Junior School Bulletin, Issue 15, 29 November 2013

Issue 15 / 29 November 2013

God’s Gifts and TalentsIn the last two weeks we have had the opportunity to cel-ebrate the God given talents of the students at St Andrews Lutheran College. We celebrated the physical prowess of our athletes at the Sport awards evening. We acknowl-edged the academic and service awards at a recent assem-bly. We enjoyed concerts in Music, Dance and Drama. It has certainly been a very busy couple of weeks, but an enjoy-able one celebrating the gifts and talents that God has so richly blessed our students.

Volunteers We are fortunate to have so many wonderful volunteers at St Andrews Lutheran College. To anybody who has volun-teered their time this year at St Andrews this year, I would like to say a sincere and heart felt thank you. It is the part-nership that exists between the parents who volunteer their time and the hard working teachers that make St Andrews a truly wonderful place for students to get a well-balanced, caring and rigorous education.

Christmas BreakThe Christmas break is a long time between classes. It is a great opportunity for the children to rest the mind and re-charge the batteries. I would encourage all children to read every day, practice number facts on a regular basis, limit the amount of screen time and have some great adventures outside.

Year 6 GraduationLast night was the annual graduation dinner for students in Year 6. We were able to celebrate their journey through

From the Head of Junior School

primary school and Mrs Warner and Mr Casey welcomed the students into Middle School. It was a fantastic night with great food, entertaining conversation and wonderful dancing. Thank you to the parents who helped with the or-ganization of the event and decorating the venue. A good night was had by all. Don’t forget the closing chapel service on Friday at 9:30 am.

Merry ChristmasThis will be the last bulletin for 2013. I would like to take this opportunity to wish everybody a happy and blessed Christmas with family and friends. You are invited to join us for worship over Christmas. The Christmas worship times are 6:30pm Christmas Eve and 9:00am Christmas Day.

Darrin SchumacherDeputy Principal/Head of Junior School

The College Community would like to thank Councillor Daphne McDonald for her kind donation towards the “Girls with a Purpose” initiative and the “Growing Good Men” projects.

From the Deputy Head of Junior School (P - 3)& the Deputy Head of Junior School & PYP Coordinator Chaplains Chat

Waiting….. And AdventThe ‘Church’ year has just ended and we have begun the new one with a 4 week period of time referred to as Advent. During this time we await the arrival of Jesus at Christmas. We make prepa-rations for the celebration of this most wonderful event. But there is a second compo-nent of waiting too. It is waiting for the return of Christ at the end of time. Either way, both involve waiting. Waiting is something that we tend to struggle with as humans. Wait-ing in airports is one of people’s pet hates. It can be tedious and seen as a waste of time. I know I have felt that way as flights are delayed and travel plans are put back. Dr Seuss addresses this idea in his book – “The Places You’ll Go”. He has his character enjoying all manner of adventures until things begin to go astray…. And the lead character ends up at the Most Useless of places.. the waiting place.

We are so conditioned to being busy and productive, that waiting is viewed as useless and detrimental to positive living. I know I view it this way. I struggle to wait 5 minutes for my daughter without lamenting how it is a waste of time. Upon reflecting on this, it struck me how waiting can be a positive time to actually connect with ourselves and more importantly, connect with our Creator. The frenetic pace of life leaves us with little time for prayer and one on one time with God. As we move through the season of Advent – waiting for the celebration of Christmas, let’s see if we can alter our view of waiting from it being a useless place to one that embraces it as a chance to spend time with our Loving God and be recharged through our con-nection with him and let him know how special he is.

Graeme SchacheChaplain

Year 6 News

Thank you

Year 6 Saves LivesYear 6 are saving lives in Africa! As part of the PYP Exhibi-tion Year 6 have decided to take action and donate the gumboots used in the Exhibition performance to the Chris-tian charity organisation “To The Nations” (TTN). The gumboots will be taken to Africa and given to people living in poverty, with poor or no footwear. Footwear is so valuable to these people, especially in the swamp areas, where there are millions of mosquitos that just about fly off with you!!! But more importantly, people in some areas have to wear old plastic coke bottles on their feet. They do this to prevent a very horrible tiny parasite entering their

It is certainly hard to believe that we are almost at the end of another school year. It has certainly been a year of spe-cial celebrations and as we reflect on all that has happened we cannot help be give our grateful thanks to our God for the way he has blessed our College community.Yes, it has been incredibly busy at times, but at those times we know we can count on one another. That has certainly been true with our annual College Fete, our 20th Anniver-sary events, Junior School Musical, our Carnivals, Discos, Assemblies, Award Celebrations to name just a few. The work of students, parents and other volunteers, and staff has been appreciated beyond words, but again we say THANK YOU.

