The Forerunner. Principal s Message. Friday, 3rd November 2017

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1 Friday, 3rd November 2017 The Forerunner Love is eternal because it is beyond time, invisible because thought cannot comprehend it, though it may perceive it... Whoever has begun to see love, no longer delights in sensible objects; such a person ceases to be attached to the glory of this world. - St Symeon the New Theologian Lance Ryan Principal Principal s Message It is with sadness and pride that we farewell this year s cohort of Year 12 Sstudents. Having taken part in the Rose Ceremony, Doxology and Valedictory Dinner, they have now commenced the end-of-year exam period. Our thoughts and prayers are with our Year 12s and their families as we enter this time. Coinciding with this was OXI Day. It was wonderful to see students taking part in our annual assembly, as well as the public commemoration at the Monastery of Axion Estin in Northcote. Thank you to the families and students who attended this last Sunday. Finally, I am excited to announce that St John s College will be running a formal After-School Program in This will be run by an external company called Extend in conjunction with the College. Based at the Junior School, After-School Care will be available until 6pm every weeknight. We will be running information sessions soon and more information will be contained in future newsletters. In the meantime, we pray that our College continues to be blessed in the name of St John the Forerunner.

2 Junior School News Geelong Monastery Visits Students from Foundation to Year 8 will be visiting the Geelong Monastery over the next couple of weeks. This is a wonderful opportunity for our students to experience a holy place and get an understanding of the life that someone leads when they live in a monastery. Junior School Orientation Our Junior School Orientation Day will be held on Wednesday 29th of November from 8.30am 3.30pm. On this day students will meet their teacher and class for Foundation Transition Our Foundation Transition mornings will be held on Wednesday 22 & 29 November from 8.30am 12.30pm. Students will spend the morning in the Foundation classroom and meet their teacher for Students will participate in a number of activities including literacy, numeracy, Greek, art and dance Enrolments Do you have a child who will be commencing Foundation in 2018 or know someone who is interested in coming to St John s? Enrolments are now open and application forms can be collected from the front office. Please complete and submit your enrolment form to Miss Galanis. You can also schedule an appointment to meet with Mrs Anamourlis and have a tour of the school. Middle School News Assessments Over the coming weeks, students in Years 7-9 will undertake assessments during class time to consolidate their learning, leading up to Semester reports. Students should ensure that all work is submitted, and any concerns followed up with the classroom teacher. Booklists Booklists for the 2018 school year were distributed last week. Please ensure you have placed an order to ensure timely arrival. Contact the office if you have any questions or did not receive a form. Thought of the week The best way to predict your future is to create it. Robotics Excursion On Friday 27th October, our Year 8 students went on an excursion to La Trobe University to participate in a robotics outreach program. Our students had a great time soldering the parts of a Light Seeking Bristle-bot robot together and piloting a model of a Mars Curiosity Rover through an obstacle course. The support staff at La Trobe University were very appreciative of the enthusiasm of our students and their prior knowledge of the factors that are taken into consideration while developing a robot. Our students brought back the robots they constructed, so that students from other year levels could also have a chance to see how a robot can be assembled from different components.

3 Senior School News The 2017 Rose Ceremony, to farewell our Year 12 students, was held on Thursday 19th October. Keynote speakers were the 2017 College Captains, Angelique Psarakos, Florentia Theodorescou and James Khoury, Mr Savopoulos (Head of Senior Years) and our Principal, Mr Ryan. Our Year 12 students were presented with a rose by our Foundation Year students as a symbolic gesture of thanks for their valuable contribution to the ethos of our College. During the evening, our Year 12 students and their families, friends and teachers, attended the Doxology and Valedictory Dinner held at the church of The Presentation of Our Lord in Coburg. Our Year 12 students received their graduation certificates during the ceremony and presented their parents with a medal as a thank you for all their support over the years. I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to the following groups of people. Firstly, on behalf of the College community, I would like to congratulate all Year 12 students on their successful time at St John s and wish them every success with their exams and career paths. Secondly, I would also like to extend a huge thank you to their parents for all their support over the years. They have experienced many changes over the years but have remained loyal to the College. Next, I wish to thank all their teachers, past and present, who feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to teach and guide these students. Finally, I would like to remind the Class of 2017 that whereever they go, they will remain close to our hearts and will always be a part of St John s Greek Orthodox College. Dimosthenia On Sunday, 22 October, the Modern Greek Teachers Association of Victoria (MGTAV) organised the annual student competition DIMOSTHENIA. We had six entries from our College, with very good results in public speaking in the Greek language. All our students presented their topics well, and spoke with confidence. The topic for the Years 7/8 category was An Unforgettable Event while for the Years 9/10 category, it was My Dream Holiday. The first prize for Year 7 students was awarded to Spyridoula Souris, while Ourania Faklaris received third prize. First prize for Year 8 students was achieved by Vera Kapetanea while Angelina Harka received second prize. Martha Kapetanea and Evangelia Eliades received second and third place respectively in the Year 10 category. President of the MGTAV, Ms. Maria Dikeos, said that the Years 9 and 10 students were very articulate in their presentations and that their topics were so well chosen and delivered that it was extremely hard for the judges to award the prizes. Our school s contestants worked very hard, during Greek class and at home, in preparing and delivering their topics. We congratulate all our students who took part in this Competition and made St John s College very proud with their achievements!

