Informer Week 9 2021

From Our Principal

Dear Families

It has been said that succuss is 10% inspiration and 90 % perspiration.  There have been many individuals in all walks of life, that could not make the grade with their God given talent, they just didn’t have the ability to focus and let their talent shine. There is a wonderful quote about Graeme Hick, the Zimbabwean cricketer who played for England. Steve Waugh is quoted as saying Hick was one of the most talented players he had ever seen.  He was a stellar performer in club and county cricket, yet never realised his potential at Test level. One commentator made the observation that Hick had the misfortune to be born with a talent that didn’t match his temperament.

So often in life, it is not what you do but the way you do it that makes the difference. This list is a common one used in many coaching and leadership circles. It focuses on the 10 things that make a difference but require no talent.

Being On Time – This shows your maturity and responsibility.

Work Ethic – Do you give focused effort every single day on the right things?

Effort – Ideas are easy.  Doing the work is where accomplishment takes place.

Energy – This is the most valuable thing you bring to an organization.

Body Language – It is generally considered that this is 55% of all your communication.

Passion – Passion is described as many things.  I define it as owning the result.

Doing Extra – The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is just a little extra.

Being Prepared – You will either prepare or repair.

Being Coachable – This shows humility and the self-awareness to know you have things to work on.

Attitude – Attitude determines your altitude.  Your attitude will largely determine how high you go in the organization.

Simple strategies, yet really hard to consistently implement. If our kids can master these life skills, they will go a long way to being successful in whatever they chose to do.  Do they see us modeling them and explicitly talking about, and expecting them?

Have a great week and hug your kids.

Jamie Emerick

APRE News.......

The Feast of the Annunciation of the Lord – 25 March

Christians worldwide celebrate the announcement by the angel Gabriel that Mary was with child through the power of the Holy Spirit and the child would be the Son of God.  Mary, a young girl of only about 13 or 14 years of age, had a choice but chose to say yes…let it be done unto me.  What a brave decision that was, as in First Century Palestine, the penalty for a woman to fall pregnant out of wedlock was death by stoning and Mary was only betrothed to Joseph.  Such was the faith of Mary, in trusting that God had a plan, that she put her life in the hands of the God in saying ‘Yes’.

We celebrated the feast of St Joseph last Friday.  He was another, who was committed to his God.  Joseph had good reason to call off the ‘engagement’ but an angel informed him that Mary was with child through the power of the Holy Spirit and Joseph accepted that and chose to go ahead with marrying Mary.  What a man of faith!

Both Mary and Joseph are great models to us of being committed to their faith and putting their utmost faith and trust in God when things seemed impossible.

We pray that we may grow to be so trusting in our God.

Praying with Children

Are you stuck for different ideas on how to pray with your child.  Here’s a very simple, but effective idea and one that works with adults as well.

Head-to-Toe Prayer

To give kids a tangible way to talk with God, relate topics of prayer to different parts of their bodies. Have them point to their:

• Toes: Pray they would always walk in God’s paths and follow Him. Confess ways they might have strayed from God’s path.
• Knees: Confess when they haven’t knelt in prayer to God but have tried to do things on their own. Honour God with words they might use for a King as you kneel down before Him.
• Tummy: Thank God for all He provides for us, including our food!
• Hands: Pray for the ways they could serve people, asking God to give them opportunities to serve neighbours and friends.
• Ears: Pray they would hear God’s voice above all others, and that they would listen to the needs of people around them.
• Mouth: Pray they would courageously speak God’s Word to those who need to hear it.
• Eyes: Pray they would seek God, and that God would give them eyes to see other people who may need to know they are known and loved by God.
• Head: Pray they would have the “mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16) and always consider others, think pure thoughts, and not be anxious or afraid. Children can also confess ways they may have not had the mind of Christ.

https://ministryspark.com/creative-ideas-teaching-kids-prayer/

Sacrament of Confirmation and First Holy Communion

Enrolments for the Sacraments of Confirmation and First Holy Communion have now closed

Parent Information Sessions will held for the Sacraments of Confirmation and First Holy Communion on the following dates. Parents of enrolled candidates are asked to attend any one of these sessions:

Caritas – How they are making a difference

Week 5 Lent – The Story of Halima  https://lent.caritas.org.au/schools#resources

Halima lived in Myanmar. She didn’t want to leave but as the violence escalated, she had to find safety.  She had to escape. Leaving was a matter of survival but she was devastated inside.  She made the painful journey all the way to Bangladesh, carrying her disabled mother and with two small children under seven.  She arrived at the sprawling refugee camp of Rohingya in Cox’s Bazar with nothing. During the monsoon floods she had no shelter, food or clean drinking water and life was miserable.  Caritas helped her with shelter and a gas stove to feed her family.  She participated in Caritas’ water sanitation and hygiene program.  Her kids used to fall sick two to three times a month but now they know how to stay healthy.  Her skills were invaluable during the pandemic as she helped with the cleaning and also the distribution of masks and soap in the community.  Life is much better now as her children have started school.  Halima wants to be more for her family and her community in Cox Bazaar and hope like many of the camp’s residents, to return to Myanmar one day.

