Term 3, Week 6 2024

Dear Families

It has been great to see some sunnier days and warmer weather over the past couple of weeks. It was great to be able to celebrate Book Week last week with the various activities and our dress-up parade. We thank all the family members who were able to come along and see the children in their costumes – they all looked great. It was a busy week filled with lots of activities and a very creative library space which was enjoyed by all!

Learning Conversations
Thank you to the parents and caregivers who were able to make a time to meet with their child’s teacher this week. These learning conversations are a valuable opportunity to connect and share your child’s learning, achievements, and future goals. If you were unable to attend, please contact your child’s teacher to arrange an alternative time. We value the opportunity to meet and work with families for each child.

Continuous Reporting and Assessment
At the end of last Semester, you would have received your child’s written report through SEQTA Engage. This, along with the recent learning conversations make up just two of the many ways we work with students and families to report (informally and formally) achievement progress. Throughout the year we continue to provide ongoing feedback on achievement and areas for future learning through many different forms. These can include informal feedback given to a student during a learning task, whole class feedback, checklists, evaluation of success criteria, Seesaw posts, rubrics, written reports, learning conversations to name a few. All these modes of feedback are used to provide continual information to our learners and their families about how they are going. This openness of the learning progress and achievement is something we continue to strive to improve so that there is a connection between the student, teacher, family so everyone is supportive and informed of each child’s learning. Our process in this has resulted in other schools coming to visit us to see how they can improve their assessment and reporting systems. Open-ended questions provide you with opportunities to talk with your child about their learning and identify ways you can help them. Some examples are:

• What have you been learning about?
• How are you going with your learning?
• What can you do to improve?
• What do you do if you get ‘stuck’ in your learning?
• How do you know you are being successful in your learning?
• Where can you go when you need help in your learning?

By communicating with your child about their learning, their strengths and their challenges, it shows them that their learning is a collaborative effort between school and home and that we are all working together to support them.

Please note Friday 6th September is a Pupil Free Day for staff development.

Open Morning & Mass
We have had a wonderful response to our open mornings and Mass this term. It has been great to see parents and families visit classrooms and join the parish for Mass on Wednesday mornings and join for a small morning tea after the conclusion of Mass in the church foyer.

We look forward to the remaining year levels’ open mornings and Mass in the weeks to come.

Confirmation and Holy Communion
After months of preparation, the candidates celebrated their First Holy Communion and Confirmation on Sunday 18^th August. We thank Fr. Denis and Phillis Johnston for their organisation and preparation, as well as Helen and Pauline, our Parish Office staff for their help behind the scenes. We congratulate the children and their families and continue to keep them in our prayers.

Bake Sale for Catholic Charities
The Justice and Mission Leaders, along with a group of Year 4s will be holding a bake sale during recess on Tuesday 24^th September in Week 10. Students can bring in a gold coin donation and select a treat. All proceeds will go towards Catholic Charities.

ReLAT (Religious Literacy Assessment Tool)
The Year 4 students will be participating in an assessment in Religious Education for all Year 4 students in South Australia Catholic Schools. This annual assessment has been developed by the Catholic Education Office and will take place during Week 8 of Term 3.

Religious Education (RE) is a core Learning Area in all Catholic schools. It is a foundation for all learning and is integrated into the life of the school through prayer, liturgy and social justice programs and will focus on knowledge content which is core to the Year 3/ 4 Crossways Religious Education curriculum.

Recycling Pens & Markers
Our Year 6 Justice and Mission leaders continue the weekly collection of pens and markers for recycling. Families are welcome to bring in their old pens and markers for recycling.

Amanda Razon
APRIM

Why Talking with Babies is Super Important!

Talking with babies helps them learn to understand and use words, which is key for their brain growth and future learning. Here’s how you can make it fun and helpful:

• Talk About Everything: Describe what you're doing, even if it's boring. For example, say, "I'm washing dishes now."
• Repeat Their Sounds: If they say "mama," you can say, "Yes, mama loves you!"
• Show Interest: Look into their eyes and smile when they babble or talk.
• Talk About What They Like: If they play with a toy train, say, "Toot, toot!"
• Read Together: Look at picture books and name what you see. Point to a cat and say, "Look, a cat! Can you say cat?"
• Praise Them: If they point to a dog and say "dog," you can say, "Well done for pointing out the dog!"
• Ask Questions: Even though they can't answer, asking questions helps them learn about conversations. For example, ask, "Do you want your teddy bear?" and then give it to them.

