Term 4, Week 8 2022

Dear Families

School Reports 
Reports will be sent home this Friday afternoon with all students. As mentioned in a previous newsletter, this semester St John the Baptist Catholic School has been part of a trial for Catholic Education SA, exploring reporting documents. The new report will contain all the information our previous school report did but with some additional elements. A student’s ‘Approach to Learning’ in each subject will be valued, along with our Learning Dispositions. The report should always be read alongside and in the context of the ongoing assessments that have been sent home via Seesaw throughout the semester. 

Lost Property 
The school has been collecting a large number of lost items, many without names. During this week and next, all lost property will be displayed on a table in the courtyard. If your child has misplaced uniform items, drink bottles etc, please make the time to have a look. You may just locate that missing item. 

End of Year Celebrations
Over the next week, we will enjoy two important celebrations as we conclude the 2022 school year.  Firstly, we will celebrate as a whole school community when we gather for our Thanksgiving End of Year Mass at 12pm on Friday. On this occasion we take the time to recognise the contributions, the effort and rich learning which has occurred over the course of the year. We warmly welcome all to attend this Mass. 

We will then celebrate with our school leaders, as our Year 6 students graduate from their Primary schooling on Monday 12th December. A liturgy will be held in the St John the Baptist Church at 6:00pm, before coming together for a celebratory dinner at the Glenelg Golf Club. 

We look forward to these important events as we give thanks for our time together in 2022. 

Staff Farewell 
At the conclusion of this school year, we will say farewell to Jack Sires. Jack commenced at the school in 2020 in an ESO role and over the past few years has made a significant contribution to the St John the Baptist Catholic School community. Jack demonstrated very quickly an innate ability to develop fantastic relationships with the students, all under a calm, ‘no worries’ demeanour. Jack has completed his university studies and we wish him well as he moves to Roxby Downs in 2023 to begin his teaching career.  

2022/2023 Administration Office Hours 
The school will be closed from Friday 16th December 2022 until Friday 20th January 2023. 

The Administration Office will reopen on Monday 23rd January 2023. 

School will resume for all students on Monday 30th January 2023. 

On behalf of the staff, we thank you for your support throughout the year, and wish you all a wonderful Christmas and a safe New Year.  Most of all, enjoy the wonderful gift of time spent with loved ones. 

Best Wishes

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

We are days away from the end of the school term and year!  It is an exciting time as we are in the season of Advent, preparing for the Christmas season. I’d like to personally thank you all for your contribution towards our wonderful community, and for making it a special one.

Here are some important events in the weeks to come:

Whole School Thanksgiving Mass
On Friday we will be celebrating our End of Year Thanksgiving Mass as a whole school community. A letter went out to families last week inviting all to attend. This will be a special Mass to give thanks for the year we have shared together. It will also be an opportunity to farewell those leaving our community and hand out special awards to individuals who have demonstrated excellence in their service to our school. The Mass will be at St John the Baptist church at 12:00pm.

Year 6 Graduation
The Year 6 students will be celebrating their time at St John’s with a liturgy on Monday 12^th December. This ceremony will take place at 6pm in St John the Baptist church. Our lovely school choir will also be leading the singing throughout this celebration.

Blessing of the Cribs
We have three Mass times this weekend where there will be a special blessing of the cribs. This involves bringing your small Nativity set or the manger to be blessed. It is a tradition going back centuries and recognises the importance and significance of Christ’s birth at Christmas.

Backpacks 4SA Kids
After all the amazing contributions and efforts that have gone towards fundraising for Backpacks 4SA Kids, the funds will go towards purchasing items to fill backpacks. On December 16^th the school staff will be packing the backpacks ready to be donated. Thank you for your generosity towards this cause, we are certain it will give the children who receive them much joy!

Sacraments 2023
Another reminder that the Sacramental program will be up and running next year. If you would like your child to participate in this journey, you can enrol them through this form https://forms.office.com/r/DNwX228htZ

Hard copies are also available via the Parish Office or School Front Office.

Wishing you many blessings in this Advent and upcoming Christmas season! Hope you have a joyous and restful break. Looking forward to seeing you in 2023!

Amanda Razon
APRIM

Our Year 6 students have been involved in the Arch D Podcasting initiative this year. Each student was placed in a team and the children developed a podcast on the theme -’A moment in time.’ Each podcast is now uploaded to the ‘School Life’ podcast channel on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and iHeart Radio. 

Every year, Arch D Radio and Podcasting celebrates outstanding achievement by Catholic school students at the Arch D Awards. We are pleased to announce that two teams and a teaching staff member from St John the Baptist Catholic School were nominated.

Our nominees were as follows:

• Podcast of the Year nominees - Lucas, Tomas and Zac for their “Three Amigos” podcast about fictional World War One experiences 
• Podcast Team of the Year nominees - Ava, Lucy and Saskia for “The Crazy Campers” podcast 
• Staffcaster Award nominee - Lauren Breeding 

We would like to congratulate Lauren Breeding who won the Staffcaster Award.  Well done Lauren!