4 Extend After-School St John s College (2018) Operating hours and fees: Have you heard the good news? Extend is delighted to deliver an After-School Care service to commence Term 1, 2018 (subject to government licensing and approval). We are thrilled to begin this new partnership with the school community, and look forward to delivering a quality service to St John s College families. Commencing Term 1, pm 6.00pm Session Fee $26.00* (Pay approximately $ $13.00 after fee relief entitlements) * Fees are per child per session. For a full list of fees and charges including casual and emergency on-the-day bookings, see our Terms and Conditions on the Extend website. How and when to enrol: To gain access to any Extend service, families must enrol prior to using the service. Enrolments and bookings for 2018 will open mid-november. Families are able to register their address online to be notified when enrolments officially open. Fee Relief The Facts Fact 1: The Child Care Rebate (CCR) is NOT income tested. We encourage you to apply! Fact 2: 50% is the minimum reduction you will receive in your fees. Further benefits may apply to you. Read further information and estimate your out-of-pocket expense at Questions? Check out the FAQs on our website which contains useful information for new parents. After-School Activities Program (2017)

5 Parents Asssociation AGM Dear Parents/Guardians, We would like to invite you to our Annual General Meeting to be held on Wednesday 8th November in the Senior School staff room. Our last Parents Association meeting will be held at 6.30pm followed by the Annual General Meeting at 7pm. All parents/guardians are welcome to attend. However, to be eligible to elect Office Bearers, a fee of $2.00 is required to be paid at the Annual General Meeting. Annual General Meeting Agenda: 1. Attendances/Apologies President s Report Principal s Report Treasurer s Report 5. Confirmation of 2016 AGM Minutes 6. Appointment of new Office Bearers 6.1. Vacating positions of 2017 Office Bearers 6.2. Collection of money from Members to Vote 6.3. Election of 2018 Office Bearers 7. Other Business Foxtel Tim Cahill Soccer Clinic Regards, Parents Association SJC Robotics Program For the last couple of weeks I was working on making a LEGO robot. I had to follow 42 pages of instructions so I could build my Robot. Some of the LEGO pieces were very small and hard to connect. I used my ipad to control the robot. I made my robot go left, right, backwards and turn 360 degrees. What I enjoyed the most was building it! Emmanuel Skantzos - Year 6 On Tuesday 24th of October, our F-6 students were involved in Australia s most iconic soccer program, the Foxtel Tim Cahill Academy. Our Junior School students all showed their love and desire for physical activity and soccer out on the school oval. We would like to thank Foxtel & head coach Robbie Anderson for making our day eventful and enjoyable.

6 Friday Art Workshops For the remainder of Term 4, art teacher Lian Battle will be running weekly Art workshops, designed to extend students who already have an interest in the Arts. The workshops will focus on creating works for display around the school. We look forward to seeing what the students come up with to beautify the College! Celebrating OXI Day in the Community The wider community celebrated OXI Day at Axion Estin Monastery on Sunday 29 October. His Grace, Bishop Ezekiel of Dervis, conducted the Divine Liturgy and spoke about the significance of the day. Many dignitaries were present at the Doxology and the wreath-laying ceremony, including Mrs. Christina Simantirakis, Consul General of Greece; Ms. Jenny Mikakos, Minister for Families, Children and Youth Affairs; Mr. Kostas Kontis; Mr. Papastergiadis and many more. Our Students Maria Martha Kapetanea (Year 10), Anna Faklaris (Year 11) and Evangelia Eliades (Year 10) recited poems in church while our Principal, Mr. Lance Ryan, laid the wreath on behalf of St John s College. The school Choir, guided by Mrs. F. Chochlaka, sung the Australian and Greek National Anthems and the dancing group performed traditional Greek dances at the panigyri that followed. We thank all the parents and the students who took part in this event. Donations Required Each Thursday after school, a group of students take part in the activity Tech Take-apart Club, where, armed with screwdrivers and spanners, they take apart old and unused technology such as computer equipment, coffee machines, VCRs and radio/stereos. Do you have any items that you no longer need and that would otherwise go to hard rubbish? Please consider donating these items to the library for our weekly club.

