St John's School Roma eNewsletter

Principal's Report

Dear Parents and Friends of St John's,

Last Friday 13^th August, St John’s celebrated Mercy Day. Our school was founded by the Sisters of Mercy in 1881 and in 2021 we acknowledge their legacy. The collective work of founder Catherine McAuley and the Sisters who followed, established a caring and respectful ethos based on the values of Compassion, Respect, Justice and Excellence. As a school community, we came together through a student led liturgy to reaffirm those values and Jesus’ central message of love. Students also took the opportunity to recognise Mr Ross Penrose who celebrated 40 years of teaching service, with a recount of his favourite moments in class. The acknowledgment to Mr Penrose also included a message from South Sydney player, Alex Johnston that was appreciated by all. Students then donned their sports uniform and house-coloured shirts to participate enthusiastically in the tug of war, nun races, quiz challenges and other fun activities organised by staff. I extend my sincere thanks to Mrs Trish Parker, staff and senior leaders who coordinated and led the day’s celebration. I also wish to thank the Duff Family who organised the message from Alex Johnston for Mr Penrose.

This Sunday, we farewell Fr Gerado Tubis as Parish Priest at All Saints Parish. A school led Mass will commence at 8.30am and incorporate acknowledgements followed by morning tea. Fr Gerado has been with us for two years, initially working with Fr Jamie Collins, before assuming sole responsibility for the parish in August 2020. He has made an important contribution to the St John’s Community, through his engagement with classes, involvement in school liturgies, Masses and as a member of the St John’s School Board. On behalf of the St John’s Community, I extend my sincere thanks and gratitude to Fr Gerado and wish him every success in his appointment to the Chinchilla Parish which incorporates St Joseph’s School.

Our Year Five students returned from their Charleville Camp last week and, by all accounts, they had a wonderful experience at the Cosmos, Royal Flying Doctor and Bilby Centres. Thank you to Matt Wilke, Karen Ey, Meg Lyons and Ryan Doig who gave of their time to ensure students had such an enriching experience.

Year Nine students also completed their Outdoor Education Camp to the Bunya Mountains under the guidance of teachers, Sam and Ashleigh Valentine. Students put their camping skills into practice over two nights and completed a gruelling 19km hike.

Toowoomba Catholic Schools (TCS) are working on a new initiative focused on our profile, symbols, story, narrative, mission, messages and reputation - to see if we are presenting ourselves as we’d like to ‘see ourselves’. Brisbane-based advertising agency, Nick Did This, is helping us with this work and are undertaking consultation with representatives from across the Diocese. Whether it’s improving community connections, expanding on our values, or remembering the importance of our mission, we want you to have a say in our development!

I invite you to attend a two-hour session, organised by the Nick Did This team as a member of the St John’s School Community. We believe that your unique perspectives will make all the difference in developing TCS into the best version it can be. The details and link to register can be found later in the advertisement in this newsletter.

As we draw towards the end of August, the temperatures are slowly beginning to rise, and the school has received queries about when students may transition to the summer uniform. This will occur in the week beginning Monday 30^th August which heralds the first week of Spring. I request that all students continue to wear the winter uniform during the prior week.

God bless – Jim Brennan

Invitation for Community Consultation

Dear Parent/Guardian

Toowoomba Catholic Schools (TCS) are working on a new initiative focussed on our profile, symbols, story, narrative, mission, messages, and reputation - to see if we are presenting ourselves as we’d like to ‘see ourselves’. Brisbane-based advertising agency, Nick Did This are helping us with this work and are undertaking consultation with representatives from across the Diocese. Whether it’s improving community connections, expanding on our values or remembering the importance of our mission, we want you to have a say in our development!

We are inviting you to attend a two hour session, organised by the Nick Did This team as a member of the St John’s School community. We believe that your unique perspectives will make all the difference in developing TCS into the best version it can be.

