TEACH YOUR CHILD TO BE PUNCTUAL 

Attendance and punctuality play a huge role in increasing children's academic success. When students are not in class they miss out on a wealth of learning experiences, as well as continuity of learning. There is an overwhelming amount of evidence which irrefutably links school absenteeism with significant academic under-performance.  When students miss school for no good reason, they usually lack the motivation to complete the work they missed from being absent. Having children practise punctuality at school is great preparation for their future careers, where showing up at work on time will not only make them dependable, but will also help them earn a living. 

Prioritise your child's attendance

Children shouldn’t be kept home unless absolutely necessary. When parents do this, they make attending school even more difficult, causing the child to complete multiple assignments upon their return and struggle to make sense of what is being taught. 

Model presence and punctuality 

Your best teaching is done by example, so leaving for work or school five minutes late tells your child that being punctual is not important. This will affect your child's success and future prospects.

Teach strategies that lead to punctuality 

A late bus, misplaced shoes, a crowded bathroom can hold people up but appropriate strategies can be explicitly taught to your children. For example, preparing clothes the night before can save time when a bathroom is shared. Waking up fifteen minutes early allows for extra time to find a lost shoe. Teach children the appropriate tools and strategies to use in order to increase their chances for perfect attendance.

Allow natural consequences for absences and tardiness

Take a no-excuses approach with your children when it comes to absences and punctuality. Give your children natural consequences that show them the results of lateness. Consequences prepare your children for the real world, where they really do miss out on learning, opportunities and even wages because they did not show up on time or at all.

Teach your child that good attendance is not something that just happens. It takes planning, preparation and persistence, but it pays off. Ensure that your child will reap the rewards by instilling punctuality.

The attitudes and practise of punctuality in children is, in more than 82% of cases, a direct reflection of that which is modelled by their parents.

Peace

David Bliss 
Principal

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Galatians 5:22-23 (ESV)

Several times a year, the St Andrews community come together on a Sunday for worship. These events are called Community Worship Services. The intent is to bring together the three arms of the St Andrews community (school, church and aged care) through worship. In these services, the good news about Jesus, known as the Gospel, is celebrated and explained through song, drama, puppets and more.

Last Sunday, we explored the concept of leadership. There are lots of attributes that make someone a good leader. One such list is found in the Bible when it is talking about the fruit that God grows in Christian believers, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. I explained during worship that this list of attributes is not a smorgasbord where one can choose this attribute but leave another behind, it is a package deal.  God is at work in Christian believers growing all these attributes all the time.

What leadership responsibilities do you have at home or at work? How might you benefit from the fruit God gives to Christian believers? You can’t pick this or pick that, but you can, if you are willing, be drawn into a relationship with God, which will change your life forever.  

Nathan Glover
College Pastor

YEAR 7 CAMP  

Our Year 7 students were on camp last week. There is no understating the importance of the trust, relationships, grit and growth mindsets that are at times built through these activities that are out of their comfort zone. Thank you to Mrs Wamsley (Year 7 Coordinator) and the other staff who supported the cohort while on camp.  

QCS TESTING 

Next week our Year 12 students will sit the Queensland Core Skills Test (QCS). They have been well-prepared for these difficult tests. Each day, I walk through active, engaged, interesting classes and watch our students under the guidance of their teachers. The test results are indicative of the entire school journey and we are truly blessed with wonderful staff. I would nonetheless like to make special mention of our Year 12 teachers and Mrs Christina Wrigley for her oversight of our students’ preparations. 

As August comes to a close so too does Eisteddfod season and I would like to congratulate all of the students involved in Eisteddfods this year. The wonderful results are a reflection of the diverse opportunities and talents of our young people and teachers. I would like to make a special mention of the Dance Night being held on Saturday, 7 September. It is simply an evening of performance not to be missed.

TOURNAMENT OF MINDS 

Last weekend a number of students competed in the regional finals of an international problem solving competition: Tournament of Minds.  Three of our four teams have progressed and will compete at the State Finals in September. This is a wonderful accomplishment.  Thank you to Mrs Mackay and Mrs Stockwell for supporting our teams.

ECO-CLUB WASTE AUDIT 

The Eco-Club, is a newly formed group of students across Years 6 – 10. They are busy gathering baseline data for waste collected in the large green bins around the College and will soon develop a proposal to further improve our recycling and eco-friendly practices. 

Families are reminded that students can actively recycle (blue bins) and orange bags for collecting containers at home can be accessed through the CRC. 

There is much to be done in these final three weeks of term. Please continue to communicate with your child(ren)’s teachers as assessments and end of term activities are finalised. 

