St John's School Roma eNewsletter

Principal's Address

The Story of St John’s

Dr Pat Coughlan, the Executive Director of Toowoomba Catholic Schools, visited us in Week Three to check in on the school and see how I’ve settled in since arriving at the start of the year. Dr Pat loves a probing question and asked me at one point, ‘What is the story of St John’s?’.

After a considerable pause, allowing me to grapple with the question and witnessing my struggle to provide a concise answer, Dr Pat reassured me that he wasn’t seeking a quick response. He wanted me to truly reflect on the question. What he was really asking, I believe, was what makes us unique as a school? What are our strengths? Why would parents choose to send their children to St John's? What is our story? These are complex questions that require deep reflection and understanding of our school's identity.

I’ve been pondering this question for over a month, and while it's clear that we are a Catholic School in the Mercy tradition, founded on the values of Respect, Compassion, Justice and Excellence, this description doesn’t fully encapsulate the essence of St John’s. It doesn’t distinguish us from other Catholic Schools in the Mercy tradition.

So, what is our story? I feel our school theme represents it quite well. We are better together. We are staff and students united on this journey of growth and education to be better as people. That’s definitely closer, but reflecting on this helped me to realise I most feel ‘St John’s’ when Carmel Treasure is up the front of a whole school assembly leading the singing of ‘We are better together’. That feels special. Students aged 4 to 18 sing our song with Carmel as she performs enthusiastically. Our students doing the actions to the song; the 4-year-olds excitedly, the 18-year-olds reluctantly, but united as a school. That feels like St John’s; maybe this is where our story lies.

Where else have I felt this spirit of St John’s? Where else have I felt like we were living our story?

It’s in the support I’ve received from the former principals – Donaugh Shirley, Viv Bruton and Jim Brennan. They are all still heavily invested in the school and in seeing it continue to succeed and grow.

It was Ross Penrose, inviting my family around for dinner in the first week we arrived and making us feel so welcome. It’s the way he is loved by every person in town, as he taught most of them, and is still invested in looking after everyone and seeing their growth.

It’s in the support of Kort Goodman, our Senior Education Leader from the Toowoomba Catholic Schools Office. A Roma boy who loves this school.

It was on Tuesday when I went to the Year One classrooms to check that the kids had all entered okay. We’ve had some difficulty getting the students to enter, as they have become tired at the end of term (my son, Ralph, included). I found him inside, engaged in reading a story to his Year Ten school buddy, having completely forgotten the turn he’d just put on his mother. I was grateful we are a P-12.

It's the visits from Fr Tom, and his willingness to answer the questions of students, removing any barriers between our church and our school and inviting students to explore our Catholic faith.

It’s the staff. The way they banded together through recent tragedies and events. The way they genuinely care for your kids and want them to succeed.

It’s Saturday morning netball, running into teachers who are there for no other reason than to see their students play.

It’s the parent engagement in the P&F, School Advisory Council, and the many other committees that run events to fundraise for the school.

It’s the younger students' high fives and fist bumps, the older students' head nods and greetings, and the pointing and staring of our youngest students.

These are just a few examples of the way staff, students and parents make up the story of our school. The story is in the people here. And this is just the part of the story I’ve seen so far in my short time at the school. It’s definitely not the whole story, and I know if I asked staff, they would have so many more examples of things that feel ‘St John’s’. The benefit of having this strong foundation and a story that would span hundreds of pages and 143 years is when we experience challenge. When things go wrong, we can draw on the positive lived experience of this school and come together as a community to meet the challenge. The challenge will eventually be relegated to a footnote on page 150 of our story rather than the cover.

I don’t intend to write the story of St John’s. I am a Maths teacher and there are far more qualified candidates for the job. But I wanted to remind you that St John’s School is something special. We have a lot to celebrate, and we will continue to focus on what we do best, teaching and learning, and working with you to produce young people of character, integrity and heart. Thank you for your continued support of our school.

