St John the Baptist Catholic Primary School Clinton eNewsletter

From Our Principal

Dear Families

We are fast approaching the end of November and while I haven’t grown a moustache this year, much to my wife's happiness, the cause of Movember is one that is very close to my heart.

What originally started as a fundraiser for prostate cancer has grown into a juggernaut that aims to support men’s physical and mental health. It is a tragic indictment on our society that one of the leading causes of death in young men is suicide.

All of us face pressure and stress in our lives. Excitement is just stress that we find pleasurable. Learning to manage the pressures of day to day life are skills that we need to develop and model to our kids. The following are five steps I find helpful and may be of use now or at any time.

Acknowledge your feelings (without judgement)

It’s important to name your emotions, especially the more confronting ones, such as fear, anxiety, or anger.

Although it sounds counterintuitive, naming your feelings helps. It can help to reduce confusion, so you can begin to process your emotions and make sense of what’s going on.

Try not to judge or invalidate your feelings. Try to be open to all your emotions and accept that’s how you feel right now. Acceptance without judgement is a foundation for mental wellbeing, especially during times of pressure.

You may find that simply acknowledging “I feel scared right now” or “I feel tired right now” helps you to relax slightly. By calling out the feeling, you can remove some of its sting.

Cut yourself some slack

Living under pressure is hard. Be compassionate towards yourself. Cut yourself some slack where you can.

Focus on what you have to do, and lower your expectations about the rest. It’s okay if the dishes pile up or you eat beans on toast for the third night in a row. Now is the time to go easy on yourself.

Observe your self-talk. Notice if you make sweeping statements like “I’m not good enough” or “I can’t do this”. Bring compassion and perspective to these thoughts. Remind yourself that you’re trying to work or care for others during a challenging time and you’re doing the best you can.

Take microbreaks

Pressure and long hours tend to go hand-in-hand. Whether you’re juggling multiple responsibilities at work or multiple children from dawn to dusk, you might find yourself wishing there were more hours in the day.

This is where 2-5 minute microbreaks can be really powerful. If you don’t have much time, taking regular short breaks throughout the day to breathe, listen to music, taste your coffee, call a friend, or anything else that boosts your mood, is essential.

Taking just a five minute break can re-energise you. And the anticipation of a microbreak can help to sustain motivation throughout the day.

Focus on the next best step

If you feel as though you have 10,000 things on your to-do list, everything can start to feel equally important. Here it’s good to take a minute to prioritise, then focus on one task at a time.

To help, try to bring your attention to the present moment. Then think about the key things needed of you today (not what’s needed of you tomorrow or what you didn’t achieve yesterday). Focus on taking the next best step, and then the next best step after that, instead of trying to tackle every challenge at once.

If you struggle to stay present, the ‘5-4-3-2-1 technique’ is a great coping strategy. This technique connects you with all five senses to ground you in the present moment. Try it next time you notice your mind drifting off to the past or future.

Communicate with your support crew

Ask for help if you need it. Reaching out is a strength, not a weakness.

Tell the people in your family or at work that you’re under pressure right now and you could use some support – or, at the very least, some understanding.

Call a friend or family member if you need to talk or offload.

Speak to your manager if you’re struggling to prioritise your workload – there might be some solutions you can explore together.

Keep the lines of communication open with people in your support crew. Try not to cope with immense pressure on your own.

Although these strategies might not make the pressure go away completely, they will hopefully make it easier for you to cope during challenging times.

https://www.groovnow.com/blog/coping-under-pressure-at-work-or-home

Looking forward to catching up with families at Spirit Night.

Have a great week and hug your kids.

Jamie Emerick
Principal

P & F Meeting TODAY

There is a P & F Meeting today at 5:30pm in the school library.

ALL WELCOME!

Lost Property

Dear Parents / Caregivers,

Here are just some of the lost property items we have here in the office. Can you please check the pictures carefully and collect from the office if any of these items are yours.

Items in Lost Property

End Of The Year Events

End Of Year Mass
Tuesday 29 November 9:30am

Award Ceremony & 2023 Leadership Announcements
Thursday 1 December 8:40am

Meet The Teacher
Thursday 1 December 9:20am
There is a short Meet Your 2023 Teacher for students only (not new Preppies). This is a wonderful way for students to meet their 2023 teacher and classmates.

St Vinnies Christmas Hamper Appeal 2022

https://donate.vinnies.org.au/appeals-nt/christmas-appeal-nt

St John's has a proud tradition of supporting St Vincent de Paul each Christmas. Our focus is on donations of non-perishable food to support Central Queensland families. If you can provide food with at least a three-month 'in date' stamp your donation will help others in need during the festive season.

Items could include packaged fruit cake, biscuits, lollies, pasta, rice, baked beans, tinned food, dry/tinned pet food or play items. Perhaps a box of Christmas crackers will bring a smile to a child's face.

Donations can be left in the front office in the 'baskets' or with the front office ladies: Vicki, Melissa J or Mel D. 😊

Thank you for your continued support.

