Term 1, Week 4 2023

Dear Families

Best Wishes

The Leadership Team
Todd LaForgia, Jo Livingstone, Amanda Razon & Michael Cimarosti

Shrove Tuesday
It has become a tradition to feast before the 40 days of fasting during Lent. People would use up their supplies of eggs, butter or sugar. So, we carry on this tradition and celebrate with pancakes on Shrove Tuesday, before Lent begins on Ash Wednesday.

This week the students also enjoyed this tradition as our P&F committee cooked pancakes for the children and delivered them to each of the classes.

Ash Wednesday
We have now come to a special time in the Church calendar, the Lenten season. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Lenten journey. In this season, the cloth in the church is purple which is symbolic of preparation and penance for Jesus’ resurrection on Easter Sunday. In this time Christians prepare their hearts in three ways: prayer, fasting and almsgiving. This is also why we have a strong focus on Caritas’ Project Compassion.

Our Year 6 students joined the parish community to celebrate Mass. The Year 6s then brought over the blessed ashes and Project Compassions to each year level for each class’s own Ash Wednesday liturgy led by their class teachers.

Sacramental Information Session
We have now held most of the interviews in preparation for those children who will be receiving their Sacraments of Reconciliation, Holy Communion and Confirmation.

Our first information night will be next week, March 2^nd at 7pm in the hall. Children are also encouraged to attend this session with their parents.

Prayer Spaces
As previously mentioned, we have had a changing prayer space set up within the school. Over the past two weeks we have explored praying with our senses.

The children offered up prayers to God that they associated with the feel of soft wool, prickly pinecones and dried spiral pasta. One child’s prayer was for her mum because the wool reminded her of, “my mum’s warm hug”.

This week we looked at resilience and praying for those people who give us strength. It has been a blessing to see the different ways and supports that give our student strength during the more challenging times.

We hope to continue exploring all the different ways we can connect with God.

Amanda Razon
APRIM

Do you have a child who is due to start school in Term 3 2023 or in 2024 and have not yet submitted an enrolment form?  If so, enrolments are now over due!

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.

Name:  Jodie Hamilton - Melhuish 

Role at St John's & Years of Service: Year 5 Teacher and first year!

Favourite Colour:  Navy Blue

Favourite Food:  Indonesian & Thai Food

Sporting Team:  Adelaide Crows, Sydney Swans, Adelaide Thunderbirds, Canadian Canucks (Ice Hockey)

Hobbies & Interests:  Coaching netball for Matrics, travelling with family & playing tennis

Primary School:  Ingle Heights Primary

High School:  Bandung International School in Indonesia & Annesley College

Pets: Douglas who is a black labrador

3 Words to describe yourself:  Passionate, Loyal, Caring & Sociable

Best advice you have been given:  Trust and believe in yourself even if others may doubt you.  When life gets challenging, remember to take a breath and take one step at a time, because it will get better.

Favourite holiday spot:  Canada - love everything about it

Favourite season:  Autumn - the changing leaves and new beginnings 

Name:  Smantha Slee

Role at St John's & Years of Service: Inclusion, Diversity & Learning Coordinator - new to school

Favourite Colour:  Pink

Favourite Food:  Italian Food and any dessert!

Sporting Team:  Adelaide Crows

Hobbies & Interests:  Spending time with my horses, baking, gardening and upcycling furniture

Primary School:  Banksia Park Primary

High School:  Birdwood High School & St Ignatius College

Pets: Our dogs Boo and Vera, Delilah our cat, Rug, Tilly, Suzie and Opal our horses!

3 Words to describe yourself:  Caring, Patient & Friendly

Best advice you have been given:  Your best is always good enough!

Favourite holiday spot:  Normanville

Favourite season:  Summer

Statement of Accounts

A statement of accounts will be sent out this Friday (24th February).  Please be reminded that if you wish to obtain the Early Bird discount you will need to pay fees in full by Friday 10th March (Week 6).

School Card
Please follow the link below to apply for the 2023 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.

Change of Circumstance
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: pmarks@stjohnpl.catholic.edu.au

Pam Marks 
Bursar/Finance Officer 

School Sport

There has been an outstanding response from the children to participate in their preferred sport/s.

We currently have 156 children playing sport for the school.