Please feel free to contact me directly if I can offer you or your child any assistance. virginiaw@salc.qld.edu.au

Virginia Warner
Deputy Principal /Head of Secondary School

WELLBEING

Block exams for both Year 11 and Year 12 students are coming up in Weeks 8 and 9 and  next week Year 12 students will sit their QCS exams. This last few weeks of Term 3 is always an incredibly busy. It is important that our young people take care of themselves. We have talked with Senior School students recently about ensuring that they:

• get enough sleep (8-9 hours per night)
• eat nutritious meals to feed the brain and the soul 
• say no to extra shifts at work and that social occasion on the weekend
• exercise regularly – even a walk on the beach (sunshine + movement)

Congratulations to

• Emily Martin on her continued Golfing success – Emily travelled to Noumea recently to play in the Mobil South Pacific Junior Open.  She had a fantastic week.  Her goal was to come top 10 overall which was a very challenging goal considering the difficulty of the course. She achieved 15^thplace overall – a brilliant achievement in a World Ranking event.  Most importantly she learnt a lot about how to play tough courses and had a great experience with the girls from other countries. She is now back practicing and playing with new goals in sight. Well done, Emily.
• Charlie Farmer has returned from the Pacific where she toured with the Australian Junior Matildas early in August. Charlie is now preparing to join the Matildas Junior team to train on the Gold Coast over the coming weeks.            

Andrian Alumni Cassie Crowe (Class of 2018) is now serving in the Australian Navy and has just graduated from Recruit School. Cassie starts Category School soon and is excited to be specialising in weapons and seamanship. Cassie is a great example of the Andrian way – persistence, grit, integrity and personal bests.

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

BUILDING CONNECTIONS

Last week the Year 7 cohort participated in their annual camp at the Sunshine Coast Recreation Centre near Caloundra. The purpose of this camp was to build a stronger connection between students in the year level. Cabins were sorted so that students had familiar faces with them, with day groups organised randomly to foster new connections. The student highlights were: rock climbing, body boarding and the infamous ‘Teachers revenge’. Mr Bliss was present on the night this occurred. It is a fun game where the staff chase around the students with pool noodles. It is always a highlight of the Year 7 camp. Next year, this camp has been scheduled at the beginning of Term 2. This will encourage earlier connections for all students, particularly our new students who join St Andrews at the start of Middle School. A big THANK YOU to all staff who attended. You are amazing.

All students from Year 7 to 9 should now have received an email about elective choices for 2020. It is very important that the due date of Thursday 29 August is adhered to. The process of allocating electives takes time, with notification given to students late in Term 4.

Well done to all Middle School students who are getting involved in the co-curricular program of the College. From the Tournament of the Minds groups, Debating, Chess, Touch Football, Netball, Drama Festival, Dance trip to Sydney, Eisteddfods, Maths Quiz, Science Trivia Challenge, Enviro Club, Leo’s, Basketball training, gym….. there are so many activities that are offered at the College. These other areas enable students to become ‘part of’ the College and they can feel more connected and motivated to learn.

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or queries. lisar@salc.qld.edu.au

Lisa Roper
Head of Middle School

こんにちは、

Sunday, 18 August saw 12 StAndrews students represent our College at the annual MLTAQ Speech Contest. They were dressed impeccably and had worked really hard to memorise their speeches and then be able to answer questions about them. Results were fantastic and very well deserved. 

Year 7 

1st Place      Scarlett T

3rd Place      Ally L

Highly Commended     Chilli L B 

Year 8

3rd Place    Ashley K

Highly Commended     Giselle C, Isabella N

Year 9 

2nd Place    Amali B   

Year 11

1st Place    Alexandra B   

Alexandra then went on to another contest and was successful in winning the State Division as well. 

Congratulations to all of the students, plus the families for supporting them along the way.  よく　できました。

さようならfrom Ms Kerry Forrest, Mrs Danni Goucher and Mrs Chrystal Fuller 

Thank you so much

Kerry Forest
Head of Language

St Andrews College students celebrated Science Week with a number of lunchtime activities that centred on a Dewar of liquid nitrogen. This year’s National Science Week theme was “Destination Moon”. Our Monday activities centred on this theme. Science Ambassadors, with the help of Mr Parente and Mr Wyatt, launched a number of liquid nitrogen rockets. This was done on the Village Green in front of a large number of Junior, Middle School and senior students.

Tuesday lunchtime saw 15 litres of cream, milk and chocolate topping cooled with liquid nitrogen and whipped into ice cream. This attracted a horde of hungry students. Within ten minutes, 200 cones were devoured.

The last of the liquid nitrogen was used on Wednesday lunchtime to supercool and snap flowers and ping pong balls.

I would like to thank our four Science Ambassadors for helping make this week such a success.

Mr Wyatt Head of Science Department

On Tuesday, 13 August, Griffith University held their annual Science Trivia Competition. St Andrews Lutheran College entered 5 teams in the Junior Division, and 2 teams in the Senior division for the night. The Junior Division team 2, consisting of Benjamin G, Eva L and Patterson C managed a credible 2nd place out of 55 teams, while the team of Rowan T, Braden S, Hugo G and Sam W, accomplished a close 3rd place. 