St Vinnies Christmas Tree Appeal 2022

The St John's Christmas Tree has been set up in the front office!

This is an opportunity for our school community to build awareness for children in families who are less fortunate than ours. Each year we ask families to consider buying a gift for a child or young person and placing it under the tree. There are gift tags hanging from the tree with the gender and age of a child written on the back e.g. girl aged 3 years. These ages range from 6 months to 16 years old.

It is a great way to discuss the meaning of Christmas, to give rather than to receive. It is worth considering the Christmas story Christians around the world believe, that God gave us his son in the hope of building a close relationship with each of us. Ultimately the gift of God's grace and love.

We hope your family feels the love, joy and peace of the Christmas season.

Prep - Year 2 Wet Day

Our Prep – Year 2 Wet Day occurs each year at the end of our Swimming Block and as a wonderful celebration to the end of the school year for our younger students.

This year’s wet day is on Friday 25 November on the school oval. The school day will begin at 8.40am as usual, with classes moving out with their teacher at timetabled junctures throughout the morning.

Students are to come to school with sunscreen applied and wearing ‘boardies’ or togs with a sun safe shirt and school hat. Thongs are allowed during wet play. Please don’t forget a towel!

All students must have their school hat and a sun shirt. If students forget either of these, they will not be able to join in.

All students must bring a towel, change of dry clothes (school uniform, including shoes and socks) to change in afterwards.

Students return to their individual class at the end of the wet day activities.

Please see your class teacher for any questions.

Prep To Year 2 Swimming

Harley Excels At Nationals

Harley Stokes competed in the National Schools Athletics in Brisbane from the 18-21 Nov.
Harley’s results were
Shot put - bronze
200m - 4th and a new state record
4 x 100m relay - bronze
100m - 4th
Discus - bronze

New Prep & Yr 2 Classrooms

A huge thank you to our volunteers who assisted with moving into new classrooms earlier this week. The students are settling in and enjoying their new learning spaces! A true example that it really does take a village to make St John's the warm and welcoming school community that we are known for. We couldn't have done it without you! Thank you!

Spirit Night

Students need to be seated by 5:15pm

Starts at 5:30pm

BBQ items on sale from 4:30pm – cash and EFTPOS available

Mozzie spray recommended

Students will sit with their class in an allocated area in front of the stage. Spectators can sit to the side and back of this area please.

2023 Booklists

The 2023 Booklists for all Year Levels are uploaded on Parent Lounge for your convenience.

As always, we try to ensure the smoothest and most cost-effective way for purchasing booklist requirements.

As a family, you have two options for filling your child’s 2023 booklist requirements:

OPTION 1: BLUE FORM

Office National Gladstone is our online (and in-store) provider with free home delivery for 2023.

Office National Gladstone have already pre-priced your child’s 2023 booklist requirements at competitive rates and offer free home delivery for orders over $50, as well as supplying complimentary items - A2 poster cardboard (delivered direct to school) and book labels.

You can choose to shop locally with the convenience of an online order via booklist.officebrands.com.au/aucklandst or you can drop-off or email your order form to Office National Gladstone. Please note the following:

▪ All instructions and order forms are on the blue forms attached and need to be submitted online, dropped-off or emailed to Office National (not to St John’s).

▪ Delivery is free for orders over $50.00 and delivery will be made on your preferred nominated date.

▪ All items are pre-priced at competitive rates, using only quality suppliers and brands.

OPTION 2: WHITE FORM

If you decide to shop locally at your chosen newsagency, simply take your child’s 2023 booklist to a newsagency of your choice.

Local newsagencies have been provided with our generic 2023 booklist and are aware of the booklist requirements for St John’s students.

Please do not return any paperwork to the school office for either Option 1 or 2.

Please note the following for 2023 Booklists:

▪ Novelty stationery items (rubbers, rulers, sharpeners etc.) are NOT to be brought to school.

▪ Headphones or ear buds purchased for P-3 students should have a ‘jack’ 3.5mm or longer.

▪ Items that will be placed on Term One school fees and distributed to classes in Term One include:

Prep A3 Scrapbooks (See Prep Booklist)
Year 1 A3 Scrapbooks (See Year 1 Booklist)
Year 3 Catholic Youth Bible (See Year 3 Booklist)

Please note that the School Uniform Shop will be located offsite as of January 2023, with St John’s, Star of the Sea, St Francis and Chanel College uniforms being sold. As soon as we are informed of the new location, we will inform families.

There will be a 2023 Book Drop-Off opportunity prior to the school year beginning, which is from 8.40am – 9.15am on Friday 20 January, 2023.

If you have any questions about the 2023 booklists, please contact Mrs Jakki Graham at the school office.

Art Competition

St John's Way Awardees

Families Leaving

As we have many students on our waiting list and our total enrolment drives many aspects of our school (staffing, budget, class sizes and structure) it is important that we try to be as accurate as possible in predicting the school enrolment for 2023. If you know that you will be leaving at the end of the year could you please notify the office as soon as possible? Your assistance with this matter is greatly appreciated.