Junior School Bulletin Issue 13 / 13 October 2017
Junior School News Term 4 Welcome back to school for Term 4 and I hope that everybody had a good break. It is certainly going to be a very busy term. Year 6 Exhibition, Junior School Captain elections, Presentation Night and P-3 swimming lessons to name a few. • The Junior School Presentation Night will be held on Tuesday 28 November beginning at 6:30 pm. It will be held at the Gold Coast Arts Centre. This is a compulsory event for all students and their families from Years 4-6 and it will be a wonderful celebration of a great year. • P-3 swimming will be held later in the term. More information will be coming home soon. • The Year 6 PYP exhibition will be held on Wednesday 18 October beginning at 7:00pm. • The Monday 16 October is a student free day. If you need care for your children on this day, OSHC is available.
The teachers take into account a large number of variables when putting the classes together to ensure that there are three relatively even classes and that the students will be put into classes that will help them to flourish. If parents have any specific requests, please email them to me by Friday 20 October. Please note that while we will consider all requests, it is impossible to meet all of them. Congratulations to Iyla King who finished 3rd in the Australian Skipping Championships. She will now represent Australia in Shanghai. Code Camp Over the school holidays we had 28 students participate in Code Camp. The students learned more about coding and creating a game app. The students were totally engaged in the coding and were very proud of their achievements. Darrin Schumacher Deputy Principal
Glass Containers There are a number of students bringing in glass water bottles and glass containers in their lunch boxes. Unfortunately some of these containers have been accidently dropped and smashed. Please do not send any glass items into school. Netball After nearly 3 months of training and preparation, our Junior School representative netball squad headed for the Sunshine Coast to compete in the Queensland State Championships Samsung Cup on 16 and 17 September. Over 120 teams participated at this major netball event, with teams being separated into 6 Divisions after Day 1 of play. St Andrews Blue were undefeated on Day 1 and moved in to Division 1, for the first time ever at this competition, but they were not finished there. They went onto play in the grand final. After full time there was no separating the two teams. Unfortunately our team was pipped at the post in extra time and finished 2nd in Division 1. (The second best school team in Queensland.) St Andrews Red also had a great day making it to the Grand final of Division 2. Thank you to all coaches and teachers who assisted the team. They also finished 2nd in their division. Congratulations to all involved. It was a truly remarkable result for both teams. 2018 Class Lists The teachers are putting together the class lists for 2018.
Head of Junior School
Chaplains Chat Scripture Alone, Faith Alone, Grace Alone…. Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV) 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 31 October 1517 is a very significant day for Lutherans across the globe. Why might that be? It is the day that a German monk by the name of Martin Luther nailed 95 points of objection to his local church door. He was concerned about the legitimacy of selling indulgences to people in his town. Hardly a person outside of his local community knew who Martin Luther was on that particular day almost 500 years ago, but his action of posting his objections set in place a series of events that have defined him as one of the most influential individuals of all time. St Andrews is inextricably connected to this event. Without it occurring our school may well not have come into existence and if it did, our ethos could be very different from what it presently is. Luther brought about radical change to the manner in which the Christian faith was lived out. During the middle ages the Church organisation dictated all sorts of traditions and practices. Many of these were instituted through human tradition and ideas. This led to practices becoming centred around what we humans could do to make sure we were right with God. An example being the purchase of a document called an indulgence that would ensure a person was forgiven by God and could proceed directly to heaven upon death. Luther found no support for this type of practice in the Bible. Instead, through careful study of the Bible he deduced that being ‘right with God’ depended upon God’s love for all people and each individual’s preparedness to receive this love by faith. This came to be known in Latin as the three ‘Solas’ - Sola Scriptura - Scripture Alone, Sola Fide - Faith Alone and Sola Gratia - Grace Alone. Meaning that it is Scripture Alone (the Bible) that determines whether something is of God or not. It is Faith Alone that makes a person right before God and all of this is by God’s Grace alone, not through anything we do in our own strength. These three concepts turned Christianity upside down and brought great freedom to people of the 1500s and this has extended down through the centuries to us today. The three ‘Solas’ impact how we do things at St Andrews today and we are very thankful to God for working through Martin Luther 500 years ago. We trust that God will continue to lead us in trusting the Scriptures as the ultimate authority in all we plan and endeavour to do and that as this happens God’s love will reign amongst us and bring light and life to all. Graeme Schache College Chaplain
From the Deputy Head of Junior School & PYP Coordinator Our Year 6 students have been enthusiastically engaged in their PYP Exhibition journey. This culminating experience is undertaken each year by the Year 6 cohort as it is the final year in the Primary Years Programme (PYP) at St Andrews. The Exhibition represents a significant event for a PYP school and each student is required to demonstrate their engagement with the five essential elements of the programme: knowledge, concepts, skills, attitudes and action. The Exhibition Unit this year will sit under the transdisciplinary theme of ‘Where We Are in Place and Time.’ The students have been involved in an inquiry process that has enabled them to identify, investigate and offer solutions to reallife issues or problems whilst working collaboratively. The students have been involved in a number of learning engagements to commence the inquiry process. We have had a number of groups heading off campus to seek answers to their inquiry questions with knowledgeable experts in the wider community.
