Informer - Term 3 Week 2

From Our Principal...

Dear Families

This not mine, but it sums up pretty much what I spoke about to our kids on Assembly this morning. If we could bottle and master this skill, we would be well on the way to dealing with many of the challenges life will throw at us. I am a great believer that in the chaos of the everyday, the one thing we always have control of is our attitude.

ATTITUDE
by Charles Swindoll

“The longer I live, the more I realise the impact of attitude on life.

Attitude, to me, is more important than facts.

It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think, say or do.

It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill.  It will make or break a company… a church… a home.

The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we embrace for that day.

We cannot change our past… we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way.

We cannot change the inevitable.

The only thing we can do is play the one string we have, and that is our attitude… I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.

And so it is with you… we are in charge of our Attitudes”

FEEDBACK NEEDED

As part of our ongoing monitoring and improvement process, we would like to get some parent feedback on the use of electronic devices here at St John’s.

The link below is to a very brief survey, (5 mins max). Your input and wisdom are very much appreciated and help us to continue to narrow and sharpen our learning focus.

Parent Survey: https://forms.gle/1boDWVpeaHFjUMmZA 

Have a great week and hug your kids.

Jamie Emerick
Principal

COVID Update...

As you may be aware, over the weekend the Queensland Government issued advice recommending
face masks be worn while indoors (where social distancing is not possible) to assist with preventing the further spread of the current wave of COVID-19. This message is in line with the health advice provided by National Cabinet.

In public statements over the weekend the Queensland Premier encouraged all people, including
school staff and students, to wear a face mask indoors except where they can physically distance.
Please be aware that the Queensland Department of Education has subsequently advised its schools
and staff that, while wearing a face mask is encouraged, this remains a personal decision for
individuals.

CEDR staff or students who wish to wear a face mask should be supported to do so. Individuals who
wish to wear a face mask will need to supply their own mask. However, if staff or students request
a mask while they are at school, it should be provided by the School (where available).

Please also remember that the requirements for wearing a face mask for 7 days after having COVID19, or when a close contact are still in place. Additionally, there are ongoing public health
requirements to wear a face mask when travelling on public transport (including in taxis and rideshares).

Catholic Education Week

Bookclub

2022 Naidoc Mass

Congratulations to Aleigha Grills, Miley Jackson and Ms Michelle Cook, our Indigenous Teacher Assistant who recently travelled to Rockhampton to represent St John’s at the 2022 NAIDOC Mass.

Library News...

Our NAIDOC Week Display and activities continue this week in our Library.

Grandparents' Day - 12 August

We welcome grandparents to visit the school from 8:40am – 10am.

Come along and enjoy our assembly, followed with class visits and a morning tea in Nazarene Place (shed).

As part of the mornings entertainment the St John's Got Talent Grand Final will be showcased!

We can’t wait to see you.

Qld State Titles for Cross Country

Congratulations to our school representatives who competed at the QLD State titles for Cross Country over the weekend.

Colby Smith, Shana Paterson, Kaylee Simpson and Harley Stokes

Qld Schools Cross Country - 1st Place

Harley Stokes who competed for Capricornia over the weekend placed 1st in his category at the Qld School Cross Country Trials. Congratulations Harley!

A.F.L. Gala Day Results

At the end of last term, St John’s attended the A.F.L. Gala Day at Boyne Island where we fielded a boys and girls team who played against other Gladstone schools. 

With limited lead-in time for selection and preparation due to ongoing wet weather last term, both teams represented St John’s with pride!

The boys had a mixed day, experiencing a few losses and a few wins, with all boys playing very well and displaying great sportsmanship throughout the carnival. Thank you to Mr Langdon for coaching this team.

The St John’s girls team, won all their games except the first game, but proceeded to play in the grand final where the won! This win earnt our St John’s Girls AFL to progress to play the winner of the Rockhampton A.F.L. Carnival in the Regional Finals to be played on Monday 18 July (in Rockhampton).  Our girls’ team showed great determination and excellent skills throughout the day and we wish them and their coach, Mrs Julie Guinea, the very best at the regional finals.

St John's Got Talent

Nominations close this Friday.  Forms available from the office.

Heats will begin on Tuesday 26 July and continue into the following week. A timetable of heats will be displayed around the school as of Friday 22 July 3pm.

Uniform Shop Hours - Temporary Change

Uniform Shop Hours for Week 7

The uniform shop will be closed TOMORROW 23^rd  August but will be open this Thursday 25th. Hours will go back to normal next week.

St John's Way Awardees

St Vinnies Winter Appeal

Please consider donating unwanted blankets, quilts or doonas as the weather begins to cool.

Also any canned food to be distributed to families would be wonderful such as stews and soups.

Please drop off to the front office when you can 😊

Child Safety Curriculum

Last term we started working through the Child Safety Curriculum with all students in Prep to Year Six during Health lessons. These lessons will continue into early Term Three. 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.

OSHC Assistant Position Vacant

Volunteer Tuckshop Roster

Tuckshop Special

Tuckshop Menu

DRAKES FUNDRAISER for ST. JOSEPH'S CATHEDRAL

Dear Parent / Guardian, 

Cathollic Education has always been a strong supporter of this fundraiser for which I thank you.  As you read this message the donation has passed  $50,000.  Drakes have introduced  an  APP.  Keep using your KEYTAG  or  download the APP using the App Store or Google Play..  The APP has some interesting features and prizes to be won.