Msss Bulletin 9 2015

Issue 9 / 5 June 2015

Middle/Senior School Bulletin

Middle & Senior School News Jazz and Shiraz – Gala Concert for Gendi On Saturday night the Ruth Butler Theatre was filled to capacity as our talented students, past and present, parents and teachers, accompanied by our amazingly talented Jazz Band put on a simply superb concert. The musicality and professional quality of the performances was breathtaking.

The night honoured Ms Gendi Moore (Senior Music teacher) who is currently on extended sick leave and raised over $2000 for cancer research. Thank you to all who performed, to Mr Paul Oakley-Grant, Ms Kristine Dennis and our incredibly talented PAT staff and especially to Ms Priscilla Scott, Head of Performing Arts for her work and leadership of a flourishing Performing Arts department at St Andrews.

Mufti Day – Red for Daniel It was wonderful to have Mr and Mrs Morcombe here last Tuesday to spend the afternoon with our Junior School students sharing their message about personal safety. We raised $1487 for the Daniel Morcombe foundation on Mufti Day. The funds will go towards spreading this important message.

Year 7 Canberra Trip Year 7 parents attended an information evening about the upcoming Canberra trip last Tuesday. This is our last Canberra tour for Year 7 with the tour moving into the Year 6 program from 2016. Earlier this year, our Year 6 students travelled to Canberra. I’d like to thank Mr Casey for his work in coordinating the final Year 7 Canberra tour and for his presentation. Parents who were unable to attend are encouraged to read through the information that was sent home.

German Study Tour In December a group of students, accompanied by Ms Bible (German teacher) will join students from Trinity Lutheran College to take part in a German Language Study Tour.

A parent evening was held this week for families of the students travelling to Germany at the end of the year.

Preparing for Exams – Senior Study Sessions / Year 11 & 12 Exams This Wednesday the Year 11 students and a number of their teachers stayed behind after school to study together in the CRC. The Year 12 students had their session the previous Wednesday. There is no doubting the benefits pre-exam sessions have for our students. We know that peer tutoring and having their teachers on hand, assists them to develop their understanding and to review key concepts in depth.

A reminder that Year 11 & 12 students are on Exam block from Thursday 11 June until Friday 19 June. During exams, students do not need to be at school outside their exam

times. But, they must sign out if they are leaving after a scheduled exam and those students who want to study in the CRC during exam block are welcome to do so. All Year 11 & 12 students have an exam on the morning of Friday 19 June.

A Final Note As we enter the busy assessment period and our Year 10 students prepare for their work experience in Week 9, I remind parents that teachers are always happy to hear from you. If you have any questions, concerns or sentiments of gratitude to share, I encourage you to send an email or to contact the College. We are all here to help.

Virginia Warner Deputy Principal Head of Secondary School virginiaw@salc.qld.edu.au

Middle School News Semester 2 Elective Choices The elective allocations for Semester 2 have been displayed on noticeboards for approximately two weeks and we are finalising class arrangements for elective classes. The flexibility of our elective programme is a rarity among schools in SE Qld but it is incumbent upon us to ensure that students experience a full range of subject offerings if they are to make wise choices in their senior schooling – as well as enjoy learning opportunities in areas they might otherwise miss in their schooling.

Senior School News Authenticity Why? It is important for our students to know and understand who they really are - their authentic self who they are at their best. The work we do in the Senior School in LAG, Christian Studies and at camps helps our students identify their values, visions and strengths so that they can tap into their authentic self. This is often a very hard thing for young people to explore, which is why we revisit it over the three years in Senior School, as our young people grow and become more aware of who they are and what they stand for. Adolescence is a difficult time for many and there are often conflicting messages about what is right, cool or the done thing.

Ultimately, we hope that our students develop their skills and enjoy the freedom to be who they are without the fear of judgement. We hope they leave us ready to take on the world, fully aware of the ways that they can use their gifts and talents to contribute, shine, make a difference and find their true passions in life. That is, living authentically with their values and passions aligned.

Should your son or daughter wish to change an elective I ask that you please discuss this change with them and whether or not it is being suggested for sound reasons. I am more than happy to make changes but they should be considered in the light of a young person’s full educational experience.