I pray that your love for each other will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in your knowledge and understanding. Philippians 1:9 (New Living Translation) Jacqueline Faulkner Deputy Head of Junior School PYP Coordinator
Japanese News Last term, our Year 5 students took action by making 1000 cranes as part of their unit of inquiry, ‘A nation is shaped by its past.’ These cranes have arrived at the 1000 cranes club at Hiroshima International School. Another experience has been the opportunity to participate in Arts Rotations. This has enabled students to prepare special artistic aspects such as dance, drama and visual arts which will be shared during the Exhibition Evening.
We look forward to hearing that these cranes have been delivered to the Hiroshima Peace Park sometime soon. We received this from Hiroshima International School:
Voice Recordings A reminder to visit jsjapanese.weebly.com and listen to the voice recordings for Term 4 . Term 3 Japanese Thank you to all of our hard working students on their amazing work in Japanese this term .
All members of our College community are most welcome to attend the Exhibition Evening which will be held on Wednesday 18 October in the Multi-Purpose Hall commencing at 7:00pm.
Junior Library News Coding We live in a digital world where computer programs underlie several disciplines such as science, business, aviation, medicine and many more. Coding is being referred to as the 21st century literacy and as a Teacher / Librarian, literacy is my passion.
the programme Scratch (https://scratch.mit.edu/). Scratch Jr https://www.scratchjr.org/ and Bee Bots are also available for younger students. The College recently held a successful code camp during the last school holidays and this term, an afternoon code class will run for interested students. https:// codecamp.com.au/afterschool/ The code class will teach students how to code, build games and have fun. Students walk away with their very own app, playable via the Code Camp App store available for iOS and Android.
Coding makes learning meaningful. It develops understanding and many skills that students can use in everyday life. It involves logic, problem solving, computational thinking, persistence, risk taking, determination, collaboration and of course a lot of design and creativity.
If your child is interested in coding, they can join millions of other students from around the world at https://code.org/ learn. This site offers fun and engaging tutorials suitable for Years 2- 6. Book Fair I want to thank the College community for the overwhelming support towards our Book Fair at the end of last term. We sold over $8000 worth of books and received Scholastic rewards that allowed us to purchase wonderful new resources for our teachers and students. Vikki Rees Junior School Library / ICT Teacher
ELC News Car Parking: Please do not park in the ELC carpark if you are not dropping children off in the ELC. Please use the Kiss and Ride area. Have a great week! Bronwyn ELC Director At St Andrews, students have an opportunity to code using ipads within our makerspace during first break using
Performing Arts News Somerset Festival of Young Performers The Somerset Festival of Young Performers on the weekend of the 26 and 27 August was a highlight for all the PAT Drama students. It was a great chance for the students to showcase the Drama pieces that they have worked on during the year.
Gold Coast Eisteddfod Individual Drama Congratulations to the following students Scarlett Thorpe Humorous Poem 1st Place Individual Drama 2nd Place Patrick Duffy Naomi Middlebrook Encouragement Award at The Gold Coast Eisteddfod Cultural Awards Friday 20 October at 6.30pm in The Ruth Butler Theatre. This evening is a highlight of our Arts Calendar and will be our debut performance evening in our beautiful new facility. A reminder to parents who are planning to attend this event, please register your seat through Try Booking (https://www. trybooking.com/book/event?eid=306245&bof=1). There is no cost for the ticket but essential to book and bring your ticket to enter. There will be no tickets at the door. There are only a limited number of seats remaining so book to avoid missing out. Peter Pan Begins Last Thursday our Middle and Senior cast began their journey to Neverland with our first rehearsal. With close to 200 students from Years 3-11 this production promises to be amazing.