Date: Monday, 30August 2021

Venue: Room 101, Year 3/4 block, St John’s School, Roma

Time: 5.00pm-7.00pm

Please RSVP here by the 28 August. Light refreshments will be served on arrival, with the program beginning at approximately 5.20pm.

Everyone’s opinion, whether it’s positive or negative, will be gratefully taken into consideration on the night. It’s important that everyone is honest and willing to change the external and internal perspective of all TCS schools. This is your chance to make a difference on behalf of whole communities across the Diocese and to improve TCS now and for future generations.

Regards

Dr Pat Coughlan

Executive Director: Catholic Schools

Xaverian House

Hey Xaverian Crocs, what an exciting term it has been already with our annual Mercy Day occurring on Friday Week Five. All three Houses, Marian, Theresian and our House Xaverian participated on the day with great enthusiasm and excitement. The day consisted of three major events: the Mercy Day quiz, tug of war and the Nun races. Even though Marian took out the win, it was evident that our whole House gave it everything they could, participating in as many events as possible he scores were neck and neck leaving our Crocs to land in second place. We were super impressed with the standard of our Xaverian spirit and cannot wait for future events to be held! Additionally in the upcoming weeks, there isa variety of activities being held at school including Science Week and Book Week. Can’t wait to see everyone get involved and participate in these future events. Have a fantastic rest of term and keep snapping on!

Signing off. Your new Xaverian Prefects Tully, Tommy and Jak

Marian Three Pastoral Care Most Noteworthy Student: Darcy Harth

Darcy has proved to be a great all-round sports person whether it is during PC activities, in the pool or on the land. He has played for St John’s against Marist College in Rugby League trial games, competed at the Roma & District Athletics for discuss and shotput, was part of the South West team for Touch football and swam in the South West Swimming team at the State Titles. Darcy’s efforts in the pool were recognised by being named as captain of the South West team at the 10-12 years Queensland State Titles in Brisbane.

Keep ‘Living the Spirit’ of St John’s, Darcy!

Australian History Competition

The results are in! Miss Stopps and Mrs McAuley are proud of all students who participated in the Australian History Competition 2021. We would like to offer a special mention to students who received a Merit, Credit or Distinction. Congratulations to the following students:

Merit: Elsie Irwin, Michelle Taylor, Addison White, Batool Al-Jaberi, Sienna Cartwright, Ruby Ferrier, Lalitha Cooper and Lucinda Kemp

Credit: William McNulty, Allie Ey, Nikita Otto, Chelsea Cranston, Sophie Lee and Cadence Ogilvie

Distinction: Lachlan Anderson, Rebe Cunningham and Archer Fababaer

Year Five Charleville Trip

Dear Mr Wilkie and Mrs Ey,

I am not coming back to school on Monday. Why? Because I had too much fun in Charleville with my friends. I saw so many wonderful things on my adventure with St John’s. Can I pick a favourite? Probably not. That is a good thing, is it not? Let me elaborate.

Yes, we did go to Charleville because we looked at ‘Our Place in Space’ last term in Science and the Cosmos Centre was so good. Seeing different planets and even our nearest neighbour in our galaxy Alpha Centauri through telescopes was just amazing. Looking at different constellations and learning how to spot different planets even without a telescope.

The trip was not just for our Science in Term two. We have also been learning about how animals adapt to their environment in our Term Three unit. We learnt so much from the Bilby Centre about how bilbies survive in the wild, the threats they face today and how we can protect the bilby. We were so lucky to see a new bilby called Wally. He was so tiny compared to the rest of the bilbies, but he is so important for bilby conservation.

The other attractions that we visited included the WWII base that they have built. This base is pretty cool, and it has only just opened. It highlights Charleville’s role in the war and how American troops came out here to train and prepare to fight.

We also visited the Royal Flying Doctor Service and looked at how important they are to rural and remote communities and properties. We listened to stories of how this service has helped save countless lives and how the planes are equipped to meet most medical needs.

