Friday, 17th November 2017 “Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 Principal’s Message With the Year 12 VCE Exam period coming to an end, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all staff and students for their support during this critical time. The week commencing 20th November begins our exam period for Years 10 and 11, and the Formal Assessments for Years 7 to 9. Students are reminded to revise for all their assessments diligently and wisely, for this is the way to achieve continued success. Congratulations are also in order this fortnight. We congratulate to our Years 7 and 8 Girls’ Futsal team, who received first place in the district, and will now be competing in the Regional Finals. I would also like to congratulate the Parents’ Association on an excellent year’s work, and a successful Annual General Meeting last week. We have a new President Elect, Mrs Angela Pilipasidis; I am looking forward to working with her and the whole PA Executive. Special thanks to Mr Louie Petrou for all his work as President. May God continue to bless this college under the patronage of St John the Forerunner. Lance Ryan Principal The Forerunner
Transcript
Friday, 17th November 2017
“Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30
Principal’s Message
With the Year 12 VCE Exam period coming to an end, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all staff and students for their support during this critical time. The week commencing 20th November begins our exam period for Years 10 and 11, and the Formal Assessments for Years 7 to 9. Students are reminded to revise for all their assessments diligently and wisely, for this is the way to achieve continued success. Congratulations are also in order this fortnight. We congratulate to our Years 7 and 8 Girls’ Futsal team, who received first place in the district, and will now be competing in the Regional Finals. I would also like to congratulate the Parents’ Association on an excellent year’s work, and a successful Annual General Meeting last week. We have a new President Elect, Mrs Angela Pilipasidis; I am looking forward to working with her and the whole PA Executive. Special thanks to Mr Louie Petrou for all his work as President. May God continue to bless this college under the patronage of St John the Forerunner.
Lance Ryan Principal
The Forerunner
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Junior School News
Middle School News
Head StartA reminder that the Head Start transition program will commence on the 27th November for all students in Years 6-11. During the program, students will commence work in their next year level. This gives them an opportunity to prepare themselves for the curriculum content they will undertake in 2018.
Student involvementI have been very impressed with the number of students who have participated in school activities representing the College throughout the 2017 year, including sports, cultural and religious events, as well as Mathematics, Science and English competitions. These opportunities enable students to develop new skills, time management, team work and persistence.
Thought of the week“Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough.”
Mr Derek SherwoodHead of Middle Years 7-9
2018 Term Dates
Term 1Wednesday January 31st- Thursday March 29th
Term 2Monday April 16th- Friday June 22nd
Term 3Monday July 16th
- Friday September 21st
Term 4Monday October 8th
- Wednesday December 12th
Foundation Transition MorningFoundation Transition Morning will be held on Wednesday, 22 & 29 November for 2018 students.
Transition MorningA transition morning will held on Wednesday 29 November. Students will spend the morning session 8.30am – 10.00am meeting their teacher for 2018. All new students commencing in 2018 will be visiting on this day.
2018 CampsPlease complete documentation and pay your $100 deposit by the 8/12.
Year 6 DoxologyOn Thursday 23 November a Doxology service will be held at Sts Cyril & Methodius commencing at 6.00pm for our Year 6 students and families to mark the end of junior school.
F – 2 VIP AwardsA special assembly will be held on Thursday 30 November for the F - 2 students commencing at 8.30am in theSports and Arts Centre. VIP awards will be handed out to all students in F – 2. All parents are encouraged to attend.
Music Ensemble PerformanceYears F – 2: Thursday 30 November, commencing at 8.45am in the Gymnasium.Years 3 – 6 : Thursday 7 December commencing at 2pm in the Sports and Arts Centre.
End of Year CelebrationOur End of Year celebration will take place on Friday 8 December. The evening will commence at 6.00pm with the F- 3 performance of Aesop’s Fables. This will be followed by a Christmas concert. All parents and friends are welcome to attend.
St John’s Christmas AppealWe kindly request donations of non-perishable items for our annual Christmas Food appeal. Items such as coffee, cereals, chocolates, muesli bars, cake mixes, pasta or rice would be very much appreciated. Items can be dropped off at the Junior and Senior office. All donations will be forwarded to the Greek Welfare Centre.
