Issue 11 / 24 July 2015
Junior School Bulletin
Junior School News Welcome Back It was a very cool and a fresh start to the term but it was great to see the students start last Monday refreshed and raring to go. Goal setting is one proven method to help increase student performance. The reports and portfolios that were sent home at the end of last term provide a great opportunity for students to reflect on their learning and to set goals for Term 3 and the rest of the year. Athletics Carnival It was fantastic to see so many families brave the cold weather to support their children at the athletics carnival last Friday. I enjoyed watching the healthy competition that exists on a day like this and seeing the students pushing themselves to run that little bit faster, jump that little higher or throw a little further. Congratulations to all of the students who managed to achieve their personal best results and to Gowandi House for achieving the most points.
One experience of great sportsmanship that will stay with me for a long time involved two students in the 800m race. Imogen Stewart and Chelsea Lewis were running the final lap of the 800 metres when their legs got entangled. Unfortunately, Imogen tripped over. Chelsea stopped running, turned around and helped Imogen up and then they ran off together to finish the race. Chelsea actually went on to win the race. Both girls showed the St Andrews spirit and did themselves proud by the way they conducted themselves.
Clothing With the cooler weather upon us and a lot of jumpers being handed in to the office, it seems timely to remind parents to please label all student’s clothing and belongings. Anything that is labelled is easily returned to the students when we receive it. Robyn Fuller Farewell After 16 years of loyal and dedicated service, Robyn has decided to retire from her position of OSHC Manager. Robyn reflected on the amazing memories she has of her work at St Andrews OSHC and how much she enjoyed watching the children grow into mature young adults at her farewell afternoon tea which was held last Friday. Robyn will be missed and we wish her all the best for the future. Fans The new fans for the MPH have been installed. The fans will be a welcome addition to the MPH and should make those warmer days later in the year far more pleasant for the students. We would like to thank the Parents and Friends for donating the fans. Arts Week Next week we will be celebrating the Arts through our Arts Week. We have a very high number of students who are undertaking Music, Drama or Art lessons outside of normal school hours and during Arts week a lunchtime concert series will give the children an opportunity to perform. The specialist Secondary Arts teachers and students will conduct workshops that focus on visual arts and dramatic arts and the Scope photo competition will give students an opportunity to demonstrate their artistic ability through photography. The Mini Musos will give their debut performance and the conclusion to the week will be the Gala concert to showcase the diverse talents of the students. Parents are welcome to come in to watch any of the concerts. You will find an Arts Week Schedule at the end of the Bulletin. Darrin Schumacher Head of Junior School
From the Deputy Head of Junior School (P - 3) How to Help Students Apply their Knowledge... The other day I was driving my grandchildren to school and Tahlia (Year 2) asked, as she often does, “Nanna, do you want to play a game?”
ELC News Over the school holidays it was very busy in the ELC. We had the Water Police come and visit and we got to sit on the jet skis and put on the mini police lifejackets. We had an animal safety show from Gold Coast City Council teaching us about pet care and being safe around animals.
When I asked what we would play she suggested Noughts and Crosses. I responded that that would be a bit difficult while I was driving and when I was in the front seat and she was sitting behind me. She quickly said, “No, it will be easy… you can just tell me where you want me to put your crosses and I will do it for you…” and so we began a new and more challenging way of playing a simple game. This new game certainly required the application of more thinking and visualisation skills for me and Tahlia had to apply her knowledge of positional language to put my cross in the space I described… but it was a wonderful challenge and made the game far more interesting!! As we played for the 20 minutes of the journey I was reflecting on how beneficial it is to modify familiar activities to help students think more deeply as they apply their knowledge to new situations. “Transfer of learning” is a term used to describe applying what one has learnt in a particular situation to a new context. This understanding was one of the principles Junior School teachers explored in their Primary Years Program workshop in the June holidays. In the early years, students develop understanding in Mathematics by using hands-on materials to explore concepts of number, patterning, adding, grouping, sharing etc. Parents can support the development of learning by providing time for extra practice at home. Setting the table, sorting washing, shopping, playing games and extending games in new ways can all be fun ways to reinforce Maths concepts. Getting children to explain something in their own words to Grandma or Daddy, teaching a younger sibling or a slightly older cousin how to do something, and making a pictorial diary are great ways to extend and reflect on learning.
Junior Kindy looked at what is NAIDOC week. Pre Prep 1 have been exploring numbers and words. They have also shown an interest in castles and treasure maps. Pre Prep 2 have been learning about the planets and discovering amazing facts and then they created their own little space world.
Happy exploring and playing!! Joy Schloss Deputy Head of Junior School “so that you may live worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects-bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God.” Colossians 1:10 (NET Bible) Bronwyn Waters ELC Director
Chaplains Chat
Junior School Japanese News
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God. Ephesians 2:8
Term 3 Japanese has started with all students engaging in thinking routines to begin our new units of inquiry.