Diary and Executive Functioning Our College diary is a valuable tool in the development of organizational skills for our students although many will tell you that they do not need it. At a time in their cognitive development where the refinement of executive functioning (how we ‘organise’ and ‘prioritise’ in our brain) is occurring extremely rapidly a student can quickly find that the organizational habits and skills upon which they relied in their junior schooling are no longer sufficient to carry them through the remainder of their schooling. The diary is a means of establishing practices which may support a student through the potentially tumultuous time of early adolescence. Please take a moment each week to sit with your son or daughter and look through how they organise their diary.

As always, should you have any questions about events in the Middle School then please contact me at the Middle School Administration.

Tom Casey Head of Middle School tomc@salc.qld.edu.au

Audit Scores All Senior School teachers recently completed an Audit for each student in their subject based on a five-point scale.

The Audit Score specifically targets student focus in class.

The purpose of this is to obtain an average across subjects for each individual student to reflect on. The purpose of this process is to encourage students to become selfaware, lifelong learners and to adopt a self-motivated and responsible approach to their studies. It is a constructive feedback process providing a snapshot of each student’s focus in their classes and is a very useful tool for resetting goals and self-regulation.

Analysis of the Audit Scores across the Senior School revealed that the majority of students in the Senior School received audit scores of four or better. For example, in Year 12 69%, Year 11 85% and Year 10 71% of students displayed excellent or effective learning skills and focus in their classes. Hopefully, the Audit Score will give all our students the feedback and impetus necessary to maintain their efforts or make changes in their behaviour and attitude

to ensure the best possible outcomes for their learning. We would appreciate it if parents could also have a discussion at home about their child’s results and are more than happy to discuss these results individually. Year Level Coordinators will be working hard to support the students and ensure they develop the tools necessary to address focus in class.

Congratulations to: • Morgan Atkins and Madeline Mitchell who attended the World Vision 40 Hour Famine Global Challenge Training Day. The girls are now recruiting a team to run the 40 Hour Famine and raise funds for underprivileged children.

• All of our students and staff who contributed to the success of the 2015 Jazz and Shiraz. What a knockout and how blessed are we to have such talent in our community.

• Leos who are raising money for victims of the earthquakes in Nepal and visiting the Aged Care this week.

Reminders: • Now that the cooler weather is upon us please ensure that students have the correct combination of jumpers, blazers and sports jackets.

• If your child is arriving late they must sign in at Senior Administration and if leaving early sign out and present a note (or phone call) from parent/caregiver giving permission for the departure.

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

Chaplains Chat Recently I had the privilege of witnessing the baptism of Kitty McGuinness (1B) at St Andrews Lutheran Church, the congregation that worships on campus. A baptism is a big celebration in the Lutheran Church because of our understanding that God’s grace, forgiveness and the whole work of Christ is given to those who are baptised. At Kitty’s baptism the church played a song called “Your whole life long” by Twila Paris The song is a beautiful song that depicts the life ahead that someone will live with, all its ups and downs, turns and twists. A repeating line throughout the song is, “I pray that you will follow Him your whole life long.” The feeling and sentiment of these words, as I understand them, is that the one ingredient most needed in life – to help with all its ups and downs – is a relationship with God, or, specifically, with Jesus.

The words of the song are a refreshing reminder that a relationship with Jesus is just that, a relationship. It is not a once-off contract or agreement. It is not simply knowledge and information. It is a living relationship with our living and risen Lord. This means that, yes, there is someone to turn

to in times of trouble or sadness. It means that, yes, there is someone to turn to when you are not sure which direction or path to take. And, ultimately, of course, it means that whatever happens you are safe in His hands both now and in eternity.

I have many friends and other relationships in life and these are special too. However, there is nothing quite so special as the privilege and the honour of a relationship with God himself. This is nothing we deserve, but an act of God’s grace that He allows us to be in a relationship with Him, learn from Him and live with Him. It might also be the reason why Kitty smiled so much and was so delightfully happy on the day of her baptism.

No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. – John 15:15 Nathan Glover Chaplain

Student Development Student Leadership – ‘NETstars’ It is always pleasing to see young people put their hand up for responsibility and have a go. Currently, Year 11 and 12 leaders have put together 14 teams across Middle and Senior School to compete during lunchtimes in netball.

The competition is titled ‘NETstars’ and the objective for most teams is about creating fun, competition, stronger relationships and trying new skills.

The objective for a few others is to win!

This kind of initiative in schools promotes engagement, broadens and builds upon positive emotional experiences and offers students a chance to organise, promote and experience small scale event management. For our student leaders to see the positive effect upon others, to see the activity and vitality up in the COLA for a couple weeks of non-stop games and to see the intensity of the final rounds is a great learning experience.

