Newsletter - 5th August 2024
- Principal's Address
- Year One Science
- Year Eight Maths
- Spectacular Showcase
- Semester One, 2024 Awards Assembly
- Toowoomba Catholic Schools: Touch and Netball
- Theresian 4 Most Noteworthy Student
- NAIDOC Week 2024
- Bishop’s Inservice Day
- Book Week
- Uniform Shop Opening Hours
- School Crossing Supervisor
- Mackenzie Fun Run
- 2024 Non-government schools census collection notice
- Queensland Road Safety Week 2024
- Tuckshop
St John’s School was proud to host the mid-west Bishop’s Inservice Day last Wednesday for our staff and the staff of St Patrick’s School, St George, and St Patrick’s School, Mitchell. While the Bishop was unfortunately unable to attend, we had an excellent presentation from Dr Pat Coughlan, our Executive Director, followed by a keynote address by musician Graeme Connors and finishing with an all-staff Mass at All Saints led by Fr Tom.
Dr Pat spoke about the four key strengths of Catholic Schools in the Toowoomba Diocese as identified in a recent survey. He also reiterated our role in shaping a better world, a responsibility that should empower and inspire us. If we truly want belief in a better world, then we must know and convincingly tell a better story. This story should be better than the powerful prevailing stories that confront young people every day, which are high in narcissism and low in social connection.
The four key strengths he identified were as follows. People perceived our Catholic faith as a great strength. Not a fixed, rigid faith of judgement, fear and punishment but a faith of understanding, invitation and compassion. This is the faith we seek to instil in your children based on Catholic beliefs and Gospel values because it provides strong reference points which over time, become the foundation for leading good, fulfilling lives.
We are progressive. Not a school that jumps on every passing bandwagon but a school that, while respecting its past, is not stuck in it. A progressive education is not limited to the attainment of knowledge and skills. Rather, students learn to be – they shape a strong personal identity, and they learn to live together – they develop a disposition of service and relationship within the community for the common good.
We are connected to our local community and united as a system of 32 schools. We work together as a system to produce exceptional outcomes for all our students.
As always, I was so impressed with the staff of St John’s in that they were all there early to assist with setting up and then enjoyed breakfast together. The time spent together, along with Dr Pat’s and Graeme’s inspirational speeches, had us all walking away with our batteries recharged and excited to get back to our core business of educating your children.
COMMUNITY – One of the ways we maintain our community connections is by celebrating together at events. A key upcoming event is the St John’s Race Day on 24 August. It will be family friendly, with plenty of activities for the kids to enjoy, allowing parents the freedom to enjoy each other’s company. Get your tickets today: 2024 St John's Race Day Tickets, Bassett Park, Roma | TryBooking Australia
You’ll also need to eat! So please order a hamper by 9 August here: http://www.trybooking.com/CSKLJ
Finally, the P&F has organised an awesome raffle prize. Get your tickets here: http://www.trybooking.com/CSKLJ
Cheers,
Mark
This term, the Year One students have been learning about sound and light. They have been learning that light and sound are all around us and help us to communicate with one another. They have been investigating how sound and light are produced, how they travel, how they are used and their characteristics.
Last Friday, the students enjoyed listening to the music played by the Queensland Symphony Orchestra. In the classroom, they then discussed the types of instruments they saw and how the sound was being produced, whether it was high or low, loud or soft. The students have learnt that when something vibrates it makes a sound.
The students participated in a Science Investigation to understand the pitch of sound. They used three glass jars filled with different amounts of water and hit each glass jar with a metal spoon. They found that the pitch of sound was different because the water level was different in each jar. The students found they could change the pitch by adding or taking out the water.
Over the next week, the students will be investigating more about the effect of light and its role in our life. The students will look at how light is used and how it helps us to see, by conducting an investigation about our eyes.
Angela Brennan, Mark Brennan and Rhianna Maunder
Year One Teachers
Our Year Eight Maths class has been diligently exploring the basic concepts of linear graphs and angles. This lovely group of students has shown remarkable dedication in their learning journey. To enhance their understanding, we have integrated SDL strategies into our lessons. This approach is really helping our learners understand the language of Maths. Each lesson starts off with a ZONE IN activity whereby the learners are given 2-3 problems/equations to solve based on the previous lesson’s concept. We have seen this to be most effective in consolidating knowledge. We are incredibly proud of their hard work and look forward to seeing their growth in this subject.
In Week Ten last term, St John’s hosted the Spectacular Showcase! Across the night, we had students from both primary and secondary display their unique talents to raise money for The Arts program at our school. There were some incredible dancers, amazing singers and awesome Rubik’s cube action. Thank you to all who came and supported The Arts at St John’s!
In Week Three, some of our wonderful primary students travelled to Toowoomba to participate in the Catholic Schools Touch Football and Netball Carnivals. These students have once again made our school very proud of their efforts, commitment, sportsmanship and behaviour, both on and off the field and court. All teams conducted themselves in a humble way, consistently being gracious in both victory and defeat. They supported their teammates, respected their opposition, were willing to learn from their coaches, all with a positive attitude and a smile on their faces.
The Boys’ Touch Football team won all their games with their exceptional teamwork and unwavering determination. The girls also had a successful day showing great growth, finishing their carnival with a win. It was great to see some new faces to the sport and such excellent skills and talents displayed throughout the day.
This year, we took away two netball teams. Both teams were undefeated throughout the carnival, displaying exceptional teamwork. Our Year Six competitive netball team won against Our Lady of the Southern Cross, Dalby in a nail-biting Grand Final, scoring 8-6. There were 41 teams who competed in the carnival, and St John's has only won this cup once, back in 1990.
It was a very exciting time for all players, and we are so proud of their efforts; well done St John's!!!
Thank you to our parents for transporting students and for their positive encouragement from the sidelines. We wouldn't be able to compete without your support.
Last week, staff of St John’s participated in the annual Bishop’s Inservice Day. This is a special day set aside to allow teachers to focus on their own spiritual development. This is a crucial aspect of teaching within a Catholic school and allowing teachers the time to do this is important. The 2024 theme of Catholic Education Week is ‘Communities of faith, hope and love’ – with special emphasis on the virtue of love.
Dr Pat Coughlin, Executive Director, spoke about the privilege to teach in a Catholic school and how a Catholic school education can lead to a belief in a better world. The keynote address for the day was by Mr Graeme Connors, a distinguished figure in the Australian country music scene, renowned for his evocative storytelling and authentic musical style. In a deeply personal way, he shared with us through song and story, his own connection to the enduring presence of faith, hope and love in his life journey. It was a very moving session for all involved.
Staff were also recognised for long service awards on the day. Angela Brennan, Carmel Treasure and Donaugh Shirley were recognised for 40 incredible years of service to Catholic Education. Michelle Chinnery was presented with her award for 30 years of service. We are most grateful for all that they do for our school. Additionally, Carmel Treasure and Kate McAuley were both recognised for their nominations in the Spirit of Catholic Education awards for 2024. Both were worthy nominees for the impact they have within our school.
Trisha Parker
APFM
Uniform Shop Hours:
Monday 2:00 - 4:30pm
Wednesday 8:00 - 10:30 am
Online:
https://theschoollocker.com.au/schools/st-johns-catholic-school
Mark your calendars for August 26-30 and join us in promoting road safety awareness across Queensland. Here at St John’s, we are committed to ensuring our children and broader school community are safe on the roads. That’s why we have asked our local Adopt-a-Cops to come and speak with the students regarding road safety. It would be great if we could work together to make our roads safer for everyone.