Please find below the teams for the Term 1 season:

7 x basketball teams playing at Wayville

Year 3/4 Boys STJB 36ers             Coaches – Andi Richardson / Peter Gianni

Year 3/4 Boys STJB Wizards       Coaches – Jeff Balkwill & Carolyne Ryan

Year 5/6 Boys STJB Warriors      Coach - Filomena Francis

Year 5/6 Girls STJB Clippers       Coaches – Hilary Sadler / Simon Croxton

Year 2/3 Open STJB Jazz              Coach – Emma Vivian

Year 2/3 Open STJB Lakers         Coaches – Grant / Jo Evans

Year 2/3 Open STJB Magic          Coach – Michelle Politis

1 x Year 3 Master Blaster (Cricket) team playing at Glandore Oval

Coach – Warren Mitchell

2 x Tee ball (Baseball) playing at Adelaide “Angels” Baseball Club

Seagulls                                            Coach – Sophie Cook

Pelicans                                            Coach – Paul Grosvenor         

3 x Netball team playing at Cabra College

Year 3/4 STJB Allstars     Coach –Michelle Politis

Year 3/4 STJB Firebirds   Coach – Angela Speirs

             Year 5/6 STJB Vixens        Coach – Megan Spokes

2 x Volleyball teams playing at Westbourne Park Community Centre

STJB Storm                            Coach – Beth Tamm

STJB Thunder                       Coach – Dani Amato

Team selections are made by the school and requests will only be considered in extenuating circumstances and at the school's discretion.

St John the Baptist Catholic School Hot Weather Policy
The duty of care for our students’ health and safety is of primary importance. Consequently, the following policies will apply to St John the Baptist Catholic School sport. 

All game cancellations are in conjunction with the given sporting association or St John the Baptist Catholic School Extreme Weather Policy.

Please find below the Extreme Weather Policies for each association and the sports St John the Baptist Catholic School participates in.

• Basketball – Basketball SA hot weather policy cut off is 35 degrees as per the Bureau of Meteorology at 8am the day of the match.

• Cricket – St John the Baptist Catholic School Extreme Weather Policy cut off at 36 degrees.

• Volleyball – continues to play as the venue is airconditioned

• Netball – Life. Be In It Netball policy (outdoor) cut off at 34 degrees.

• Tee Ball - St John the Baptist Catholic School Extreme Weather Policy cut off at 36 degrees.

Training sessions - St John the Baptist Catholic School Extreme Weather Policy cut off is at 36 degrees.

All students are reminded to wear a hat and sunscreen, especially during Terms 1 and 4.

Dependent on the sport played, the sport will go ahead in wet weather unless there is thunder and lightning storms, or if it is deemed unsafe to play in the wet conditions.
 

Lacrosse
St John the Baptist Catholic School has been fortunate to have players from the Glenelg Lacrosse club come to our school to run lacrosse clinics with the Year 3, Year 4, Year 5 & Year 6 classes. The lacrosse clinics are being run over a 4-week period during their PE lessons.

St John’s will be taking part in 2 Lacrosse Carnivals this year.

1. SAPSASA Lacrosse Carnival – Term 1
2. SACPSSA Lacrosse Carnival - Term 2

Auskick
West Adelaide Football Club and the SANFL conduct local football programs in clubs and schools including both Auskick and junior football.

The West Adelaide Football Club will be delivering Football Clinics with our junior primary students (R-2) to help promote Auskick and local footy clubs within the zone on Friday 17^th March.

SACPSSA
The South Australian Catholic Primary School Sports Association aims to promote the philosophy of good sportsmanship, teach students how to win well and lose graciously, and foster companionship between competitors while promoting a healthy active lifestyle.

SACPSSA offers a wide variety of team and individual sports carnivals, students are encouraged to participate and compete in the carnivals held throughout the calendar year. The primary sports traditionally include Cross Country, Athletics and Swimming, with team based sports such as Netball, Tennis, Lacrosse, Cricket and Touch.

By competing in carnivals throughout the year, students have opportunities to meet and compete against students in their own age group from all areas of the state.

SAPSASA
SAPSASA (South Australian Primary Schools Amateur Sports Association) events provide opportunities for children with specific sporting ability to participate in a variety of sporting activities. SAPSASA works within the Department for Education for the delivery of School Sport.

