Issue 5 / 10 May 2013
From the Head of Junior School Mothers have so many roles in the family including doctor, nurturer, disciplinarian, teacher, head chef, taxi driver and seamstress to name just a few. I feel exhausted just looking at that list, so I would like to wish all of the mothers of the College a Happy Mother’s Day on Sunday. I hope you have a great day and you get spoiled by your children with breaky in bed. The NAPLAN tests are coming up next week on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. These tests are important and we want every student to demonstrate their knowledge to the best of their ability. However, we don’t want to put too much pressure on the children because the results from these tests only form one part of an overall assessment package for your child which include classroom assignments, teacher observations, work completed in class and portfolios. We will get the results from these tests later in the year. To help your children prepare for the tests, try to keep the routine as normal as possible, make sure your children get a good night’s sleep the night before and give your child a good healthy breakfast. The Friday afternoon sports program kicked off recently with a lot of very impressive performances by our teams. It is fantastic to note that we are getting great support from our parents who are coming out to watch the games. St Andrews encourages participation from all of its students and while we celebrate our wins, we are more focused on seeing our teams improve and students grow in their ability. Please also be mindful of the fact that our coaches do their best and the sport they are coaching, may not have been a sport they have played previously. I am receiving reports that a number of students in the Junior School are being dropped off well before 7:50 am in the morning. This causes us great concern as there no teachers on duty and this compromises the safety of your child. The Senior School students participate in the Kokoda chal-
lenge where they challenge themselves both physically and mentally to cover a large number of kilometers, while reflecting on the bravery our soldiers displayed in Papua New Guinea on the Kokoda track. Students aged 6-12 can also get involved in in the history of the Kokoda Trail while embracing the Kokoda Spirit of Mateship, Courage, Endurance and Sacrifice. For more information on how they can get involved, please contact Joileen Dix joliendix@hotmail. com for further information. Darrin Schumacher Deputy Principal/Head of Junior School
From the Deputy Head of Junior School (P - 3) With a strong College focus on positive psychology, we are regularly reminded to end each day thinking of Three Good Things. I am sure that many of us would have our magnificent weather as one of our things to the grateful for over these recent weeks. We are truly blessed to live in such a beautiful part of the world, and should never cease to appreciate the majesty of God’s creation. It’s good to know this appreciation is not lost even to our youngest students. As I was driving my grandchildren home in the late afternoon last week, a little voice from the back seat declared from out of the blue, “I just LOVE sunsets!”