The senior teams had much stiffer competition, as they battled against 75 other teams, including teams of teachers from many schools. The Year 11 team, consisting of Alexandra B, Rikki-Mae S, April D and Bronte G took 10th place and the Year 12 team, consisting of Claudia S, Jasmin G, Caitlin G and Lauren C placed in the top 50. 

Alexandra Bugeja
Science Ambassador

Queensland Interschool Chess Tournament: Saint Stephen’s College  

On Wednesday, 14 August we competed at Saint Stephen’s College in the Queensland Interschool Chess Tournament. St Andrews fielded four teams - 1 in the A Division and 3 in the B Division. A total of 170 students from both the state and private schooling sectors participated. 

Daniel P played in the A division. Despite fierce competition, Daniel won 6 out of 7 games and tied for third place. However, on countback, Daniel was placed 4th overall. Peter T scored 4.5.

Our B division team 1 comprised Jack R, Benjamin L, Kye B and Blake M–B, were placed 3^rdoverall out of 24 teams and received medallions. 

In addition, Jack scored 4.5, Blake scored 5, Samuel K scored 4.5, Peter T scored 4.5 and Cody C scored 4.5 – all these students, together with Daniel P, received ribbons.

For the first half of the tournament and overall, St Andrews A division were well positioned at 5th out of 15 teams.

Our Chess teams played exceptionally well throughout the tournament and thoroughly enjoyed the day of challenges, bringing home a total of 4 medallions and 6 ribbons. 

Once again, a remarkable feat by our Chess Andrians. I extend my heartfelt gratitude to the students, their parents and to Gardiner Chess for their incredible support.

Check Mate

Dr Naidoo  
Chess Coordinator

On Thursday, 22 August, the Year 11 and 12 Hospitality classes prepared and catered for a Senior Leaders Roundtable Meeting. The Year 12 Hospitality class catered for morning tea, which consisted of fruit, cheese and a dip plater, a zucchini slice, scones with jam and cream. The Year 11 Hospitality class catered for a buffet lunch which consisted of beef stroganoff, Korean fried chicken, beef teriyaki, green chicken curry, lentil spaghetti bolognese, risotto, steamed vegetables, fried rice and mashed potato. 

The students gained valuable insight into working in the Hospitality industry. All in all, it was an enjoyable and successful day for all who attended this event held by the College. 

Lily H
Student

BOOK WEEK 

Anytime you’re able to stop and celebrate literature is a good thing and recently we were able to do this. Throughout the week we celebrated students who have individually read over 1 million words this year. The annual book parade was a lot of fun with the students dressing up as their favourite book character. The door decorations were another way that they celebrated Book Week. Most importantly, the students continued to develop their love of reading – a skill that will hold them in good stead for the rest of their lives. 

STUDENT LED CONFERENCES 

Student Led Conferences are a very important part of the reporting cycle and provide students with the opportunity to reflect upon their work and share this with their parents. It is great to watch the interactions with the children enjoying the interest shown by their parents. It is also a great opportunity for parents to see the journey of learning their children have been on. 

COMMUNITY SPIRIT 

I truly value the community spirit that exists amongst the parent community here at St Andrews. Every time I am on duty after school or when I bump into parents out and about, I enjoy the friendly conversation that we have or the smile and wave as we walk past. It is often said that great schools are made up of great families. This is certainly true for St Andrews. 

Darrin Schumacher  Deputy Principal / Head of Junior School

Over the past months students and staff in the Junior School have been discussing, reviewing and refining the Student Essential Agreement (formally known as the Student Code of Conduct). This Essential Agreement is the basis for how we behave within the Junior School. 

The agreements and aims are:

When students don’t follow these agreements there are a number of actions that follow. Students are redirected back to the Essential Agreement to reflect on and change that behaviour. If the behaviours continue, students are asked to reflect on their behaviour through the following restorative questions:

·      What has happened?

·      What were you thinking at the time?

·      Who has been affected, and in what way?

·      What can you do to make things right?

·      Is there anything I can do to help?

These questions form the basis for students to take responsibility for their actions and strive to make amends or change the behaviour for future. The restorative practice process also ensures that all parties in a conflict are heard and there is agreement on how to move forward. Sometimes there will be a consequence for a student to engage in that is in line with the troublesome behaviour eg. missing some playtime if the incident happened in a play situation. Restorative practices also aids in restoration of relationships through apologies and forgiveness (a foundation of Lutheran education).

At St Andrews we aim to influence behaviour for positive outcomes and changes as we continue to Celebrate the Gospel of Christ, Nurture the Individual and Empower Lifelong Learners.