SAPSASA works in consultation with Secondary School Sport SA (SSSSA) to conduct school sport programs from R-12. Primary school children aged 10 years and older are eligible to participate.

St John the Baptist Catholic School has a strong history in participation in the South Australian Primary Schools Amateur Sports Association (SAPSASA) competition. We are proudly part of the Airport District and enter into a wide variety of SAPSASA events throughout the year. SAPSASA runs a series of Knockout Competitions, State Carnivals and State Championships, which the school nominates individuals and teams for.

Term 1 Sport Carnivals
The following carnivals / trials will occur this term –

SAPSASA Lacrosse Carnival Yr. 4 - 6            Thursday 9^th March (Week 6)

SACPSSA Swimming trials Yr. 3 - 6                Friday 10^th March (Week 6)

Crows Cup Yr. 5/6 Girls                                    Thursday 30^th March (Week 9)

SACPSSA Swimming Carnival Yr. 3 – 6          Wednesday 31^st March (Week 9)

Paul O'Dea
PE & Co-curricular Sport Co-ordinator
podea@stjohnpl.catholic.edu.au

Premier's Reading Challenge
The Premier's Reading Challenge has now started and will be finished on Friday 8^th September.

Students and parents can access the website :  www.prc.sa.edu.au 

The Challenge is to read 12 books in total.  The class teachers will read the books to the Reception to Year 2 students.

However all students are encouraged to read their own including the JP students.

They need to read 8 books on the Challenge booklists and 4 of their own choice.

The booklists are listed under https://premiersreadingchallenge.sa.edu.au/book-list/   Just change the Year Level to suit your child's age limit.

In the library the PRC books have the coloured dots on them to make it easier to identify. The red dots are for (Rec.-Year 2), green dots (Years 3-5) and yellow dots (6-9)

The books must be read for the first time this year.

This year it is the 20^th year of PRC.

To commemorate this milestone, students can challenge themselves to read 20 books instead of the 12.  The successful students will receive a bonus certificate.

Happy reading.

Rose & Maria

Screen Time and Mental Health 
With the new school year in full swing, and children now working on laptops or ipads regularly, it's important for parents to have knowledge around what their child is using their screen for, and how to manage screen time. We can't remove technology from our children as it is now a normal part of every day life, however it is becoming more prevalent that children are struggling with mental health issues due to exposure to misinformation, or influential social media personalities endorsing unhealthy lifestyle choices, and plain old fake YouTube stories. I am confident that many of you reading this newsletter can relate to this issue.  Child Mind Institute has a range of articles on how to  manage screen time and technology. One of their 4 key points states "the best way to model healthy screen use, is for parents to model it themselves". You can find more information about managing screen time here https://childmind.org/topics/screen-time-technology/  . And for more specific information around technology and mental health, please click here https://childmind.org/topics/screen-time-technology/#technology-and-mental-health .

Sarah Byrnes
CENTACARE SCHOOL COUNSELLOR

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

Thursday 23rd Feb - Karen Drury

Friday 24th Feb - TBC

Monday 27th Feb - Julie

Wednesday 1st Mar - Julie

Friday 3rd Mar - Hilary Sadler

Monday 6th Mar - Julie

Wednesday 8th Mar - Julie

Friday 10th Mar - Lucianna Introna

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, have completed the volunteers application package and your COVID vaccination certificate.

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 .

Enrolment at Sacred Heart College

For families who have children currently in Year 5 and are considering Sacred Heart College as a pathway for Year 7, 2025, enrolment applications are currently being accepted. Due to an increasingly high demand for placements, applications for this entry point will close at the end of Term 1, Friday 14 April 2023. Prospectus packages will be delivered to your school shortly for all Year 5 students, inclusive of an Application for Enrolment Form. Application forms can also be accessed anytime on our College website www.shc.sa.edu and if you have already submitted an application, you do not need to complete another form.

We have a number of advertised College Tours during 2023, which you are warmly welcome to attend and bookings can be made via the website under the Enrolment tab.  Should you have any questions regarding the enrolment process, please contact the Enrolment Office on 8350 2500 or by email registrar@shc.sa.edu.au for further assistance.

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.