Middle/Senior School Bulletin Issue 3 / 4 March 2016 Middle & Senior School News Courage and Wisdom Our Virtues themes for Term 1 are Courage and Wisdom and this week our College Captains led our Monday chapel with a focus on the Prophets and a clear message: ‘If we follow in God’s will we won’t be left somewhere hurtful or detrimental to us. He will always lead us in the right direction.’ We might not always understand why things happen or God’s plan and sometimes things can be difficult and scary but it is in those times that faith comes into play. Tia, Izak, Khali and Ben also explored the notion of self-fulfilling prophecies with the Secondary School staff and students and the importance of a positive mindset and attitude. The message also reminded students that parents and teachers, like the wisdom offered by the prophets, are trying to help us to stay on the right path and headed in a fruitful direction. On Tuesday, Sophie Breach, Tia Lightbody, Samantha Murrant and Khali Robins ran a Womens Assembly and shared their stories and encouragement for our girls to be courageous - simply summed up by the statement, “you do you.” The group of nine students heading on the Service Learning Tour to East Timor at the end of June led Wednesday’s chapel sharing their reasons for wanting to be part of this experience and how they will be relying on their Courage to face what this tour might bring. As a College community, our focus will be on raising awareness around the key issues facing the people of East Timor and in particular the village of Bahareduk, and raising enough funds to build two homes in that village. Each house costs approximately $5000.
Real-World Experiences Eighteen of our senior Business Studies students commenced their Griffith University Business School Outreach Program last week. Throughout their studies, they will experience university lectures and tutorials in Business which enables them to see if a degree is something they would like to pursue when they finish Year 12. The program also helps to transition students from school to university life.
Year 12 Hospitality students went on an excursion to Currumbin RSL last week where they toured the facility and were advised of the initiatives introduced by Currumbin RSL to reduce their carbon footprint. Students also gained knowledge of presentation and service of food and beverage in a busy club setting. Last Friday night a group of ROSIES helpers visited with members of the Gold Coast community who are marginalised, homeless on the verge of homelessness or simply lonely and in need of outreach support in Southport and Surfers Paradise. I happened to come across Tia Lightbody and Mrs Bartel on Friday afternoon and they were baking jam drop biscuits for Tia to take with her to ROSIES. I’d like to thank and affirm all of the students who are assisting at ROSIES. Next week is the annual Australian Lutheran World Service (ALWS) Awareness week. This year the theme is “Goodness Grows - Our Planet - Our People, Our Purpose” and Mrs Hancock will be taking a group of Year 9 students up to participate in a special Service Learning event hosted at Redeemer Lutheran College Rochedale. I’d also like to congratulate the students who came in free dress last Tuesday. Our Term 1 Mufti-Day raised $1462.65 which will be donated to the Bushfire Appeal.
Taken by Year 12 student Oliver Waddingham in 2015
Inter-House Swimming Carnival Congratulations to all of the students for their wonderful participation and spirited competition at the Inter-House Swimming Carnival. A special congratulation is extended to Wardjam House; led by the House Captains, Casey Wade
and Gene Huang (Senior School) and Kyra Pearse and Caitlyn Gabriel (Middle School), on their hard-fought win, and to all of the competitors for their spirit, enthusiasm and participation. There were only a handful of points between our first and second placed House. The event in itself was superb due to the active involvement and House spirit shown by all students! Sincere appreciation is extended to Mr Manion, the Grounds Staff and Sports Department team, and also to the staff and parent helpers for their assistance at the pool. It was great to see so many parents coming along to support their children. Age Champions will be listed in the Sports Section.
Chaplains Chat Last week the College was afloat with joy and laughter and the serious business of racing each other at both the Secondary School and Years 4-6 swimming carnivals. It was a joy to be there and take some photos on behalf of the College. It got me thinking that our spiritual life is a race, too. It is not the usual race where the objective is to beat our opponents but it is a race to the finish nonetheless and it is important that we keep our eyes on the prize. Christians believe the “prize” is a daily life free from the burden of fulfilling God’s law by our own effort and, when we die, the gift of eternal life with God in heaven.
