Dear Families

APRIM Newsletter- Week 2
Welcome back to all! It is lovely to be back in the community. I have enjoyed the buzz and excitement of the community as we have begun a new year.

School Theme
When we look at where we are as individuals, as a local community, part of Catholic Education or even in the world, our circumstances and life itself is not always as they should be. However, we can think, act and live according to the way things could be. Therefore, our theme for this year is ‘Imagine.’ To imagine a world not as it is, but the way God desires it to be.

Shrove Tuesday & Ash Wednesday
This year Lent comes early with Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday beginning next week.

The students will be enjoying pancakes organised by our lovely P&F committee next Tuesday.

On Ash Wednesday, the Year 6 students will be attending the Parish Mass at 9:30am. The Year 6s will then take ashes blessed at the Mass to each class. The teachers will then lead the Ash Wednesday liturgy for their students.

Project Compassion
As the Lenten pillars are pray, fast and give, Caritas Australia runs Project Compassion. Each year we hear stories of individuals from vulnerable communities, and we are invited to learn how we can best support them. The theme for Project Compassion is below:

For All Future Generations

Spanning across the six weeks of Lent each year, Project Compassion brings thousands of Australian schools, parishes and supporters together to raise funds for people living in some of the most vulnerable communities across the world.

Your generous support can help change lives today - and For All Future Generations.

Sacramental Program
Enrolments for the Sacramental Program are open for 2024. If your child or children are aged 8 years or over, or will be turning 8 before August 2024, and you believe them to be ready to be involved in the program, please complete the form via this link https://forms.office.com/r/9xHG5xFiZB

Beginning of Year School Mass
Families are welcome to join us for our Beginning of Year Mass on Friday 9^th February at 12pm in St John the Baptist Church. We will be coming together to celebrate a new school year, with a special welcome to our Receptions and a blessing for our Year 6 leaders.

Amanda Razon
APRIM

Hi, I have recently taken over the role of Finance Officer from Pam Marks and we are in the transition and hand over process.  I have been working in the same role at Catholic Primary Schools since 2005 and I am so happy to be joining your beautiful community.  Hopefully the transition process is smooth, but if you feel something has not been updated regarding your school fees or payments please pop in or send me an email to accounts@stjohnpl.catholic.edu.au for me to look into.

School Fee statements should be posted out in Week 3, so if you do not receive yours by 23^rd February please contact me.

Fees

Our Annual School Fees are:

Full Fee - $3280
Lower Income Fee - $1795

The fees above includes all tuition and excursion levies for each child's education.  Extra Curricular activities, sport, camps and uniforms are excluded and will be charged separately.

To be eligible for the lower income fee, you need to qualify as a low income family.  This is determined by your family's gross income and is set by the State Government.  Your family's gross income needs to be below approximately $70,994 (2023 income limit) for a family with one school aged child (the limit will vary depending on how many dependant children you have).

Proof of income is required and applicants will need to apply via the State Governments School Card Scheme, please find information below on how to apply.

For further information regarding fees, please visit our website here.

School Card
Please follow the link below to apply for the 2024 School Card Scheme. 

The School Card scheme provides low-income families attending a non-government school with financial assistance for school fees (materials and services charges). 

Eligibility 

School Card is available to: 

• families with children aged four years and over who attend a school full-time 
• independent full-time students studying year 10, 11 or 12 

• adult re-entry students undertaking subjects to complete their SAC 

https://www.sa.gov.au/topics/education-and-learning/financial-help-scholarships-and-grants/school-card-scheme 

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any queries regarding the above. 

Qkr! Notifications
Please ensure that you have your notifications on for Qkr!  Notifications are sent out when items are closing to ensure you don't miss out.  See instructions below regarding turning on notifications.

We ask those families whose circumstances may have changed or are experiencing difficulties to please contact Todd LaForgia or myself at your earliest convenience via email: accounts@stjohnpl.catholic.edu.au

Jodie Veldhoen
Finance Officer 

Do you have a child who is due to start school in 2026 and have not yet submitted an enrolment form?  

Enrolment Forms can be collected from our school office or downloaded via our website www.stjohnpl.catholic.edu.au

If you have any queries, please contact our office on 8218 3300.

Dear St John’s Community,

What an amazing start we have had to 2024, thank you everyone for making me feel so welcome. I feel extremely privileged to be working in such a vibrant, energetic and supportive school community.

I am very passionate about sport and have been ever since beginning school myself. When spending time away from my teaching role, I enjoy racing Dirt-Karts. An exciting aspect of this for me is supporting and mentoring my 5 year-old on track, as she is very enthusiastic about her racing also. On top of this my 3 year-old enjoys refining his driving skills whenever he gets the opportunity to do so in his kart. When time permits other sports/activities that I enjoy participating in are Wakeboarding and Golf.

