Dear St John's families,

At an information evening and orientation morning this week we welcomed almost all of our Kindergarten students and families for 2024.

We have approximately 53 Kindergarten students starting with us next year. Our two Kindergarten classes will be taught by Ms Lily Kennelly and Mr James Doepel.

Wednesday morning was a lot of fun. Our team of teachers and assistants were on hand, actively supporting every new student to feel comfortable as soon as possible. There was a lot of dinosaur and train play, necklace making, playdough, drawing, exploring the playground, listening to stories and dancing (I enjoyed the dancing the most).

Thank you to Belinda Clifford who came to the information evening to speak about the uniform with our new families.

Staffing 2024

I'm pleased to let you know that Ms Sarah Collins and her husband Dayne are expecting a baby girl in early April. They are very excited and we wish them the very best in this exciting time. As Ms Collins will be working for a brief time next year she will not be teaching her own class during this time and have a different role.

We have employed two new teachers for next year and I welcome:

• Lousie Osborne-Goldsbrough who is currently teaching, using similar High Impact Teaching Practices, in another Catholic Primary school. Louise is very well respected with interests in student well-being and religious education and we look forward to her joining our staff.
• Olivia Etzrodt who used to be an inclusion assistant at St John the Apostle and has more recently been teaching her own class in another Catholic School. Olivia is excited to rejoin our community and we're happy she is back with us.

Both of these teachers are very generous and supportive community members and I'm sure you will enjoy getting to know them. Certainly, students will enjoy being in their classes.

We are again looking to recruit a teacher for Spanish, Years 3 to 6. It requires very specialist knowledge and such people are hard to find!

As we begin to formulate classes for next year, please do read the section below and write to me by the end of the coming week with your considerations.

An announcement of the teachers for each year level will be made a few weeks. We are already beginning the transition process for students with more complex needs, preparing them to be ready for the inevitable change.

Thank you for continuously working together with our staff to support your child in their learning.

Matthew Garton

Principal

Class Allocations for 2024

During this term, we will finalise our staffing arrangements for 2024. When it comes to class placements for students we aim to ensure a fair, considered and just process in allocating students to classes for the next school year.

Teachers are in the best position to decide a child’s placement because they know all the children in their classes and have a view of the ‘big picture’ and what the learning needs are for each child. However, I invite parents to inform me of any educational concerns that you feel need to be considered, for your own child’s well-being or development.

There are only two classes each year at St John the Apostle Primary School. One of the benefits if this is that every child is known across the school community. Every year we mix the classes to help children spend time with different people as well as reconnect with others they haven't shared a class with for some time. We do keep a history of previous considerations for the arrangements. When forming balanced class lists the following factors are taken into consideration:

• gender;
• diverse needs;
• work habits;
• personal plans;
• intervention needs and supports;
• friendships;
• behaviour;
• health considerations;
• religious identity(to assist in achieving a balance between classes, especially in Sacramental years) and
• common names;
• new students enrolled for the following year.

Ideally, we aim for an equal spread of all characteristics in a class. Where practical, parental requests based on educational concerns may be considered. At St John the Apostle, we will use the following principles and guidelines when considering the placement of students each year:

• Every care will be taken to ensure that each child is placed in the best situation to enhance learning and social development;
• Teachers will ask students to name three people they would like to be in the same class as next year and teachers will endeavour to make sure that one of those is met;
• Parents who wish to raise particular concerns regarding the placement of their children in particular classes should put the concern in writing and email it to me directly (matthewgarton@cg.catholic.edu.au) by Friday of Week 5 of Term 4 (Friday 10 November);
• Parent concerns regarding educational needs of students will be considered during the process. It must be clearly understood, however, that no definite guarantees can be given regarding parental concerns. No requests for specific teacher will be accepted. All teachers work hard to provide the best possible learning opportunities for their students;
• Where appropriate, advice will be sought from the Inclusion Teacher, School Counsellor and Student Welfare Officer alongside the current class teacher during this process;
• Considering all the factors listed above, the current class teachers compile class lists from mid-term, Term 4. These are then handed to me to confirm;
• Children will be informed of their class placement for the 2024 school year in December (usually the last week of school) and the opportunity will be provided for them to spend some time with their new class teacher;
• Throughout this process, after appropriate consultation, I reserve the right to make final professional decisions regarding the placement of children.

As you can see, these decisions are given very careful consideration and we look to balance the needs of all students. Every school does this. Once class lists are finalised we select the teacher best suited to each group.