Recently, I have begun reading a popular Christian book entitled, “What’s so amazing about grace?” In the book the author Philip Yancey describes what grace is – underserved goodness or kindness towards others e.g. the “grace period” offered by rental car companies and those holding our mortgage – and then he goes on to provide a healthy critique of grace in society and in the church. Sadly, there are many examples Yancey is able to provide where grace is either not offered or the opposite of grace is given. Rather than focussing on the negative examples of grace so prevalent in the world, it is nice to think about the positive ones. For example, how is it that we can show grace toward others in our everyday life? The longer we dwell on this question the more we realise there are a multitude of ways we can show grace toward others. Let me provide some examples to get you started: we can show grace towards others by overlooking small offences, not keeping a record of wrongdoing, providing more food than necessary, offering to help, laughing with others, valuing the gifts that someone else can bring, being a friend to someone without many friends or by listening (really listening) to someone else’s story. These are all acts of grace – undeserved kindness towards others and I bet you could think of more. It is no surprise then that people prefer to hang around gracious people – those who love them, receive them, welcome them and, sometimes, forgive them – than they do hanging around people who are always on their case, critical of everything, sticklers for rules and generally unhappy with life. The first is life-giving the second is life-crushing. I would like to encourage everyone reading this copy of the bulletin to think of five gracious deeds they could do this week to those closest to them. Please don’t feel ashamed or dismayed if you can recall times where you have been ungracious or unkind – we all have a tendency to do that – but, for now, let us think about how we may offer the gift of grace toward others. The greatest grace, of course, that humankind has received and that spurs us on to be kind and gracious towards others is the gift of grace the world has been given in Christ Jesus. God could have, I suppose, left the world to its own devices and its own destruction but, instead, he chose to offer the world through Jesus the gift of reconciliation and forgiveness. It was and is a totally undeserved kindness and one that we couldn’t offer ourselves even if we tried. It had to come from God. It was his way of saying, “Don’t worry about it anymore; I have forgiven you through Jesus. This was part of my plan. It is my grace toward you.” Nathan Glover College Pastor
Each unit of inquiry consists of Question and Answer patterns along with new vocabulary. Please listen to a voice recording of these that has been emailed to you. (These can also be found on the Junior School Moodle page.) We look forward to great things in Japanese this term. Sharon Taki Junior School Japanese Coordinator
Junior School Library News
Dates to Remember - July/August
An A-Z of Learning to Read: A Guide for Parents This resource is presented in weekly instalments designed for parents to support their child and to understand the reading process.
JULY Sunday 26 Year 6 Church Service, 9.00am Worship Centre Monday 27 Junior School Arts Week (27th to 31st July) SCOPE Photography Competition, closes 28 July Tuesday 28 ICAS Comp English Years 4-6 Opera Queensland Performance, RBT 9.00am Year 5 Colonial Day Chapel, Worship Centre, 1.40pm Thursday 30 Australian Maths Comp Gakkyouhin Students Visit from Japan 12.00pm to 3.00pm Mini Musos Debut Soiree, RBT 3.30pm Friday 31 Junior School Gala Performance, RBT, 6.30pm august Saturday 1 Higashino Highschool Visit Monday 3 Hinterland Track and Field Carnival Tuesday 4 Assembly, Multi Purpose Hall, 1.40pm Thursday 6 JS Gold Coast Dance Eisteddfod, Gold Coast Arts Centre, 11.00am
WEEK 1: Glossary of Reading Terms WEEK 2: Print Awareness WEEK 3: Alphabet WEEK 4: Phonological Awareness WEEK 5: Phonics WEEK 6: Phonemic Awareness WEEK 7: Whole Language WEEK 8: Reading Strategies Learning to Read Guide for Parents Jula Boulton Teacher Librarian
Performing Arts News Gold Coast Eisteddfod Below are the session times for this year’s Gold Coast Eisteddfod. All groups will receive notes before the end of Term with further details. NB: All sessions are at The Arts Centre Gold Coast. JS Dance Troupe
Thursday 6 August 11am
MS Song & Dance Troupe Thursday 6 August 3.30pm MS Elite Dance Troupe
Thursday 6 August 6pm
Semitone Choir
Monday 10 August 9am
Golden Clef Choir
Wednesday 12 August 5.30pm
MS/SS Choir
Thursday 13 August 2pm
Combined Dance Troupe
Friday 14 August 8am/1pm/6pm Sessions
JS Concert Band
Monday 17 August 5.30pm
Mini Musos
Tuesday 18 August 5pm
Concert Band
Thursday 20 August 11am
Percussion Ensemble
Thursday 20 August 7pm
Jazz Band
Friday 21 August 8.30am
Save the Children
A big thank you to our knitters, crocheters, blanket assemblers and team recruiters from Save the Children! The 32 blankets and 12 toys from St Andrews will be distributed in Queensland to children who are helped by Save the Children’s Intensive Support programs.
