AGM REPORT 2019 St John the Apostle Parish School - St John the Apostle School

St John the Apostle Parish School
     AGM REPORT 2019

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT 2019
Dear Parents and Caregivers

It is with pleasure that I present to you the 2019 Annual Report for St John the Apostle School.
2019 has been another busy year St Johns with many exciting developments planned. It is an
exciting time. We have a great leadership team which thrives on change, diversity and
progress. The team are focussed on accelerating learning, using current theory and
evidence to improve professional practise. The opportunities being afforded to our learners
at St Johns is of the highest quality and meets the diverse range of learning needs.
The year has been full of designing and planning. Thank you to the staff at St Johns, who
have continued our learning journey. They are all incredibly dedicated and hardworking. I
appreciate their skills, expertise and encouragement of all the students.

Core areas of focus which I believe have been the catalyst to our success are:

- The depth of collaborative teaching and learning practices;

- Staff really knowing the learner and their needs;

- Student ownership of learning.

2019 saw the continuation of our Literacy/Data journey with PAT and NAPLAN Online. The
learning trend of the students across all classes is improving. This improvement is a result of
reflecting, changing and adopting new practices. These practices are improving learning for
our students.

2019 saw the continuation of our journey in transforming St John the Apostle School founded
in our Catholic tradition, to be a school where our high-quality teaching, personalised
teaching and use of student data is evident. Last year was also a milestone in our school and
sector’s history being the first year of being a Reception to Year 6 site.

I acknowledge St John the Apostle School’s clear strengths – the wonderful school spirit and
positive culture that thrives amongst the students, the role modelling and professionalism
inherent in our staff, and the support and commitment of our School Board who aim to
ensure our school remains relevant and successful in ever-changing educational and
legislative contexts.

Our Vision to be a place of Welcome, Love and Truth is to inspire, challenge and empower
each other through the promotion of hospitality, learning excellence, fostering wellbeing
and resilience, developing strong and authentic relationships, serving others with integrity
and dignity and working collaboratively to build community.

To the parents of our school, thank you for your unwavering commitment to furthering the
many ways in which our community connects - through being involved in activities with your
children, to fundraising, you certainly know how to ensure everyone has a fantastic time!

I am also grateful to our School Board, led by Chair, Kristy McGregor. It is timely to
acknowledge that all members of our Board volunteer their time and considerable expertise
for the betterment of our School. I thank them for their leadership, support and
encouragement. I also acknowledge the outstanding service and commitment to St Johns
made by Fiona Partington and the Parents and Friends Team. In 2020, we will continue to be
explore different models to engage parents within the school.

I thank our School’s exceptional staff who do not merely teach, they educate – helping
students think, challenge, reflect and, hopefully in the process, to find and tap into their own
beliefs and their own uniqueness. Education is about relationships. In 2019 we introduced
Children’s University, under the leadership of Vikki Maillaird. This provided further opportunities
for families to support their child’s interests outside of school. The children participated in a
graduation ceremony at the University of Adelaide at the end of the year.

In 2019, we farewelled a long serving staff member who decided to retire.
To Anne Marcelline, I thank you for your 44 years of dedication and wonderful service to our
school.

To all parents and caregivers, I thank you for entrusting us with the extraordinary responsibility
of supporting your child through their growth and development. We cannot achieve all we
do, without your commitment as partners in your child’s education – a fundamental
contributor to student success.

We are excited about the opportunities to build on this year’s progress for the benefit of our
children and families in 2020, the 55th anniversary of St Johns.

Dee-anne Peters
Principal
March 2020

SCHOOL BOARD CHAIRPERSON’S REPORT 2019

Our school has had another successful year and continues to provide high quality education
and pastoral care to our students. Enrolments remain at a consistently high level supported by
waiting lists underpinning the high regard the local community has for our school.

We should all be proud that our School continues to be ranked amongst the top performers in
education. This is evident in the achievements of many of St John’s old scholars.
We need to acknowledge that these achievements are the product of the hard work and
dedication of our current Principal Dee Anne Peters, teachers and supporting staff as well as
past staff of St Johns.