“In Their Shoes”
We are kindly asking each family to fill a shoe box with various items that will be donated to children in Sierra Leone. The following items are requested:
Please place items in a shoe box and clearly label what it contains. All items will be donated to children in Sierra Leone (Paradise 4 Kids). Filled shoe boxes can be left in the Junior or Senior office.
Senior School News
Years 10 and 11 Exams and Years 7-9 Formal Assessments
The Years 10 - 11 Semester Two exams begin on Monday 20th November and conclude on Thursday 23rd November. It is important that students take the exams seriously and work to the best of their ability. All students are expected to attend and sit for all their exams in correct school uniform.
This semester, Years 10 and 11 students have the option of only attending school when they have a scheduled exam. They may also leave the College once all their exams have concluded for the day. Further, students are not required at school if they do not have exams on a particular day. There are no classes for students on Friday 24 November due to Report Writing Day.
Alternatively, students are welcome to attend school every day and study in the library.
Years 10 and 11 Exam Expectations
Students are expected to:
• Wear full College uniform during every exam and have
studied and revised for each exam you are sitting.
• Come fully prepared for every exam. Students will not be permitted to borrow equipment from other students during an exam, as this can be disruptive. If students are uncertain as to what they are required to bring to an exam, they should ask their teacher before the exam.
• Arrive at the designated room on time. The exam sessions will be posted on the notice board outside the Senior College Reception. Students have received a copy of the session times and designated rooms from their Year Level Coordinator. Students are required to sit all scheduled exams.
• Enter the room in silence, and remain silent until their subject teacher has dismissed the group. If students talk during an exam, their exam paper will be cancelled immediately and they will receive no credit for this area of the course. In addition to this, their parents will be called and made aware of their inappropriate behaviour and subsequent cancellation of their exam.
• Refrain from cheating. If students are caught cheating (which includes communicating with the person they are sitting next to, communicating non-verbally across the exam room, passing notes or referring to any unauthorized notes), their exam paper will be cancelled immediately and their parents will be notified.
• Remain in the exam room until the end of the exam. If students finish early, they
should go over their work and be sure to remain silent until the teacher dismisses the group. Only in an extreme emergency will students be permitted to leave the exam room.
Please keep in mind that if a student is absent from school on the day of an exam they will receive a zero result. This is in line with the Year 12 VCE exams and will impact on their ability to achieve a satisfactory result for the unit/subject. I would like to take this opportunity to wish all Years 10 & 11 students good luck with their exams, and I look forward to receiving some positive feedback from their teachers.
Report Writing Day
Friday 24th November is Report Writing Day. There is no school on this day.
Head Start 2018
The current Years 7-11 (2017) students will rollover on Monday 27th November. Students are expected to take this program seriously and prepare themselves for 2018 with the guidance of their teachers.
Hot Weather
Students are encouraged to keep hydrated and refrain from unnecessary physical activities during hot days. There are adequate shaded areas around the Senior College to be used by students on extremely warm days.
Monastery ExcursionStudents from Years 5 to 8, along with their teachers and Mr. Ryan, had the opportunity to visit the Geelong Monastery of Panagia Gorgoepikoos (“Quick to listen to our prayers”). Abbess Kallistheni and Sister Gregoria welcomed our students with joy and conducted the Supplication to our Lady Theotokos in
the new church that is still under construction. After the service, the students visited the gardens of the monastery and saw all the animals. They also visited the Byzantine exhibition and spent some time in the playground of the monastery. The Year 6 students took a lot of pictures of all the animals
Parents’ Association
The St John’s College Parents’ Association held its Annual General Meeting on Wednesday 8th November. The following parents were elected to the Parents’ Association Executive for 2018:
The Parents’ Association would like to thank all members of the school community who supported our projects throughout 2017. We also call upon all parents to take an active role in supporting the College.
For more information regarding how you can contribute, please email [email protected]
in order to do a PowerPoint presentation for Greek studies. After lunch, all the students listened very attentively to the lecture of Abbess Kallistheni, which was an extension of the Pastoral Care lesson that the College provides for all its students. Abbess Kallistheni and Sister Gregoria are looking forward to visiting our College early in
Do you have a student in Years 7, 10, 11 or 12 in 2017?
