Informer Term 4 - Week 1 - 2025

From Our Principal ...

Dear Families

A few months before I was born, my dad met a stranger who was new to our small town. From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer, and soon invited him to live with our family. The stranger was quickly accepted and was around to welcome me into the world a few months later.

As I grew up, I never questioned his place in our family. Mum taught me to love the Word of God. Dad taught me to obey it. But the stranger was our storyteller. He could weave the most fascinating tales. Adventures, mysteries and comedies were daily conversations. He could hold our whole family spellbound for hours each evening. He was like a friend to the whole family. He took us to our first Test match and the drawn Grand Final in the Sydney rugby league. He was always encouraging us to see the movies and he even made arrangements to introduce us to several movie stars.

The stranger was an incessant talker. Dad didn't seem to mind, but sometimes Mum would quietly get up - while the rest of us were enthralled with one of his stories of faraway places - and go to her room to read her Bible and pray. I wonder now if she ever prayed that the stranger would leave. You see, my dad ruled our household with certain moral convictions. But this stranger never felt an obligation to honor them. Profanity, for example, was not allowed in our house - not from us, from our friends, or adults. Our longtime visitor, however, used occasional four-letter words that burned my ears and made Dad squirm. To my knowledge the stranger was never confronted. My dad was a teetotaller who didn't permit alcohol in his home - not even for cooking. But the stranger felt he needed exposure and enlightened us to other ways of life. He offered us beer and other alcoholic beverages often. He made cigarettes look tasty, cigars manly, and pipes distinguished. He talked freely (too much, too freely) about sex. His comments were sometimes blatant, sometimes suggestive, and generally embarrassing. I know now that my early concepts of the man/woman relationship were influenced by the stranger.

As I look back, I believe it was the grace of God that the stranger did not influence us more. Time after time he opposed the values of my parents. Yet he was seldom rebuked and never asked to leave. More than thirty years have passed since the stranger moved in with our young family. But if I were to walk into my parent’s house today, you would still see him sitting over in a corner, waiting for someone to listen to him talk and watch him draw his pictures. His name? We always called him TV.

This is an old story that has done the rounds for many years. The world we live in, and the one our kids are growing up in is saturated with all forms of electronic media and devices. There is very little escape from it and it is an exceptionally addictive drug, just take the device away and see the reaction.

The concept of intermittent fasting has been around for millennia and science and modern medicine in some ways is only starting to recognise the importance of giving our digestive system time to recover. Our bodies are not designed to be continually eating, our society is blessed, and cursed, at the same time with an abundance of resources.

Time away from electronic stimulation is so important for both us as adults and our kids. There is no relationship developing when everyone is on their own device and consumed by what they are engaging with. One of the family traditions that I see dying is the family eating together around the table. It used to be the norm, now families are more likely to sit around the television. 

Have a great week and hug your kids.

Regards
Jamie Emerick
Principal

2026 Student Leadership Applications: Close Fri 17 October

We are excited to announce that applications for the 2026 Year 6 Leadership Positions of added responsibility are now open!

Leadership roles of added responsibility at St John’s include 2 x School Captains (1 boy and 1 girl) and 8 House Captains (1 boy and 1 girl for each House).

Applications for our Year 5 students to apply close on Friday, 17 October.

Parking At Pick Up/Drop Off Time

Under no circumstances should parents/caregivers park on footpaths or medium strips near our school. A Gladstone Regional Council Parking Compliance Officer visited our school area recently, and noted several cars parked on footpaths and medium strips near our school – especially near the Laner Street back car park.  Parking on footpaths and medium strips can, and will in future, incur a hefty fine.  Fines can also be incurred by drivers who choose to drive over, and cause damage to gutters/curbing and channeling. 

Please see below a Road Safety in School Zones – Keeping our Children Safe brochure from the Gladstone Regional Council.  As well as providing safety tips, it also highlights some ways that drivers can incur fines in school zones.

Some other things to remember at pick-up/drop-off:

• Students in Prep, Years 1 and 2 MUST be picked up after school (3:00pm to 3:20pm) from the J. Hickey Avenue Stop, Drop, Go area. 
• Students in Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 (and their younger siblings in Prep, Year 1 and 2), MUST be picked up after school (3:00pm to 3:20pm) from the Laner Street Stop, Drop, Go area.
• Students MUST sit in the undercover area at each location and wait for direction from the teacher on duty. No students are to be playing on school play areas during this time.
• Parents under no circumstances are to park their car in either the J. Hickey Avenue or Laner Street Stop, Drop, Go areas. Please use the Laner Street visitor car park or street parking if you intend to walk your child/ren into the school grounds. 
• Under no circumstances should the visitor car park be used as a pick-up or drop-off area for students.
• Drivers MUST not obstruct the bus from entering or leaving the bus stop on J. Hickey Avenue.

When parking and collecting children, please do not park over our neighbours' driveways.

Thank you for ensuring the smooth and safe drop-off and collection of our wonderful students!

Support Your Child's Reading: Parent Workshop

Prep 2026 Enrolments: Important Diary Dates

Prep 2026 Information/Orientation sessions have been scheduled for the following dates:

Monday 27 October – First Orientation Session (compulsory for all students who have accepted placement)

Monday 24 November – Final Orientation Session (compulsory for all students who have accepted placement)

Fun Run Prize Ordering Closes Monday 13 Oct

Fun Run Prize Ordering closes Monday 13 October.

Students (with their parent’s guidance) can order their prizes – this MUST BE done ONLINE by families between Friday 19 September and Monday 13 October 2025.

Simply visit funrun.com.au to log into your Profile Page between these dates and click on the ‘CLAIM YOUR PRIZE’ button and follow the prompts.

Litany of the Saints

Each year the Catholic Church commemorates All Saints Day on the 1^st November. It is customary to sing the Litany of Saints at this special mass. This year, Andrew Chinn visited us at St John’s and encouraged students to dedicate a piece of artwork focused on our school’s patron saint John the Baptist.

We extend a huge congratulations to Willa in Year 3 Sharks for her depiction of Saint John the Baptist! This has been included in a PowerPoint dedicated to the Litany of Saints on Andrew Chinn’s Butterfly House website.

https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/73n9CK1D5jil6NEJSMf7t533pD?domain=youtu.be

Matthew 3: 1-17 “John the Baptist prepares the way of Jesus”

Year 6 Need Clean Bottle Tops For Artwork

Volunteer Tuckshop Roster

Tuckshop Ordering Information & Menu

Our tuckshop operates every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday (first and second breaks).

The following information will ensure the efficient ordering of tuckshop for your child/ren:

• Tuckshop must be ordered online via QuickCliq www.quickcliq.com.au  Orders will not be accepted at the Tuckshop or Office.
• Orders must be placed by 8:10am. Tuckshop can be ordered weeks in advance. Simply click on the day/s that tuckshop is required.
• QuickCliq operates very slowly at very busy times i.e. close to 8:10am.  During these times the system may boot you off and require you to log back in. Late orders put a lot of pressure on our tuckshop staff and volunteer helpers.
• If you miss the ordering cut off time, your order will be transferred to the following day.  You will be notified of this on the screen.
• Parents MUST check confirmation email to ensure the order has been processed for the correct food on the correct day.

If you have any problems with the online ordering system please contact QuickCliq via 1300 11 66 37, or email: support@quickcliq.com.au

Uniform Shop Hours

Positions Vacant: OSHC Assistants

Parish News ...

Gladstone Regional Council News ...

Softball Sign On

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