It should also be acknowledged that this success could not be possible without the dedication
and support of parents, caregivers and volunteers at St Johns who work tirelessly to support our
students. This support takes many forms including learning support, fundraising, coaching,
lunch order collections, assistance with excursions and involvement in the school board.
There have been many highlights over the past year. Below is a list of some of the fun and
engaging ways in which the children at St Johns have been learning:
     • Sports carnivals / sports day / specialist sport clinics / out of hours sport programs
     • Music program / music concert / school choir
     • Participation in the premiers reading challenge
     • School transition program for reception students
     • Environmental initiatives including a school composting program, gardening groups
     and participation in Clean Up Australia Day
     • School excursions and camps
     • Social events such as the school disco and other fundraising activities
     • Regular class masses and the gathering of the school community for school masses to
     acknowledge and celebrate our Catholic identity

This year has seen some changes to the way staff and families come together to support the
students with the traditional ‘meet the teacher 'night being replaced with a staff
acquaintance night hosted by the school board. This has been met with positive feedback
from the whole school community and has been a great way for people to come together
and get to know each other.

The year has also welcomed the start of some big changes to the physical space at St Johns
with Stage One of the Building Master Plan beginning in early December 2019. This is an
exciting project that will see access to the second floor improved with the installation of a lift
and a revamp of the west wing of the school. As part of this plan OSCH has also been
relocated to a separate property next to the school. This will allow for better OSCH facilities
and more learning space for students in the main building. Stage One of this plan is due for
completion in August 2020.

On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Dee Anne Peters and Justin Marsh as Acting
APRIM for their leadership. I would also like to thank them for their ongoing commitment to the
spiritual education and pastoral care of our children and the school community generally.
It is also important to acknowledge the commitment of our teachers in their tireless efforts to
provide the best quality education to our students and in supporting their well-being.
A thank you must also be extended to my fellow board members. Your support, enthusiasm,
skill, insight and professional approach to your duties clearly demonstrate your endeavor to
make our school the best it can be. I have enjoyed being part of the board and serving the
school community. This year is my final year as chair of the board as my youngest child moves
to high school. It is with sadness and fondness that I say goodbye and I wish the St John school
community all the very best for the future.

As a school community I think we have many achievements to celebrate in 2019. I am excited
to see what 2020 will bring with such a great school community and the many opportunities that
lay ahead.

Kristy McGregor Chairperson
St John the Apostle School Board March 2020

RELIGIOUS IDENTITY AND MISSION
Religious Identity and Mission St John the Apostle Parish School
A place of...Welcome, Love and Truth Spirited by our Catholic faith and in partnership with
parents, parish and the wider community, we are committed to providing a high quality, holistic
and contemporary education for our students.
We respond to the message of St Luke the Evangelist, by being a welcoming and inclusive
school community, as part of the Noarlunga/Seaford Parish.
We acknowledge the writing of St John the Apostle, God is Love (1 Jn 4:8), by striving to love
one another as God loves us. We continue the tradition of St Dominic, by seeking truth and
justice through lifelong learning and prayerful reflection.

At St John the Apostle school, we value our Dominican tradition. We consider this not only in
Religious Education but also in the way we conduct our day to day lives. When teaching our
students about personal responsibility, we focus on the Gospel values and the way Jesus treated
others. Our school Vision Statement reflects the traditions of our school and parish in the
footsteps of St Luke, St John, St Dominic and Catherine of Siena. It calls us to be a community
which is welcoming, loving and intent on seeking truth through dialogue and reflection.

Liturgies
Father Josy Sebastian and Father Selva Raj celebrated whole school masses, class masses and
family masses regularly throughout the school year. These celebrations allow students to
understand more deeply what it means to be part of a wider Catholic community. Students are
encouraged to help teachers plan and actively participate in these celebrations.

Throughout the year we celebrated many whole School and Class Masses, Feast days, liturgies
and Family Masses at St Luke’s. Many thanks to our Performing Arts Teacher, Lisa Martin for
coordinating a choir group and to Shaun Freeborn for playing live music at the Parish for special
occasion masses at St. Luke’s church. Thank you to Lisa Martin, Justin Marsh, Naoimh Lewis and
the 5/6 students for organising and presenting the “Stations of the Cross” to our school. The extra
time that is put into preparing our students for these special occasions is very much
appreciated.