New Staff Libby Wood joined the College as the Secondary School Sports Coordinator last week. She comes to us with experience in both secondary and tertiary education. Her most recent appointment was Head of Physical Education at Saint Stephen’s College at Upper Coomera. During her time there she took an active role in coaching girls basketball, became qualified as a personal trainer and introduced several VET courses in Fitness and Sports Development for senior students. Libby is originally from Sydney, and apart from working in schools coordinated a Health and Movement degree at the Australian College of Physical Education. She also spent 2 years as the Head of Boarding at Kincoppal Rose Bay School before moving with her family to the Gold Coast. Libby has a passion for literacy and takes great pleasure seeing students develop their physical and cognitive skills through active sports engagement. She values health and fitness and hopes to enhance the already extensive Sports programs St Andrews offers. Finishing Strong There are but three weeks left of Term 1 and I’d like to remind students that now is a very good time to revisit their goals; academic and otherwise, to reflect on their progress towards achieving them and to make a plan to tackle the busy assessment period that lies ahead. We are working right up to the end of term. On our last day of term, Thursday 24 March, we will run our Inter-House Cross Country carnival in the afternoon in lieu of AGCC sport. Virginia Warner Deputy Principal Head of Secondary School
The apostle Paul knew of such a race and even though he had lots of important things he could boast about, he chose to boast only about Jesus Christ and to seek after His prize. Paul said that he was a “Hebrew of the Hebrews” and in regards to God’s law and being a Pharisee, he was faultless (Philippians 3:5). In other words, Paul had a good reputation amongst his peers and an enviable list of qualifications. Yet, despite all these things in his favour, Paul said he considered it all nothing in comparison to knowing Jesus Christ and the joy it was to be forgiven and participate in the power of His resurrection. So instead of chasing after the usual suspects of power, position, prestige and perfection, Paul said the only thing he was interested in chasing – the only race he was willing to participate in – was the race involved in seeking after Jesus and gaining more and more of the wonderful things that come from Him. Paul wrote: I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 3:12b-14 (NIV) Paul’s attitude and determination to seek after the Christian prize is a wonderful example to us all. Like Paul, many of us have qualifications, experiences or other things that count in our favour but the one thing that really counts, according to Paul, is our relationship with Jesus. May God help us in the race of life to keep our eye on the prize – not any prize – but the prize that matters most, Jesus. Nathan Glover College Pastor
Middle School News Debating and Participation in Cocurricular Activities In the course of the next week we will have approximately fifty students from Years 7-11 begin participating in the Gold Coast Debating Association’s annual competition. This is a significant increase from our single team of six students in 2014 and highlights the growing participation of students in life at the College beyond the classroom. Whether it be through the performing arts, chess, futsal, touch, study club, Xtra-Tech or peer tutorials there is an increasing range of opportunities for students to either consolidate their daily learning or extend their learning into new fields. I encourage parents to ask their children how they can be further involved in the life of the College as this participation provides a richer educational experience for all. Assignments, Exams and Stressful Times We are entering that time of the term when students begin to experience the inevitable stressors that are a part of any schooling experience. On a formal note – applications for extensions in assignments may be sought by completing a form available from Middle School Administration and liaising with the relevant teacher (in advance) of the due date. On a practical note – learning how to cope with deadlines and commitments is an important part of schooling and the Middle School staff are very good at assisting students to learn these important skills. While as parents we may wish to step in and smooth this process; however, to do so can sometimes just muddy the waters for the years ahead. As always, please contact me should you wish to discuss anything further. Tom Casey Head of Middle School
Senior School News Positive Education Through our pastoral care program (LAG time, assemblies and chapels) our students have been working through the virtues of Courage and Wisdom. Recently, I discussed with the Senior School the courage and wisdom that it takes to know when one has made a mistake and more importantly what can be learnt from that mistake. If possible it is always appropriate to put that mistake right and sometimes a simple apology will be enough. But often there is also an opportunity to learn from that mistake so that it doesn’t happen again. This is where true self-reflection is so important. Our mindset around our mistakes and failures impacts on our resilience and wellbeing. A fixed mindset might lead us to ruminate; to go over and over our mistake which often
