Js bulletin 16 2015 by St Andrews Lutheran College

Issue 16 / 16 October 2015

Junior School Bulletin

Junior School News Welcome Back Welcome back to school for another busy term of great teaching and thoughtful student learning. I hope the recent school holidays were an opportunity for your children to take a well earned break and re-charge the batteries for the final part of the school year. One of our core values at St Andrews is Growth. We strive to intentionally develop young men and women who are caring, compassionate, ethical, moral, resilient, courageous, disciplined and respectful. This has been very evident when I have been conducting my ‘walk throughs’ at the start of the term. The students are very respectful and naturally welcome me with a smile. They show it in other ways little but significant things, like handing in lost money to the office. Our Year 6 students have demonstrated significant growth in their preparation for the Exhibition. They have demonstrated strong self discipline and resilience throughout the process. Exhibition Congratulations to the students of Year 6 for a fabulous presentation of the PYP Exhibition on Wednesday night. The presentations themselves were of the highest quality. As important as the outcome, was the journey where the learning took place. The students had to conduct an inquiry around their chosen topic in relation to Health and Wellness and the presentation in the MPH was a celebration of that journey. To pose and solve real world problems the students had to use higher order thinking skills, be creative in their thinking and show initiative. These are valuable life skills that are needed to be successful at school but are also highly valued by future employers.

We are very proud of our Year 6 students and the journey they have been on. Presentation Night The annual Presentation Night is a wonderful opportunity for us to celebrate another very successful school year and it is a rite of passage for our Year 6 students as they enter the next stage in their school life. This year’s Presentation Night will be held on Monday 30 November beginning at 5:00pm in the Multi Purpose Hall. 2016 Class Lists The teachers will shortly be beginning work on the 2016 class lists. They are very careful to make sure that there are three even classes. If you have a specific class requests or you have information that you believe is essential for the teachers to be aware of about your child/children please email them to me on darrins@salc.qld.edu.au All requests will be considered but no guarantees can be made. Requests for specific teachers will not be considered. Mufti-Day Each term the College holds a mufti-day to raise funds in support of local, national or international charities. This term, our focus is on Cancer Awareness and all funds raised will go towards supporting College families who are experiencing the impacts of serious illness in their homes. Mufti-Day will be held on Tuesday 10 November and students are encouraged to wear Yellow or Pink and to bring in a gold coin donation. Baked goods will also be on sale on the day to raise additional funds. Darrin Schumacher Head of Junior School

From the Deputy Head of Junior School & PYP Coordinator Term Four in Year 6 has commenced with a real buzz! All three classrooms evidenced enthusiastic inquirers who were in the final stages of preparation for the PYP Exhibition. One of the College’s strategic intentions is to ‘foster learning, the academic imperative.’ Our core business here at St Andrews is to facilitate the learning process and the PYP Exhibition is a wonderful example of how this is achieved. The Exhibition requires each student to engage in a collaborative, transdisciplinary inquiry process that involves them in identifying, investigating and offering solutions to real-life issues. Students take the lead and responsibility for their inquiries by planning, organising, and presenting their understandings with support from their class teacher and Exhibition Mentor.

Caitlyn and James making a phone call to an organisation to seek further information. Various student groups have been busy writing emails and making phone calls to primary sources of information. As a result of this communication, many groups have managed to connect with knowledgeable experts from within the College and the wider community. Students developed specific questions to discover new information and make connections with their new understandings from the primary source. (One student even travelled to Canberra during the break to personally visit The Treasury to seek further answers to questions for her inquiry!)

The PYP Exhibition is an opportunity for the students to be united together with fellow students, teachers, parents and other members of the community to celebrate the transition from Junior School and the completion of the Primary Years Program of the International Baccalaureate. This cohort was delighted to welcome many visitors and College Community members to the Exhibition Evening which was held on Wednesday 14 October. Congratulations to the Year 6 students for their effort and commitment in sharing their Exhibition process with everyone! ‘An intelligent heart acquires knowledge and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.’ (Proverbs 18:15) Jacqueline Faulkner Deputy Head of Junior School/PYP Coordinator

Wild after School Art Classes

Learn to Create, Draw and Paint..... Use your imagination, it’s fun for everyone! Monday 3:00pm - 4:30pm - Meet Outside Room B12 Most art materials are supplied, expert tuition artist/teacher and free snacks supplied. Cost: Available on request Don’t miss out, Book Now! Text/Call - 0402 328 987 or 5577 3293 after 7pm