Don't forget to purchase your ticket for $2 to win a beautiful handmade gingerbread house.  The raffle will be drawn on Monday 12th December.

All monies raised will go to Backpacks for SA Kids.

After School Sport
Please finalise any outstanding after school sports payments via the Qkr! app.  Shields for new students (who have not received a shield previously) to sport and plaques for existing students (who have played previously and received a shield) are now available to pay.

Camps 
Please finalise any outstanding camp fees as soon as possible as they are now overdue.

Statement of Accounts
Could you please ensure that your account is finalised by the end of the school term unless previously advised.

If you have changed your address recently please inform the office as soon as possible.

Online payments
When making payments online could you please ensure you list your reference number from your Statement of Accounts eg 9063…….. followed by your child’s surname.

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: pmarks@stjohnpl.catholic.edu.au

Pam Marks 
Bursar/Finance Officer 

2022 After School Sport

2022 has been a very successful year for After School Sport at St John the Baptist Catholic School.

We have had a total of 167 students playing one or more sports throughout the course of the year, with some students playing three sports.

We fielded 40 teams throughout the four terms.  We have had 65 students who have played school sport for the first time in 2022.

The sports that have been played in 2022 are:

• Basketball
• Tee Ball
• Netball
• Cricket
• Soccer
• Volleyball

I would like to thank all the parents who offered to coach their child’s sport team(s) this year.  Without your support and dedication, the children would not have been able to participate in all these different sports.

2023 Term 1 After School Sport
The 2023 Term 1 Registration form for School Sports Teams is now available.

We encourage children to take part in out of hours school sport.

You only need to register your child once. You can register for multiple sports if you wish.

As always, every team will require an adult coach / manager. You must have completed the appropriate Catholic Police Clearance and Volunteer paperwork. This is available from the school Front Office.

Click here to access the Term 1 Registration form.

SACPSSA Athletics Carnival

Congratulations to Mason P (4A) who set a new record for the Year 4 Boys 100m – stopping the clock at 13.47 seconds.  Well done Mason!

School Sport SA 12 Years & Under Boys Cricket Team
Adam H (6R) was selected to play in the School Sport SA 12 years and under boys Cricket team. This team competed in the School Sport Australia Cricket Championships in Ballarat - Saturday 19 to Saturday 26 November, 2022.

Congratulations to Adam on gaining selection in this state team. It is indeed an honour to have done so and to have the opportunity to play at these championships. This opportunity is unique and is available to very few school students in this country.

Basketball tops
Just a reminder:

Could all basketball tops please be returned to the school after the conclusion of this current season please.

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

The printable below is designed to help your family remain calm and centered during the Christmas period and school holidays. The Big Life Journal website https://biglifejournal.com.au has many free resources you can download to suit your family needs. 

I would like to wish all of St John's students and their families a Merry Christmas and a safe, enjoyable and happy start to 2023

Sarah Byrnes
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 4

Friday 9th December - Stacey Arnold

Monday 12th December - Julie

Wednesday 14th December - Julie, Maria Esteban, Dove Lin & Neeta Saldanha

We would like to thank all of our wonderful volunteers.  We wish you all a Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year!

Julie Henschke & Jo Fitzgerald

A table with all lost property items will be in the courtyard (outside the school hall) in Weeks 8 and 9. 

Please be reminded to come and have a look we have many lost jumpers, hats, containers, drink bottles and any other items.

Please be reminded to return all library books - books were due back on Friday 25^th November.

We wish everyone a Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year!

Best wishes
The Library Team

Congratulations to Miss Gatto who participated in the Adelaide Allstar Cheerleading squad in the Australian All-Star Cheer & Dance National Championships on the Gold Coast in Queensland.  

Her team, Odyssey, competed in a division called Open Level 4 Non-Tumble Co-ed, against teams from all over Australia. Odyssey won a first place National Championship title! 

Everyone received gold medals as well as a huge trophy to display in their gym! 

As well as Odyssey’s first place title, their Level 6 team, Celestial, qualified to represent South Australia at the 2023 World Cheerleading Championships in Orlando, Florida! She will be travelling there next April!

We are very proud of you Miss Gatto!

Lions Christmas Cakes and Puddings are now available in the Front Office.

1.5kg Cake - $19.00
1kg Cake - $15.00

Pudding - $15.00

Please contact Bern if you require any further information on 8218 3300.

Would your child like to learn guitar in 2023?

If you are interested please contact Dido on Mobile: 0407719836.  

Thursday 15th and Friday 16th December will be Pupil Free Days.  Please ensure that these are marked in your calendar.

Camp Australia will be operating on these days.  For bookings please go to their website www.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, 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.

The Adelaide 36ers are the first sporting and entertainment team in South Australia to implement a Sensory Room for people that have Sensory overloads from attending sporting events.

The opportunity is offered for free for families to attend via the link on the flier and on the Adelaide 36ers website.

The below link will provide further information on the Sensory Room:

 Make a Difference Sensory Room

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.