leads to stress, anxiety and a dip in self-confidence which gets us nowhere. Self-talk such as, ‘I made a mistake, I’m stupid, helpless, a failure, a bad person, a bad friend,’ rob of us our energy, purpose, resilience and stop us from using our strengths. If you notice this sort of thinking in your child(ren) you can encourage a reframing of response to show a growth mindset. Encourage them to see mistakes and setbacks as an opportunity for growth. For example, ‘that did not go well, why did that happen, what could I have done differently, how can I fix it and what can I learn from this situation so it doesn’t happen again?’ Self-talk and reflection is an opportunity to tap into our strengths; to use those virtues of courage and wisdom to learn and bounce back, better and wiser. Throughout the term, students have been encouraged to realise how important it is to reflect critically (but kindly) on our actions, mistakes, weaknesses and when faced with these challenges, to use our Signature Strengths to act, grow and learn. Signature Strengths are those strengths that are unique to us and when used make us feel authentic, energised and purposeful. All of our students know their Signature Strengths and parents might like to talk to their child(ren) about their strengths and how they are using them to face life’s challenges, engage with our community, serve others, be a good friend and achieve our personal bests. Our focus at school will see us continuing to explore creating a strengths challenge to focus on; building one of our Signature Strengths or discussing a particular strength and identifying ways to use that strength. Some tools that the Senior School students and staff will be using can be found on the following links: www.strengthschallenge.com www.showupshineandsucceed.com Over the next few weeks as we get closer to the academic pointy-end of the term we will also be closely monitoring student engagement in class, the ability of student’s to meet deadlines (including important draft deadlines), stress levels and positive emotions. As we know when our students are positive, engaged, connected and have good relationships (particularly with their teachers) they will achieve to their potential more easily. The hard work is still required but they are more capable of being tenacious and gritty in pursuit of those long-term goals and ticking off the actions that they need to take to reach those goals. In LAG we will be reviewing the goals set at the beginning of term. I urge parents to also have a discussion with their child(ren) about these goals which can be found in the Student Diary and how on track they feel about achieving them. It may be that they need to make changes or put an action into place that may have slipped to improve their chances of reaching their goal. Refocusing on goals certainly helps with maintaining ones’ academic tenacity. Academic Matters If your child is absent for an assessment, please contact Senior Administration on the day. If it is an assignment every effort needs to be made to submit it on time and if this is not possible at the very next opportunity/school day. For Year 11 and Year 12 students a Medical Certificate or documentation to explain the absence is required. This policy is in line with QCAA requirements. If a draft is not handed in on the due date without explanation, then the student is expected
to submit it ASAP and attend an academic detention. If students are injured, ill or absent for long periods then it is possible to seek an extension to assessment or reschedule an examination by completing the appropriate documentation (at least 48 hours prior to the due date). These forms can be obtained from Mrs Wrigley, Ms Stewart or the Year Level Coordinators. If you have any queries, please contact myself or Mrs Wrigley.
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Gowandi House for promoting the best House Spirit I have ever seen at St Andrews. Their enthusiasm, war cry, chants and energy during the recent house meeting and war-cry off left the other Houses behind. Particularly impressive was House Captain, Jackson Gisinger.
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Mrs Dockstader for getting our first Book Club of the year rolling. We had a start up group of 10 students, myself and Miss Anderson attend. There was some lively discussion around our favourite books. It is so great to hear the passion and enthusiasm these young people have for reading and most of us ended up borrowing a book that was recommended. We meet every week in the CRC on Wednesday from 1.00pm.
Congratulations to: • Our Leo Executive (Olivia English, Keely McVay, Hayden Verschuure and Jasmine Sheers) for running the Leo Induction and Installation of new members and officers last week. It was a lovely afternoon sharing the passion for community service with our sponsors Tallebudgera Lions, Lions Assistant District Governor Anne Reed, parents, staff and our Leos.