Doing these fun activities helps babies learn to talk and gets their brains ready for learning more as they grow!

School fee instalments for Term 3 are now due so please make your payment ASAP if you are paying in this manner.  If you have not yet made your instalment for Term 2, please do so now, a friendly reminder was with your statement.

Don’t forget our new bank account details are on the bottom of this terms statements for you to see if your are paying direct into our account.

Our new bank details are:

St John the Baptist Catholic School

BSB: 066-782

Account Number: 100000331

It is not too late to apply for School Card for 2024 if your family income was below $70,994 (1 child) in the 2022/23 financial year.  This needs to be completed yearly so please do so now via this link or come in and see me as it only takes a few minutes:

Form A (Income Assessment)

https://online.forms.sa.edu.au/content/forms/af/public/application-for-school-card.html

Form B (hardship, change of circumstances or self-employed)

https://online.forms.sa.edu.au/content/forms/af/public/form-b-hardship-or-circumstance-or-self-employed.html

If accepted, this will allow us to reduce your tuition fees, so please apply and let me know you have done so ASAP. 

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

Recently we have had new bank details set up for us via Catholic Education Office as we have transitioned from NAB to CBA, effective immediately.

Please do not use the bank account details on your old statements as this account is no longer valid.

The new bank account details are:

St John the Baptist Catholic School

BSB 066-782

Account Number: 100000331

If you have set your own direct to bank payments, you will need to change our details in your internet banking.  Direct Debits set up by the school will automatically change to the new account. Qkr! details, BPAY and reference numbers have NOT changed.

School Photo Day is:  Wednesday 4^th September

Have your child’s school memories captured forever

Please take time to read the relevant information on the MSP Photography payment envelopes and remember these helpful points:

• Don’t seal envelopes inside each other.  You can pay for all children in one envelope however each child needs to have their own envelope on photo day

• Family envelopes are available at the school office upon request and need to be ordered before or on photography day. Please make your children aware they are having a family photo.

• Please enclose correct money as no change is given.  Cash, cheques, credit card and money orders accepted.

Why not give ONLINE ORDERING a go!!

It’s the safest & easiest way to order

Should you have any queries, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

email:  admin.adelaidesouth@msp.com.au    ph: 08 83913951

Dear St John’s Community,

Spring is very much just around the corner now, the sun is starting to shine longer, the smell of freshly cut grass is in the air and the talk of finals is all around us. What a splendid time of the year. This week I would like to start this sports piece by congratulating the U12 Division 1 Plympton Bulldogs Girls Football Team who became Premiers on the weekend when they defeated their opposition by a monstrous 49 points. Congratulations to Eloise Sadler, Mikayla Croxton, Danica Croxton and Sophie Mundy. Commiserations to the U12 Division 3 team who played their best footy, but were unable to overcome the height of their opposition in the Grand Final. This experience will definitely assist the Year 6 boys from our school in developing their resilience, character and strength moving forward.

Still on footy, I would like to commend all of our Aus-kickers and their parents who continue to support our Auskick program. These students are 4 weeks into their 6 week program and are still displaying great levels of enthusiasm and are very much engaged in the activities. All students have been working hard developing new skill sets and even put these to good use in our very first modified game this week. These students have travelled so far already on this journey and I was very proud of each and every one of them during the modified game.

It is very pleasing to see so many students collecting ‘House Award Spirit Tokens’ all around the school. Students have really responded well to the positive rewards-based token system. From early observations I believe MacKillop and Callista have made very strong starts towards the House Award Spirit Cup. I encourage all students to keep up the outstanding behaviour and I look forward to the jars filling up in the REC K classroom window.

Looking forward, we have a number of carnivals that are being organised for the students. Next carnival on the agenda will be the ‘Westies Cup’ for those boys in Year 5 and Year 6 who have expressed interest in playing. This carnival will be held on Thursday 5th of September. Following this carnival and for those students who are interested we will be involved in the SACPSSA Cricket Carnival. The Cricket Carnival will be held on Wednesday 18th September. During Term 4 – Week 2 we will be offering all of the students in Year 3 and Year 4 the opportunity to be involved in Hotshots Tennis here at school. We look forward to these upcoming carnivals and do appreciate when parents are able to volunteer their valuable time when needed.

