Informer Term 2 Week 3

From Our Principal...

Dear Families

I wrote the piece below as a newsletter article a couple of years ago and something at home this weekend brought it rapidly to mind. My youngest daughter has her L plates and is keen to be driving. As we approach the cooler months and the days get shorter, the amount of time to get farm jobs done decreases with each week. The long weekend was a perfect opportunity to try and get a few things finished. “Dad, can we go for a drive today” did not factor into my plans of what I thought needed to be done. 

As I spent the day fencing pondering her request, I had to ask myself what was more important, the jobs or my daughter. So, I finished what was urgent and took my daughter driving. In five years’ time, she won’t remember that I had all the fencing done and the cattle well managed, but she will remember that her Dad took her driving.

It may be just me, but I often feel that time just seems to be getting faster and faster and it takes conscious thought and effort to be aware of what is happening around us. The risk is that if I am not aware, I am not truly present to those I care about.

Have a great week and hug your kids

Jamie Emerick
Principal

We all lead busy lives. As we rush through another school term, it is easy to say, ‘where has the year gone; it just seems to fly by’.

It is often so easy to be busy and dealing with everything that is happening in our day that we forget to really live our lives. This is not a new phenomenon.  Tempus fugit is a Latin saying meaning "time flees", it is more commonly translated as "time flies".  The expression was first recorded in a poem written by the Roman poet Virgil over 2000 years ago.  He said ‘Sed fugit interea fugit irreparabile tempus, singula dum capti circumvectamur amore, which means, "But meanwhile it flees: time flees irretrievably, while we wander around, prisoners of our love of detail."

How often are we consumed by what is happening around us rather than living in the moment and being with the people who mean so much to us?  As a parent, I am continually reminded (usually because I forget) that the greatest gift I can give my children is often my time and my presence.

APRE News...

Mercy Works Papua New Guinea - COVID 19 Appeal

Papua New Guinea – COVID 19 Health Crisis

You may already be aware of the growing health crisis in Papua New Guinea.  With many of the people of this country living in remote areas, it is a growing concern about food supplies for these people as well as vulnerable senior citizens, anyone living with HIV Aids, those with disability and those families with many children.  Mercy Works, a charitable arm of the Sisters of Mercy have established an appeal, asking for help to assist these people.  As such, monies donated on our next gold coin donation day on Friday, 21 May, will be given to this appeal.  If you would like to contribute more, please place your donation in an envelope marked Mercy Works Papua New Guinea - COVID 19 Appeal and bring to the front office. 

Did You Know

What is the significance of making the sign of the cross.

Since the times of the early Christians, making the sign of the cross has held great significance to all Christians.  We make the sign of the cross by using our right hand index finger and touching the forehead, then waist line, our left shoulder and finally the right shoulder as the words “In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.”  The sign of the cross is made at the beginning and end of a prayer.  It is also made in the air over people by a priest as he bestows a blessing on all.

The sign of the cross is a reference to the death of Christ on the cross but is also indicative of the belief in three separate persons in the one God, namely the Holy Trinity.

St John's Reach Out Group

As some of you may already know, the St John's Reach Out group works silently behind the scenes within the school community. Meals are prepared for those families in need of support at times, such as the birth of a child, or even unfortunate events such as a illness or a loved one’s passing, to help ease the load at times like these. Cards are sometimes made and posted by members at times of loss, celebration, farewells or when congratulations are in order. The members of this group work anonymously and volunteer their time. Thank you to our current members. Your continuous support is very much valued. We appreciate all that you do.

Last year, 2020 was a fairly busy year overall for the Reach out Group. In Term 1 & Term 2 of this year, so far we have only helped 4 families. Each of these families have been provided with a home cooked meal and a card to welcome a new child. The Reach Out group is always looking for new members, who are willing to assist throughout the year. Please email Karmahle (Coordinator) oscar_n_lilly@hotmail.com or Donna Mason donna_mason@rok.catholic.edu.au  if you would like to join us or would like to know more. Hope you have a great week ahead.

Thanking you,

Karmahle Forbes

APA News...

Nature Playground Donations Please!

As you know, our students love the Nature Playground. We will be replenishing ''stock'' in the coming weeks. If any families are pruning trees, we would love your larger branches or logs or if you are having a shed clean-out, we would love any old ropes, pipes, wood, hoses etc.