Drama students from Years 1 - 7 competed in various sections including Mime, Poetry and Group Drama. All the St Andrews students performed with confidence and expression and achieved excellent results. They displayed talent, creativity and most of all team spirit. As a teacher, the weekend was a highlight for me as I was able to witness the progression of the children’s performance skills from the beginning of the year. I would like to thank all the drama students for their hard work that culminated in such a successful festival this year. Louise Delaney PAT Drama Teacher
Priscilla Scott Head of Arts
Sport News NETBALL Our representative netball teams recently competed at the Queensland Primary Schools Samsung Cup on the Sunshine Coast. It was a massive carnival attended by more than 120 teams.
After an exhilarating two halves of fast and skillful netball, the scores were tied. Extra time for the State Championship. St Andrews Blue played so well but ran out of legs in the last few minutes and were unfortunately beaten in extra time. This was still an absolutely amazing achievement by these girls. Thank you to all involved and to the players who assisted in our preparation but couldn’t attend for the weekend. It was a great Carnival, with an outstanding group of people who represented St Andrews with skill, integrity and sportsmanship at all times.
Our ‘Red’ team had Senior students Molly O’Brien and Sophie Kenn travel to the Sunshine Coast as the coaches. They won a number of games and improved each game to finish in Division 4, which in itself is a great achievement. Our ‘Blue’ Team coached by Mrs Toni Gisinger, produced what is possibly the best result any St Andrews sports team has ever achieved at a State Championship. After remaining undefeated on Day 1, this team qualified for Division 1 playoffs. After again winning all games in their pool, they made the top four teams in the State and earned a place in the Semi Finals.
INDOOR NETBALL In another outstanding Netball achievement, Atlanta Horan also played the 4 Day Indoor Netball State Titles recently. The great news is that Atlanta has been selected for the Queensland Netball team to play at the National Titles in November. Congratulations Atlanta, and best of luck at the Nationals.
Up against a very strong Coomera Anglican team, St Andrews played superbly to win the Semi and advance to the Grand Final against Matthew Flinders College.
TOUCH St Andrews has entered a mixed team in the Queensland Primary Schools Touch competition in November. Training is being held on the Top Oval on Friday mornings from 7:00am – 8:15am. Good luck for the Carnival!
Thursday 19
BEFORE AND AFTER SCHOOL SPORTS PROGRAMS Total Football Academy will be conducting Programs for Futsal for Years 3-6 and Soccer for Years P-4 in Term 4. Our Basketball Coach Rodney will be conducting another Mini Stars Basketball program for Years 1-4. More information is available from Mr Manion and newsletters will be emailed home.
