Grandparents Day
Last Friday we were proud to host Grandparent’s Day. It was another successful and lovely event that has become an important part of our annual calendar.
My sincere thanks are extended to all involved who made this such an outstanding event and in particular I thank;
Lisa Martin – for her outstanding planning and organisation in preparing the concert
Our junior and senior school choirs
Amara, Charlie, Lily, Oscar and Llewlyn who were our MC’s
House Leaders and SRC’s who acted as ushers and helpers – they did a magnificent job
Justin Marsh for coordinating prayer and car park attendant skills!.Tyler Marsland for the beautiful photos, please see the gallery at the bottom of the principals message. The Morning Tea “Hospitality Team” who ordered, prepared and served morning tea, especially Jacinta, Fiona, Kylie, Jaime, Marta, Maria, Kirsty-Lee An enormous thankyou to the Davey family (who own the Orange Spot Bakery, Glenelg… like them on Facebook!) for donating ALL the scones for morning tea… they were DELICIOUS!
Most importantly our wonderful teachers and children for practising and practising and practising the songs, designing invitations and making gifts for the Grandparents… It was a fantastic day!
St Johns Transition Program
We are excited about welcoming our pre-schoolers and their families to our St. Johns community. Last term they began a weekly learning program to introduce them to our school community. In week 4 our visitors will be at school from 9:00 -12 each Friday and will also be able to enjoy recess play before they start school in Reception here next year. Simone Mashford, Amanda Whiffen and Naoimh Lewis will be the staff taking the program which will help the children learn, become familiar with St. Johns and make new friends before starting school next year. Please introduce yourself if you see a new family in the corridor or in the yard.
Class Placements for 2020
Class placements for 2020 are almost finalised. A lot of time and consideration goes into forming these classes so that each child’s needs are best met.
The children have been participating in Year Level activities across classes. And teachers have observed the children’s social skills with their peers. This assists us in making well informed, professional judgements when finalising student placements.
Collaborative Team Teaching
We will continue our current class structures with most classes being composite year levels and Collaborative Team Teaching across our professional learning Communities. Collaborative Team Teaching is when two or more registered teachers work in a flexible learning space. They work together through the teaching process: planning, teaching, and assessment and reporting. These teams are known as Professional Learning Communities (PLC’s).
Students frequently have different learning styles and preferences. Collaborative Team Teaching often allows those different needs to be more easily met. Having more than one teacher in the same classroom looks different depending on the activity that’s happening in class and the needs of the students. Sometimes the class is split into groups with each teacher teaching one of the groups. Our Education Support Officer’s (ESO’s) are also trained to work with small groups of students.
Occasionally, one teacher will pull a small group aside for additional-support instruction or an extension assignment, while the other teacher assists the other students. This way, students receive additional help when needed or they receive meaningful extension activities led by a teacher.
The room is designed with different spaces for different kinds of work- quiet, individual work, small and large group work, and group instruction. Teaching is flexible, depending on the lesson and student needs. The teacher moves around from space to space, helping students as they work. This style of teaching attempts to build in flexibility that can be adjusted for every student’s strengths and needs.
Collaborative teaching means you have twice as many people to turn to when you have concerns or to share celebrations with! Each child is assigned one class teacher as their main class group teacher and point of contact for parents.
The goal of collaborative teaching is for all students to get high-quality instruction.
Collaborative teaching can take many different forms, even in the same classroom.
Collaborative teaching can help teachers implement Individual Education Plans (IEP’s) and plan goals for every student in every class
Our class structure for 2020 is:
2 Reception classes
3 Year 1/2 Classes
2 Year 3/4 Classes
2 Year 5/6 Classes
If you think there is some aspect of your child’s learning (social, emotional or academic needs) that requires further consideration, or you have a concern, please make a time to discuss this with your child’s class teacher before Thursday 31st October 2019.
Staffing for 2020 will not be finalised until December and I ask that you respect the fact that you cannot request a specific teacher for your child and trust that we make every effort to place children in a class where they will thrive.
School Attendance Matters
‘By ensuring our children are in school, we will see stronger school communities and better educated children.’
Minister for Education John Gardner
If your child is absent from school for any reason, you can email info@stjohns.catholic.edu.au or ring the school on 8382 2064 and leave a message 24/7. We require a written explanation either prior to the absence or upon return to school. This can be an email or note to your child’s class teacher or the front office. If your child will be absent for 5 consecutive school days or longer, you are required to complete an exemption form to be approved by the Principal. These are available at the front office.
Early departures and late arrivals are very disruptive to your child’s learning, so we ask that you keep these to a minimum.
‘By schools and families working together to ensure that children attend school regularly and consistently make it more possible for teachers to teach and children to learn.’ Aligning School & Community-Resources to Reduce Chronic Absence, Attendance Works
A new document regarding school attendance has just been released by the State Government. the Minister for Education John Gardner states ‘Every child and young person has a right to an education that develops their talent and ability to reach their fullest potential. We all have a role to ensure that children and young people get the best education available, and this starts with ensuring that children attend school all day, every school day. Every child and young person deserves to attend school feeling happy, cared for and ready to learn. Making attendance everyone’s business means we can all contribute to ensure our children and young people have access to the quality education they deserve.’