A special thank you to our teachers for the rich learning op-portunities that have occurred in all our classrooms. It has been rewarding to see the engagement of students and to watch their growth over the year. I know many of our staff will approach next week with that tinge of sadness as they think about saying “Goodbye” to their current classes …. but, in another sense, it is not goodbye for the relationships just change, not end!!

Our prayer at this time of the year is for a safe and refreshing holiday period for all our families, and for a blessed Christmas as we remember again God’s gift of Love, Peace, Hope and Joy as we celebrate the birth of Jesus.

Jacqueline and JoyThe Deputy Head of Junior School & PYP Coordinator and From the Deputy Head of Junior School (P - 3)

Year 3 News

During the Unit of Inquiry “How We Express Ourselves,” Year 3 students have been investigat-ing how people from around the world celebrate and commemo-rate special occasions and the cul-tural significance of these events. As an extension of their explora-tion into this diverse and interest-ing topic, students engaged in cross-cultural and cross-artistic forms such as dance, song and performance. Last week, this process culminated into a highly entertaining and energetic afternoon performance for parents, teachers and younger students of our St Andrews community.

Throughout the performance, the Year 3’s magically trans-ported their audience to places like Hawaii and The Middle East. Smiles were shared all round and the level of commit-ment as demonstrated by the students was outstanding!

Year 2 News

On the 20th of November the Year Two’s were fortunate to be invited, once again, to the annual ARL Funday held at Firth Park. The day was a great success. All areas of the Australian Curriculum are integrated into the day. The students loved meeting several Titans players including Luke Bailey.

We would like to thank the professionalism of the organis-ers and instructors. Australian Rugby League in combina-tion with the Titans created a unique and enjoyable day. Our students also enjoyed the media coverage of the event – some of which can be viewed at http://www.titans.com.au/news-display/Smiles-all-round-at-junior-fun-day/87593 Merry Christmas from the Year Two Team

bodies via their feet. Once in the body the parasite then breeds until eventually getting into the host’s blood stream, where it travels to the heart and kills them! Donating the gumboots will help save the lives of over 80 people! The African situation is extremely upsetting but we are very happy to be able to help make their lives better. Thank you for all your support and to Mr and Mrs Gooch who made this opportunity possible. Lucy TurnbullYear 6 Student

Tuckshop News

WOW! This year has just flown by! Next year will be an exciting year for us as we will be mov-ing in our new Tuckshop! We will be looking forward in making a variety of fresh and exciting new dishes that the staff and students will all enjoy! Thank you again to the volunteers who have given their time to us. It has been a pleasure meeting and working with you all.

Flexi School will hold any remaining monies that you have in your account and will be ready for use next year. Upon logging into Flexi Schools 2014, it will prompt you for your child’s new class, please insure that you update the details immediately as we don’t keep a track of student classes. Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Trina van der KampTuckshop [email protected]

PAT 2014Unless a cancellation form is received, PAT enrolments will rollover into 2014. The only exception to this is current Mini Musos and Year 3 Strings Players who need to complete an intention to join the PAT Program form which has been sent home. Any enquiries regarding this can be emailed to performingarts @salc.qld.edu.au Students wishing to join the PAT Program in 2014 can enrol via the College WebsiteMini Musos 2014Letters of offer have been emailed home. Please respond via email before Friday 29th Nov to secure your child’s position in the program. After this date second round offers will be made.

Priscilla Scott Head of [email protected]

Art News

Japanese News

Prep-Sharing The PlanetOn Wednesday, November 13, the Prep students went on an excursion to the Tani Tei En Japanese Garden in the Currumbin Valley. Tan Tei En is listed with Open Gardens Australia and can be enjoyed by the public once every two years.

Prep students were fortunate to have a special opening hosted by owners, Bob and Yvonne Marshall. Bob and Yvonne shared their Japanese garden and provided an au-thentic, real learning experience for the students.

Prep students have been learning about Japanese garden elements, how they complement each other, their connec-tion to the surrounding environment and the tranquility they provide.

It was heartwarming to see the St Andrews student’s faces light up when they saw the garden elements that we had been inquiring about in class. The students’ favourite as-pect was the stepping-stones across the lake in front of the waterfall.

Below are some reflections from the day.P1 - Noah, “You are not allowed to have koi (carp) in Queensland.” Saskia “I saw the ike (pond).”P2 - Harvey “I liked the taki. (waterfall)” Ella “Bashi means bridge.” P3 - Cameron “The deer scarer scares the deers away. (Shishi odoshi)” Lexi “There are moths in the Japa-nese gardens.”

Parents and Friends Association

St Andrews P & F NewsThe P & F would like to wish all the families and staff of St Andrews a very happy and safe Christmas.

