Term 2, Week 4, 22 May 2025
Principal's Message
Dear Parents and Guardians,
We have had another busy and productive fortnight here at St John's!
I have been particularly impressed recently with the level of student engagement in their learning as well as the respectful interactions I've witnessed in the classrooms and the playground. These moments highlight the positive and supportive learning environment we strive to cultivate at St John's.
A big thank you to all the parents who attended the Mother's Day morning tea. Your involvement and support are invaluable to our school community and play a significant role in the success of our students. We truly appreciate your partnership.
We also want to remind families about student attendance and uniforms. Your cooperation in these matters helps ensure a smooth and effective learning environment for everyone.
Finally, I want to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of our incredible teaching and support staff. Their commitment to providing engaging and enriching learning experiences for our students is truly commendable. As always, please do not hesitate to reach out to your child's teacher if you have any questions or concerns.
As we move forward, I'd like to share some important events and dates that you should mark in your calendars. Please note, all of these dates are currently in the School Google Calendar and Compass Calendar for your convenience.
School Photo Day: Smile! School Photo Day is scheduled for Monday, June 2nd. It's the perfect opportunity to capture cherished memories of your child's school year. More details will be shared closer to the date.
- School Athletics Carnival: Get ready for a day of camaraderie at our School Athletics Carnival on Tuesday, June 3rd at the Cavanbah Centre. We encourage all students to participate and showcase their athletic talents.
Pupil Free Days: Please note that Friday 6th June is designated as a Pupil Free Day. There will be no classes held on this day.
King's Birthday Public Holiday: A reminder that Monday, June 9th, is a public holiday in honour of the King's Birthday. The school will be closed on this day.
Semester One Report Cards: Semester One Report Cards will be available to parents on Tuesday, July 1st. Please stay tuned for further instructions on accessing and reviewing your child's progress report.
- School Disco: Wednesday 2nd July TBC.
- Last Day of Term 2: Term 2 will conclude on Thursday, July 3rd. We look forward to celebrating the achievements and growth of our students throughout the term. We will have a celebration of Learning at 2pm on this day.
Pupil Free Day: Friday, July 4th, will be observed as another Pupil Free Day. There will be no classes held on this day.
Thank you for your continued support and involvement in our school community. Together, we can create enriching experiences for our students and foster a love for learning that lasts a lifetime.
Warm regards,
Dave
Tell Them From Me Survey
We would like to invite you to complete the Tell Them From Me (TTFM) Partners in Learning survey. As we value the role of parents and carers within our school community, we would greatly appreciate your feedback. The information you provide will be used to maintain our commitment to working together in partnership to further improve student learning and wellbeing at St John's.
The Teacher, Student and parent surveys are an important part of our whole school evaluation and planning process, and the information collected in the surveys is used to inform our future strategic directions.
The survey is anonymous and will take approximately 20 minutes to complete. You are able to access the parent survey on your computer or mobile device by using the URL below:
http://tellthemfromme.com/stjohns2025
LEARNING @ ST JOHN'S
Number Fluency Programme- Up and Running!
Earlier this year, we explained the introduction of the Number Fluency Project. You may remember that our pioneers came from S1, and Mrs G and her band of merry mathematicians led the way in introducing this programme to the school. The Number Fluency Project is operational now across all classes for 10-15 minutes per day. Students are independently working on their fluency tasks at their level. The teachers have done an amazing job of establishing the routines and providing any explicit teaching required at that point of need. Miss McEvoy has created a goal-setting booklet, which her class started using this week. It is great to see the goals going beyond just ‘getting the right answer’, but encouraging students to have a positive mindset, to develop and explore efficient strategies and to complete tasks promptly, thus demonstrating fluency.
Some of the Key Benefits we are seeing for students in the NFP:
- The program aims to help all students build fluency in essential number skills to support long-term success
- Students work on building fluency with familiar
- Students progress and only move on once they've mastered a skill and are considered 'fluent'
- Progress is regularly assessed, and students feel a sense of accomplishment when they move on
- Fluent students move to the next skill while continuing to revisit previous skills
- Regular practice through daily sessions further boosts your child's fluency and confidence
Watch the video below to see our maths champions in action and hear what they like about the program.
WELLBEING
How do we nurture neurodiversity at home and school?
Info in this article is from the excellent Raisingchildren.net.au website.
Neurodiversity, neurodivergence and children
Neurodiversity is the idea that there’s natural variation in how people’s brains work and how people experience, understand and interact with the world. This means there are natural differences in the way people learn and communicate.
Most children’s brains develop in ways that are seen as typical for their age and stage. These children can be described as neurotypical.
About 1 in 5-6 children have variations in their brain development. These variations include those seen in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism and dyslexia. These children can be described as neurodivergent.
Embracing neurodiversity
Embracing neurodiversity is about accepting, including, celebrating and supporting neurodivergent children. Their differences are part of natural variation and don’t need to be treated or changed.