Most of all I enjoyed hanging out with my friends outside of the classroom. Playing cards, rolling down the turf club hill and sharing a meal with one another was just so nice.

Thank you, Mrs. Ey, Mr Wilkie, Mr Doig and Ms Lyons for taking us on this great trip.

Year Five Student.

Prep Science

This term in Science, we are learning that things around us are made from different materials for different reasons.

We have learnt many new words that help us describe the properties of different objects, for example: flexible, rigid, smooth, rough, waterproof and fragile.

We have enjoyed conducting experiments to explore what materials are wind and water proof in preparation for making wind ornaments later on this term.

Year Eight Religion

This term in Religion, students have been learning about ‘Faith and Me’, while examining the Abrahamic religions (Christianity, Judaism and Islam). They have learnt the significance of the initiation rituals for each of the faith journeys of believers. As part of their studies, students have been able to understand a variety of faith traditions by visiting different churches that are within walking distance of our school. Over the course of the term, students will have visited, All Saints Catholic Church, the Church of Christ, the Anglican Church, the Seventh Day Adventist Church and the Heart Church.

Year Eight Religion Team

Hospitality

Mercy Day

Mercy Day was a resounding success last Friday! This day is an opportunity to celebrate the Sisters of Mercy who founded St John’s so long ago in 1881. It is truly inspiring to think of the challenges these courgeous nuns overcame to achieve this feat.

Our day together started with a full school liturgy, celebrating the life of Catherine McAuley and all who have come after her. We reflected on what it means to live mercy today in our school. The Year Two students performed an adaptation of the Gospel story that linked well to the lives of our students today. The Year 12s and Year 4s also presented a reflection about how we can walk side-by-side, supporting each other always.

It was then time for the highly competitive quiz and the cutting of the Mercy Day cake. Students participated in the tug-o-war competition and selected activities in the afternoon. The day concluded with the much-loved ‘Running of the Nuns’. Marian took out the win on the day and Theresian won the Spirit Award. It was a wonderful day that celebrated what the Spirit of St John’s is all about!

UQ Science Ambassadors

Career Development

Career Development

Career Development

Stoddart Bursary 2021

Tuckshop - Copy

St John's Tuckshop

Hi Parents and Friends of St John's

Welcome all new and old parents/caregivers of students at St John's.

My name is Anita Crawford and I am the Tuckshop Convener for St John’s School Tuckshop, along with Mel Thornthwaite and Latasha O’Shannessy.

Tuckshop days are every Tuesday and Thursday.

Ordering – All ordering for tuckshop is now done through Flexischools. It is rather a simple process; the easiest way to find our school is by typing in Roma then selecting St John's. Cut off for ordering is 8.30am on the day of tuckshop.

We fill the orders and put in class tuckshop boxes (Primary students only) which are taken to the children’s eating areas for their pick up. If a child has ordered a frozen item, they will need to bring their bag back to the tuckshop to collect.

High School students can pick up their tuckshop directly from the tuckshop at break time. Primary school students are advised to put orders in and not order over the counter as it is a little difficult to serve both High School and Primary all at one time.

Volunteers – The tuckshop is a huge fundraiser for the P&F and it could not be this way without the help of our fabulous volunteers. The hours we need helpers are between 8.30 am to 1pm on either a Tuesday or Thursday. The theory is if every parent volunteers for one shift per year, we would have the whole year covered. We rely on parent volunteers; we encourage everyone. We have some grandparents and great aunties too. Break times are: 1^st Break 10:15, 2^nd Break 12:40.

A roster is done up for each term and emailed to each parent. If you are able to help in 2021, please contact Anita on 0418985276 or email acrawfos@bigpond.net.au

Look forward to seeing you all this year

Thanks Anita Crawford

Uniform Shop - Copy

Uniform Shop hours:

Monday 2pm - 4.30pm

Wednesday 8am - 10.30am

All online orders will be filled during these hours.

St John's Newsletter - 20th August 2021