Issue 2 / 29 May 2015
From the Principal Fete 2015 - A Wonderful Celebration of Community Congratulations to the P&F on a wonderful College Fete. Despite a little bit of inclement weather the crowds were not deterred, and people continued to enjoy the food, stalls, rides, and entertainment. The 2015 Fete was a wonderful celebration of Community here at St Andrews – as evidenced by what a grandparent of one of our students posted on Facebook- ‘I have had the pleasure of working at several private schools, but I have never experienced the community spirit that this College has. I am so proud that my grandson attends this College and I hope he continues the spirit of this College’.
Proceeds from the Fete will go to various Capital Projects around the College, in particular upgrading of the Multi-purpose Hall. It is through support of events like the Fete that numerous small capital projects can occur. Most recently, permanent shade umbrellas have been installed outside the Tuckshop courtesy of the P&F. Again, well done and thank you to everyone involved with the Fete - from the organising committee, stall convenors, sponsors, cake bakers, entertainers, stall assistants, prize donators, car park attendants, through to people involved in set up/pack up - it was an amazing team effort.
Teaching & Learning in Years 3-6 There is a real richness and depth to teaching and learning at St Andrews - a richness that no NAPLAN Test can capture. The Years 3-6 Program, in the upper Junior School this term alone provides tremendous examples of this. In Year 3 as part of their Unit of Inquiry the students using a special Technology App created and published a book about Body Systems and then used this book to share what they had learnt with students in the ELC during a visit there. This is an excellent example of the use of technology and peer learning to enhance learning. The Year 4s as part of their Science lessons were able to access the Senior School Science Labs and the College’s Lab Manager, Mr Hampshire to investigate Oil Spills as part of a Science experiment. The ability to conduct a hands on experiment in purpose built facilities made the students’ learning all the more real and meaningful. Our Year 5s also made use of the specialist facilities in the Senior School. As part of their How the World Works Unit they spent time in the Design Technology Lab with Mr Wecker, Head of Department – Design Technology learning about electrical circuits, with each student applying what they learnt by making a working torch. The Year 6s have been using social media, notably Edmodo to enrich their learning. The 6s using Edmodo meant that their learning was not restricted to school time or the physical location of the classroom. Tools like Edmodo enable schools to remove the barrier of the four walls of the classroom, and open up a world of possibilities. 2015 is an exciting time to be a learner at St Andrews.
Improving Student Learning Through Action Research St Andrews teachers are highly skilled professionals. This statement will come as no surprise to you. What you may not know is that in recent years our teaching staff have been engaging in Action Research as they go about their work. The primary reason why we have teachers engaged in Action Research is that it is one of the most effective ways to improve student learning. Finland is often cited as having one of, if not the best systems of education in the world. One of the reasons for this is that all of their teachers are constantly engaged in Action Research. Action Research is a disciplined process of inquiry to solve an immediate and identified learning issue in the classroom in order to improve student learning. Action Research is really powerful because it is grounded in the everyday work of teachers and helps them to become better practitioners of their craft. This year we have eight Action Research Projects occurring • Middle School STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths) Project • Junior School High Achievers Project • Middle School Literacy Skills Project • Senior School Explicit Teaching of High Achievers Project • Middle School Automaticity & Cognitive Numeracy Strategies Project • Middle School Science Stillness Project • Christian Studies Four Coloured Thinking Pen Project • Years 4-6 Words Their Way Spelling Project Teachers engaged in these Action Research Projects shared with colleagues what they were discovering at a recent P-12 Staff Meeting. As one teacher remarked she has found the process incredibly energizing and motivating as she can see the difference it is making to the learning of her students. Always Focused on Learning In my lunches with Year 6 and Year 12 students one of the things that has been a consistent theme over a number of years now is how much our students appreciate the care and support that St Andrews teachers provide for them and their learning. One of the most apparent ways that St Andrews teachers demonstrate this is through the provision of lunchtime and afterschool Tutorials and Study Sessions. In the Middle and Senior Schools teachers run weekly tutorials at lunch and after-school in Accounting, BCT, Business Management, Chemistry, English, German, Japanese, Maths and Physics. In addition there is always a Study Room open in the Middle and Senior Schools for students to get extra help with their work. Additionally the Art, Music and Design Tech rooms are often open to enable students to catch up on things. There are also academic enrichment opportunities occurring
like Chess, Debating, Philosopher’s Club, the Creative Writing Group, or Robotics/Lego Club. As well as these scheduled sessions, it is common place to walk around the campus at lunch or afterschool and find teachers providing impromptu assistance to students. Our teachers don’t have to make these additional learning opportunities available, but do so because they have a real heart for the students of our College.