If you have any queries or concerns please do not hesitate to contact me on tanias@salc.qld.edu.au Tania Stewart Head of Senior School •
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Leos Olivia English and Keely McVay for getting our Relay for Life registration happening. This is coming up in March and we hope to raise $2000 for Cancer Research and support. If you would like to donate or register to participate head to www.relayforlife.org.au and search for St Andrews Leos team under the register tab. Riley Kennedy, Ben Wooldridge, Darby Kenyon, who with the support of Mr Nelson are conducting St Andrews World’s Greatest Shave. Hopefully we can convince many of our students to either donate or shave for a cure. If you would like to donate or get involved follow this link: https://secure.leukaemiafoundation.org.au/ registrant/TeamFundraisingPage.aspx?teamID=96057
Ty Sheers and Jon-Ross Gordon, our two Community Service Captains who epitomise service, and volunteered last weekend to assist at Surfing for the Disabled. If any students would like to assist in the future, please contact one of the boys or the Surfing for the Disabled Facebook page for details.
LOTE News Native Speaker Language Assistants This term we welcome Ms Claudia Thiel and Ms Rika Takahashi from Germany and Japan respectively. Ms Thiel and Ms Takahashi have volunteered to spend time with our students in German and Japanese classes, helping out with activities in class and practicing conversation skills. Thank you and welcome! Youkoso! Willkomen!
Rebekah Hill Head of Languages
Sport News Last Thursday I had the pleasure of experiencing my first St Andrews Middle and Senior School swimming carnival. The participation on the day was outstanding as students strove to gain as many points for their House as possible. I would like to congratulate all students for their great effort but also recognise the high standards set by swimmers keenly competing for their Age Championship. With the House Shield on the line I am sure all House Captains will be encouraging a great spirit and effort for the Cross Country carnival later in the term. The results from the day are below: Winning House: Wardjam Second Place: Binging Third Place: Gowandi Fourth Place: Jubi Age Champions Age
Boys
Girls
12 Years
1. Daniel Craig 2. Jayden Racette 3. Joe Hayes
1. Ellena Perry 2. Saoirse Harding 3. Bailey Franklin
13 Years
1. Jack Read 2. Thomas Atkinson 3. Jett Andrews
1. Shelby Walter 2. Amber Chalmers 3. Paige Burnett
14 Years
1. Kali Williams 2. Benjamin Batchelor 3. Denver Petie
1. Jasmine Dobbie 2. Alexandra Holloway 3. Abigail Pullen
15 Years
1. Ieuan Watkins 2. Oliver Wheeler 3. Lachlan Fraser
1. Misha Varley 2. Georgia Tuite 3. Ella Atkinson
16 Years
1. Kieran Croker 2. Aiden McNeill 3. Bailey Scott
1. Jacinda Mulholland 2. Mackenzie Bell 3. Jaimee McEwen
17 Years & Over
1. Benjamin Beggs 2. Lachlan Richards 3. Jackson Gisinger
1. Monique Holborn 2. Lauren Byrne 3. Chloe Blake
I have been completely amazed by the amount of co-curricular sport that students at St Andrews can take advantage of. It is so pleasing to arrive at school every morning to a hive of sporting activities. Futsal and Netball players are all well into their training for state competitions, along with many Kokoda students pushing themselves for greater fitness. A friendly reminder that all students are welcome to join the Running Club on Monday and Wednesday morning as well as join in Zuu fitness sessions on Thursday morning. This week saw the commencement of AGCC sport season, providing more physical activity opportunities and challenges for our students. It was wonderful to see so many students actively engaged in team pursuits and representing our College exceptionally well in the wider community. I look forward to reporting our future achievements and success in this interschool competition. Please get in touch with me should I be able to offer any assistance and also to let me know of any notable sporting achievements your child has accomplished outside of school based sport so we can celebrate their successes amongst the St Andrews community. Libby Wood Secondary School Sports Coordinator libbyw@salc.qld.edu.au
Dates to Remember MARCH Monday 7 ALWS Awareness Week 7-11 March Batchelor Area School Visit Years 7-11 SEQ Qld Futsal Comp 7-9 March Little Mermaid Jr Rehearsals, RBT – 3.30pm to 5.30pm Wednesday 9 Volunteers Induction, CRC Seminar Room 2 – 9am to 10.30am P & F General Meeting, CRC Seminar Room 1 – 7.00pm Thursday 10 Junior Council GC City Council (selected students) Friday 11 Somerset Literature Festival 2016 (selected Year 11 students) Year 12 QCS Prep Workshop P & F Picnic in the Playground, Junior School Playground – 5.00pm Lending a Helping Hand at ROSIES Monday 14 Visitors from Ehime Uni High School Little Mermaid Jr Rehearsals, RBT – 3.30pm to 5.30pm Tuesday 15 Evening of Drama - Senior Drama Night, RBT – 6.00pm Friday 18 Years 11 & 12 Exams Commence Years 7-12 FUTSAL Finals
St Andrews Lutheran College Production of
Music by
Lyrics by
Book by
Alan Menken
Howard Ashman & Glenn Slater
Doug Wright
Based on the Hans Christian Andersen Story and the Disney Film produced by Howard Ashman & John Musker and written & directed by John Musker and Ron Clements. Licensed exclusively by Music theatre international (Australasia). All performance materials supplied by Hal Leonard Australia.