If you have any questions or donations please call the office or email Jakki Graham at jakki_graham@rok.catholic.edu.au

Thank you in advance!

Walk to School 2021

Unfortunately we will not be participating in this year’s Walk to School Day. With the construction and heavy vehicle access we cannot guarantee safe entry into the school for very large groups of students at this time.

St John’s Athletics Carnival

Our St John’s Athletics Carnival is on Friday 28 May and is for all students from Prep – Year 6.  

Currently all year 3-6 students are being timed/measured according to their age and house groups in HPE to place them in the appropriate heats for all events. In HPE, Prep – Year 2 students are busily sprinting, practicing to stay in their lanes (!), relays and jumping sacks. Due to safety and time restraints, the discus and high jump events will be completed in HPE classes. The 800m and 1500m race will be held the week leading up to the Athletics Carnival.

Prep - Year 2 students will race in their year levels and all other year levels will race in their year of birth. Students born in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 are eligible for Age Champion. Students born in 2009, 2010 and 2011, who place 1^st or 2^nd in a Championship race/event are eligible for St John’s Athletics Team to  Gladstone Athletics Trials.

A program of the Athletics Carnival will be published in the coming weeks.

School Fees - Term 2

Congratulations...

Congratulations to the following students who have been selected in the Port Curtis 11-12 yrs Rugby Union Team attending the Capricornia Trials in Rockhampton.

Kobe Mayers
Cohan Kerr
Harrison Hulbert

Cross Country Port Curtis Results

Parent Volunteer Induction - Term 2

We will be holding another Parent Volunteer Induction for parent's who were unable to attend the Inductions held last Term.  

This induction will be held next Friday 14 May at 9am and will be held in our school Library.  We invite all parents who are yet to do the Parent Volunteer Induction this year, to please come along to this session.

Attendance Poster

Bookclub

From Our Principal...

Prep Enrolments 2022

If you have a child eligible to start Prep in 2022 it is extremely important that you complete an online enrolment as soon as possible as places are filling fast. Please call into our School Office (8:30am - 3:30pm) to collect an Enrolment Package or telephone us on 49781799 for further information.

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

Ninja Dash

Pumped Sport’s new Ninja Dash event is coming to St John the Baptist Catholic Primary School Gladstone on Thursday the 6th of May starting at 3.15pm and runs for 75 minutes. Cash or credit card payments can be made on the day. Children kindy aged and older are $15 and toddlers are $10. For more information and to register head to https://pumpedsport.com.au/events/

Tuckshop Menu

Volunteer Tuckshop Roster

Tuckshop Volunteers Needed

Our tuckshop urgently needs volunteers to help on Wednesdays, Thursdays and especially Fridays. If you can help out could you please let us know so that we can arrange an induction with Mrs Graham.

As per guidelines, all volunteers need to sign in at the office, follow COVID hygiene and distancing practices and have completed the 2022 Volunteer Induction.

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

OSHC News...

Space station exploration in OSHC

Izabella Kerr, Kyan Ranginui, Jet Thomas, Gracie Robertson, Lachlan Newton

Space Station Exploration

Flu Season Reminder

As you are aware every year Queensland experiences an influenza or flu season. As we enter this season it is timely to remind parents and care-givers not to be complacent about flu. Queensland Health advises that where possible, people need to be vaccinated for the flu every year.

Flu is a virus more serious than the common cold and can be spread through talking, coughing and sneezing. Symptoms include sudden fever, dry cough, muscle aches and pains, fatigue, headache, sore throat and a stuffy or runny nose.

If your child has flu-like symptoms, the following is advised:

• Keep your child home from school;
• Ensure your child washes their hands regularly with soap and water or sanitiser gel;
• Encourage your children when coughing or sneezing, to cover their mouth and nose with disposable tissues which should be disposed of immediately;
• Ensure they drink plenty of fluids and get lots of rest;
• Consult your doctor if you are concerned about their symptoms.

Queensland Health Guidelines advise that individuals displaying flu like symptoms should  stay at home until such symptoms have passed (normally 5-7 days). 

Families should also reinforce the recommended protective actions listed above.

Increased awareness and ongoing attention to prevention and control measures, such as vaccination and good hygiene, are steps that we can all promote to reduce the impact of influenza.