Years 4-12 Cultural Awards Evening
FUTSAL During the school holidays Bradley Douglas competed in the National Schools Futsal Competition. Brad and his team finished top of their pool in U11, winning 8 of their 10 games and qualifying for the finals. Unfortunately they were beaten in a nail biting game against Victoria losing 3-2. As a result of his performance Brad has received a letter of offer to play in the U12 Australian team next year in Malaysia. Congratulations Bradley! JUMP ROPE FOR HEART Prep to Year 6 students are learning and practising many Jump Rope skills and activities in Term 4. We will be conducting a ‘Jump-Off’ on Thursday 9 November. All Prep to Year 6 students will be involved and the Year 6 Active School Leaders will help coordinate the program. More detailed information regarding the program, how to organise sponsors and prizes, will be sent home soon. Andy Manion PSPE Teacher Junior School Sports Coordinator
Dates to Remember OCTOBER Saturday 14 Years 5-6 Samsung Cup Netball (Selected Students) Sunday 15 Years 5-6 Samsung Cup Netball (Selected Students) Year 4 Family Service, Worship Centre Family Fun Day at Varsity Lakes Monday 16 STUDENT FREE DAY / MODERATION DAY Tuesday 17 JS Chapel P-6, 1:40pm Wednesday 18 P - Year 5 TFA Soccer Week 1 JS Exhibition Evening MPH 7:00pm
JS Exhibition Day MPH Friday 20 Years 5-6 Interschool Summer Sport 6 Monday 23 JS Musical Rehearsal RBT 3:00 - 4:30pm Tuesday 24 Mufti Day-Cancer Awareness - Camp Quality JS Assembly P-6 Wednesday 25 Ruth Butler Theatre Opening and Rededication P - Year 5 TFA Soccer Week 2 Friday 27 Years 5-6 Interschool Summer Sport 1:30 - 5:00pm Lighthoude Boardroom Years 5-12 IC’17 Workshop
TECHNOLOGY AND PARENTING
insights The Myth of Multitasking by Martine Oglethorpe
Being a parent today has plenty of challenges, none more so than keeping up with what our kids are doing on their devices. This is particularly the case when we think they should be using their time more productively. These days so much of the kids’ school work and study is done on a computer or tablet that it gets tricky to discern how much of their screen time is work and how much is scrolling on Instagram or snapping on Snapchat. Of course our kids don’t see a problem with this. They believe they are pretty proficient multitaskers, able to scroll a social media feed, live stream music, answer a text message and study for their maths test at the same time. And we shouldn’t be surprised that they think this, because most of us think the same. Most parents are also now regular users of a digital device and also believe we can multitask with ease. We routinely scan Facebook while simultaneously stirring the cheese sauce, breaking up an argument in the other room and listening to our partner recap their day at work. The truth is that neither our kids nor ourselves can effectively multitask and do the best job possible at any given time. Research tells us that the brain has a finite amount of attention it can devote at any one moment in time. When we pile tasks on top of one another, we reduce the effectiveness of our brain as it must now share that limited resource amongst those multiple jobs. We are not multitasking – we are switch tasking. This means that each of those tasks takes longer as we rapidly flick our attention from one of them to another, refocusing each time. We lose momentum and we lose efficiency. So how can we help our kids (and ourselves) stay focused and concentrate on one task at a time? Have them set up study blocks This can start with time slots as short as 20 minutes in which they focus on one task only for that period. The blocks need to be timed and need to be devoted to only a single task. Turn off notifications The binging and beeping of a device will always encourage diversion as the owner feels the need to respond to their messages or check that email. By turning off all the noise-based distractions, your kids (and you) are less likely to be interrupted during a focused study period. Allow them to reward themselves Each time they manage to complete a set study period, they can be rewarded with a short break to do
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something else. If this is checking social media then they need to set a timer and stick to it. We all know how easily we can get sucked into the vortex of social media feeds and never-ending scrolling. Other breaks might involve playing with a pet or listening to a song. Getting up and moving to get the blood pumping is a great way to take a break and ensure your brain is ready to refocus when the time comes for the next block. Invest in an analogue clock Use a clock or a visual timer that counts down the time for each study period. When the brain sees time literally ticking away it finds it easier to grasp the concept of how fast time is going and, in turn, what is being accomplished in that time. This doesn’t quite work the same way when we use a digital clock, so using an analogue clock can be a really useful exercise to try. Monitor your child When parents lament to me that they don’t know if their child is doing any work, or they are always distracted by their devices, then I ask them to have the conversation with them. Find out what they are doing and if they are struggling with anything. Look at how they are keeping up with all aspects of their lives. Ask their teacher if they are still on track. Remember that monitoring your child – and not just on their devices – is the best way to ensure they are in control and getting the things done that they need to be doing. There are certainly some tasks that we can do at the same time without compromising efficiency. Hanging out the washing while listening to a podcast is something I can confidently achieve. But when it comes to more cognitive pursuits that require greater focus, then we must remember that our brains need to be able to focus solely on one task at a time in order to achieve them in the most productive manner possible.
Martine Oglethorpe Martine Oglethorpe is a speaker, counsellor and educator with a passion for building resilient kids in a digital world. Martine is available for student workshops focused on positive online behaviours, for teacher professional development on how the digital world affects what happens in the classroom and for corporate and parent information sessions. For more information head to her website themodernparent.net. Contact details: info@martineoglethorpe.com.au, themodernparent.net, facebook.com/themodernparent
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