Informer Term 3 - Week 8

From Our Principal...

Dear Families,

Many years ago, I had a football coach whom would often refer to us as ‘gunnas’.  “You know what gunnas are boys? People who say I’m gunna do this or I’m gunna do that. But in the end, all they do is talk”.

There’s an old riddle that says five frogs are sitting on a lily pad. One decides to jump off. How many are left?

If your answer is “four”, thank your maths teacher for your excellent maths skills. Unfortunately, this is not a test of your maths abilities.

It’s a life problem.

The correct answer is “five”. Yes, all five are still sitting there on the lily pad.

The one frog only decided to jump but hasn’t.

Life is not a spectator sport; it’s indeed a contact sport, and there are no practice sessions, and you’ve been in the game from day one.

As cliche as it seems ‘The journey starts with a single step’ — not by thinking about taking that step.

Moral: Be the frog who not only decides to jump off the lily pad, but actually jumps.

Have a great week and hug your kids.

Regards,
Jamie Emerick
Principal.

Pupil Free Day - Friday 30 August

Daniel Morcombe Child Safety Curriculum

This week we start working through the Daniel Morcombe Child Safety Curriculum with all students in Prep to Year Six during HPE lessons. These lessons will continue into early Term Four. The curriculum is based on principles of best practice in child safety education and centres around three key messages: Recognise, React and Report. Through a series of lessons, students will learn to recognise, react and report when they are unsafe or find themselves in situations that can have a significant detrimental effect on their physical, psychological or emotional wellbeing.

Information about the Child Safety Curriculum can be found at www.education.qld.gov.au/child-safety-curriculum. I urge families to log on and read through this, in particular the terms that will be used in these lessons.

Recognise
The first key safety message of the curriculum is recognise. Recognise is about being aware of your environment.

Children, young people and adults can all learn to take notice of what is happening around them to help keep themselves safe. Everyone can use clues, such as the things we see, hear, smell or feel to help protect us from harm and keep ourselves safe. Clues can be simple things that warn us about a danger, e.g. hearing a fire alarm or seeing smoke, that prompt us to react. We can also use clues to prepare for potentially unsafe situations, e.g. if we are walking alone at night, then we try to use a well-lit route and avoid secluded lanes or parks.

When we recognise that there might be a safety problem we can take steps to move away or reduce the risk or develop strategies that can help keep us safe. For instance, if you are in a busy environment such as the Ekka or a local event where there are big crowds, you might consider what you and your child could do if you became separated. Strategies could include: going to a highly visible pre-determined meeting spot; writing your phone number on a card and placing it in your child’s pocket; identifying who your child could approach if they become lost, e.g. police, staff at a booth.

React
The second safety message is react.

When children recognise that they are in an unsafe situation, we encourage them to think about what they could do to be safe again. They will have opportunities to think about ways to react using real-life scenarios. Our students will also learn that breaking the rules (e.g. saying no to an adult who is behaving inappropriately) is sometimes necessary so that they can become safe again.

Please take the time to talk with your children about what they have been learning about safety and, in particular, the ways they could react if they are unsafe to make themselves safe again. Talking with your child about ways to stay safe will help them to develop life-long safety skills.

Report
The third safety message is report.

This means that when children or young people have been in a situation that is unsafe that they are taught to report what has happened to an adult. Even if a child has been able to make themselves safe, it is vital that they still report what has happened. Adults need to know about unsafe situations so that some action can be taken to help the child be safe again or ensure it doesn’t happen again.

Students involved in the Child Safety Curriculum will be encouraged to make a list of adult safety helpers. These are adults the children and young people nominate whom they can talk to when they are feeling unsafe or have experienced an unsafe situation or feel they are at risk of something that may cause them harm. This list will include a selection of adults who live in and outside the home.

Report also includes telling an adult about unsafe or inappropriate incidents which may occur when children or young people are online. This might occur when surfing the net or using social media sites like Facebook and twitter, and can include cyberbullying, viewing or receiving inappropriate images or messages or communicating with unknown contacts.

It is important that the key safety messages of the Child Safety Curriculum: Recognise, React and Report are reinforced, both at school and home. I encourage you, wherever possible, to talk with your child about safety to help them stay safe now and in the future.