Cheers,

Mark

Year One ‘School Yard Safari’

During Term Two, we have been combining the learning areas of English, Media Arts, Technology and Visual Arts with Science to learn about minibeasts in their environments.

In the Science unit, ‘Schoolyard Safari’, we observed small animals in the schoolyard and then created a poster in Media Arts about caring for small animals in their environment or habitat. We have also discussed what small animals can be found in our wider environment such as our backyards or parks we like to visit. We have developed a greater understanding of three small animals, in particular, ants, worms and snails. At the end of the unit, we showed what we had learnt by writing an information report about how these small animals move, eat, live and protect themselves.

In English, we have been studying fiction and non-fiction texts about small animals to find out many more interesting facts about them. Our focus has been on spiders, ladybugs, snails, geckos and chameleons. We have created ‘KWL Charts’ about each minibeast and made a list under the headings of ‘What we already know’, ‘What we want to know’ and ‘What we have learned’. For example, we already knew that spiders have eight legs, but some of us wanted to know, ‘How many eyes spiders have?’, ‘What spiders eat?’ and ‘Do spiders have a birthday?’. At the end of the term, we will be studying elephants so we can make a comparison using a Venn Diagram of the similarities and differences between small and large animals.

In Technology this term, we have been learning how to create a three-dimensional model of a snail using an egg carton. We added details such as the snails ‘coiled shell’ and ‘feelers’ using various materials. We created a snail habitat to show what we know about the needs of a snail. We then used an iPad to photograph our design and write a reflection about the design process.

This week in Visual Arts, we will be creating a water-coloured painting of a chameleon using shades of light and dark and investigating through the reading of non-fiction texts whether chameleons really change colour!

Year One Mathematics

This term, the Year One students have participated in a Mathematics trial using the ‘Maths Trek: exploring Maths in the real world’ program utilising both hard copy and digital resources. The students have enjoyed learning Mathematics through the different interactive resources offered by Firefly Education and the very well-designed worksheets. This trial is part of the school’s implementation of V9 Mathematics in the new Australian Curriculum.

Last week, the students engaged in an excursion around the Primary School Campus to locate and identify 2 Dimensional Shapes in our environment. They particularly enjoyed spotting shapes within shapes and were amazed at the number of 2D Shapes in and around the classrooms. On their return to the classroom, they drew some of the objects they saw in and around the campus and then labelled and identified their characteristics.

Mr Brennan, Mrs Brennan and Mrs Maunder
Year One Teachers

Year Two HASS - Term Two – Significant Places

Throughout Term Two, students have investigated Australian landmarks and their significance. They recently became experts on a local Roma landmark and created presentations for their peers. Some landmarks included The Big Rig, The Butter Factory, Heroes Avenue and The Bush Gardens. From this information, students made tourist brochures highlighting places of significance in Roma.

Year 10 PE

This term, our Year 10 PE students have embarked on a comprehensive health and fitness journey, combining crucial education on drugs and alcohol with practical tennis lessons. In the classroom, students have delved into the effects of substance use, learning about the physical, mental and social consequences of alcohol and drug consumption. Engaging discussions and interactive sessions have equipped them with the knowledge to make informed decisions and understand the importance of a healthy lifestyle.

On the courts, students have been honing their tennis skills, learning the fundamentals of the game including serves, forehands, backhands, volleys and match play strategies. These practical sessions not only provide a great way to stay active but also teach teamwork, discipline and perseverance.

The integration of health education with physical activity underscores the importance of a balanced approach to well-being. Our Year 10s are not only becoming more skilled athletes but also informed individuals ready to make positive health choices.

Year Ten – Legal Studies

Students in Year Ten Legal Studies recently undertook an excursion to the Roma Police Station; the visit linked to their current unit on Criminal Law. Students saw many different aspects of the police station, such as the watchhouse and road safety, undercover and transport vehicles. Students also learnt what an average day in the life of a police officer entails and had tours of all the gear police officers wear every day!