Darebin Council attended your child’s school this year to provide Government Funded immunisations. All Government Recommended vaccines are currently free until your child turns 20 years of age. The Meningococcal ACWY Vaccine is available in Victoria for anyone 15-19 years of age.
Year 7 VaccinesHPV Gardasil (3 doses), Boostrix and Chickenpox
Years 10, 11 and 12 VaccineMeningococcal ACWY
You can attend any of the Darebin Council Immunisation Sessions (there is no need to book). The session timetable can be found at: www.darebin.vic.gov.au/immunisation. If you are unsure if your child is up to date with vaccines please call Darebin Council Immunisation Service on Ph: 8470 8562.
Extend After-School Care @ St John’s College (2018)
Have you heard the good news?
Extend is delighted to deliver an After-School Care service to commence Term 1, 2018 (subject to government licensing and approval).
We are thrilled to begin this new partnership with the school community, and look forward to delivering a quality service to St John’s College families.
Operating hours and fees:
Commencing Term 1, 20183.15pm – 6.00pmSession Fee $26.00*(Pay approximately $7.98 - $13.00 after fee relief entitlements)
* Fees are per child per session. For a full list of fees and charges including casual and emergency on-the-day bookings, see our Terms and Conditions on the Extend website.
How and when to enrol:
To gain access to any Extend service families must enrol prior to using the service. Enrolments and bookings for 2018 can be made at https://www.lookedafter.com
Fee Relief – The Facts
Fact 1: The Child Care Rebate (CCR) is NOT income tested. We encourage you to apply!Fact 2: 50% is the minimum reduction you will receive in your fees. Further benefits may apply to you. Read further information and estimate your out-of-pocket expense at www.extend.com.au.
Questions?
Check out the FAQs on our website which contains useful information for new parents.
PARENT PORTAL: extend.com.au
RemindersCarpark A number of parents are still driving at unacceptable speeds when approaching the school carpark. No parent should be driving over 40km. When you are picking up your children please do not have conversations with others or overtake cars that have stopped to pick up/drop off children. Ensure that children get out of the car from the left side. Please do not park on the crossing lines as they are intended for families to cross safely. It is imperative that we are vigilant and patient to ensure the safety of our students.
UniformAll students should be wearing summer uniform in Term 4. Please ensure that girls are wearing knee high white socks and boys are wearing the navy and white striped long socks. All students must wear a hat during recess and lunchtime.
BooklistsPlease ensure that booklists are finalised by Monday 20 November.
We are kindly requesting donations of the following musical instruments:
•Violin
•Guitars
•Keyboard or digital piano
•Drum
•Amplifiers
•Microphones
Please see Mrs Chochlakaif you are able to help.
Our Year 8 Girls Futsal team have become champions of the district division scoring an impressive 39 goals and conceding 7. Next stop Regionals, when we come up against other winning schools in their divisions to find out who will be crowned champions of the Northern Metropolitan Region. Team members include: Yianna Manifavas, Dion Karellas, Erica Karakyriakos, Monique Kolyvas, Maria Skantzos, Helena Petrou and Kayla Zarkos.
Year 8 Girls’ Futsal
Friday Art Workshop #2
DonationsWanted
Friday Art Workshop #3 and Art Excursion
Diary Dates20th to 23rd November..............................................................................Years 10/11 AssessmentsThursday 23rd November..........................................................................Year 6 DoxologyFriday 24th November................................................................................Report Writing DaySunday 26th November.............................................................................His Eminence Archbishop Stylianos DinnerMonday 27th November.............................................................................Year 7 Orientation Day Head Start Program beginsFriday 1st December....................................................................................Casual Dress Day (Gold coin donation)
Years 9 and 10 Visual Art Students visited the newly opened Gertrude Contemporary Art Gallery on High street, just around the corner from our school. We met with one the of artists who has a studio in the complex, Mathieu Briand. He showed us how he is making 3D printed robots which he then builds with moving parts and programs them to move by themselves. So interesting. After lunch, we got to visit the studio of designers Dowel Jones where we visited their space and ask questions about their design process, how the company works and how they started out. It was great to hear how furniture is still being manufactured right here in Melbourne.
