Newsletter - 31st October 2025
- Principal's Address
- What's on this Fortnight
- Year Eight to Ten Retreats
- QMEA Inspires Future Innovators
- Student Fundraiser
- Our Poetry Adventures
- St John's School Bush Dance 2025
- RAAP Program: Empowering Students with Road Safety Awareness
- PRIMARY CHOIR – Singing For The Roma Community.
- All Saints Parish Picnic Invitation
- Vinnies Christmas Appeal 2025
- Position Vacant - St John's Kindergarten
- Uniform Shop Opening Hours
- School Crossing Supervisors Wanted
Prep Enrolments
I am pleased to share that we have officially offered 75 places for our 2026 Prep cohort. It is with great excitement that we prepare to welcome these new students and their families into our school community.
This year, the enrolment process was particularly challenging due to high demand. We understand that for families who were placed on the waitlist, this outcome is disappointing.
Our student selection is guided by the policies set by the Toowoomba Catholic Schools’ office. These policies clearly prioritise students from existing families, followed by Catholic families who are active members of All Saints' parish.
To create a fairer, more transparent system for future applications, we will refine the prep application process for the 2027 intake. Our goal is to ensure all parents have a clear understanding of their application's status from the very beginning.
Here is how the new process will work:
- Existing Families (2027 Intake): We strongly encourage all current school families with a prep student starting in 2027 to submit their applications before the end of 2025.
- Parish Families: We will also be actively promoting these early applications to families within our parish community.
- External Applications: In 2026, external applications will be accepted until we reach our capacity of 75 students.
- Waitlist: Once this limit is reached, any additional applicants will be automatically placed on the waitlist and informed immediately.
We believe this refined approach aligns with the TCS enrolment policy and, most importantly, will provide clarity and certainty to families much earlier in the process.
2026 Class Construction
In the coming weeks, our staff will begin creating class lists for all students from Prep to Year Seven for 2026. This is a thorough, collaborative process designed to create balanced, supportive learning environments.
This process begins with current teachers, who use their deep understanding of their students to create initial drafts. Their primary goal is to ensure each class has a healthy balance of gender, academic abilities, and individual learning needs. Our Learning Support staff then reviews these lists before being given a final review by the school's leadership team, including Curriculum Leader P-6 Natalie Beattie, Assistant Principal Teaching and Learning Melissa Irwin, Deputy Principal Ryan Doig, and myself.
If you have specific information regarding your child’s learning or social-emotional needs that you believe is essential for us to consider during this process, please submit it in writing. All input should be emailed to Jeena Cramer at Jeena.Cramer@twb.catholic.edu.au by Friday, 8 November.
Please note that to ensure our primary goal of creating balanced classes for all students, we cannot accommodate requests for specific teachers or friendship pairings.
Parents will be notified of their children’s 2026 class and teacher via a letter sent home at the end of the school year.
Parish Picnic
A final reminder: this Saturday, our Parish picnic will be held at St John’s, near the P&F shed, from 6 p.m. We’ll have an outdoor Mass followed by a shared picnic. It promises to be an enjoyable time, with some entertainment from St John’s choir and dancers. Looking forward to seeing you there.
Cheers,
Mark
Over the past two weeks, students from Year Eight to Ten took part in inspiring retreat days led by Az Hamilton from Just Motivation and Dave Jorna from Project Hatch. Through compelling storytelling, interactive activities, and moments of reflection, students were encouraged to explore their identity, values, and future aspirations.
The retreats fostered deep connection, self-awareness, and a renewed sense of purpose. Students left feeling empowered to grow with courage, kindness, and authenticity as they continue their schooling at St John’s. Thank you to Az and Dave for creating such meaningful experiences with our students.
Last week, students in Years Eight and Nine had the exciting opportunity to engage with hands-on STEM learning through workshops delivered by the Queensland Minerals and Energy Academy (QMEA).
Our Year Eight students explored the fascinating world of chemistry in the Rockin’ Reactions workshop, where they investigated chemical changes and reactions through engaging, hands-on activities experiments.
Meanwhile, the Year Nine’s took on the Beakers.Bots.Build challenge, a dynamic session that combined science, coding, and engineering as students designed and built robotic solutions to real-world problems.
These workshops not only sparked curiosity but also highlighted the exciting career pathways available in science, technology, engineering, and mining. A big thank you to QMEA, Origin, and Senex for bringing these enriching experiences to our school!
In Year Four we've had a blast,
Exploring poems from the past.
We’ve rhymed and clapped and laughed out loud,
Our wordplay’s made us very proud!
Spoonerisms made us giggle and grin,
Like “bunny phone” and “funny bone” within.
We painted pictures with metaphor might,
Like “the moon’s a lantern in the night.”
Similes helped us compare with flair,
“Soft as clouds” and “wild like a bear!”
And just today, we’ve tried something new,
Writing haikus: just five, seven, five will do!
So poetry’s more than just words on a page,
It’s rhythm and magic and setting the stage.
We’re poets now, with pens held high,
Creating verses that reach the sky!
Our Year 11 students recently had the opportunity to engage with the RAAP (Road Attitudes and Action Planning) Program — a powerful road safety initiative tailored specifically for Year 11 and 12 students.
RAAP was delivered by operational firefighters from Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES). These frontline responders brought firsthand experience and credibility to the message of safe driving.
The program information aimed to equip our young people with the knowledge to:
- Make informed decisions on the road
- Understand the consequences of risky driving
- Plan ahead to mitigate potential dangers
Our Year 11 students engaged with multimedia presentations and listened to real-life stories from firefighters who have attended road crash scenes – this resonated deeply with them and hopefully encourages responsible attitudes behind the wheel.
The presentation was a key chance for our students to gain insights from real-world experiences and actively work towards safer driving.
St John’s Primary Choir was honoured to entertain Seniors from across the Maranoa on Tuesday, 28th October at the Roma Gun Club Luncheon.
Thirty-one students in Years Three to Six enthusiastically presented a variety of amusing songs, covering a wide range of topics. They are grateful to Mrs Treasure and Mrs Vaughan for preparing them and thank Mr Corkett and Mr Doig for getting them to the event on the school buses.
The students also enjoyed ‘singing for their supper’ – as they were given a free lunch! Thank you to Robert and Donna Nugent of Bakearoma for hosting Primary Choir on this special day.
Uniform Shop Hours:
Monday 2:00 - 4:30 p.m.
Wednesday 8:00 - 10:30 a.m.
Online:
https://theschoollocker.com.au/schools/st-johns-catholic-school
Please note that the uniform shop is only open during the school term and closed on school holidays.