During first term next year the annual Picnic in the Park will be held, which is a good way to start the year and meet parents.

The talented students of St Andrews will perform and a jumping castle will be there for the younger children.We are still interested to hear from anyone who has any ideas for fundraising next year, as it is a non fete year. There are a number of large projects which have been sug-gested the P & F may fund, including a Grandstand on the top oval and the fit out of the new Tuckshop which will be built under the CRC in 2014.

The first meeting of 2014 will be held in Term 1 on the 12th March and we will be looking to introduce a new “terms of reference” to replace the existing Constitution. The Constitution included the business units (Uniform and Tuckshop) which the P & F is no longer responsible for. The new terms of reference are available on the website and we welcome any comments you may have at the next meeting or by emailing [email protected]

We look forward to welcoming the new parents into the school community next year.

SponsorsThe P & F would like to thank the following sponsors for their continued support of our College. Please show your support for these businesses.

Dates to remember December

Tuesday 3 Prep to Year 11 Christmas Service – Multi Purpose Hall – 8.45am Parents WelcomeYear 4 Mums’ Dinner – Talle Thai Restaurant – 7.00pmThursday 5 Class Party DayFriday 6 Closing Chapel – 9.30am – Worship CentreLast Day for StudentsTuesday 24 Christmas Eve Service, Worship Centre 6:30pmWednesday 25 Christmas Day Service, Worship Centre 9:00amJanuaryTuesday 28 New Students Orientation DayWednesday 29 Junior School Students commence Term 1 2014

by Michael Grose - No. 1 parenting educator

Want your child to be successful way past the confines of the school gate?

Then you need to make sure your child is tolerant of individual differences and accepting of children and adults who look and act differently to them.

There’s no doubt that success in today’s world depends on the ability to understand, appreciate and work with others. The child who is open to differences is likely to have more opportunities in school, in business and in life in general.

Schools are diverse places

Walk into any school ground in Australia and you’ll witness diversity firsthand. You’re likely to see children from many different cultural, racial and family backgrounds. You’ll also see kids with different needs and diverse ways of expressing themselves. Some kids will wear their hearts on their sleeves, while others will be taciturn and quiet. Tolerant kids are accepting of these differences. They make friends with children and young people who may look and act differently to them.

Intolerance breeds bullying

Intolerance, or prejudice, is at the heart of a great deal of the bullying that occurs among children and young people. Kids who look and act differently or who are more isolated often experience bullying for no apparent reason other than the fact that they are ‘different’. Whole-hearted acceptance and even appreciation

Tolerance: a vital ingredient for your child's success

of differences is a preventative bullying measure that we can all support.

Tolerance starts at home

Kids learn attitudes such as tolerance from those around them. Children in primary school usually reflect the attitudes of their parents. While adolescents are strongly influenced by their peers, parental attitudes still have a significant impact on their attitudes to other people. In short, if you want your child to be accepting of differences – whether they are racial, cultural, behavioural or in sexual orientation – then make tolerance a family trait. Here’s how:

Help your child feel accepted, respected, and valued. When your child feels good about himself, he is more able to treat others respectfully.

Model acceptance. Kids learn what they live so make sure you welcome differences in others, and be sensitive to cultural or racial stereotypes. It also helps on a practical level to discuss prejudice and stereotypes when they occur in the media.

Challenge prejudice or narrow-minded views. Sometimes kids, knowingly or unknowingly, can say the cruellest things about others. As a parent respectfully remind your child or young person about the impact that a narrow view can have on his or her own behaviour as well as on those it may be directed towards. Intolerance of diversity is an attitude that parents should make a stand against.

Answer kids’ questions about differences honestly and respectfully. Teach your kids that it is acceptable to notice and discuss differences as long as it is done with respect.

Respect individual differences within your own family. Your ability to accept your children's differing abilities, interests and styles will go a long way towards establishing an attitude of tolerance in the children themselves. By valuing the uniqueness of each member of your family you are teaching your kids to value the strengths in others, no matter how diverse.

Modern Australia is such a wonderful culturally-rich place. This diversity is part of its magic. One way to make sure our children fully appreciate this richness is to fully embrace tolerance in everything we do.

2013 Michael Grose

Michael Grose PresentationsPO Box 167 Balnarring Vic 3926 p + 61 3 5983 1798 f (03) 5983 1722 e [email protected] rights reserved. For more ideas, support and advice for all your parenting challenges please visit our website.

facebook.com/Parentingideas.com.autwitter.com/michaelgrose

parentingideas.co.ukparentingideas.com.au parentingideas.co.nz

Kids who accept differences in others are setting themselves up for success in the world of diversity that they will enter.