James Nelson Director of Student Development

Science News

Aspiring Women in Science Recently two staff members and three Year 10 girls attended the Aspiring Women in Science Conference at St Aidan’s Anglican Girls’ School. Read below what some of the students had to say about their experience.

“Dr Emma Duncan was one of the standout presenters at the conference for me, as she was truly inspiring because she started her career with no money and no job. After completing a degree in medicine in Australia, she moved to England to be with her husband, where she specialised in endocrinology (the study of hormones) at Oxford University. After many years of financial struggles she moved back to Australia, still with no money after completing a PhD and three fellowships.

She is now one of the leading endocrinologists in the country and performs a number of surgeries each day. I was really inspired by her story as she said that ‘even though you may not think you have a chance of getting there, you will always find a way if it’s really what you want’. These words have stuck with me since the conference and have motivated me to pursue my chosen career.” - Chloe Downes

“While all the speakers were incredibly inspiring one speaker I found particularly interesting was Professor Jennifer Martin a biochemist and x-ray crystallographer at the University of Queensland. Professor Martin is best known for her work on protein crystallography researching the three-dimensional structures which make up the proteins involved in health and disease. She is currently using her techniques to look into finding a solution for the increasing problem of antibacterial resistant bacteria. However it was not just her work which I found inspiring but her drive and passion for her work.

Sitting there listening to Professor Martin speaking about her deep interest in her work and the techniques she was using it was hard not to be inspired to go on to work in the field of science. Professor Martin was not only passionate about her own work but also the work of all those who came before her and developed the techniques she is using today. The work Professor Jenny Martin is doing will have a massive impact on people around the world and could lead to the end of bacterial infections. I feel very honoured to have heard her speak and am very appreciative to the College for providing me with the opportunity to attend this conference and thank Mrs Lotz and Miss Castle for attending with us.

Attending next year’s conference is definitely something I would recommend to any girls considering a career in science.” - Keely McVay Mrs Jenny Lotz Head of Science

“Going to the Women in Science Conference was a great experience and has provided me with so many new ideas about my career path. One of the women that spoke at the conference was an Australian zoologist. Eloise Stephenson is an amazing woman who has managed to accomplish so much in so little time. The stories of her time in the Madagascan rainforest researching lemurs were awe inspiring.

This opportunity was not just dropped at her front doorstep.

She had to work hard to get where she is today. After completing her studies in England she volunteered to help rehabilitate and care for Asian elephants in Sri Lanka providing her with much new knowledge. This was an opportunity that ended in her being awarded for her studies.

Eloise said that being a woman in a male-dominated industry was not necessarily a disadvantage. Although men have dominated this area of study for longer than women, many women are regarded just as highly or higher even than some of the men in the industry. She is currently working at CSIRO researching ecology and is soon to complete her PhD. Eloise was very inspiring and I would recommend that other girls take this opportunity if it arises again.” - Liliana Mikami

It’s that time of year to update the interest earned on your LLL account that is credited annually on 31 May. Please send your books in by last day of Term, 19 June.

They will be sent to Adelaide for the interest update and will be returned to you during the first week of Term 3.

Performing Arts News Spotlight on Drama in the Middle and Senior School There are several exciting projects happening in Drama at the moment.

Drama Festival The Gold Coast Secondary Schools’ Drama Festival is a three week festival in August where schools from all over the Gold Coast enter plays. This year, we are entering the Junior Section with a production of Children of the Black Skirt – a gothic fairytale that is set in an abandoned orphanage in the middle of the Australian bush. Students from Years 7 and 8 have been working hard preparing for the performance.

Year 10 Artist in Residence This term our Year 10 Drama Class have been working with Brisbane Cinematic Theatre Company, Markwell Presents, on a devised Cinematic retelling of the Greek myth The Judgement of Paris. It has been such a wonderful experience for the students to work with a professional company in this contemporary theatrical style. The end result will be performed at our Evening of Drama Term 2 on Tuesday 9 June in the RBT.

Dance Workshop with Year 3 Last week the Year 10 Dance students held an Indigenous dance and drama workshop for a very excited Year 3 cohort.

In this workshop, taught by the Senior dance students, the Year 3 students learnt a movement sequence based on the story of the four College sport houses. Filled with enthusiasm, the Junior students produced wonderful work and performed these to their peers. It was enjoyable to see the Senior and Junior students working collaboratively together to produce work for an upcoming assembly.