Image of Mary

Mary, the God bearer, is an important element of the Catholic faith tradition.

The Assumption of Mary is recognised on 15 August each year. The tradition began around 50 years ago and is unique to the Catholic faith.

Our Year 4 students engaged in drawing images of Mary and discussing her qualities which have been passed down through the ages. Here is an example of Charlie’s work from that exercise.

John 2:5 - ‘His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you”.'

Eating the Rainbow!

A conversation about ‘eating the rainbow’ rather than ‘eat your peas’ might be more motivational for children! A plate full of rainbow coloured food (naturally coloured of course!) is not only visually pleasing, but the colours, especially in fruit and vegetables,  have a lot to do with their phytochemical make up and the nutritional value within the food.

Purple or blue foods such as blueberries, mulberries, beetroot, eggplants etc contain anthocyanin which is an important antioxidant protecting our cells from damage.

Red colouring within the fruits and vegetables world such as pomegranate, cherries, tomatoes, strawberries, raspberries, watermelon are coloured due to their lycopene content. Lycopene is another powerful antioxidant that can help keep our heart healthy.

Yellow and orange foods such as carrots, pumpkins, carrots, squash, corn, papaya, sweet potatoes and citrus contain Carotenoids and Betacarotene. These are a great source of vitamin A which assist with eyes health, immune system health and aide growth and development.

Green foods are in abundance and arguably the best colour to always have on your plate. From broccoli, spinach, lettuce, celery, kiwifruit, avocado, apples, pear and asparagus, the list is endless! Generally green foods are packed with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, too many to list here, but which are essential for growth, development, immunity and repair.

White foods, (if you pick the right ones!), are also fantastic and need a spot on the rainbow plate! From mushrooms to potatoes, to cauliflower, to bananas, to coconut, and garlic and onions the health benefits are great. Our white fruits and vegetables contain an excellent range of health-promoting phytochemicals , are an excellent source of potassium, magnesium and fibre and properties in many white foods have antiviral and antibacterial properties for our immune health.

So next time you plate up for dinner (or breakfast or lunch) have a discussion with your children on what colours are missing and what suggestions they have to add more colour to their rainbow plate.

You might like to try the following recipe for an easy dinner or lunch or:

Summer Rolls

Ingredients
1 pack of round rice paper

For the Filling
-Prawns, chicken, tofu, tuna etc (for added protein)
-Vermicelli noodles
-Lettuce or spinach chopped
-Grated carrots
-Thinly sliced cucumber
-Thinly sliced mushrooms
-Chopped mint leaves (optional but great!)
-Bean sprouts
-Mayo
Add any other colourful fillings you’d like

Get Going……..

1. Fill a large pan with warm water and submerge 1 rice paper at a time for a few seconds until soft and transfer to a plate.
   From any of the above fillings, fill half of the rice paper sheet, add a small dallop of mayo and roll, making sure you tuck in the edges.  
   

Counsellor's Corner

St John’s Got Talent 2024 Wrap Up

Wednesday saw the Grand Final of the 2024 St John’s Got Talent!

A crowd of over 650 students, staff and families were treated to a plethora of talented young people whose bravery, gifts and confidence were an inspiration to all.

This 2024 Grand Finalists were:

Lucy H – Year 6 - Singing
Lucinda S – Year 3 – Rhythmic Gymnastics
Elena R – Year 4 - Piano
Vin B & Ryder L – Year 2 - Magic Show
Hayden A – Year 6 – Piano
Melissa C – Year 3 - Singing
Mack D – Year 5 - Guitar
Vihan S – Year 2 - Piano
Zeanna S – Year 5 - Monologue/Acting
Maci C – Year 1 - Dance Acro
Gabriel F - Year 5 - Piano
Mikaylah E – Year 6 – Flute

All competitors made the judges’ jobs very difficult with Mr Emerick commenting that ‘1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd places could have gone to any of the 12 finalists; the level of talent was so high’. But as in life, not everyone can be awarded a place.

This year results were as follows:

1^st           Vin B & Ryder L – Year 2 - Magic Show
2^nd          Elena R – Year 4 - Piano
3^rd          Maci C – Year 1 - Dance Acro

Again, we congratulate all of our competitors who have performed over the last 4-5 weeks, entertaining, inspiring and motivating us all to share our gifts with others.