Young Voices Award – run by Jesuit Communicaitons

Australian Catholics Young Voices Award is open to all students around the country, having evolved from the Young Journalist Award, run through the Jesuit Communications magazine for the past 25 years. The Awards this year expand to recognise a wider range of media including poetry, photography, video and audio as well as written-form journalism.

Sponsored by long-time YJA sponsor Australian Catholic University (ACU), the Awards give primary and secondary schools students around the country a voice - and the opportunity to be published in the largest circulation Catholic print publication in the country. Winning entries also feature on Australian Catholics digital channels.

Entries close at 5pm, Friday, 28 May 2021.

Did You Know

The Peace Sign…but what else?

The hand sign we use today for peace, with the index and tall fingers in a ‘V’ shape with the curled palm facing out, was actually used by the early Christians to indicate their belief that Jesus was both human and divine.

APC News......

The world can be a scary place for a child. There are so many different experiences to navigate; first steps, first words, first day of school, new friends, new experiences, learning new information and feeling strange emotions. So, how can families help their children to be courageous? This article offers a few strategies parents can embrace to nurture courage within their child.

Read Story Books

Story books are a powerful tool for teaching concepts and social situations to children. Reading story books about characters being brave, like Fearless by Colin Thompson, can offer insights into scenarios and are a great stimulus for discussion. Most importantly, reading story books equips children with the vocabulary and language to be able to express their feelings.

Push Boundaries

Expose children to lots of different experiences which will push them outside their comfort zone. It might be encouraging them to try a new piece of play equipment at the park or signing them up for a new sporting team at school. Gently nudging and pushing their boundaries will not only give them the opportunity to accomplish a new skill but also the dispositions and confidence needed to successfully embrace challenges in the future.

Here at St John’s, we talk about “The Learning Pit”. The model of The Learning Pit from British educator and researcher James Nottingham, is a metaphor for helping students to understand the learning process, including the discomfort we experience when faced with not knowing.

“We are teaching our students that the pit is not a bad place to be; it’s a necessary phase of the learning process and actually where deep learning takes place,” says one of our Year 2 Teachers, Mrs Renee Spencer.

New and different experiences become important teachable moments for parents and teachers and provide opportunities to discuss ‘how to deal’ with a situation and strategies to employ.

Model Bravery

Consider the old adage “monkey see, monkey do”. Children learn from observing the behaviour of parents and role models. Something as simple as sharing with your child the trials and tribulations of your day and how you dealt with them can be a great way of modelling to your child.

Praise Effort

Applaud your child’s effort. Praise the bravery, courage and perseverance it took when they challenged themselves outside their comfort zone. Share and celebrate their progress; this is how we learn. The story book Clem Always Could by Sarah Watt is a story of perseverance and a great reminder to children of all the things they can do now that they once had to learn. 

Promote Resilience

There is a Japanese proverb “Fall seven times, stand up eight” that encapsulates the essence of resilience or the ability to bounce back from difficult situations and challenges. Resilient children are more likely to be courageous. They know that no matter how many times they get knocked down, they get back up and try again. Children need coping skills as these provide the cognition, behaviours and attitudes for making their lives in the classroom and playground happier and more productive; and the development of these skills have implications for later in life, their future careers and relationships. Promoting the skills of optimistic thinking, having a sense of purpose and future, and normalising negative events as part of everyone’s everyday life promotes resilience in children.

Student Voice

Over the last few weeks, we haven’t posed a specific question to our students as they have been proactive and taking it upon themselves to share their ideas and feedback.

A common theme came through over the last 2-3 weeks around playgrounds, clubs and classroom set-ups.

Specifically, our students have asked for the following via the letterboxes:

Playgrounds

• Small nature playground to be rebuilt.
• Year 1-3 play area to be made bigger.
• Another set soccer goals.

Clubs

• A Cooking Club to start.

Classrooms

• Students would like to be involved in decisions with the new classrooms – from paint colours, to furniture purchasing and seating plans.

And we have listened!

• We will be creating a new Nature Playground and Nature Garden near Yr 1-3 Playground and re-establish exploration areas around the mature trees and new orchard area once the building phase is nearing completion.

• Last week we purchased a 2^nd set of soccer goals!

• A Cooking Club will start in Term 2! 

• The next fortnightly question will seek students ideas on classroom purchases, colour choices and seating plans.

Our student voice at St John’s is a powerful tool!

St John's Cross Country

Our St John's Cross Country is on THIS Friday 23 April, 2021.