In my short time as the PE Teacher here at St John the Baptist School, I have already heard and witnessed the enthusiasm and connection that all the children have with their preferred sport. I very much look forward to learning more about them, their preferred sports and being an extremely positive and engaging mentor for their development in sport.

This term there will be opportunities for your children to be involved in a range of After-School Sport activities. As you would have seen through SEQTA notices, we have already offered Netball, Basketball and Volleyball to those who are eligible. The support received for the Basketball teams was outstanding and we thank all participants for registering so efficiently. Unfortunately, with a shortened registration process, we weren’t able to field either a Netball or Volleyball side. These sports can be re-offered at the beginning of Term 2.

We appreciate your understanding in regard to the new registration process for After-School Sports. It is a different process for you all, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us if you have any concerns regarding your child or the opportunity for them to be involved in any of these After-School Sporting programs.

Basketball
Many thanks for your support with the Basketball registration. A big thankyou to those parents who have volunteered to Coach or Manage a team.

We are hoping to register 8 teams for Basketball. 

However we need more Coaches, we require coaches for the following:

Monday 3/4 Boys X 2 Coaches

Tuesday 5/6 Boys X 1 Coach

Wednesday 5/6 Girls X 1 Coach

Thursday 2/3 Mixed X 1 Coach

Please email Sam at sputland@stjohnpl.catholic.edu.au or Pam at pmarks@stjohnpl.catholic.edu.au

Sam Putland
SPORT COORDINATOR

New parents to St John the Baptist Catholic School Community are invited to the New Parent Dinner on Saturday 17th February. This is a great way to meet other families within our community.

Please RSVP by Wednesday, 14th February to info@stjohnpl.catholic.edu.au

Welcome back to the library in 2024.

Overdue Books
If you discovered any books over the Christmas holidays belonging to our library, please return them so they can go back in to the system for others to borrow.

If your student/s have overdue books and have had a good look for them and still can't find them please come to the library and let us know.

Premier's Reading Challenge
The PRC is underway.  Students will be filling out their forms in the coming week.  The challenge is for our students to expand their vocabulary, stretch their imaginations and enjoy new authors as well as their favourites.

Watch this space for more information in the next newsletter.

Happy reading

Maria French
Library Coordinator

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 1

Friday 9th Feb - Jo, Emma Vivian & Kate Piasente

Monday 12th Feb - Julie

Tuesday 13th Feb - Jo

Wednesday 14th Feb - Julie

Thursday 15th Feb - Jo

Friday 16th Feb - Jo & Nicole Watson

Monday 19th Feb - Julie

Tuesday 20th Feb - Jo

Wednesday 21st Feb - Julie

Thursday 22nd Feb - Jo

Friday 23rd Feb - No Canteen 

Julie Henschke & Jo Fitzgerald

You’re invited to join our FREE Virtual Information Session! Discover everything you need to know about OSHC and beyond.
 
Session 1: Tuesday 13 February 2024 at 6:30 pm ACDT
Session 2: Thursday 15 February 2024 at 12:00 pm ACDT
Find out more at [https://campaustralia.com.au/virtual-info-sessions] and register today!
 
Take the stress out of your busy schedule and take advantage of Your OSHC! Convenient, hassle-free and enriching experiences for your child before and after school.
 
Register FREE and book your children into OSHC here! [https://pp.campaustralia.com.au/]

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 Francis Schulz on fschulz@stjohnpl.catholic.edu.au .

Hamra Library currently offer the following drop-in activities:

• A monthly writers' group (4:30-5:30pm every second Wednesday of the month)
• A monthly book club with no set text, just a place to come and talk about books! (4:30-5:30pm last Wednesday of every month)
• Homework club for all-ages study assistance every Monday during term, 4pm-6pm.
• 24/7 access to Studiosity for additional support if they have a West Torrens library card!
• The Australian Refugee Association offers homework support to students from refugee backgrounds who have been in Australia for 5 years or less every Thursday of term - 4pm-6pm
• Lego Club (every 2^nd Monday during term time, 3:30-5pm)
• "Sign Squad" for 12-25 year olds to learn Auslan from a Deaf tutor (Friday 5-6pm in weeks 1, 4, and 8 of each term)

None of these activities require bookings but further information is available via the Hamra Library website on the Activities and Events webpage:

https://www.westtorrens.sa.gov.au/Hamra-Centre-Library/Activities-and-event

Jess Dance Academy, a local dance studio committed to providing quality dance education to the community. We deeply value the importance of fostering creativity and physical activity among students. Our goal is to engage with more families who share a passion for the arts and would benefit from the dance programs we offer at Jess Dance Academy.

Australian Girls Choir Open Day

Look no further than the Australian Girls Choir (AGC) because we encourage, challenge and inspire girls as they learn to sing, dance and perform. School aged girls are invited to come along to our February Open Day to try our fun and inclusive class and learn more about being part of the AGC! Please visit our website to register to attend our free Open Day: ausgirlschoir.com.au/joinagc

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.