Dear SJC Community,

Winter has arrived and the students do need to rug up during the cold snap – please ensure scarves and beanies are navy in colour. I also recommend providing an umbrella for your children in case it is raining. Our lovely ANZ umbrellas have appeared to have found new homes! We have ordered more umbrellas however the recent supply issues have meant our order is delayed. We have a costing for a covered walkway between the campuses but it is very expensive and probably a couple of years away from being possible just yet. Thank you for your understanding.

Congratulations to our Senior Students on completing their exams. For students in Year 7 to 10 the exams are about learning how to take exams; how to prepare and how to conduct themselves in exams, as well as testing their knowledge of the content, their skill development and conceptual understanding of the ‘big ideas’ in the curriculum. We are proud overall of the way students participated in the first exam program in over two years.

This week we welcomed Mr Matthew Stepic as our substantive music teacher. Mr Stepic also teaches Humanities and will be taking some Humanities classes in the Senior School from next term as Ms Warren has taken a full-time Digi Tech position at another school. Mr Connell has taken a position at a school in Brighton as he is relocating. We thank both teachers for their contribution to SJC and both teachers have expressed their thanks to us – the SJC community for our support over their time with us. They both spoke to me about how lovely our students are to teach; I agree that our students are a great bunch. It is very good for young teachers to move across schools and have different experiences; with 1 in 5 graduate teachers leaving the profession within their first 5 years we are pleased to have looked after young teachers and provided the opportunity for them to learn and grow with us.

• There may be some timetable/class changes next Semester – please check your children’s timetables in the break, particularly for change of day for PE and sport.

I am also delighted to announce that we are launching a new program LEAP for a group of learners in Senior School with additional learning needs. Mrs Konstas is going to be the LEAP program teacher and Ms DeLuca is going to teach the Year 3/4B class.

We are always working hard to ensure our children have access to high-quality teaching and an engaging curriculum. Enrolment is booming -– we have 10 new students commencing in Term 2; this is a reflection of the high quality of education at St John’s College.

God Bless,

Mrs Anna Urban
Principal