Below is information regarding our Cross Country event:

• Friday 23 April (Week 1 - Term 2) starting at 8:40am sharp.
• The cross country is a compulsory event for all students.
• Prep – Year 1 to meet teachers in their classroom from 8:20am.
• Year 2- 6 students are to meet at their House Tents on oval from 8:20am. There will be no assembly.
• Year 2-6 students are to put their school bags at their classrooms.
• Students to wear school polo or choose a sun safe shirt in house colour, sports shorts, runners, sunscreen and school hat and a large water bottle.
• The first race starts at 8:40am sharp (Year 1 Girls)
• Prep – Year 1 students complete the Fun Run Track course (approximately 400m).
• Year 2 and younger Year 3 students born in 2013 (only) compete the half course (approximately 1km).
• Students born in 2012- 2009 compete in their year of birth and complete the full course (approximately 1.8km).
• All students (Prep - Yr 6) receive a ribbon if they place 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th, or 5^th.
• Students born 2009 - 2012 receive points towards Athletics Age Champion if finish 1^st, 2^nd or 3^rd.
• Students born 2009, 2010 and 2011 may be selected in the school Cross Country team to attend Port Curtis trials if they finish 1^st – 4^th.
• All races finish at approximately 10:40am and student return to their normal school day.
• All parent volunteers welcome!  Please email Jakki Graham at jakki_graham@rok.catholic.edu.au if you can help out.
• Parents welcome, social distancing must be observed.

Proposed Cross Country Courses

Below are the 3 x Proposed 2021 Cross Country Courses for our different age groups.

The courses may be adjusted where required and this will be communicated over the next few weeks.

During our HPE lessons from Weeks 8 - 10 we will be walking the course so all students are aware of directions and distances. 

Prep – Year 1

Fun Run Track – Approximately 500m.

1. Starting line at Year 1-3 Playground area.
2. Run down the straight, turning left behind the football posts at the J Hickey end of oval towards Year 4-6 playground.
3. Run behind Year 4-6 Playground, past the top of the Nature Playground and down the Fun Run track towards the carpark path.
4. Run along path, taking left turn up the hill on to oval and follow the markers to the finish line outside the Year 4/5 classroom block.

Year 2 and Year 3’s born 2013 only

1. Starting line at Year 1-3 Playground area.

2. One full lap of oval (anti-clockwise) and back down the straight to the small gate at J Hickey Avenue.

3. Run down J Hickey Avenue footpath and left into bushland.

4.  Follow the bush track until reaching ‘’junction’’. Turn left and run up the hill until you exit track at Laner Street.

5.  Follow the footpath up to the school car park, up to the Fun Run track, behind the cricket nets and around the oval (clockwise) until you reach the finish line at the Yr 4-5 classroom block.

Students born 2012 – 2009

1. Starting line at Year 1-3 Playground area.

2. One full lap of oval (anti-clockwise) and back down the straight to the small gate at J Hickey Avenue.

3. Run down J Hickey Avenue footpath and left into bushland.

4.  Follow the bush track until you reach the ‘’junction’’.

5. Turn right down the hill, across the bridge, turning left to run up the grass verge to Aramac Drive.

6. Turn left on the grass path of Aramac Dr until you reach the bridge at J Hickey Avenue.

7. Take a hard left turn and run on the grass track behind the houses until you reach the exit at Laner Street.

8. Follow the footpath up to the school car park, up to the Fun Run track, behind the cricket nets and around the oval (clockwise) until you reach the finish line at the Yr 4-5 classroom block.

PJ Marsh Rugby League

St John’s participated in the PJ Marsh Cup Rugby League Carnival at Brothers Junior fields last Friday. The team played five games, winning four out of five and only losing the fifth game 12-8 against Tannum Sands SS.

The St John’s team eventually played off for third place and drew against Calliope State School.

They were rewarded with three boys being nominated for the Possibles/Probables game to select the 2021 Port Curtis U10 Rugby League team.

From this game Ethan Royston was selected in the under 10 Port Curtis side to travel to Rockhampton next term to play at the Quads Carnival against teams from Rockhampton, Mackay and Bundaberg.

All boys showed great skills and sportsmanship and should be very proud of their excellent result! Well done!

Chelsea Baker Cup - Girls Rugby League

St John’s girls Sydney Smith, Sophie Edwards, Tayana Iki, Lily Bradley and Janae Hebbard were outstanding last week, playing in the combined schools team in the Chelsea Baker Cup Rugby League competition. 

The girls went through the competition undefeated and won the final 4-0 in a nail biter against Clinton State School.

Well done ladies on winning the 2021 Chelsea Baker Cup! We are super proud of you all!

Whole School Beep-Off

Our annual Whole School Beep Off has been postponed to a later date yet to be confirmed.

OSHC News....

Urgent Appeal for School Uniforms

St John's Way Awards

Volunteer Tuckshop Roster

Volunteers Needed

As per guidelines, all volunteers need to sign in at the office, follow COVID hygiene and distancing practices and have completed the 2021 Volunteer Induction.

Please also note that our tuckshop ordering is ALL via the online system at https://www.quickcliq.com.au

Tuckshop Specials