Chaplains Chat

Year One News

It is intriguing how two people can view the same event and yet come away with quite different impressions about what actually happened. My wife and I were given the opportunity to take in a movie a few weeks back and after doing my research I decided we would see Last Cab to Darwin. Any film with Michael Caton has to be worth seeing and the reviews read really well too. It all started a little slow but as the film developed it painted a crazy but real illustration of the dilemmas surrounding euthanasia. I have very strong views about the ethics associated with euthanasia. My wife not so – she is more open minded about it being adopted in our society. The film finished and both of us celebrated that it was such a beautiful story. Then I suggested how it was so good to see the issue dealt with sensitively and wasn’t it great that it conveyed an anti-euthanasia sentiment. She replied in agreeance, re the sensitivity but she saw that the film could well be interpreted to support euthanasia. Our difference in interpretation came from the different lenses we utilised to view the film.

Bazil, Grumble and The Rainbow Fish Visit Year One! As part of our inquiry into stories, Year 1 have been entertained by “Bazil and Grumble” and our Year 10 Drama class presenting “The Rainbow Fish”. Through these wonderful performances, the Year 1 students have gained a better understanding of communicating stories through drama, song, puppetry and dance. Our entertainers also demonstrated an array of storytelling techniques which will assist Year 1 students as they write and present their own stories this term.

Making our way through life is very similar – where two people can experience similar events but there can be very different responses. An individual’s reaction to setbacks and challenges can be negative and stressful. On the other hand, the same difficulties may well be viewed as an opportunity for optimism when it is shared with our loving God. Living in the love and acceptance that God offers to us through Christ’s life, death and resurrection leads us in viewing life in a hopeful, thankful manner. It brings an orientation to our hearts that is outward looking, where we are led to be concerned for others. This lens of faith that leads to a different perspective on life is a gift from God as we share our lives with Him. He works in our hearts and minds and shapes us to be more in tune with His will, leading us to pursuing the welfare of others and being on the lookout for their well-being. This is all possible because we know we are secure in our loving God’s care. We don’t need to worry about how things will play out in the future because as Paul writes in Romans – God works all things for good for those who trust Him. It is challenging at times to live life by faith but the more we ‘have a go’ the more God confirms for us that He is on our side. May this be true for all of us as we move through the final term of 2015. Graeme Schache Chaplain PS – What do the following words say?

Terese Sheers Year 1 Teacher

Parents are welcome to discuss their options with the relevant PAT teachers or Paul Oakley-Grant at paulo@salc.qld.edu.au

Performing Arts News Dance Night 2015 Congratulations to all students who performed at our Annual Dance Night - it was a wonderful showcase of dance at St Andrews, featuring our troupes, Animi, class work and Senior Choreography assessment. We were also very fortunate to have past student Mitch Wynter perform for us.

Year 10 Drama Storytelling Last week the Year 10 Drama class travelled down the hill to perform for the Year 1 classes who are currently studying storytelling. It was a great experience for both year levels as the Year 1s had the chance to view a variety of storytelling techniques and the Year 10s had the opportunity to perform for a younger audience as an introduction to their Children’s Theatre Unit.

Cilla Scott Head of Arts Special thanks to our talented Dance teachers and especially to Miss Guild for her organisation of this wonderful showcase. Term 4 Dates As we look ahead to an exciting and busy Term 4, below are some key dates to pop in the calendar. **Further details will be available soon. Friday 23 October

Cultural Awards Evening 6.30pm RBT

Tuesday 10 November

Evening of Song (2 Sessions)

RBT

Saturday 14 November Animi Dance Concert

RBT

Thursday 19 November Piano Concerts (2 Sessions)

MPH

Tuesday 24 November

Speech and Drama (2 afternoon concerts)

RBT

Friday 27 November

Band Soiree Afternoon

RBT

Cultural Awards Evening Friday 23 October 2015, 6.30pm in RBT Come along and celebrate the year in the Arts. Awardees to be seated by 6.15pm. Performers to be in their allocated dressing rooms by 6.15pm. Mini Musos and Grade 3 Strings Continuation Form Parents of students in these programs will be emailed a form asking them to indicate whether their child intends to continue on with their instrument and join the PAT Program in 2016. Please ensure that this information is either emailed to performingarts@salc.qld.edu.au or handed to their PAT Teacher during rehearsals before Wednesday 28 October. This allows us to order instruments if required and to start our timetabling process for 2016.