The Importance of Good Manners At a recent Middle/Senior School Assembly I spoke with our young people about the importance of Good Manners. By and large St Andrews students display very good manners, but it never hurts to be reminded of it. Students were reminded that Good Manners are an important foundation stone of our College. Good Manners are the basis on which we build a community where we treat each other with care, dignity and respect. Even if the rest of society does not expect that we show Good Manners or considers it to be ‘old fashioned’ and irrelevant, here at St Andrews we expect that all members of our community; students, staff and parents will afford each other Good Manners. By affording those in our College community Good Manners, we are treating others the way we would like them to treat us. At St Andrews because we are a community that treats each other with care, dignity and respect, Good Manners are a basic expectation of all. I went on to say to our young people that as a student of St Andrews the 5 most important words are – Please; Thankyou; Excuse Me, Good Morning/Afternoon, and Can I Help You? These 5 statements are at the heart of Good Manners and the basis by which we demonstrate respect and consideration for others, and help to build a good school. Good Manners make a difference. Ralph Waldo Emerson, the American philosopher and poet summed it up when he said that ‘life is short, but there is always time enough for courtesy’. Tim Kotzur Principal
Junior School News
“The tiny seed knew that in order to grow, it needed to be dropped in dirt, covered with darkness, and struggle to reach the light.” - Sandra Kring
Growth At St Andrews we often talk about the students having a growth mindset. The main philosophy behind a growth mindset is that when a person is confronted with a challenging problem, they see it as an opportunity for growth in their lives. Carol Dweck first started to write about growth mindsets in her 2006 book titled “Mindset – the psychology of success”. In the book she states “This growth mindset is based on the belief that your basic qualities are things you can cultivate through your efforts. Although people may differ in every which way – in their initial talents and aptitudes, interests, or temperaments – everyone can change and grow through application and experience.” At St Andrews we are constantly looking to challenge the students in a warm supportive environment in order for them to grow and develop. Later in the year when we get our NAPLAN results back, I will be looking for the growth that students have demonstrated. Each student will have a different starting point and it is the growth that I am most interested in. Last year NAPLAN results demonstrated significant growth in the student’s achievement levels. As good as it is to see this growth in Academic performance, it is important to note that there are plenty of other opportunities to show growth in other areas. Music and sport are two classic examples of where you can show significant growth and improvement in your own personal performance by putting in the effort and practice. Relationships with others often requires effort to continually grow. Throughout the year, your children are going to be faced with problems or situations which will be hard or challenging. I would encourage you to say to your children “Looks like this is going to be a good opportunity
for growth”, and then encourage them to work hard to solve the problem. As we all know, the things in life that we are often most proud of, are the things that we had to work hardest for. Darrin Schumacher Deputy Principal Head of Junior School
Middle & Senior School News ‘Caught by the Spirit, caught up in the spirit and making a difference in the lives of others.’ St Andrews is about providing ‘more than just a good education – an education for good’. Academic growth and development is our core business but at St Andrews education is about exploring and developing all aspects of self; academic, spiritual, physical, social and emotional within a where the Gospel is a lived experience. This term we have continued to encourage students to set goals for ‘personal best performances’ and to adopt a ‘personal best mindset’ towards good learning and good living with an understanding that they are striving to do and to be their best not for themselves alone but also for the benefit of others. We’ve also been exploring the themes of “Love, Humanity and Justice” in the Secondary School. While there are many examples of these values in action to follow are a few that come to mind. Recently, our girls in the Middle School elective “Not Just Skin Deep” ran small workshop groups on cybersafety for Year 5 and 6 girls. They shared personal experiences they have had on social media and gave tips on things such as how to ensure your privacy settings are adequate and the dangers of posting inappropriate photos. A group of our Leos Club have been visiting the St Andrews Aged Care regularly to deliver art works to brighten the days of the residents, and our Growing Good Men project for this semester started last week. This week we held our Red for Daniel day and were blessed to have Mr and Mrs Morcombe speak to our Junior School students. On Saturday, the Jazz and Shiraz Gala concert event will see us raise over $2000 for Cancer research and enjoying the amazing talents of our students and wider community of performers. In the Senior School students are supporting Mr Wecker in his endeavor to raise money for Skin Cancer awareness by taking part in ‘Smiling for Smiddy’ which will see him compete in a triathlon later in the year. Our Year 11 students are also developing ideas through their Christian Studies companion groups to put ‘Service into Action’ through a variety of events and programs which will run in our College and Gold Coast communities later this term. While these are all indeed noteworthy service and others-centred activities to be celebrated, it is really in the
everyday showing love and care for each, and through seeing a need and helping, that our students are caught by the spirit and caught in the spirit at St Andrews. Our work in implementing the Teaching and Learning Framework, Dimensions of Learning, across the Secondary School, also continues this term with an emphasis on Dimension 2: Acquiring and Integrating Knowledge. Teachers continue to work with students to provide support and guidance around developing thinking skills and habits for deep learning and effective skills in applying knowledge using the Dimensions of Learning framework. Our Years 7 and 9 students completed their NAPLAN tests earlier this month and our Year 12s continue to take part in QCS Preparations programs and we look forward to seeing their results and celebrating their achievements. The National and State testing data helps to inform our academic program and to tailor learning to the individual students.
Chaplains Chat St Andrews is such a good place to be! And it is no accident that this is the case. Our focus on Celebrating the Gospel, Nurturing the Individual and Encouraging life-long learning ensures that we are headed in the right direction. Having a focus like this does not mean everything that occurs is exactly as it should be because we humans cannot control all that we do and say through our own will power. But as we live in God’s care and are conscious of this reality there are always the resources to move forward hopefully and with the expectation that problems will be sorted and the community and individuals within it will flourish. This is always part of our weekly routine as we share worship times together – be these chapel services, short class devotions or simply a four sentence prayer at the start of a lesson. God works in and through these times, just as he works through the care and love staff and students share as we enact His presence in our midst. Along the way there are other special happenings – some planned – some spontaneous where God breaks through into our community and makes His love and goodness evident in beautiful and tangible ways. One such occasion occurred on the Friday of week 5 during Year 10 Christian Studies. The unit being studied is the ‘Emerging Church’ which investigates how God’s people are living out the call to be His church in the 21st century and how it is evolving from what has been traditionally viewed as ‘the Church’ in the past. As part of this unit the students are engaging in specific worship activities in their class groups and these have included playing and singing songs, walking the Labyrinth, creating prayer bracelets and writing short prayers and sharing these.
