Informer Week 9 Term 3

From Our Principal...

Dear Families

Over the weekend I had the gift of having three of my kids at home for Sunday lunch and to be with family on Father’s Day. Two of my boys are still in Weipa, so just driving home wasn’t an option.  It was an interesting reflection yesterday evening, that whilst my family couldn’t be together, there is always next year.  Yet, for a range of reasons, for many families, next year will never come and the chance to have time and conversations with Dad have gone. I started reading a few stories online and this one struck a chord.

I tell you this small snippet about my father so I can better explain how I choose to celebrate Father’s Day now that he is no longer with us.

He may not be able to open up a card or present from me, so my gift to him is to use what he gave me.  Each time I do, I feel like I am honoring his spirit, what he taught me, how he raised me, and how he lived.

Here’s some examples:

Tell a good story:  Each time I write, or try to tell my own story to another, I think about him.  I think about what example he set for me for living a grateful life. I think about his flare for storytelling, the use of a good dramatic pause, or injecting some simple humor to lighten up things when needed. My father showed me how to see the world with optimistic eyes, in less than perfect circumstances.  One of my gifts back to him is to continue to see a world of possibility, magic, kindness and love, and tell stories about this beautiful life.

Work Hard:  I really can’t recall my father’s hands being without the marks of hard work.  They were always clean, but he had the calloused palms and grease stained fingers of a man who put everything he had into a job well done, and supporting his family.  I can still see him walking through the door after his shift at the Mill, no spring left in his step, but always a smile on his face.  My gift back to him is to enjoy a hard day’s work, and to smile while I do it.

Be Kind:  My Dad was a doer and a helper.  He was never afraid to jump in and lend a hand when needed, nor did he ever have the expectation of something in return.  He showed me that the return on an investment of kindness is tenfold.  My gift to him is to be generous of heart, and to be kind to those I meet on my journey.  And, just as he did, I will do so without expectation or condition.

Be Resilient:  My father did not have an easy life.  He had struggles and hardships like most.  A mill accident left him with a crushed leg.  He had heart troubles, and like many other fathers, shouldered the burdens of raising five children quietly.  It couldn’t have been easy.  But with each challenge that confronted him, he rose to the occasion and focused on the solution, all the while sheltering his children.  He tucked all of us in behind him, protecting us from the storm.  He showed me how to rise.  My gift to him is to live a resilient life, and to help others recognize that same resilience in themselves.

Love without Condition: I remember the moment that my family found out I was pregnant.  Far too young, not even close to being prepared for parenthood myself, it must have been a hard pill for them to swallow.  Sitting on my bed, I listened for the sound of my father’s footsteps walking though the door after a hard day’s work.  He would be coming home to much more than a cold beer and dinner.  And, when hearing the news, he sat on the bed with me, and held my hand and told me he loved me and everything….absolutely everything was going to be just fine.  He could have said so much more.  But he just loved me, when I needed it the most.  He made me feel safe because he knew I was terrified.  He put aside all of his own feelings and he just loved me without condition.  My gift to my father is to love that way.  I choose to not only love my family unconditionally, but to open my heart and let others know that I am here, no questions asked, no judgment….just love.

My Dad may not be able to open up a card or present from me.  But I believe, that today and every day, I celebrate him by using the gifts he gave to me during our time together.  I can feel him smiling. (Kelly Buckley)

If there is any reminder here for us, it is not to take the gift of family for granted. Until they are gone, we often don’t realise how much they mean to us.

Have a great week and hug your kids,

Jamie Emerick
Principal

APRE News...

P & F Meeting Tonight

Our next P & F Meeting in on tonight at 5:30pm in the library.

ALL WELCOME!

Free Dress Day / Purple for Cancer

PASTORAL CARE

Lessons start this week!

Pastoral Care is an essential aspect of developing positive relationships between students at St John’s.

Our Pastoral Care is held each Friday over a 5-week period of time.  Pastoral Care links younger and older student together across all year levels with Year 6 students leading the weekly activities.

The lessons developed focus on MJR (Making Jesus Real) and Virtues and aspects which develop student well-being such as resilience, student voice and assertive behaviours.

The Pastoral Care program has proven each year to develop positive and strong relationships between all age groups in our school community. We strongly believe that by strengthening all student-relationships within our school, we ensure a safe, caring, and respectful environment for everyone.

