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Informer - Term 4 Week 4

From Our Principal...

Dear Families

Martin Luther King Jr was fond of saying that “If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way”.

So we should set a high bar for ourselves and our kids and strive to do the same, if not better. We need to set high expectations on who we should be, what we should do, and push ourselves to do just that.

Except that it doesn’t always work out. Our desire fails as we become weighed down by the enormity of our goals, and stressed by the need to do great things, we decide to do… nothing.

Days turn into weeks, which turn into months, and nothing happens as we hold on tight to our grand goal, waiting for the perfect moment to set ourselves onto it. In such cases, here’s something to remember: If you cannot do great things now, for whatever reason, then start by doing small things in a great way.

This means:

If your goal is to start your restaurant, then start by perfecting your recipes for your meals, right in your kitchen.

If your goal is to develop the next big app, then start by developing tools that people will use, that solves people’s pain points.

If your goal is to be a best-selling author, then start by refining your writing skills, through your daily writing, and researching to understand what makes others tick.

If your goal is to be a top YouTuber, then start by creating simple videos that convey your ideas well.

Whatever big goal you’ve been putting off, ask yourself: What is a small thing I can do well instead?

Because it’s so easy to overlook the small things in favor of that big goal we want to get to. Yet our results in the long-term are built on the little steps we take today. While doing small things well today may not seem like a great deal, especially when we stack them up against our final big goal, a 1% improvement each day, done for 365 days, leads to a 37-times improvement.

But it starts by first committing to these small steps, and doing them well. It is not that grand big goal that you’re going to work on at some point in the future that matters. It is what you do now, today. These small steps determine what you eventually become.

So what small steps can you take today? And how can you do these small steps in a great way? I spoke on assembly this morning about focusing and concentrating at this time of year. Excellence is doing the small things well. A challenge for us all at this time of year.

Have a great week and hug your kids.

Jamie Emerick
Principal

APRE News...

Daily Encounter With Christ

This term, I have been humbled and filled with wonder over the response of the students to Catholic Mission.

A small seed of hope has grown into an enormous tree of love. An original idea of two trash n treasure stalls has morphed into one collective that includes, bracelets, plants, books and biscuits plus interesting things to buy. These students have been a daily living example of Christ’s love and goodness which will bring joy and life to a community in Ethiopia. Many students have given up their lunchtimes to source, sort and price items for the stall. They have created posters and spread the word to make a difference in the lives of people overseas. I would say thank you to them for making a difference in my life because of their service to others. The amount of money we raise does not matter, what matters is the advocacy highlighted by these children and how they are living examples of God’s grace and His greatest commandment to love one another.

1 Peter 4:10

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.

Last week, the Prep Turtles celebrated their first class liturgy. The focus was on making a difference in our world through the little things we do and sharing our gifts. We know our school community will be doing this as they enjoy the variety of Catholic Mission activities available this week. Thank you Mrs. Hamilton, Mrs. Briggs and Father Ashwin for their wonderful input on Friday.

God bless you all.

Lisa O'Brien
APRE

Special Consideration Requests

Dear Families

Each year, significant time and effort goes into classroom placement for students in the upcoming year. As our school continues to grow, the process becomes a continual juggle to balance classes for student needs and allow for student voice in the opportunity to have some say in the peers they would like to be with. This process will be happening in the coming weeks.

We also provide parents with the opportunity to communicate any additional information that may have an affect on student placement. The form is available from the school office and needs to be completed and returned by this Friday 28^th October.

Swimming Lessons

Hair Styles at St John's

Please be reminded of the following expectation of all St John’s students in regards to hairstyles:

Hair longer than collar length MUST be worn tied up.
Hair MUST be out of the face (especially eyes) at all times.
Hair tied up to use only red, white or navy blue hair bands and/or ribbons and clips. These should be simple in design.
Hair styles MUST reflect a conservative image that doesn’t draw undue attention to individuals.
Artificial hair colours, rat’s tails, undercuts, shaved sides, tracks (including along the part-line) and extreme hairstyles (Mohawk), buzz cuts (no shorter than gauge 3), mullets or dreadlocks are UNACCEPTABLE.
Hair should be tidy and reflect good personal hygiene.

Fun Run Wrap-Up

Thank you to all of our families for supporting the Fun Run again this year. The support as always has been overwhelming.

This year, the total raised was a staggering $26 600!

All prizes will be distributed to students this week during THEIR CLASS PE Lessons, for those who participated in the fundraising. It will be like an early Christmas and the children are very excited!

Later this week we will announce the highest individual fundraiser and the highest fundraising class; watch this space!

As always, all funds raised will be spent on items that benefit the children. Our students have been asked to put their suggestions on how to spend the funds into one of the letterboxes around the school and we will start the spending process from their suggestions. The power of Student Voice!

Port To Park

Bookmarked School Readathon

Welcome to the first Weekly Read Recommendation from Amelia (and Story Dog, Evie!). Amelia is a member of the Year 6 Ignite Learning Enrichment Team leading the school readathon, Bookmarked. Keep an eye out each week for the team's top library book recommendations catering to various age groups. !!Bookmarked Bonus!! A Golden Bookworm is hidden inside each recommended book. A sweet surprise will be awaiting the first student to borrow, read, rate and return a recommended book. Recommended books will be available for borrowing from Tuesday.

Nala The Koala tells the story of poor Nala who has lost her home, but all the other homes she investigates are too soft, sandy or slippery! Early readers will love finding out if Nala finds the perfect home.
Puppy Palace is a touching story about a lost dog looking for a home. Perfect for developing readers. Let's hope a welcoming home is out there!
Cabin Fever is a Diary of a Wimpy Kid story, a classic tale filled with laugh out loud moments for independent readers looking for a fun afternoon in.
Unlocked, part of the Keeper of the Lost Cities series is a fantastic adventure for upper primary readers. Prepare to be drawn into this captivating series - if you dare!

Bookmarked runs until 25 November. Students earn one point for every page read. Entry forms are available from the library.

10 Cent Challenge

10 cent challenge

Start saving those 10 cent coins everyone!

On Tuesday 25 October St John’s will have their annual 10 cent challenge in the Nazarene Place. Last year we raised an astronomical amount for Catholic Mission and I am sure 2022 will be the same 😊 Each year we encourage students to bring along as many 10 cent pieces as they can and we line these up along the lines in the basketball courts.

This year Catholic Mission is focusing on Ethiopia and food insecurity in that nation.

Crazy Sock Day

On Friday 28 October we will have Crazy Sock Day. This is a gold coin donation opportunity with raised funds supporting Catholic Mission. Please support this and the missionaries in Ethiopia.