Please contact me at the College if you are interested in more detailed information about Dimensions of Learning or life in the Secondary School. Every blessing. Virginia Warner Deputy Principal Head of Secondary School
I had the privilege of reading just a handful of the prayers written by students during the class and the depth and beauty contained within these short prayers is most wonderful. It is such a special opportunity to
experience the work God is doing in the lives of others. Celebrating the Gospel is a 24/7 part of life at St Andrews – but it is often taken for granted as we share His love in the ‘way things are done’. On this occasion it was made visible and tangible and something to be very thankful for. May all of us continue to do what the writer of Hebrews says in Chapter 10: 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another. God leads us in this and he is always faithful to us and working his will amongst us. And this is what makes St Andrews such a good place to be! Graeme Schache Chaplain
Junior Library News Literacy Pickings - Screen Time Recent studies have noticed an increase in myopia in children. Increased screen time in poor light (and lack of sunlight) has been identified as one of the causes. It is a reality that “screens are essential in today’s world” (Houghton, 2015). We need to find a balance and be positive role models for our children when it comes to technology use. Read more at: Setting computer limits tips Establish Rules • Use technology together • Be a role model • Keep an eye on the clock
World Service News Did you wonder what has happened to our old desks and chairs? We received this photo and thank you from the Logistics Manager of To The Nations the other day:
Consider reducing screen time if you are noticing unhealthy behaviours. Associate Professor Michael Rosenberg from the Health Promotion Evaluation Unit at UWA recommends some strategies to help reduce screen time: • Rules • Awareness • Control use • Encourage healthy behaviours Read more at: Lowinger, J. (2015). Kids’ screen time, is it worth the fight? - Health & Wellbeing. Retrieved 2 April 2015 http://www.abc.net.au/health/features/stories/2015/03/23/4203084.htm Julia Boulton Teacher Librarian Innovation and E-Learning Leader
Thank you! “The unbridled joy that St Andrews generosity has brought about is amazing. To The Nations (T.T.N) is a Christian based organisation that collects and ships medical and educational items to areas of Africa. Recently, (as the photo shows) a large quantity of redundant desks and chairs were dismantled, shipped and donated to needy village schools, in this instance to Zambia and Malawi. The thoughtfulness of these actions has brought about a new lease of life for this robust furniture but more importantly has helped impact the lives of children and the Villages as a whole. On behalf of the generations of village children that will benefit from this kindness we thank you.”
Performing Arts News
band notes Congratulations to all ensembles who performed at Fete this year. In particular thanks go to Miss Whiting, who prepared our Junior School Concert band so well for their debut performance.
As relaxed and organised as it may have looked to the untrained eye the days performances were the culmination of weeks of effort in developing the perfect team. In fact, ensembles are the perfect example of teamwork in action. Every member plays a vital role in creating the overall performance. Not only does each and every player needs to play their part to a very high standard but they must do so whilst not being influenced by other players around them nor negatively influence others around them. They need to play in time with everyone else and share a common spirit or emotion. It is no wonder that we use musical terms such as rhythm and harmony when talking about team dynamics or the interaction of cultures. So to each and every player, congratulations on your deserved success and thank you for being irreplaceable. Paul Oakley-Grant
P&F News The Fete was held on Saturday 16 May and apart from a brief shower the weather was kind to us. I am sure you will agree it was a great day and all the kids seemed to have a ball. The rides and super soaker were popular as always.
Dates to Remember
A BIG THANKYOU to everyone that volunteered and helped out on the day – you were all amazing and helped to make our Fete such a success. The cake stall was full of wonderful treats and a big thanks to all the donations which were received from the St Andrews School Community. Thank you also to all the donators for the Cent Auction and of course the sponsors of the Raffle. Raffle Winners: 1st Prize – Renee Bond 2nd Prize – Nikki Harris 3rd Prize – Rachel Muir We are currently finalising the amount raised and will publish this amount in the next Bulletin. Lastly the P & F would like to thank the teaching and administrative staff at the College who gave their time and also to YOU and all your family and friends who attended on the day. We hope you all had a great time and look forward to doing it all again in 2 years. Thanks so much from the P & F Committee
Monday 1 Years 4-6 Inter Lutheran Cross Country Carnival Year 3 Students to visit Aged Care Years 5 & 6 Parent Info Evening Tuesday 2 Years 4-6 Girls School Netball Trials Year 4 Excursion to David Fleays Wildlife Park German Study Tour Info Evening Year 6 Readers Cup (selected students) Wednesday 3 Year 5 Camp (3 - 5 June) Year 11 Study Session 3.30-5pm Year 3 Aboriginal Workshop Incursion Monday 8 Queen’s Birthday Public Holiday
CONGRATULATIONS!!
Helle W our monthly prize winner for May
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