Sacrament Program
The Sacramental Program, consisting of Reconciliation, Confirmation and First Eucharist was run
jointly with All Saints School and the Noarlunga/ Seaford Parish. Each year, students from Year 3
and above are invited to be part of the program. Students and their families learn
through several group sessions more about what it means to be a fully initiated member of the
Catholic community. Teachers also support the Sacramental program by acknowledging
students participating in the program and the teaching of the Sacraments across the school. In
Term 4 (2018), 7 students from St John’s commenced the Sacramental program of
Reconciliation. This year 7 students celebrated the Sacrament of Confirmation and First
Communion.

In Term 4, the year 5 and 6 students joined with the senior students from All Saints to plan and
participate in a youth mass at St. Luke’s church. This initiative helps to build community within
our parish. It was also a great opportunity for the students to network amongst people their own
age and interact with several students that will attend Cardijn College the following year.

Professional Development – Staff Reflection Day
On Friday 30th August 2019, Term 3 all staff were involved in a Religious Education Professional
Development day.
Our day was facilitated by Lillian van Brussel and focused on the theme

                                      “The gift of Wisdom”.

The morning session involved personal reflection time, meditation imaginative prayer and
discussions.
The afternoon session was spent reflecting and learning about the new Crossways document
that will be implemented in school in the coming years. It was a wonderful day and we thank
Lilian for engaging our staff in such a meaningful and reflective day.

Student Leadership
On Monday 18th March, our School Leadership Team were invited to take part in the ‘Just
Leadership Day’. This was an opportunity for our students to learn more about poverty around
the world and to consider how they can respond in both their personal lives and as young
leaders within their school community. Students learnt about the people who are helped
through Project Compassion and also begin to develop some ideas and plans for action back
at school.
Justin attended the Annual CESA Religious Leaders day on Friday the 28th June. This is the key
CESA occasion for all APRIMs, RECs and aspiring religious leaders from around the state. We
gathered with the RE Team to engage with some important issues related to our shared
leadership.

 “CESA Religious Leaders Day”
 “forward directions for engaging the Crossways RE curriculum”

During the day, we explored and expanded our previous engagement with core elements of
Crossways, including aspects such as: Scriptural Text Scope and Sequence, learning design
and pedagogy. We also engaged with the Made in the Image of God developments, and
new content documents for Crossways.
The informal preparatory implementation for the new Crossways curriculum is underway in
South Australian Catholic schools, and this CESA Religious Leaders Day 2019 will focused on
building the capacity of APRIMs and other religious leaders to lead and implement the new
Crossways curriculum in their school communities. The content of the day complemented
and expanded on the formal Crossways Networked Implementation Program which is being
staggered in cluster networks across 2019 and 2020

RELaT (Religious Literacy Assessment Tool)
In September, the children in Year 4 sat the RELaT.
RELaT is an assessment tool written by members of the CESA RE team. It assesses the children’s
knowledge to Standard 2 in the Crossways curriculum. It is an online multiple-choice assessment.
Results are then distributed amongst schools in the Adelaide and Port Pirie Archdioceses.
Summary
This Report has highlighted the ways in which students at St John’s School are supported and
encouraged by teachers, other staff members and the wider community to:
    1. participate in the liturgical and sacramental life of the Church and explore its
    relationship with other traditions.
    2. examine the qualities of discipleship and the invitation to promote the Reign of God.
    3. explore the beliefs and heritage of the Catholic Tradition and the significance for their
    own lives.

Justin Marsh
Acting Assistant Principal Religious Identity and Mission, (Acting APRIM)

INCLUSIVE EDUCATION – 2019

This year we offered one support group as we had the ESO’s working parallel to teachers in
the classrooms. The reading groups continued to run. Participants were identified from
analysing PAT reading test and running record data. Children deemed at risk with their
reading were identified as requiring further support with their reading.