Thank you to Senior Sergeant Duane Frank and Constable Meg Dingle for showing us around!

Year 11 - Drama

Pinaroo

The students in our Pinaroo Christian Community Service group have had another wonderful term visiting the residents each Wednesday afternoon. It is always amazing to hear the interesting stories they have to tell us comparing what life was like when they were children to what it is like now. Last week, we heard about the cheeky things some of the residents got up to when they were at school. These visits provide a great opportunity for our St John’s students to interact with older residents each week.

Xaverian Three – Most Noteworthy Student

Jack Cramer

Jack Cramer joined Xaverian Three at the beginning of 2024 as a Year Seven student. Since Day One in Xaverian Three, Jack has been a friendly, kind and caring member. When asked to participate in Pastoral Care liturgies, he does so in an obliging and respectful manner. He greets his Pastoral Care teacher with a lovely smile and greeting every morning. Jack is an amazing buddy to our Year Two class; he is always engaged with activities they are doing together and has built great positive relationships with the younger students. Xaverian and our Pastoral care class are looking forward to watching Jack grow and develop as a student at St John’s.

Miss Scholl

Sorry Day Flowers

Marian House Update

The end of Term Two is very quickly reaching its end; before we know it, we’ll be on holidays again! However, there have been so many things happen this term that our Mighty Marians have been a part of.

Before the term even began, our Mighty Marians were part of the Easter in the Country Parade where we marched down the main street showcasing our school theme ‘We’re Better Together.’ Thursday of Week Two was ANZAC Day when many of us woke early for the Dawn Service or participated in the ANZAC Day March and gathered around the cenotaph to pay our respects to our fallen soldiers. Friday 26 April saw our seniors dressing up for the Year 12 Formal. It was a memorable night filled with great food, speeches and dancing. Thank you to everyone who helped make the night so special for our Year Twelve students.

Tuesday of Week Five was the annual Cross Country for all our younger students. It was great to see all the young ones get involved, run their hearts out and earn House points! The Athletics Carnival will occur next week; all Mighty Marians should have their nominations in and be prepping themselves to do their very best on both the track and field. We’ve been practising our war cries so it should be a lot of fun competing against the other Houses on the day. We can’t wait to see all our Mighty Marians out there giving it their best!

Thursday of Week Ten is the St John’s Spectacular Showcase where students will be showing us all their amazing talents. There will be a BBQ and raffle on the night. So, bring everyone along; we can’t wait to see you all there!

Go Marian!...

Marian Prefects.

Confirmation at All Saints

On Sunday 26^th May, a group of students participated in the Sacrament of Confirmation. These candidates received the gift of the Holy Spirit at the hands of Bishop Ken Howell at All Saints Church. The candidates, their families and special guests came together with the All Saints Parish and celebrated this joyful occasion. We would like to thank Bishop Howell for coming all the way out to Roma for this important event in the children’s spiritual journey. The next Sacrament for the candidates is First Communion. The candidates will start preparing for this Sacrament next term.

The Sacramental Team would like to thank Father Tom for his on-going leadership while preparing the students for the Sacraments.

Our thanks also go to Mrs Carmel Treasure and her helpers for leading the music during Mass and Mrs Katarina Silvester for generously taking photos of the event.

Congratulations to the following candidates: Reka Cabulay, Jessica Cook, Seth Coutts, Matilda Crouchley, Aubree Davis, Annalise Ey, Kinsey Ey, Toby Flesser, Milla Forbes, Cooper Liston, Hannah Nixon, Samantha Nixon, Willow Prior, Sophia Spreadborough and Lucy Sutton.

Toni Densley, Melissa Irwin and Nicole Southee – All Saints Sacramental Team

Photo: Katarina Silvester Photography

Wednesday 8:00 - 10:30 am

Online:

https://theschoollocker.com.au/schools/st-johns-catholic-school

Newsletter - 6th June 2024