SAturDAy 16tH APriL 2016 12.30PM AnD 6.30PM tHE ArtS CEntrE GoLD CoASt 135 BunDALL rD, SurfErS PArADiSE
tiCkEtS $20 ADuLtS ALL ConCESSionS $15 tiCkEtS AvAiLABLE froM tHE BoX offiCE. PH: 5588 4000 or WWW.tHEArtSCEntrEGC.CoM.Au
Picnic in the Playground Friday 11 March Junior School Playground
5:00pm - 7:00pm
Please come and join the College community for our Term 1 social event. sausage sizzle & drinks for sale, all profits going toWARDS THE EAST TIMOR SERVICE LEARNING TRIP. • Jumping Castle • Entertainment • Coffee Van
• Sausage Sizzle • Undercover Area • Playground
Please RSVP by Saturday 5 March pandf@salc.qld.edu.au
INSIGHTS Building parent-school partnerships
Teasing V Bullying
WORDS Michael Grose
When speaking with parents when I present at schools, or engaging with them via our social media, bullying is always a hot topic. A recent Facebook post had one of our biggest engagement rates ever. It begged the question- “What is bullying? Do we mix it up with teasing and other forms of mean behaviour?” It’s an important topic that needs clarification. Bullying is a term that’s wrapped in emotion. For many people it’s associated with bad childhood memories. It’s been estimated that around 40 per cent of people have experienced bullying in the past. It’s something that we don’t want to happen to our kids. But I fear it’s being overused at the moment and confused with teasing and rudeness.
Rudeness refers to thoughtless behaviours and thoughtless words. Kids often do rude things to each other without thinking their actions through. Examples include breaking wind in a child’s direction; joking about the colour of a child’s hair in front of others; failing to share possessions and neglecting to acknowledge someone. Rudeness is usually about selfishness
and thoughtlessness. Taken on their own many rude behaviours can be seen as an element of bullying but when looked at in context they are more about thoughtlessness, lack of consideration and poor manners rather than a deliberate attempt to hurt someone.
Teasing refers to annoying, hurtful behaviour that is used to get a reaction from someone else. Teasing can be persistent in nature, but not always. It’s generally an attempt to get under a person’s skin. It can involve name-calling; it can be personal and hurtful in nature. It can also infringe on another person’s rights. But generally teasing doesn’t have the key ingredients that make up bullying. Bullying is the selective, uninvited, repetitive oppression of one person or group by another. It involves three elements – intent to hurt or harm; power imbalance; and repetition over time. It takes many forms and guises including physical aggression; verbal abuse; emotional aggression (or blackmail); intimidation; harassment and exclusion. The new cyber-dimension to bullying has moved the goalpost for many kids. In the past children and young people could escape bullying behaviours by being at
home. Cyber-bullying means that children can’t escape bullies like they once could.
Why the distinction? I hear the term bullying misused a great deal in the media and when talking with parents. We run the risk of “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” Syndrome where we become so desensitised to the term that we (or teachers) ignore it when children really are the victims of bullying. We also run the risk of failing to skill our kids up to manage rudeness and teasing if we categorise every awful behaviour that kids experience as bullying. Our ability to be discerning about bullying is as important as the action we take when we are sure that our child is on the receiving end of bullying behaviour. These actions include: dealing with feelings; providing emotional coping skills, getting others involved; building up a child’s support networks; and building self-confidence that can take a battering. Bullying needs to be taken seriously. But we also need to be discerning about bullying behaviours.
Michael Grose
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© 2016 Michael Grose