Dates to Remember - October Saturday 17 & Sunday 18 Junior School Netball Carnival Sunshine Coast, selected students Monday 19 Moderation Day – Student Free Day Tuesday 20 Chapel, Worship Centre, 1.40pm Wednesday 21 Prep 2016 Orientation Evening, Multi Purpose Hall, 7.00pm P2 and Year 1 Mums Movie Night, Event Cinemas Robina, 6.30pm Friday 23 Cultural Awards Evening, Years 4-12, Ruth Butler Theatre, 6.15pm Monday 26 P-3 Incursion, Care for your Pets, Multi Purpose Hall, 10.00am Year 5 Information Evening, Multi Purpose Hall, 6.00pm Tuesday 27 Assembly, Multi Purpose Hall, 1.40pm Triple P Parenting Seminar, Cecile Ryan Centre, 6.30pm Wednesday 28 Prep Little Green Thumbs Incursion Thursday 29 Year 1 Mums’ Coffee Morning, the Paddock Bakery – after drop off Friday 30 World Staff Day Teddy Bears Picnic for Prep 2016 and Day with a Difference

P&F News AGM (Annual General Meeting) This yearâ€™s AGM is on Wednesday 25 November 7.00pm in the CRC (Cecile Ryan Centre). At the meeting all current office bearers will resign and a vote will be taken for the positions from the nominations received. All nominations must be submitted 30 days before the AGM to the President. A nomination form will be available shortly on the College website under the P & F section.

TSA's needed Traffic Safety Attendant Volunteers urgently needed on Wednesdays and Fridays. Please contact Jo-Anne Levey joannel@salc.qld.edu.au or phone 5568 5901

The office bearer positions are as follows: President Currently Daniel Renneberg (daniel@austplan.com.au) Vice President Currently Julieanne Andrews (julieanne6@optusnet.com.au) Treasurer Currently Michelle Brown (michelle@brownslawyers.com.au) Secretary Currently Nicole Ainger (bidwill16@bigpond.com) Grants Officer Currently Kim Allan Fundraising Officer (Currently Vacant) Most of the current office bearers are unable to commit to a further year on the P & F due to full time employment and family commitments and are unable to re-nominate. Please consider taking on a role on the P & F. It is a very rewarding position to hold, allowing you to be involved in a meaningful way in your child/renâ€™s school. If you would like further information on the duties of any position please feel free to contact us at pandf@salc.qld.edu.au P & F general meetings are held once a term and everyone is always welcome.

PINK & YELLOW MUFTI DAY Tuesday 10 November

Students to wear Yellow or Pink and bring in a gold coin donation. This term, our focus is on Cancer Awareness and all funds raised will go towards supporting College families who are experiencing the impacts of serious illness in their homes. Baked goods will also be on sale on the day to raise additional funds.

INSIGHTS Building parent-school partnerships WORDS Michael Grose

Developing your

child’s social media scripts

It’s important to start conversations with children about using social media at a young age to prepare them to be savvy users when we’re not around. “If a job’s worth doing, it’s worth doing

The same maxim holds true for the world

around. Here are some ideas to get you

well.”

of social media that children now inhabit

started:

This mantra always pops into mind

from an increasingly young age. Even

whenever I’m about to cut some corners

though our children are growing up

or do a rushed job in any endeavour. As a

with technology as a part of their every

result I double-check every article I write

day lives, they will still make plenty of

for mistakes. I over prepare every talk I

mistakes while using it. This means we

give. And I continually edit and re-edit my

need to have direct conversations with

books. This message keeps me at the top

our kids about the comments and posts

of my game.

that are okay to make using social media of all forms.

I can thank, or blame, my mother for

1 “Is this worth posting?” The relatively impersonal nature of social media means that we can post information and pictures with relative immunity. Also its immediacy means that we can do so without much thought. This means that kids need to be very critical about what they see online. ‘Is this accurate?’ and ‘Is this

inserting this mantra in my mind as she

As parents we teach our kids to talk

repeated it whenever I did a rushed job

politely and clearly so that they know

as a youngster making my bed, doing

how to speak to others when we’re not

homework or cleaning up my bathroom

around. In effect, we give our kids social

mess.

scripts to fall back on when they talk to

Parents of every generation have always

friends, teachers and relatives. There’s

A child who blurts out everything that

no guarantee they’ll look an adult in the

comes into his mind without thinking

eye when they speak to them, but our

is sure to put plenty of people offside.

discussions, reminders and lessons about

‘Think before you speak’ is the type of

manners will hopefully hold up when

message that every child should have

or real world intuitively knew that they

we’re not around.

in mind.

needed to teach child important lessons

The same applies to social media. Our

about safety and manners rather than

conversations and lessons will prepare

assume they’ll be understood.

them to be savvy users when we’re not

found ways to frame messages of safety and success for their children to remember. Parents of past generations who only had to contend with the offline

worth posting?’ are two valid questions children can ask when they read posts placed by others.

2 “Have you taken a big breath?”