Informer Term 2 - Week 8 - 2025

From Our Principal ...

Dear Families,

On the weekend, we celebrated the Feast of Pentecost. Along with Christmas, Easter and the Ascension, it is regarded as one of the four great feasts of Christianity.

Pentecost is celebrated as the birthday of the Christian church. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles in the upper room. It was a life changing event that turned them from scared men in hiding to proud witnesses who nearly all died for their faith.

We acknowledge the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit, are spiritual gifts bestowed by God to empower individuals and guide them in their faith and life. These gifts are wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. These gifts are believed to perfect the virtues of the baptised, making them more attuned to the Holy Spirit's guidance.

The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit:

1. Wisdom:
The ability to discern God's will and to see the world from a divine perspective.

2. Understanding:
The ability to grasp spiritual truths and insights, moving beyond superficial understanding.

3. Counsel:
The ability to offer sound advice and guidance, discerning the best path forward.

4. Fortitude:
The strength and courage to persevere in the face of adversity, both physical and spiritual.

5. Knowledge:
The ability to understand God's plan and the workings of the universe, embracing both human and divine knowledge.

6. Piety:
The ability to reverence God and to live a life of prayer and devotion.

7. Fear of the Lord:
The reverence and awe that inspires a life of humility and obedience to God's will.

These gifts are considered a source of strength and guidance for Christians in their spiritual journey, helping them to live a life of faith, holiness, and service to God.

These are very special, but at times I think I would rather have patience, tolerance, the gift of knowing when to keep my mouth closed and similar skills.  I have come to the realisation that the Holy Spirit is very active in our lives. There is very little that happens in life that is a coincidence.  I am a huge believer that we are put where we are meant to be.  The big challenge is slow down and be present in the moment so that we can apply all the skills and gifts we have to the people around us and the relationships we are part of.

These are the people we often don’t think of.

Have a great week and hug your kids.

Regards,
Jamie Emerick
Principal.

2026 School Fees ...

2025 Athletics Carnival – That’s A Wrap!

The 2025 Athletics Carnival was a wonderful example of great sportspersonship, team spirit and strong competition.  Our House Captains did a fantastic job of provoking team spirit and war cries were heard all day long!

Records were nudged (and some broken), teams cheered and heart rates heightened throughout the day, both from exertion and the excitement!

It was great to see our Preps participate in their first Athletics Carnival and a little sad for our Year 6 students who participated in their last St John’s Athletics Carnival.

We had a huge contingent of parents and grandparents who came to support and cheer everyone on; you certainly added to the excitement of the day and it was a wonderful example of our school community spirit.

The Athletics Carnival would not have run as smoothly as it did without the commitment of our dedicated staff, and of course to our students, who were fabulous examples of great competitors - running fast, cheering hard and put in 100% into every event – we thank you!

As always, the Athletics Carnival serves two purposes – an opportunity for our students to participate fully in a variety of athletics events and put their HPE skills into practice as well as a selection for the Gladstone Athletics Trials.

Those students born in 2015, 2014 and 2013 who placed first or second in a championship event have now been selected to represent St John’s for the Gladstone trials. Notes were sent home today with information regarding this next level of competition. If you have any questions regarding Gladstone Zone Athletics Carnival, please see Mrs Graham.

Three records fell at Friday’s Carnival with the following broken:

• Koby Halliwell – Long Jump
• Koby Halliwell – 200m
• Elizabeth Coleman – 100m

Congratulations to our 2025 Age Champions:

2013:
Tolu Kaka
Harper Halliwell

2014:
Haine Attard
Edwina Slean and Zeanna Stokes

2015:
Charlie Warrener
Savannah Blake

2016:
Koby Halliwell
Laiken Knott

Congratulations to Cummins House who were awarded 2025 Champion Athletics House and Philps House who were awarded with the 2025 Spirit Award.

Fitness Club Cancelled This Week

Library News ...

"Yer a wizard Harry." ― Rubeus Hagrid

Whilst May 2nd is International Harry Potter Day, (it was created in memorial to the epic importance of the day that Harry Potter defeated the Dark Lord), this week in our library we celebrate Harry Potter as our Year Six students complete their English unit.

Maybe you could eat a chocolate frog in celebration of this day?  Or better still read one of our many books in the Harry Potter series!!

We continue with quiet activities (Harry Potter colouring in) and watching Deadly 60 on the big screen on Monday and Wednesday.  Tuesday and Thursday the Drone clubs are going to be flooding the room so it will be quiet colouring in and reading only.

"I hope you're pleased with yourselves. We could all have been killed — or worse, expelled. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to bed." ― Hermione Granger

"You're a little scary sometimes, you know that? Brilliant... but scary." — Ron Weasley

Prep 2026 Sibling Enrolments: ENROL NOW

2026 Prep Enrolment interviews have begun. Please remember to bring your child's original birth certificate to your interview.

If you have already had your enrolment interview and forgotten to bring in any documents i.e. original birth certificate, current immunisation schedule, pediatric reports, speech pathology assessments etc., please do so as soon as possible.

If you have not yet applied for enrolment, please do so now.

Year 1 - 3 Robotics Club Update

Due to an overwhelming amount of interest in our Year 1 to 3 Robotics Club, we have had schedule classes to come at various times throughout the remainder of the year. Students will be reminded on parade when it is time for their class to attend.

Learn to Pray

St John's Way Awardees ...

Students who have embodied faith, dignity and integrity within our school.

We view our school as one body, with many parts, each in its own way contributing to our common mission.
(1 Corinthians 12: 12-26)

Student Council Bookstall

Gladstone Independent Schools Music Assoc.

GISMA Music workshops this year run from 23-25 June 2025:

Gill Group - Advanced - 23 June
Collins Group - Intermediate - 24 June
Maxwell Group - Beginners - 25 June
Concert - 25 June.

GISMA will allocate students to the appropriate group with advice from music teachers.

Please find below links to register:

• Instrumental music workshop registration form (early bird closes 30th May, standard registrations close 11th June. Form and money must be received to secure registration).  2025 GISMA Instrumental Workshop
  
• Shirt order form (form and money due 7 May - we must get a minimum of 10 orders for this to proceed). 2025 GISMA Shirt Order Form
• Parent helper form for workshop. Parent Help GISMA 2025

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

OSHC Vacation Care: June/July Holidays

Parish News

CQ Health, Sport & Recreation Expo