In closing this week, I would like to acknowledge all of the students who participated in our ‘Run Club’ group over the past 6 weeks. During this time, I have been impressed with the energy levels that all of the students have brought to these sessions. On top of this I have witnessed improved fitness levels. I wish to publicly thank Steve Thurston (Dad of Charlie 4A) for his commitment and expertise in the area of long-distance running. The students have certainly benefited from your coaching and we really do appreciate your time over the past 6 weeks.

Go well everyone and enjoy the change of seasons.

Yours in Sport,

Sam Putland
SPORT COORDINATOR

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.

Entertainment Book

The Parents & Friends are offering the Entertainment Book again this year. A percentage of each book sold goes to our fundraising efforts.

The link to purchase is St John the Baptist Catholic School (entertainment.com.au)

Bunnings BBQ Fundraiser

Bunnings Edwardstown BBQ - Sunday 13th October.

If you are able to donate or source supplies (please see flyer below) or volunteer on the day please contact Karen on 0402 854 846.

Future P&F Events

Fathers Day Stall - 30th August
Colour Run - 20th September

The updated RRHAN-EC courses were released on plink on Monday 29 April 2024 and, for most of us, completion of the online update will need to be done before 31 December 2024 when our 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.

Eve Pownall Award - Australia: COUNTRY OF COLOUR & COUNTRY TOWN by Isolde Martyn and Robyn Ridgeway (W) 

Award for New Illustrator - Hope is the Thing by Johanna Bell & Erica Wagner (W) 

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 3

Friday 30th August - Jo & Nicole Watson

Monday 2nd September - Julie

Tuesday 3rd September - Jo

Wednesday 4th September - Julie & Maria Esteban

Thursday 5th September - Jo

Friday 6th September - Pupil Free Day

Monday 9th September - Julie

Tuesday 10th September - Jo

Wednesday 11th September - Julie

Thursday 12th September - Jo

Friday 13th September - Jo & Sarah Dennis

Monday 16th September - Julie

Tuesday 17th September - Jo

Wednesday 18th September - Julie & Julian Thompson

Thursday 19th September - Jo

Friday 20th September - Jo & Emma Vivian

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

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 .

If you are due to renew your Working With Children Check and your Catholic Police Clearance this year, please note that there is a high volume of renewals due.  To avoid disappointment it is advisable to do your renewal earlier as there is currently a delay in processing them.

Thank you for your anticipated support.

                                               

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.

We have been contacted by Cabra Dominican College and Sacred Heart College regarding the new closing date for Year 7, 2027 applications.

Please note the following closing dates for applications:

• Cabra Dominican College – Close Friday 20 September 2024 (Week 9, Term 3)
• Sacred Heart College – Close Friday 20 September 2024 (Week 9, Term 3)

If you have any queries regarding applications, please call the colleges direct on:

• Cabra – Ph: (08) 8179 2429 or email registrar@cabra.catholic.edu.au
• Sacred Heart – Ph: (08) 8350 2580 or email katehussey@shc.sa.edu.au

NEW CLOSING DATE FOR ENROLMENT APPLICATIONS – 20 September 2024

• Applications for Year 7, 2027 will now close on Friday 20 September 2024.

• Please submit your application for enrolment to Cabra Dominican College when your child is in Year 4, by the end of Term 3. 

REGISTRATIONS ARE NOW OPEN for 2024 Dare to Dream Athletics Holiday Clinic! 
 
Wednesday 2 October & Wednesday 9 October 2024 
SA Athletics Stadium, Mile End.
Time: 9:00AM - 1:30PM
Cost: $80 for One day
$120 for Two days
 

This clinic is a fantastic opportunity for students in U6 - U17 age groups to learn, have fun, and enhance their athletic skills. Participants will receive expert coaching in various events from our experienced coaches.

As a special bonus, students will also get the chance to meet 2004-2008 Australian Olympian, Mark Ormrod.

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.