the two winning classes.

As the term is slowly winding down, so to is the after-school sport teams. The final week for Basketball will commence on Monday the 2^nd December. On top of this, our last T-Ball game will occur on Saturday 7^th December. Once the Basketball games have concluded, can parents please wash and return the Basketball tops by Tuesday 10^th December. Also, could our amazing coaches and mentors please return the sports bags as soon as possible after the conclusion of the last game. We would like to take this opportunity to thank these wonderful people who have volunteered their valuable time throughout the school year.

In the next few weeks, if your child is interested, we will be asking you to register them for after school sports for Term 1, 2025. This will be via the Qkr! process. Please stay tuned for further information on this via a SEQTA email. The sports we would like to offer our students next year are Netball, Basketball, T-Ball, Volleyball and Cricket. It is pleasing to see that we had 124 students participate over the year in our after-school sporting programs.

Next week we are excited to present key information for all things Sport in 2025 at SJBCS. A SEQTA email has been sent to all families in regards to attending on the night. We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible on this evening.

Over the coming weeks the Premiers ‘Be Active’ medals will be distributed to the students. We had a total of 133 students take on this challenge and will be awarded with either a certificate or medal in the coming weeks. We congratulate Rian Shahi (3BM) for achieving a Silver medal and Isabelle Hennessy (4A) for obtaining a Champion medal for this particular challenge.   

We look forward to rounding out the year in a positive manner.

Yours in sport

Sam Putland
SPORTS COORDINATOR

This event is an opportunity for parents to learn more about our sports program and receive the information needed for the 2025 sporting year. We encourage everyone to attend and take advantage of this chance to engage with our sports community. We look forward to seeing you there!

Tomorrow, Friday 22^nd November, is the final day to pay your school fee balance if you are not on a payment plan.  Thank you to the many families who have completed their payments when they received their statement this term.  If you need help checking your balance or if you are unable to complete your payments by the end of the year, please contact me so we can discuss options.

Recently packs were sent home regarding your family information along with the 2025 fee information.  You will notice that the fees have been kept on hold for another year which I’m sure is a relief for many families.  If you are wishing to pay your fees by regular direct debit please complete the enclosed form and return it to the office by Friday 29^th November.  If choosing a set amount and you are unsure of the end date you can write the start date and then x 42 weeks or x 22 fortnight. If you would like assistance calculating the amount required, please email me and I can check if you have a current balance and work it out for you.

As always if you have any queries or if you are having trouble making payments please email me on accounts@stjohnpl.catholic.edu.au, phone me on 8218 3304 or come in and see me Monday to Friday 8.00am to 4.00pm.

Jodie Veldhoen
Finance Officer

Lions Christmas Cakes and Puddings are available in the front office until 11th December.

1.5kg Cake - $20.00

1kg Cake - $16.00

Pudding - $16.00

Wine Drive

The Parents & Friends are raising funds through a Wine Drive in conjuction with The Hwy.  Please see flyer and order form below.

Congratulations
"Regular reading sparks creativity, inspires imagination, and develops empathy.  The joy of reading can enhance the lives of our young people."

This year we have joined 670 schools in South Australia and well over 120,000 students completing the Challenge.

The Premier's Reading Challenge Certificates and Medals were given to the class teachers to distribute this week.

This year there were  272 students who completed the challenge.  There were 50 certificates and 223 medals. 

These included 56 Bronze medals, 55 Silver, 36 Gold, 41 Champion, 21 Legend and 14 Hall of Fame medals.

A special congratulations goes to Ava W. (6P) who completed 8 Years of PRC and received her Reader for Life certificate.

Five special awards are yet to be given out at an upcoming whole school gathering.

A great effort was made in our Reception - Year 2 classes with support by families who took on the challenge independently of the class teacher.  

These included 4 Receptions, 18 Year 1s and 32 Year 2s.

This year students focused on reading a variety of authors which opened up new worlds for many of our readers.

A very special thank you to all those in school and beyond who have listened to students reading, read to them and helped them decode and comprehend words.  Your encouragement in valuing the fabulous worlds that reading for both pleasure and information can take us into is invaluable.

Borrowing and End of Year Return of Books
The last day to borrow books from the library is this Friday, 22nd November.

All borrowed books are to be returned to the library prior to Friday 6th December.

Maria French

All orders for both recess and lunch are to be ordered via our Qkr! app.   

Canteen orders close each canteen day (Monday, Wednesday & Friday) at 9.00am.

Healthy Canteen (Tuesday & Thursday) orders close on Mondays at 12pm.

Canteen Roster

Term 4

Friday 22nd November - Jo & Megan Spokes

Monday 25th November - Julie

Tuesday 26th November - Jo

Wednesday 27th November - Julie & Neeta Saldanha

Thursday 28th November - Jo

Friday 29th November - Jo & Melissa Gorgone

Monday 2nd December - Julie

Tuesday 3rd December - Jo

Wednesday 4th December - Julie & Julian Thompson

Thursday 5th December - Jo

Friday 6th December - Jo & Stacey Arnold

Monday 9th - Wednesday 11th December - Canteen is closed 

Canteen Feedback
We would love your feedback regarding the canteen.

Is there anything that you would like to see on the menu that we may be able to consider adding on?

Please send you feedback to jfitzgerald@stjohnpl.catholic.edu.au

Canteen Closed Week 9
Please note that the canteen will be closed in Week 9 (Monday 9th - Wednesday 11th December).

Julie Henschke & Jo Fitzgerald

St John the Baptist School provides a safe environment for all while valuing the partnership between school and home.

As a Catholic community, we welcome and value volunteers. To be able to volunteer, and/or attend at other times throughout the school year, we ask that you hold a current Catholic Police Check (parents/caregivers attending excursions, reading in class, helping in class, attending community events), a current Responding to Risks of Harm, Abuse and Neglect in Education and Care for Volunteers certificate and have completed the volunteers application package.

A Catholic Police Check for volunteers is free for our current parents and caregivers. Application Forms are available in our school office.

This process ensures we maintain a child safe environment. To avoid disappointment, we encourage you to apply for a Catholic Police Check through the school office as soon as possible.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at the school office on 8218 3300 or email Julia Roy on jroy@stjohnpl.catholic.edu.au .

                                               

Insights may be discussed at future School Advisory Board meetings or you may be contacted personally for further follow up!

Please find link here for your suggestions.

Help us understand the cost of sport

The Australian Sports Commission (ASC) and Federation University are conducting a study to understand the costs associated with delivering and participating in community sport.

To gather valuable insights, we'd like to invite parents to complete a short online survey about their total expenses related to sports participation.

The results of this project will be used to make recommendations to inform the ASC sport policies and strategies to minimise the cost of playing sport.

Survey closes at 5pm (AEDT) on Tuesday 31 December.

Cost to Play Sport Survey can be accessed here.

Young Adelaide Voices offers a world-class choral education, as well as regular opportunities to perform, make new friends and build confidence and resilience. Come and experience our Open Rehearsals on Wednesday 2 February 2025, meet our Artistic Director and discover the joy of singing!

Visit our website https://youngadelaidevoices.asn.au/come-try-2025/ to register to attend our free Open Rehearsal or use the QR code and survey monkey are available for advising us of attendance. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/XPBFN78

The links and information that are being provided as a convenience and for informational purposes only.  They do not constitute an endorsement or an approval by St John the Baptist Catholic School of any of the products, services or opinions of the corporation or organisation or individual.  St John the Baptist Catholic School bears no responsibility for the accuracy legality or contact of the external site or for that of subsequent links.  Contact the external site for answers to questions regarding its content.