Dear St John the Apostle community,

Congratulations on a successful last week of the year.

Today our teachers spent time finalising administration for the year and began planning for 2023. Having participated in One-Up Day on Wednesday afternoon, where students gather in their classes for next year and meet their teacher, our teachers are excited to plan new learning opportunities for our students. We are building upon the successes of the High Impact Teaching Practices introduced in the last two years to develop a challenging and knowledge rich program for all of our students in 2023.

Teachers have also spent the last three days in handover meetings. These meetings are designed to provide the opportunity for the 2023 teacher of each student to learn about the needs, interests and background of each student from their 2022 teacher. Thank you to our Inclusion Teacher, Ms Rebecca Neiberding, who organised and sat in on every meeting for three days. With approximately 100 students on Personal Plans it was an excellent opportunity to ensure a smooth start for every student in the new school year.

Playground Update

Finally the equipment itself began being installed this week. Our youngest students have enjoyed going out each recess and lunch to see what else had been added. They sometimes looked at the installation instructions laying next to the fence and provided a little advice to the installers about what to do next!.

The equipment will be ready in time for the beginning of the new year. I recognise that our Year 6 students will have missed an opportunity to enjoy the equipment. I hope to hold a 'Year 6 2022' picnic at school in the new year for those who missed the opportunity and would like to come and have a little play before heading off to high school.

School Fees 2023

Last week I outlined the school fee structure for 2023 and some of the small increases or changes that will occur. Follow the link below to see the full School Fees for 2023. The School Fees are also available on our school website.

In Semester 2 of 2023 our school is due to transition to a new finance system as part of system wide Finance Transformation project. Some of the options for payment of fees will change, including moving to options other than Direct Debit and using regular BPay arrangements. If you would like to begin the year in a way that will reduce change for you mid year then please consider this. More information will be available in the new year.

Travelling in 2023?

In these post pandemic times we've seen many families take the opportunity to travel again, particularly to visit family overseas that they have not seen for quite some time. It's wonderful to have that opportunity again.

If you find yourself planning a longer than usual trip in 2023 and your children will miss more than 25 days of school (including part days), but less than 12 months, then please complete the form below and drop it into the Front Office as soon as your arrangements have been finalised.

Application for Extended Leave from School (ACT)

Application for Extended Leave from School (ACT) 316.93 KB

School Captains 2023

At our Cornerstone Ceremony on Monday morning, a ceremony where Year 6 students handover their leadership responsibilities to Year 5 students, we announced the School Captains for 2023. This year, after students presented speeches, peers voted and staff considered further, we will have three School Captains. Congratulations to Uasi, Matilda and Jessie. We know they will be outstanding student leaders and set a great example for their peers. The remaining student leadership roles will be announced next year.

Uasi	Matilda	Jessie

Thank you everyone for a wonderful year. Thank you to our fantastic staff for their positivity and commitment to students and families and their strong collaboration. Thank you to parents and carers for their continued support for their children and the school. Thank you to the Community Council who go above and beyond to help make our school a strong community. Lastly thank you to our students for the times they worked hard, were kind to others and participated in new challenges.

I hope everyone has the most joy filled Christmas and peace break. I look forward to seeing everyone in the new year. School resumes on Tuesday 31st January.

Matthew Garton

Principal