Thank you to all the parents who attended the Year 7 Parent Engagement evening. Parents form an important and valued part of the St John’s community and the PALS team appreciated the opportunity to meet you and make connections. As highlighted in the image above, successful students require shared input from both parent and teacher, it is definitely a team effort!

It can be daunting being a parent of a student in Year 7 (especially if this is your first child in high school!) but there are some reliable resources that are available to support you and your child in not only their learning but also their wellbeing. 

• The School Diary - If you want to find more information about school policies, administration and your child's progress, your child’s school diary is a good starting point. The obvious use for the diary is for your child to record homework and organisation reminders (such as notes, training etc) but it is also a way for teachers to communicate with parents and vice versa so it is important that you set aside a regular time in the week to check your child’s diary to keep informed. As a school, we value your involvement in your child’s education and we want you to be informed about your child’s progress and school life so we ask that you sign your child’s diary weekly. 

• Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong Resources for Parents and Carers. - this link has many resources provided by the Diocese to support parents in supporting their child. Topics include - Coping with Change; Engaging with Your Child’s Learning; Online Safety and Wellbeing Resources and Parenting Resources

• Reachout.com - Parent resources - ReachOut is the most accessed online mental health service for young people and their parents in Australia. They offer different types of support, depending on what you and your teenager need and want. Topics include- Helping your teen cope with bad world news; Help your teenager feel more confident; Stress and teenagers; Anger and teenagers; Separation and teenagers and many other topics

Year 7 students have been doing a fantastic job at embracing everything that St John’s has to offer including opportunities to engage in extracurricular activities such as challenging their thinking at chess club, practising their public speaking skills on assembly; celebrating their faith by being part of the LIVE festival, showing their creativity and talent as part of the school musical cast and crew or representing their school at sporting events and carnivals. Through this involvement, they are positively contributing to the St John’s community as well as developing their owns skills and confidence

As part of their English classes, Year 7 were asked to write a reflective story about their experiences at Year 7 Camp.

Please enjoy reading about their adventures. There are some very entertaining reflections.

YEAR 7 VISUAL ARTS

Students have been experimenting with warm and cool colours and using the light box to create impressive works of art this term.

With ‘Strong Minds and Gracious Hearts’