Each class was given support by an ESO to run these programs, the teachers identified from
their testing who was part of these groups. These groups were monitored regularly by the
teachers.

Review meetings were held for the children that have an IEP (Individual Education Plan) for
their learning. Parents, outside agencies, classroom teachers, Dee-Anne and I were involved in
these meetings. Appropriate changes were made with the students’ IEP goals and
adjustments to enhance their learning.

Once again, we took part in the National Consistent Collection of Data for Students with a
Disability. The data we sent into the Catholic Education Office was very comprehensive and
informative. All teachers are required to keep 10 weeks of evidence of adjustments being
made as part of the data collection, and I thank the teachers for this. With more and more
information regarding NCCD we continued to make changes as necessary.

We will lose a small number of resourced children at the end of 2019, but we have at least 3
children starting in reception that will be resourced.

In 2020 our aims are to:

Have all our staff understand and use the NCCD website that is being launched.

To continue to support parents with any NDIS issues.

To make all students’ learning programs support their specific needs through their personal
plan for learning and be able to put in the appropriate ESO/Teacher supports for this to
happen.

To work with our cluster schools around the area of NCCD.

To use our data to better inform us about our student’s needs.

Simone Mashford

POR: Inclusive Education March 2020

PHYSICAL EDUCATION / SPORT REPORT

2019 at St John the Apostle saw many celebrations in Physical Education. Justin Marsh again
took specialist Physical Education lessons. Our Years R-2 focus was on fundamental movement
skills, while our Year 3-6 students focused on game sense and skill development.

Term 1 was a very busy term for Sport. In Week 9, our Year 5 students participated in the Water
Safety program at Port Noarlunga Beach with great success. The program was run over 5 days
and focused on keeping safe at the beach as well as developing their swimming skills. Our Year
6 students participated in five one and a half hour Aquatics lessons at Port Noarlunga where
activities such as surfing, body boarding, snorkelling, canoeing and stand up paddle board
were offered. In Term 2 Week 5, our students from Reception to Year 4 participated in swimming
lessons at the Noarlunga Swimming Centre. The Reception to Year 2 students had five, 45
minute lessons and the Year 3-4 students had five, one and a half hour sessions.

Sporting School Grants
At the end of 2018 we applied for an Australian School Sporting Grant. Sporting Schools is a
$240 million Australian Government initiative designed to help schools to increase children's
participation in sport, and to connect them with community sporting opportunities. Sporting
Schools programs are provided free to children and their families to help students build the
confidence and capability to be active for life. To help achieve this, Sport Australia has
partnered with more than 30 national sporting organisations (NSOs)
We were successful with our application and received $3000 for each of the 4 terms in
2019. This grant allowed each of our 9 classes, 4 lessons of:

Term 1 - T-ball / Softball during PE lessons. The provider was Baseball SA.
Term 2 – Basketball. The provided was Basketball SA- Southern Tigers
Term 3 – Touch Football – The provider was Touch SA
Term 4 - Gymnastics – The provider was a Gymnastics SA company called AeroKids.

We were also lucky enough to purchase a substantial amount of new sporting equipment for
our school each term with the money that remained after paying the provider.
This was an amazing opportunity for our school that we will continue to be involved with in the
future.

In 2019 we continued to run school soccer. We again made links with Seaford Soccer Club and
used their facilities as our home ground. We had 76 students participate in the Saturday morning
competition.
A special to thank you to Chrissy Hadfield for taking on the role as school soccer co-ordinator.

School Netball for 2019 was played at SUNA. We had 9 female players from Years 5 and 6
participate in weekly games held on Tuesday nights (U13 competition). It is wonderful to see so
many of our students participating in Out of Hours School Sport.

In Term 4 we trialled nominating a Yr 5/6 School Basketball at Morphett Vale Basketball Stadium.
We had 10 boys’ players from Years 5 and 6 participate in weekly games held on Monday nights
(U13 competition). We are looking forward to possibly having more teams for various ages in
2020.

A big thank you needs to go to all the parents who assisted us as coaches, team managers,
umpires and supporters this year with Out of School Hours Sport. Parent support is essential for
these competitions to run and without this we would not be a part of this fantastic experience
for our students. School sport is a key area in the development of skills, understanding of the
games and teamwork.