7 Feast day of Saint Iakovos Saint Iakovos is called The Less (Mark 15:40) by the Evangelists to distinguish him from Iakovos, the son of Zebedee, who was called The Great. He became the first Bishop of Jerusalem, elevated to this episcopal rank by the Apostles, according to Eusebius (Eccl. Hist., Book II: 23), and was called Obliah, that is, The Just, because of his great holiness and righteousness. Having ascended the crest of the Temple on the day of the Passover at the prompting of all, he bore testimony from there concerning his belief in Jesus, and he proclaimed with a great voice that Jesus sits at the right hand of the great power of God and shall come again upon the clouds of heaven. On hearing this testimony, many of those present cried, Hosanna to the Son of David. But the Scribes and Pharisees cried, So, even the just one hath been led astray, and at the command of Ananias the high priest, the Apostle was cast down headlong from thence, then was stoned, and while he prayed for his slayers, his head was crushed by the wooden club wielded by a certain scribe. On Monday 23 October selected students attended the Divine Liturgy on the feast day of Saint Iakovos and received Holy Communion. This was a special liturgy as it is a very ancient service and it usually takes place on the feast day of the Saint. Our Bishop Iakovos of Meletoupolis, helped by various priests, conducted the Liturgy at St Eustathios church. At the end of the service our students wished His Grace Happy Name Day and presented him with a gift. Divine Liturgy Χρόνια Πολλά Θεοφιλέστατε... από τη μαθητική κοινότητα του Κολλεγίου Άγιος Ιωάννης! Την Πέμπτη, 23 Οκτωβρίου, ημέρα του Αγίου Ιακώβου Αδελφοθέου, οι αντιπρόσωποι του μαθητικού σώματος του Κολλεγίου μαζί με τον Διευθυντή κ.lance Ryan, μέλη του προσωπικού, γονείς και μαθητές, παρακολούθησαν την Θ. Λειτουργία εις τον Ι. Ναό του Αγίου Ευσταθίου και μετάλαβαν των Αχράντων Μυστηρίων. Η Θεία Λειτουργία του Αγίου Ιακώβου του Αδελφοθέου είναι αρχαιόπρεπη, το δε περιεχόμενό της, είναι μυσταγωγικό, κατανυκτικό, ενώ διατυπώνονται σ αυτή δογματικές θεολογικές αλήθειες και αιτήματα προσευχής. Μετά το πέρας της Θ. Λειτουργίας, ο Θεοφιλέστατος Επίσκοπος Μιλητουπόλεως κ. Ιάκωβος δέχτηκε τις ευχές των μαθητών και του προσωπικού για την ονοματική του εορτή. Εις έτη πολλά!

8 Science Talent Search at La Trobe University Celebrating OXI Day at the Hellenic RSL On 28 October our students (Yianna and Alexandros Savvinos, TIna Katsaros and Anna Faklaris) were invited by the Hellenic RSL to attend the Doxology at St Eustathios church, and then lay a Wreath at the Shrine of Remembrance in honor of the fallen during the Second World War. Our students represented the whole College community with dignity and pride. The day ended with a luncheon at the Hellenic sub branch of the RSL. Well done to all the students who attended, and many thanks to our lovely parents who helped their child take part in celebrating OXI Day. Special thanks to Mrs. Papakonstantinou who helped with the supervision. Diary Dates Late-Breaking News! Congratulations to our Years 7/8 Girls Futsal team, which received first place in the Darebin division, with a total score of 39 goals, and 7 conceded! Well done! Wednesday 1st November...Year 12 Exams commence Friday 3rd November...Casual Day Monday 6th November...School Closed Monday 7th November...Melbourne Cup Day Wednesday 8th November...PA Meeting Annual General Meeting Friday 17th November...Fun Night and Year 2 Sleepover Thursday 23rd November...Year 6 Doxology