Informer Term 2 - Week 9 - 2025

From Our Principal ...

Dear Families

Arthur Wellesley, more commonly known as the Duke of Wellington was an English aristocrat in the 1800’s. He was a soldier and a statesman and is best known as the commander in chief of the armies that defeated Napoleon at the decisive battle of Waterloo. He was regarded as a man who spoke his mind and was focussed on results. A quote of his that has stuck with me over the years is that he famously said that the “Battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton”.

Eton is a boys school in England that educated many of the young gentlemen who formed the English army at the time. I don’t believe that Wellington was saying that they practiced for the war at Eton, but he was sure that the lessons learnt in the sporting arena had helped shape that generation of young men into the formidable people they were to become.

The ancient Romans believed in ‘mens sana in corporo sano’ which is usually translated as ‘a healthy mind in a healthy body’. It really sums up what we believe as a Catholic school when we talk about a holistic education that focusses on the whole child. There is more to learning than just academics. Sport plays a part, Religious education plays a part, a moral education, a social education, all play a part in making and forming the young person in our care.

One of the greatest lessons that comes out of sport is failure. By its very nature there are winners and losers. Those who succeed and those who don’t. It is one of the very few areas where we as parents, as much as we would have liked to, can’t step in and save our kids. While the temptation is very strong for us as parents to protect our children, a vital part of the growing process is learning how to fail. Failure teaches resilience, failure teaches focus, drive and determination to achieve a goal. Failure teaches that even though I did my very best, on this day someone was better. Sportsmanship is a very easy attitude when you are winning. The great Rugby League coach Jack Gibson used to say ‘a man learns more about himself after loss than he ever will from a victory”.

I worry when I see events giving everyone a ribbon. Life does not give everyone a ribbon. Life is a very hard educator. We are given many tests in our lives, the challenge is to learn a lesson from the test. This can be very different from the way our world works

Please don’t think I am saying ‘don’t support your kids’, but I am saying we will not be there with them in high school and adulthood when life can get really tough. How are we scaffolding and challenging each day to allow them to become resourceful and resilient members of society?

An adult eagle will physically push its chick out of a nest that are sometimes hundreds of metres above ground. Not because they are mean or nasty, but nothing will ever grow in a comfort zone. The big challenge for us is that there are times when we need to see our children fail and that is difficult. The reality is that if we don’t, we are tying them to our apron strings and stunting their development. Support doesn’t mean helping them to be right or win, support can often be the affirmation and demonstration of unconditional love. Regardless of what has happened and the choices made we can always work it out. If our kids know that they are well on the way to being functioning adults.

Have a great week and hug your kids,

Jamie Emerick
Principal

Prep 2026 Enrolments: Important Diary Dates

Prep 2026 Information/Orientation sessions have been scheduled for the following dates:

Monday 27 October – First Orientation Session (compulsory for all students who have accepted placement)

Monday 24 November – Final Orientation Session (compulsory for all students who have accepted placement)

Prep 2026 Sibling Enrolments: ENROL NOW

2026 Prep Enrolment interviews finish THIS WEEK. 

If you have already had your enrolment interview and forgotten to bring in any documents i.e. original birth certificate, current immunisation schedule, pediatric reports, speech pathology assessments etc., please do so as soon as possible. Your enrolment application is ON HOLD until these documents are received.

If you have not yet applied for enrolment, please do so NOW.

2026 School Fees Explained

Parents & Friends Meeting: TODAY

Parent & Friends (P&F) Meeting is on TODAY!

Monday, 16 June 2025 at 5:00pm
in the staffroom (Admin Building).

EVERYONE IS WELCOME!

Library News ...

Fitness Club Finished for Term 2

Learn to Pray

St John's Way Awardees

Students who have embodied faith, dignity and integrity within our school.

We view our school as one body, with many parts, each in its own way contributing to our common mission.
(1 Corinthians 12: 12-26)

Volunteer Tuckshop Roster

Tuckshop Ordering Information & Menu

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

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

Uniform Shop Position Vacant

Uniform Shop Hours

OSHC Vacation Care: June/July Holidays

Parish News ...

Young Engineers: Term 3

CQ Health, Sport & Recreation Expo