In 2019 we participated in the South Australian Catholic Primary School’s Sporting Association
(SACPSSA) carnivals throughout the year. Squads represented our school in Swimming, Athletics
and Cross Country. All students from Years 3-6 participated in the Netball carnival and students
from Yr 5-6 participated in the Touch Football Carnival.

29 students tried out for the SACPSSA Swimming carnival in Term 1. The 16 selected students
trained for 2 weeks on a Monday and Tuesday night. On Tuesday 12th March we went and
participated in the carnival at the UNISA Magill pool. A big congratulations needs to go to our
team who participated fantastically on the day.
Cadel Garner was crowned the Yr 4 age champion for our division. His events were:
                                           Freestyle
                                          Backstroke
                                          Breastroke.
Cadel also now holds the SACPSSA records for Year 4 in Freestyle, Backstroke and
Breaststroke.

The effort and enthusiasm shown throughout the day was outstanding and each swimmer was
a great representation of what we strive for as a school.

On Monday 17th June, Justin, Bec and Bronni took 41 students to the SACPSSA Athletics Carnival
at Santos Stadium. Our squad showed great dedication and trained during their recess and
lunch play in preparation for the carnival. The weather was perfect, and our students were a
wonderful example of what we strive to be at St John the Apostle.

Daniel Burnett was crowned the Yr 6 age champion for our division. His events were:
                                           100m
                                        Long Jump
                                          Hurdles
                                        High Jump
This is an outstanding achievement and on behalf of the school community we congratulate
Dan. We hope one day you will be representing Australia at the Olympic games.

Our Yr 4 boys won the Section 5 division Pennant and as a school we were awarded the
overall Percentage Pennant for Section 5. We were so proud of our student’s excellent
behaviour and outstanding sportsmanship and all our students should be very proud of their
achievements.

On Tuesday 2nd July we took 12 teams (116 students) from Years 3-6 to Priceline Stadium for the
SACPSSA Netball Carnival. We had magnificent weather for the carnival this year. The students
played very well and once again showed great team spirit.

50 students from Years 3-6 participated in the Cross Country Carnival which was held at Prince
Alfred College Oval on Wednesday 7th August. The commitment from all squad members was
excellent. Students happily trained during their recess and lunch play in order to prepare. A
special mention to Toby Maillard who was awarded the 2nd place medal in the Yr 3 Division
A boy’s race.

We took all Years 5-6 students on Wednesday 4th September to participate in the SACPSSA
Touch Football Carnival held in the city at the SA Hockey Grounds. The participation and
behaviour from all the students were outstanding. We were very competitive on the day and
achieved some fantastic results, as well as showing great teamwork and sportsmanship
towards all other teams. Thank you to all those parents who assisted us on the day.

The Catholic School regional Carnival was held at Cardijn College in term 4. This was a fantastic
experience for our students to participate and mix with the other students in the region. The day
was very well organised by the Cardijn students. The sports included Soccer, Football and
Netball. A special mention to Shane Kirwan who was awarded the best and fairest award for
the soccer competition and to Georgia Gaukroger who was awarded the best and fairest
award for the Netball competition. We look forward to attending in 2020.

Sports Day in 2019 was held in Term 4 on Friday 1st November. Unfortunately, due to bad
weather Sports Day had to be to be held during the day and not as the traditional twilight events
due to inclement weather forecasted for the Friday afternoon. Sports Day included sprint races,
a variety of team based events showing the wonderful skills of our students, mixed year level
relays and our body moving Health Hustle.

Congratulations to St Luke’s team who took out the Sports Day trophy and to St John’s team
who won the Tiggeman Cup trophy. Well done to all our Sports Captains who showed great
leadership and sportsmanship throughout the event.
Special mention to Niccole Edmonds who coordinated the Subway dinner for the students, to
Therese Mazzone who brought Kicco Coffee shop (based at McLaren Vale and Glenelg) to our
school providing coffee and drinks and to Zac’s on Wheels Food Truck who provided food for
the families. Both Kicco and Zac’s donated a percentage of the takings back to the school.