We are looking forward to the 2026 St John’s Got Talent with anticipation!

Books for Book Week...

Congratulations to the following students who received a free book as part of our Book Week celebrations.

PC   Ellise Hughes and Mason Steen
PE   Thea Ferguson and Christian Hawkins
PO   Jaggah Homann and Oliver Lauder
PT   Savannah Brown and James Corones

1K   Aria Fowler and Seiga Smith
1P   Aedan Rajapakse and Lily Comber
1W  Kailey Cochran and Ashray Singh
1Q  Kylah Berry and Harry Miller

2B   Chloe Kanofski and Nate Pendlington
2D   Heidi Mathews and Carter Smith
2TF  Ariella Rodgers and Cooper Bull
2Y  Murphy Scheskie and Hunter Mariner

3K   Sailor Homann and Hao Di
3L   Charlotte Christianson and Ryan Bland
3S   Charlee Mawkes and Boston Dennien

4K   Angus Groth and Emma Hayes
4P   Mackenzie Long and Mason Wynn
4R   Lachlan Kerr and Isla Barker

5E   Caya Larkin and Morgan Jeffries
5K   Clara Robertson and Lachlan Heit
5R   Aurora Scheskie and Samuel Dunn

6B   Breallan Elliot and Liam McCabe
6D   Gabriella Jeffery and Michael Pailthorpe
6G   Chelsea and Kaden McDonald

Book Week Dress Up Fun

Thank You Boyne Smelters & Izabella Schultz

Izabella Schultz is pictured her with Liz from Boyne Smelters.  Izabella recently won $250 in the Boyne Smelters Ecofest colouring competition, and her chosen recipient of the funds was St John's.  Thank you Izabella! 

Izabella will help Mrs Graham choose something for our school with this kind donation.

Parents & Friends Assoc. Meeting: TODAY

Our next Parents & Friends Association meeting is on
TODAY
in the staff room at 5:30pm. 

All Welcome!

St John's Way Awardees...

Capricornia School Sport

St John's Cricket

A huge congratulations to our two cricket teams that represented St John’s last week in the annual Gladstone Cricket Blast School Cup for 2024. They may not have won, but they represented the school well and looked sensational in their cricket shirts.

School Fun Run

The letter below, together with a fundraising prize booklet, was given to your child/ren during their recent PE lesson.

The Fun Run will take place this Friday, 13 September commencing at 2pm on the school oval.

Signing Club

Learn to Pray...

Chess Club....

St John the Baptist Chess Club practice has changed to every Wednesday first break with Father Peter and Mrs Milic in the Music room. Chess club is open for students year 2 to year 6. Come for training games or just to have game for fun. Please email Mrs Milic, Irene_Milic@rok.catholic.edu.au for further information.

Tuckshop Ordering Information

The following information will ensure the efficient ordering of tuckshop for your child/ren:

• Tuckshop must be ordered online via QuickCliq www.quickcliq.com.au  Orders will not be accepted at the Tuckshop or Office.
• Orders must be placed by 8:10am. Tuckshop can be ordered weeks in advance. Simply click on the day/s that tuckshop is required.
• QuickCliq operates very slowly at very busy times i.e. close to 8:10am.  During these times the system may boot you off and require you to log back in. Late orders put a lot of pressure on our tuckshop staff and volunteer helpers.
• If you miss the ordering cut off time, your order will be transferred to the following day.  You will be notified of this on the screen.
• Parents MUST check confirmation email to ensure the order has been processed for the correct food on the correct day.

If you have any problems with the online ordering system please contact QuickCliq via 1300 11 66 37, or email: support@quickcliq.com.au

Our tuckshop operates every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday (first and second breaks).

Volunteer Tuckshop Roster

Tuckshop Menu

Uniform Shop Hours

OSHC Vacation Care Program

Deaf Awareness - Free Auslan Workshop

Star of the Sea Church Centenary Art Competition

Casual Relief Teachers

Young Engineers

Sharks Volleyball Camp

CQ Health Sport and Recreation Expo

Women's Wellbeing Expo