Embracing neurodiversity involves:
- -acknowledging that neurodivergent children might do things differently from neurotypical children
- -adjusting tasks and activities so that neurodivergent children can fully participate
- making the most of neurodivergent children’s skills, especially the skills they’re proud of
- -helping neurodivergent children develop ways of managing everyday tasks and activities that feel natural to them
- -not expecting neurodivergent children to change behaviour that doesn’t interfere with their everyday activities, like stimming
- -making sure that schools, sports clubs, social groups and community organisations include and support neurodivergent children.
Key points
- Neurodiversity is the idea that there’s natural variation in how people’s brains work.
- When we embrace neurodiversity, we accept and celebrate neurodivergent children.
- Embracing neurodiversity is good for neurodivergent children and good for society.
- There are many ways for families, communities and schools to embrace neurodiversity.
How to embrace neurodiversity in family life
You can embrace neurodiversity as part of everyday family life. You don’t have to be neurodivergent yourself. Here are ideas:
Talk with your children about neurodiversity, neurodivergence and acceptance. For example, you could say, ‘Some people’s brains work differently from other people’s. This means they learn and make friends differently too’.
Use books to learn and talk about neurodiversity and neurodivergence. For younger children, try Some brains by Nelly Thomas, The brain forest by Sandhya Menon or Just right for you by Melanie Heyworth. For older children, try The spectrum girl’s survival toolkit by Siena Castellon or The autism and neurodiversity self advocacy handbook by Barb Cook and Yenn Purkis.
Find meaningful ways to include neurodivergent children in your social activities. For example, if you’re inviting an autistic child to a birthday party, you could ask the parents how you can accommodate their child’s needs. Or you could include some ‘What to expect’ information with the invitation.
Look for appropriate ways for your child to communicate with neurodivergent friends. For example, you could help your child use pictures and drawing to communicate with a friend who doesn’t use words.
How schools can embrace neurodiversity
Schools can adjust things so that neurodivergent children can participate fully in learning and socialising at school. For example, you might notice that your child’s school has made changes like these:
Changes to the environment for children with sensory sensitivities or high levels of anxiety – for example, perhaps the school uses quiet spaces, adjusts lighting, allows children to use sensory items like squishy balls in class, or allows variations to the uniform.
Use of diverse teaching methods to suit diverse learning styles or needs – for example, perhaps the school lets some children do video presentations instead of class presentations or participate in sports day by planning rather than competing. Perhaps teachers give both written and verbal instructions.
Support for all children to include neurodivergent children in interactions and play – for example, perhaps the school includes lessons on neurodiversity in citizenship lessons or has games clubs for all children.
Pls see a great opportunity for upskilling our Parenting skillset below:
Follow this link to register; ADHD Summit for Parents
Best regards,
Greg
SCHOOL INFORMATION
Stage one enjoying National Simultaneous Storytime listening to the picture book “Truck Cat”
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU"
Our Birthday people
Nhyri, Penny & Josie
School Photos
School photos will be taken on Monday 2nd June.
ordering can be done online (see below). Or collect envelope from the office.
COMMUNITY NOTICES
BRUNSWICK VALLEY GIRL GUIDES
Brunswick Girl Guides plan to hold a fun & free Give Girl Guides a Go event on Sunday 1 June 1-4pm at the Brunswick Heads Guide Hall, 22 Byron Street to introduce girls aged 7-14 years to Guiding.
Girl Guides NSW, ACT & NT offers girls aged five-17 a weekly program that combines learning with friendship and fun. Activities focus on the outdoors, life skills and service to others. Girls grow in confidence and gain leadership skills.
Our mission is to empower girls and young women to discover their potential as leaders of their world. www.girlguides-nswactnt.org.au
Brunswick Girl Guides will be visiting St John's in the lead up week and speak to the girls in years 2-6 about what Girl Guides do & invite them along.
BALLINA SENSORY MOVIE SCREENING
Our next Sensory Screening will be on Sunday 1St June 2025 at 2:30pm, featuring the family-friendly film LILO & STITCH rated PG. We believe that movies are for everyone, and we’re committed to making our screenings as inclusive as possible.
Please see below further info around the screenings:
We are delighted to continue our exciting new initiative at Palace Cinemas Ballina Fair: Sensory Screenings! These special film sessions are designed to be ALL INCLUSIVE, ensuring a welcoming and comfortable environment for everyone, especially those who benefit from sensory-friendly settings.
Continuing this month, Sensory Screenings will take place on the last Sunday per month (June 1st this month) in the afternoon. Our aim is to provide a fun and enjoyable movie experience for all families, including individuals with sensory sensitivities.
Here’s what you can expect from our Sensory Screenings:
- Dimmed Lighting: The lighting in the cinema will be dimmed instead of completely dark, creating a more comfortable viewing atmosphere.
- Subtitles: All films will be shown with subtitles to aid in comprehension and enjoyment.
- Quieter Sound: The volume will be set lower than usual to avoid overwhelming sensory input.
Tickets for these sessions are available now on our website or at the box office. We look forward to welcoming you and your family to these special screenings! Please follow link below to access session:
Ballina Sensory Screenings - Palace Cinemas
If you have any questions or need further information, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us.
See you at the movies!