In 2019 we continued our involvement in the South Australian Primary School - SAPSASA
program. This program gave our students with sporting talents the opportunity to represent the
Onkaparinga District. Dan Burnett was selected for Boys Soccer, Emmaly Cox for Girls Soccer
and Lily Stevens was selected for Tennis.

As a part of our affiliation with SAPSASA we also entered a Knock-Out Boys Soccer team and a
Knock-Out Girls Netball team in the Yr 6/7 competition. This year the format changed where
schools played in a knockout day with 2 other schools. Unfortunately, this year we did not make
it through to the next round. Both teams should be very proud of themselves. We are sure to
continue our affiliation with SAPSASA in 2020.

2019 has been a fantastic year for sports at St. John the Apostle. We hope to continue not only
the amazing achievements but also the wonderful participation and great sportsmanship
shown throughout the year.

Thank you to everyone for their support in Physical Education in 2019. Yours in Sport

Justin Marsh
POR Sport

Catholic School’s Music Festival Choir

This year was the 30th year of the Catholic Education choir event called the ‘Festival to the
people of South Australia’. The Festival celebrates the versatility and talents of the young
people in our Catholic schools across the state.

2019 was my fourth year as Choir Trainer and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The children rehearsed
for three terms mastering their repertoire and were assisted and assessed regularly by Ms
Denise Rothall the Festival Choir Coordinator.

37 students from year 5 and 6 were a part of the choir this year. It was such a successful
performance for all of the students, and it was the first time for them all to perform on the
stage at the Adelaide Festival Theatre. The performances were held over four nights, the
students performed with around 400 other students on the stage and what an amazing sound
they made!

For the second time, St John the Apostle was asked to host the first school Hub Assessment, led
by Denise Rothall. Five schools from the southern region attended this hub assessment (All
Saints, Galilee, St Martin de Porres, Emmaus and Stella Maris).

Lolita Crowther and Mitchell Martin from year 6 both auditioned for a solo and Lolita was
successful in getting a call back audition but was unsuccessful to make it through to the final
stage of winning a solo.

I felt truly blessed to see such happy and excited children embrace the opportunity to sing at
such a memorable event and to participate so enthusiastically.

 Lisa Martin - Choir Trainer
 March 2020

OSHC Report

OSHC Report an overview of highlights in 2019
St Johns OSHC offers quality care and follows the National Quality Framework and “My Time Our
Place”, aiming to improve children’s learning.
We annually revise our Quality Improvement Plan including stakeholders, staff, families and
children. OSHC is accredited every 3 years and is due at the end of this year.

Enrolments/attendances
OSHC is licensed for 35 children BSC/ASC consistently having full capacity on certain days of the
week increasing staff requirements due to increased attendances.

Enrolment/cancellations
Can be done online via the website. Feedback forms are sent out annually for
parents/caregivers.

Staffing
OSHC has 5 educators which include 3 certified supervisors and 2 unqualified. Two staff members
are at Uni completing teaching degrees. Regina retired this year after 7 years of educating
children in OSHC.

Finances
At the beginning of 2019 the I-pad sign in/sign out system was set up in OSHC which enabled
parents to log-in to their own account using a pin number. This system has worked well, and
parents/caregivers and staff are happy to use the I-pad.
The accounts are sent home on a weekly basis via email, these accounts need to be paid within
7 days.

Professional Development
Educators have access to courses via on-line and CEO Task Manager, CPR and Mandated
Notification have been updated as required. The Berry St course was attended by the Director.
The Gowrie run support inclusion for special needs children, this has changed from Inclusive
Directions in 2019.
We look forward to the new OSHC building being renovated and in use by 2020.

Janine Jak – OSHC Coordinator
March 2020

2019 Indonesian Highlights

2019 was a very busy year with a number of new initiatives being
implemented. Lessons are continuing to be conducted in the Computer Room which
is advantageous as students each have access to a computer and are able
to consolidate new vocabulary and sentence structures by using a range of online
language programs. This provides students with both listening and writing activities.