Paula Guild Dance Teacher

Jazz & Shiraz Highlights

Evening of Drama - Tuesday 9 June at 6pm in RBT Our Year 12 Drama class is also currently in rehearsal for their final public performance at our Evening of Drama. This semester the students have studied Contemporary Australian Drama and will be presenting works on this night from a range of Contemporary works.

Cilla Scott Head of Arts priscillas@salc.qld.edu.au

Sport News Outstanding Student Sporting Achievements AFL and Cricket Bailey Scott has continued to excel in AFL and cricket. He has recently been selected in the Queensland Under 15 AFL team to compete at the National Championships in Geelong at the end of July. Bailey has also been invited to attend the Wanderers Australian Cricket tour to the West Indies in 2016.

Kye Shield was selected for the Gold Coast Academy of Sport Under 13 Cricket Program.

Equestrian Mikayla Van Kampen recently competed at the Queensland Equestrian Championships. Mikayla won her class and has now qualified for the Grand Nationals in 2016. Mikayla also won at the recent Interschool event and will be competing at the South East Queensland Regionals on the 8 June. She is hoping to qualify to represent St Andrews again at the State Interschool Equestrian event.

Cheerleading Amy Clements recently competed at the World Championships for Cheerleading in Orlando, Florida. The Southern Tigers were the first Queensland team ever to compete, and they did exceptionally well placing 4th out of 62 teams. It was an amazing competition, with 27 countries competing and Australia ranked 2nd in the world.

Regional Cross Country St Andrews has 14 students representing the Hinterland District at the Regional Cross Country Championships at Runaway Bay on 9 June. The following MS/SS students have been selected to compete.

Medallists at Districts Shelby Walter – 1st Place 12 Years William Atkinson – 1st Place 16 Years Lachlan Irvine – 1st Place 18 Years Eboni Strickland – 1st Place 18 Years Abbie Hawkins – 3rd Place 15 Years Top 7 Placings Katie Hayward – 4th Place 15 Years Lily Harvie – 4th Place 14 Years Jessica Palfreyman – 6th Place 16 Years Jai Croker – 6th Place 15 Years Jack Read – 6th Place 12 Years Hayley Wells – 7th Place 13 Years Andy Manion Head of Sport

Dates to Remember - June Monday 8 Queen’s Birthday Public Holiday Tuesday 9 Year 12 Griffith Business School Outreach Program Workshop Years 11-12 Griffith Big Day IT Careers South Coast Regional Cross Country Evening of Drama - Senior Drama Night - 6pm - RBT Wednesday 10 Year 10 Hospitality Cafe Excursion to Plantation House P & F General Meeting - 7pm - CRC Friday 12 Years 7-10 Assembly - 8.30am Monday 15 Year 10 Work Experience - 15-19 June ICAS Competition ‘Writing’ Tuesday 16 ICAS Competition ‘Spelling’ Friday 19 EXO Youth Day Last Day of Term 2

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P & F News The next P & F meeting is on Wednesday 10 June at 7pm in the CRC. Please come along, as we will be discussing how successful this year’s Fete was.

Once again, we would really like to thank all the people behind the scenes who assisted in the lead up, during and after the Fete, there are too many to name but the P & F could not have done it without you.

We look forward to planning the next one in 2017 so watch this space.

Raffle The lucky winners of the raffle are as follows: 1st Prize – Renee Bond 2nd Prize – Nikki Harris 3rd Prize – Rachel Muir We would especially like to thank Ray White at Mermaid Beach, Caltex Burleigh and Cruiseabout holidays for their donations towards the raffle.

Once again, thanks so much for selling so many tickets.

We would also like to thank First National Real Estate for running the sausage sizzle and McGrath Real Estate for the Hydration Station.

The following businesses were supportive of our Cent Auction and Fete and without them, we would not have been able to run this stall.

Air Factory – Burleigh Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary Gold Coast Titans Currumbin RSL Gold Coast Suns Konica Minolta Aranyani Bison Park Golf at Hope Island Golf at Coplicks Billabong Wax Hands Face Painting Beauty Bar Burleigh Chevron Yoga Gisler Group Positive Change Purses Holiway Skateboard Thermomix Tupperware Miami Stainless Eco Oasis Caltex Cold Rock Ice Cream 2 B Kids Plantation House Café Piece Style and Design Mrs Red’s Art Room Woodbox Café Madison Jane Mode Voyage Tea Therapy Wicked Beans Barbers on Swan Lane Kaisercraft John Ahern – Author Avon Edge Gym – Currumbin Goldsteins Bounce Wazen – Japanese Restaurant Robina Dental Group

INSIGHTS Building parent-school partnerships

WORDS Jason Fox

Don’t be daft about Minecraft

Minecraft may be the best trend to hit boy world in years. Writer Jason Fox explains the attraction and outlines the benefits for kids.