Instrument Storage Students in the Junior School are reminded to store their instruments in the Instrument Storage area in Music (J Upper) or in the Front Dressing Room (Day storage only). Students are discouraged from walking their instruments down to the JS and storing on top of bag racks. The only exception would be flute which can fit in school bags.
Save the Children would be grateful for us to continue with our support. So please keep knitting and crocheting.
Cilla Scott Head of Arts
Toni Bartel Home Economics
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
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
5nthly
Mo zes Pri
It’s back!
Earn 1 sticker for every $10 you spend.
Starting now, when anyone from our College community - staff, parents, friends shop at Woolworths, they can collect stickers to place on sticker sheets. Completed sticker sheets can be placed in the collection box at Junior School Administration or handed into Senior School Administration. This means our College can choose resources based on its specific needs, across all learning areas, including Maths, English, Science, Art and Craft, Outdoor and Active, Music & more.
CONGRATULATIONS!!
Karinne S. Our monthly prize winner for July
Celebrate Arts Week YOU ARE INVITED
27th July - 31st July Please join us to celebrate Arts Week! Support your friends while having fun at our concerts.
ARTS WEEK CONCERT SERIES PROGRAM When
Concert
Time
Venue
Monday 27th July
Brass & Woodwind
11.00-11.25am
JS Music Room
Tuesday 28th July
Speech & Drama
11.00-11.25am
JS Music Room
Wednesday 29th July
Strings & Piano Voice
11.00-11.25am 11.00-11.25am
MPH JS Music Room
Thursday 30th July
Piano Voice Mini Muso’s Debut
11.00-11.25am 11.00-11.25am 3.30-4.00pm
MPH JS Music Room RBT
Friday 31st July
Piano Guitar Gala
11.00-11.25am 11.00-11.25am 6.00-7.15pm
MPH JS Music Room RBT
INSIGHTS Building parent-school partnerships
Teach your kids about time and place
WORDS Michael Grose
My mum used to tell me, “There’s a time and place for everything Michael, and this is not the time and place to behave like that!” My mum’s words came back to me as I watched three kids (tweens and early teens) try to out-wrestle and out-shout each other while they waited in an airport queue with their parents. Their noise and wrestling quite obviously disturbed and interfered with fellow travellers, but their parents made no attempt to rein in their behaviour. I couldn’t help thinking that there is a time and place for this type of behaviour and THIS WAS NEITHER OF THOSE!
Time and place is a brilliant socialisation lesson for children of any age or era to absorb. It starts by asking yourself as a parent: “What does this social situation reasonably require of my children at their age and stage of development?” In the above case it’s reasonable to expect tweens and teens to be able to stand in a queue without disturbing others for the ten minutes that it took to get service. It’s should be easy for that age group to show some self-control and consideration for others. That timeframe maybe a stretch for under fives, but some parental attention to distract them from being bored may do the trick. The principle is the same regardless of age or a child’s developmental stage, but the application varies.
Socialising kids It’s a parent’s job to socialise your kids. That is, it’s your job to develop a sense of OTHER so that they become aware of how their behaviour impacts on others. Many kids have L Plates when it comes to behaving in public so they need your assistance to behave according to the requirements of the situation – or according to the time and place. You do this by:
1 Giving your kids social scripts There are times when kids don’t know what to say or how to act in different social situations. “Here’s what you can say when you meet Mrs. Smith…..” is the type of preemptive social scripting that benefits most boys, kids on the autism spectrum as well as kids who need extra help to get on with others.
2 Regular behaviour rehearsal Practise appropriate social behaviours at home so kids know how to behave around others. For example, you can role-play a restaurant situation by serving your kids’ meals at the dinner table and expecting them to use their manners.
3 Just-in-time prompts It helps to remind in positive terms how kids should speak and act around others before entering a social situation or a special place
such as a church, airport or restaurant. “In church most people…….”
4 Teaching good manners Manners are social guidelines that teach kids how to behave around others. While some conventions change over time, basic good manners such as saying ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ never change. They are the basis of a civil society. Kids are never too young to start learning manners.
5 Respectful use of consequences While the best discipline happens before an event (through behaviour rehearsal, prompts and teaching manners) there are times when the only way to get a message across about time and place is to DO something if the kids’ behaviour thoughtlessly or deliberately impinges on the rights of others. And the best action may be WITHDRAWAL from the place or activity that they are doing. That may mean that the kids (and you) miss out on an activity or being in a special place but such lessons are rarely forgotten and reinforce your important messages.
Time and place is a great parenting message for kids to learn. It’s about consideration for others; it’s about selfcontrol and above all else, it’s about fitting into different social situations.
e from Michael Grose. Join Stay one step ahead of your kids with great ideas & expert advic b.com.au. You’ll be so glad you did. Michael’s NEW Parentingideas Club today at parentingideasclu
parentingideas.com.au
© 2015 Michael Grose