There has been a focus on students to use everyday conversational Indonesian
phrases (thank you, may I please get a drink etc.) to communicate during lessons.
Continued collaboration through the CESA Engage with Asia program has provided
students and teachers with a range of authentic learning opportunities. Regular
collaboration with our Indonesian sister school was maintained throughout the year
and joint planning of topics and content across year levels was undertaken, as well
as regular skype interaction across a range of year levels.

Our school was fortunate to be awarded a CESA grant for myself,
Simone Mashford and Justin Marsh to travel to Java, Indonesia as guests of our sister
school in September/October. During that time, we were able to observe several
schools and gain a good understanding of the curriculum, pedagogy and
approaches used by Indonesian school systems and teachers. We visited a number
of tourist sites that allowed us to experience and understand some elements of
Indonesian culture. Our sister school is an Islamic faith school and we were fortunate
to be included in some of the religious observances of the school, adding to our
ability to better understand and discuss the importance of Islam in Indonesia with our
students.

Our sister school was involved in a reciprocal visit in November. During their stay two
teachers and six students were billeted at the home of a teacher and were able to
experience daily life in Australia. In addition, the visitors were able to spend time in
our classrooms and to interact with St John’s students at recess and lunchtimes. Our
students were taught a number of games played by Indonesian school students and
were able to ask questions about the lives of their Indonesian counterparts. Teachers,
students and parents were able to enjoy a traditional dance performed by the
Indonesian students at a school assembly. Our Indonesian visitors were also taken
on a number of day trips so that they could experience Adelaide city, Victor Harbor
and our local beaches and tourist spots.

A number of professional development opportunities were attended
by myself during the year. These provided the opportunity to meet with other
language teachers from a range of Catholic Primary and Secondary schools
and discuss approaches to programming and assessment.

Salam hangat
Bru Donna - Indonesian Teacher

Children’s University Australia

In term three 2019, St John the Apostle school introduced the opportunity for children
from years 3 – 6 to join Children’s University Australia (CUA). CUA encourages children to
be successful, independent learners and gives children an extra opportunity out of
school hours to continue their learning journeys. Learning destinations and activities
approved by CUA allow children to make new friends that have similar interests, develop
leadership skills, explore and develop new talents and celebrate and be rewarded for
their achievements. For any extra learning they complete they are awarded ‘hours’ in
their passports. Activities can include sport, museum visits, art activities, library activities,
online learning and much, much more. We were able to offer this to the children at a
fee of $16.50 (paid straight to the CUA).

24 Children chose to join the programme and worked hard achieving their hours towards
graduation. The first few milestones for graduation are:
30 hours – Bronze award
65 hours – Silver award
100 hours – Gold award.

The graduation was held at Bonython Hall, the children wear formal gowns and hats and
are presented their certificates on the stage, for our first Graduation Ceremony Dee-
Anne Peters and myself had the pleasure of seeing 16 children graduating, with 2
children achieving 65 hours. This was a great success for our school and the children
involved and we look forward to continuing our journey in 2020.

Vikki Maillard - Year 1 Teacher

2019 School Board

President (Parish Priest)              Fr Josy Sebastian

Exec Officer (Principal)               Dee-anne Peters

Ex- Officio
(Leadership Team Member)               Justin Marsh

Members
Pastoral Parish Council (PPC Rep) vacant

Staff Representatives (Alternate meetings)
Anthony Egidio                          (2015& 2016/ 2017&2018)
Lisa Martin                             (2017 & 2018)

Parent Representatives
1) Jaimie Maiden (Finance)             (2016 & 2017; Re-elected for 2018/ 2019)
2) Rachel Virgin (Parent Body rep)     (2017 & 2018)
3) Simon Jones (Deputy Chair)          (2017 & 2018)
4)
4) Kristy McGregor (Chair)             (2017 & 2018)
5) Tarnya Saunderson                   (2018 & 2019)
6) Tania Liston                        (2018 & 2019)
7) Nicole Edmonds                      (2018 & 2019)
8) Daniel Nyland (2019)
9) Murtaza Hussain (2019)
Paul Daly (2019)

Retired in 2019
Kristy McGregor
Tarnya Saunderson