The following definitions are consistent with best practice to identify students at risk through non-attendance:
• Habitual non-attendance where a student has 5 to 9 absences for any reason in a term (average of 1 day per fortnight).
• Chronic non-attendance where a student is absent for 10 days or more in a term for any reason (average of 1 day per week).
While poor attendance is a strong indicator of lower levels of achievement in learning tasks, it also highlights as the potential for problematic social skills and difficulty in forming and maintaining relationships. Attendance at school contributes to a community that is well educated, healthier, employed, financially independent and more empowered.
If you require support with this, please make a time to meet with your child’s class teacher as a matter of urgency.
Curtin University Questionnaires (School Climate)
Thank you to everyone who completed the school climate survey. All staff students and families have had an opportunity to have their voice heard and have input into the future direction of our school. I really appreciate the time you dedicated to this.
Stage 1 Building Program Update
Stage 1 building will commence from December 16th 2019.
We are on track to:
relocate OSHC and Playgroup to the property at 16 Winnerah Road for the start of the 2020 school year
relocate the Year 1/2 classes from the mezzanine level to the eastern end of the St Dominic Centre during Term 4 Week 9 2019. These classes will remain in this space until the new build is complete. We did this when the upstairs classrooms were built and minimal disruption was caused to classes.
demolition of the current OSHC room, Junior toilets, Year 1/2 classes and Sensory room will commence over the summer holiday period
Carmichael Road entry gate can not be accessed while building is in progress during 2020.
The Stage 1 redesign includes relocating the junior toilets, 2 new classrooms, an art room, an updated sensory room and a lift to access the upper floors. More details will be publicised before the end of term 4 regarding this exciting development at St. Johns.
SPORTS DAY
Our annual Sports Day will be held next Friday 1 November - All students will be required at school by 1:20pm having already eaten their lunch at home. The day will conclude at 7:15pm
A Sports Day booklet is attached to this Newsletter and it contains more details of this wonderful event. The children have been training and practicing for this event. Once again Justin Marsh and the staff have put together a program that will be challenging and fun for our children.
As our Sports Day next Friday is a “Twilight Sports Day”, I encourage all families to come along and support their child / children. All children (especially the younger ones) enjoy the support of family members at events such as these. It also gives parents the opportunity to see what is happening in PE at St Johns. Our Sports Day will reflect the skills and activities learned in class.
OSHC will be available on Sports Day Morning from 6:30am to 1:20pm.
Rate for the Morning is flat fee of $45
For OSHC to run on the day 6 bookings or more are required.
Please book via the online booking form, please put SPORTS DAY in dates required area.
https://www.stjohns.catholic.edu.au/our-school/oshc-booking-form
Important Information for Sports Day
If you must take your child / children home early it is essential to see a teacher to sign them out.
All children must wear their correct school Sports Uniform (house coloured polo shirts. (These are available at Best and Less, Big W, Target, K Mart.) including their school hats
Only school children are allowed on the house team mats.
PLAYGROUNDS are out of bounds for all children due to insurance reasons.
Families and friends are encouraged to walk around with their child’s class during the skills events. Please encourage all children participating. Parental assistance may be required with some stations.
Children should have their own named water bottle with them at all times. Parents need to supply this before the commencement of Sports Day.
To assist our Marshalls, we ask that you stand well clear of the finishing line in the sprints and distance races.
Team coloured hair spray may be used on Friday. However, coloured sun cream and face paint are not allowed.
A reminder to all parents and guests that our school is a non-smoking, alcohol free zone.
Please be mindful of our neighbours when parking around the school and PLEASE do not park across people’s driveways or vacant blocks of land.
Keep noise to a minimum when leaving the school grounds
Road safety around St. John’s school
It continues to be of community concern that drivers are parking and stopping illegally along Winnerah and Carmichael Roads,
Please be reminded that it is illegal to stop on the solid yellow lines and queue over the Emu Crossing. In the best interest of the safety of our children and families, please adhere to the road rules.
Onkaparinga Council continues to patrol the area to monitor the parking situation and SAPOL monitor the speed limits. Please read the information provided by the SA Police.
“Children across South Australia are back at school and drivers are reminded to slow down to 25 km/h and to take care around schools and school buses.
Motorists are reminded to slow down to the 25km/h speed limit between school zone signs when children are present, at school crossings when the lights are flashing and when passing a school bus that has stopped to pick up or drop off children.
Children can be difficult for drivers to see, especially behind a reversing vehicle. They are still developing their ability to judge the speed and distance of moving vehicles, so it is vital for drivers to be alert at all times.
I look forward to seeing many of our families at the events over the coming weeks.
Dee-anne Peters