Minecraft may be the best trend to hit boy world in years. Writer Jason Fox explains the attraction and outlines the benefits for kids.

If you have a young child or teenager, chances are you’ve heard about Minecraft.

It’s a video game that’s kind of like digital LEGO, except that you’re in an ever-

But parents are worried.

And rightfully so, to a degree. Too much of a good thing can be a bad thing.

But some parents are freaking out about the amount of time their kids are investing in the game, and are imposing blanket bans of it without first understanding its magic.

evolving world with seemingly limitless possibilities. It’s a game that inspires deep exploration, collaboration and creativity.

It has been the subject of international conventions. Some schools and universities have even incorporated Minecraft into their curriculum, where students learn about city planning, environmental issues, getting things done, and even how to plan for the future, as well as things like maths and

So, let’s have a look at what makes Minecraft so engaging, why blanket bans aren’t a good idea, and how to manage your child’s play.

Minecraft is an infinite, non-winnable game. Unlike a book, a game of chess, or a football match, a Minecraft game doesn’t end. There’s always more that can be explored, and more that can be done. The

problem solving.

The open sandbox nature of Minecraft makes it one of the most exciting games on

projects you undertake in Minecraft are self-initiated: no one is telling you what to

the market – and not because of its flash

do. And the process of making progress

graphics or blood and gore (there are none

within Minecraft is completely autonomous

of those). The gameplay experience design

– no one is telling you how to execute your

just works. And on top of all that, it’s rated

projects and achieve your goals. It’s self-

one of the safest video games for kids ever.

regulated learning at its finest.

So, when a parent bans Minecraft it’s a lot different to banning other games. You’re not simply cutting your child out from a source of entertainment. You’re preventing them from accessing a world where it’s safe to fail, learn, explore, build and share.

In essence: it can be pretty devastating – particularly when we put things back into the context of the future of work.

Why? Because your child’s ability to participate in and contribute to unprecedented, self-driven, creative and collaborative work is going to be one of the key employable talents in the future. Your child could already be building a digital portfolio of project work, without you even knowing it.

But being able to ‘unplug’ and manage time and energy are essential skills your child needs to learn too. So, here are three ways you can help them manage Minecraft in your house:

more on page 2

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 © 2015 Michael Grose

parentingideas.com.au

INSIGHTS

2

Building parent-school partnerships

... Don’t be daft about Minecraft ...

1 Show genuine interest

(this should be your first step) If your child plays Minecraft, ask them to take you on a tour. Show an interest in their passion, and ask them questions like: what are you trying to build? What are your goals? What are the steps you need to take? What’s the coolest thing you’ve found? Set aside at least an hour for this. It’s highly likely they’d love the chance to share this with you, which will help you to open up a new level of connection with them.

2 Encourage interactivity correctly Minecraft’s multiplayer mode allows your child to play and build in the same online world as their friends.

But remember: there are a lot of idiots on the internet, so do the following two things: a) Create your own server or ‘whitelist’ – it’s like having an invite-only friend list. b) Use a family-friendly server – you can Google these to find the right one to play in.

3 Don’t ban – bracket

CHECK OUT MINECRAFT: Check out the Minecraft review at The Parent’s Guide to Video Games: http://safevideogames.blogspot.com.au/2011/01/minec raft-review.html And this wonderful article from Penny Flanagan of Kidspot: http://parenting.kidspot.com.au/what-is-minecraft/ And finally, check out the brilliant work of Dean Groom and Massively Minecraft (a place for both kids and parents to play): http://massively.jokaydia.com/

Banning something like Minecraft should be the very last resort, as it usually only serves to enhance the craving for it. Instead, make it part of their daily ‘free time’. Try not to have this at the end of the day or make it contingent on homework being completed, as this may only create angst, rushed homework and late nights. After school is best, especially if it’s bracketed by dinnertime, where all phones and computers are turned off.

My true hope is that you give option #1 a very good go first. And if #1, #2, #3 don’t work, I’m hoping you’ve found them an even better game to play.

Jason Fox

Dr Jason Fox keeps savvy people up to date with the latest in motivation design. Learn more at www.drjasonfox.com

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