Term 4, Week 10, 15 December 2023

Principal Message

Dear St John's Community, 

I would like to thank everyone for a wonderful year at St John’s this year. I love our school and the community we have and although I think we are looking forward to the holidays, I can’t wait to see what 2024 has in store for all of us here.

Thank you to our staff. What a fantastic group of people we have here making sure each and every day is filled with learning, laughter and friendship. 

Thank you parents. Our partnership is so important in supporting the growth and development of your children. We as a staff often remark to each other how wonderful the children are here and that is a reflection on the guidance they receive from their first educators… you…. Their parents. 

To the families who leave us today…. Thank you for the many contributions you have made to this community. I hope you will always look back fondly on your time here and remember that just because your children have moved on, you will always be part of this community and you are welcome here any time in the future.

Thank you, students. We couldn’t be prouder of you for the way you come to school every day ready to learn. Sometimes you teach us, the adults a thing or two about being resilient, being consistent, trying your best and being happy that you have put in your best effort to everything you do each and every day. 

I want to wish all the best to our departing students, especially the Year 6 graduates and hope that your new schools provide you with challenges, joy and friendships as you move on to the next stage of your journey. Some may have completed their entire primary schooling here at St John’s and others have joined along the way, but you have made a formidable leadership group that will leave a lasting impression. 

As we move towards Christmas don’t forget the reason for the season. As we celebrate the birth of Jesus and the coming of our saviour all those years ago in a stable, remember it is not about where you go on holidays or what presents you get it’s about being together with family and sharing this time with those who are special to you.

Enjoy your holidays everyone, you all deserve a break and I hope it is filled with joy and happiness. Have a wonderful holiday and God Bless.

Student Leadership Group 2024

Congratulations to the following Student Leaders who were voted in by their peers and staff. We know they will do a wonderful job leading our school in 2023.

School Captains: Nahla Perrin, Vander Akehurst

School Vice-Captains: Alana Underwood, Bray Cordin

School Sports Captains: Ryder Butcher, Jack Heares

2024 Staffing Announcements

Guidance Counsellor

Congratulations to Sasha Kruse who has been appointed to the Guidance Counsellor Position at St John's for 2024-2026.

Sasha is currently completing her Bachelor of Psychological Sciences (Honours) at Southern Cross University and previously completed her Bachelor of Psychological Sciences: Psychology at Swinburne University Of Technology, Melbourne. She is also the manager of her family business - Kagaru Art, which is based at Fingal Head.

Sasha comes to us with a wealth of experience, she is currently a Psychologist at St James Primary School Banora Point and a Rehabilitation Consultant at WorkFocus Australia. Previously she was a Domestic Violence Court Advocate Specialist for the Northern Rivers Women’s Domestic Violence Court Advocacy Service.

Along with her accreditation and experience, Sasha has completed a significant amount of training and professional development which equips her well for this position, such as Lifeline Crisis Support Training: Lifeline, Motivational Interviewing: Psychwire, DBT Skills: Psychwire, Advanced Training in Suicide Prevention: Black Dog, Applied Suicide Prevention Skills Training: ASIST, ATSI Mental Health First Aid: Mental Health First Aid Australia, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) Intervention: Psychwire & Family Violence Foundations: Domestic Violence Resource Centre Victoria.

We thank Anastasia Elliot for all of her contributions to the school over the last 3 years. There is no doubt that Anastasia has had a significant and positive impact on the students here at St John's. We wish Anastasia well in her future endeavours, which include running her own government-funded wellbeing initiative in the community. I know that you will join me in wishing Anastasia well and welcoming Sasha to the community. 

Student Wellbeing Officer

Congratulations to Anne Nethery who has been appointed to the Student Wellbeing Officer position at St John's for 2024-2026.

This position is new for our school and consists of Anne working 10 hours a week with us. 
Anne comes with a breadth of experience working in schools as well as for community support organisations. Currently, Anne works for Shaping Outcomes as a Parent Group facilitator, which she will continue with in a part-time capacity next year. Previously she worked as a key worker development specialist for Shaping Outcomes and project officer at Therapy Connect Alliance. Previous to that, Anne worked as a disability support worker and was an additional needs teacher at St James Primary School Banora (2008-2019). 

I'm sure that you will make Anne feel very welcome!

Canteen 2024

When provided with our 2024 school budget by the Lismore Catholic Schools office, we were advised that it was in the best financial interest of the school to discontinue the running of the Canteen. This decision correlates with recent changes to the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code which introduced new food safety requirements for school canteens, making it much more difficult for small schools to financially operate a school canteen. However, there will still be options available for students to order lunches through external businesses (this type of arrangement already exists with the current sushi ordering). 

The current sushi option will stay as per normal, and early in the new year, we will connect with some local food providers and set up an ordering system so that there will be healthy food options available for our students and families to order. Initially, this will be available for one day a week, but once set up, there may be the opportunity for additional days of ordering. 

This system will allow for flexibility in offering a wider range of healthy lunch foods and snacks to our students, potentially for more days in the week. We are also hoping that this change will also ensure that prices of food remain stable and affordable for families. 

If you are involved in a local business that would be interested in being one of our food providers in 2024, please send the office an email and we can discuss some options for 2024. 

2023 St John's Tea Towel

LAST CHANCE!!!

Our limited-edition 2023 St Johns Tea Towel is now available for order.

This limited-edition Tea Towel is made up of self-portraits drawn by all our children & staff and printed onto premium 100% organic cotton tea towels.

Don’t forget to order a few extras for family members and your keepsake box. Only $18ea or SAVE by ordering 2 for $30.

If you require another order form, please contact the school office.

2024 Dates

Please find a list of date savers below. 

• • Wednesday 31st January - MAI's and Best Start
  • Thursday 1st February - MAI's and Best Start
  • Friday 2nd February - First Day of School Yrs 1-6
  • Monday 5th February - First Day of School Kindy
  • Tuesday 13th February - Shrove Tuesday
  • Wednesday 14th February - Ash Wednesday

Kind Regards, 

Dave Bermingham

Awards Week 10

Assitant Principal

As another year closes, I would like to acknowledge the efforts of all students in their learning this year. I can honestly say every student has made growth both academically and socially. Thank you to our dedicated teachers who give so much time, energy and thought into providing a creative, inspiring and caring learning environment. Thanks to our families who support us on this journey. I wish all of you a wonderful Christmas. 

Today we celebrated with a beautiful prayer service to acknowledge and thank Mrs Amanda Bottle for her contributions to St John's this year. Our celebration ended with the song, "My Lighthouse" and Mrs Bottle has certainly been a guiding light to the students she has taught over the years. Today she did a fine job in leading the actions to a song she introduced to us many years ago. We wish Mrs Bottle all the very best in her future endeavours. There are some photos attached.

In 2024, we begin the year with Best Start (Kinder only) and MAI interviews. Thanks to those parents who have already booked their interview through COMPASS. 

I will attach the instructions on how to do this at the end of this Newsletter. 

Year 6 Graduaton

Year 6 Fun Day

Mrs Bottle Farewell

SCHOOL INFORMATION

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU"

Our Birthday people:-  

Charleen

Happy Birthday to those who will celebrate during                                          the summer  holidays

Sybella, Aliza & Joseph

SCHOOL FEES                                                                                                                                                                            School Fee accounts are now overdue for 2023.                                                                                                                          If your account is still outstanding please arrange to make any outstanding payments through compass.