Yr 5 Cupcake Day

On Monday 13th September the Year 5 students will be conducting the ‘St John the Baptist Cup Cake Day’. This fundraiser is in support of the Gladstone Animal Rescue Group which provides a valuable service to our community. This organisation, which has taken the place of the RSPCA in the Gladstone region, greatly relies on donations for its continual survival. Last year our efforts were greatly appreciated, especially as we raised $1000 on the day.

Students will visit the cup cake stall in their respective classes during the morning session on Monday 13^th September. The cakes themselves will vary in cost from 50c to $2.00.

Touch Football

Teamwork was the theme of the day for the St John's touch football teams who recently competed in the inter-school touch football carnival where our girls, boys and mixed teams each won their divisional grand finals. The St John's spirit shone as the teams represented our school with the dedication, determination and perseverance that St John's is known for in the sporting arena and beyond. Congratulations to all the teams who competed and a huge shoutout to the staff and parents who volunteered their time to enable the players to represent St John's so wonderfully.

#touchfootball #stjohnthebaptistcatholicprimaryschool #parentsinpartnership #StJohnsSpirit #dedicationdeterminationperseverance

Touch Teams

Robotics

Good Afternoon Robotics Parents,

This year, as part of the First Lego League Challenge, the students have to come up with a unique and innovative solution to a problem related to transporting cargo/goods. This is proving to be a little difficult as the children don’t have much of an idea about logistics, let alone the problems that might arise.

We were wondering if anyone has any contacts in the world of logistics that the students may speak to, either in person, via a video conference, or through email. Information about current innovations might spark their curiosity and imagination! Any help that you could provide, or even point us in the right direction would be wonderful, and greatly appreciated.

We meet in our teams on Thursday afternoons from 3-4pm (but can stay to 5pm if that works best for a video conference).

If you are able to assist, please email yvonne_anderson@rok.catholic.edu.au

Kind regards,

Miss Moller, Mrs. Anderson, Miss Wheatley and Mrs. Bates

St John's Way Awards

Swimming Carnival

FUN RUN!

A few reminders:

• Money and forms are due (either online or to the school office) by Friday 17 September.
• Year 6 students will dress up just prior to the event, Prep - Year 5 students to continue wearing PE uniform as usual.
• Fun Run commences at 2pm Friday 17 September.
• School day concludes as normal at 3pm. 

Tuckshop Special

Volunteer Tuckshop Roster

Tuckshop Menu

OSHC - Vacation Care

Sport

Positive Partnerships

Men Alive

Our St John’s App Is Live!

We are very excited to announce that the St John’s is live and ready for parents to download to their devices.

Please follow the instructions step-by-step for downloading the St John’s App. The one-off St John’s set-up passcode is 8892.

Additionally, to download the St John’s App to your iPad, laptop or PC, please follow the following link - https://stjohnclinton.schoolzineplus.com/subscribe

Once you have downloaded the App you will see we now have a one-stop-shop for all information you need to stay informed at St John’s.

In the top banner you will see Home, Feed and Manage.

Home will take you to the tiles and Feed will take you to alerts/messages (as Dojo did).

The latest ‘feed’ will be displayed on the home screen above the tiles.

The ‘’tiles’’ we have used are as follows:

• Parent Lounge – takes you straight to the Parent Lounge sign-in page
• Latest Newsletter – each week the newsletter will be uploaded to this tile
• Website – takes you straight to our website
• Forms and Documents – in this tile the following documents have been uploaded – simply tap on the link:
  

Parent Handbook
School Uniform
Behaviour Management
Fees and Levies Schedule
ICT Code of Practice
Tuckshop Menu

• School Calendar – all key dates for the upcoming term (continually updated)
• Tuckshop – takes you straight to the online tuckshop log-in page
• OSHC – links to required forms
• School Contact – takes you straight to our phone contact
• Facebook - takes you straight to our Facebook page
• Seesaw – Our new ‘Dojo’’ – please note that this is still a work in progress
• Newsletter Archive – each weekly newsletter will be archived to this tile for referral where required
• Subscribe to Newsletter – please note that all existing families will be automatically uploaded to this new platform. This tile is for new families in the future

While we feel we have covered all bases, things can be overlooked so we look forward to your feedback or suggestions on information that would be a benefit to be included. As always your feedback is valued; please email Jakki Graham at Jakki_graham@rok.catholic.edu.au