Karen Koehler
Deputy Head of Junior School Pastoral

MLTAQ GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY JAPANESE SPEECH CONTEST

Congratulations to our Junior School students on their outstanding results at the recent MLTAQ Griffith University Speech Contest. The effort they put into this contest was amazing. We are all very proud of each of them. 

Year 4
Fisher P 1st Place                   Joey M 4th Place
Dylan A 5th Place                   Addie H Highly Commended 

Year 5
Ashleigh C 3rd Place               Aiden A Highly Commended 
Seren C Highly Commended    Madison T Highly Commended 
Dylan W Background speaker Highly Commended 

Year 6 
Evie M 5th Place                     Eve P Highly Commended  
Zach B Highly Commended      Jack M Participation

Sharon Taki
Japanese Teacher

The Primary Campus was full of excitement and laughter on Friday, 23 August for the annual Book Character Parade. Students and teachers looked fantastic in their costumes and it was great to see so many parents and family members at the parade. Celebrating Book Week is a very special event, helping to promote and foster literacy through the love of books, a desire to learn and the joy of reading for pleasure. 

Once again, the door competition was a very difficult task to judge. I was impressed at how much effort the teachers and students put into decorating their doors using a shortlisted book or the theme, Reading is my Secret Power.  A big thank you to classroom teachers for coordinating the decorating of the doors with your students.

Thank you to Mrs Kate Dalby and Mr Phil Buddee for their help with the planning and presenting the event and to all the ushers and door judges as well. Congratulations to all our winners in the Book Week Competitions.  

Prep to Year 2 Colouring Competition

Poppy A - Year 1 

Henry R - Prep 

Years 2 to 3 Colour in Competition

Abigail G - Year 3 

Max B - Year 2

Poster Competition

Emma C - Year 5 

Lucca S - Year 5 

Shaya L -Year 4

Winning Door for Prep to Year 2

Year 2B - 1st Place 

Year 1A and Prep 3 - Highly Commended

Winning Door for Years 3 to 4

Year 5C - 1st Place 

Year 5B and 6A - Highly Commended

Most Words Read Competition

Year 4C totalling 1 139 895 words 

Year 5A totalling 5 086 813 words

Year 6C totalling 3 239 303 words 

Vikki Rees
Teacher Librarian/ICT Coordinator

WILDCARD CHALLENGE - Boys Basketball Tournament

In Week 1 of Term 3, the College entered a team in the state’s annual Champion Basketball School of Queensland qualifying tournament, the Wildcard Challenge. The Rowland Cowan Stadium in Brisbane hosted the tournament on Thursday, 25 and Friday, 26 July.

The team this year was very competitive in all games, a credit to how much they have improved and learned about the game in the past 12 months. For a number in the team it was their first experience at playing in organised basketball games with official referees and an operational scoreboard. As the tournament progressed, the boys continued to grow in confidence, with all making excellent contributions for the team. 

RESULTS

Game 1: St Andrews (23) v Corinda State High School (51)

Game 2: St Andrews (34) v Beaudesert State High School (29)

Game 3: St Andrews (24) v St Philomena School (37)

A huge thank you to Mr Zac Lopez and Mrs Libby Wood for general organisational assistance and for doing the Score bench for our games.

The team consisted of the following students:

Nathan C, Lachlan H, Joel J, Jack M, Zac M, Bailey P, Ethan R, Nait T-S and Kali W

Shane Edwards
Head of Mathematics Department

ALL HALLOWS TOUCH

On Sunday we had 3 teams compete at the All Hallows Touch tournament. It was a great day out for all teams as they prepare for the State Championships. All teams made the semi finals and played to a very high standard. A huge thank you to our Senior Touch team members, Zara C and Paige B for their excellent coaching.

Prep to Year 3 MINI GAMES

The P to 3 Mini Games will be held on the Junior School Oval on Wednesday, 11 September. Our Year 6 Active School Leaders are very excited to run this event for our younger students. Information has been sent home to parents last week. We look forward to wonderful day.

GOLD COAST EISTEDDFOD WRAP UP 

The past few weeks has seen many of our young singers, musicians and dancers compete in The Gold Coast Eisteddfod. Congratulations to all who participated, you represented St Andrews beautifully.

RESULTS  

Semitones Choir   1st Place

String Ensemble   2nd Place

JS Percussion Ensemble   2nd Place

Dansation   Very Highly Commended

Combined Intensity   Highly Commended

Express Dance Troupe   Very Highly Commended

Jazzettes   2nd Place

CONGRATULATIONS TO ANTIGONE CAST

Last weekend St Andrews hosted 17 local schools for the Intermediate Division of The Gold Coast Secondary Schools Drama Festival. We entered a production of Antigone that featured strong lead performances and exceptional chorus work. Congratulations to the cast on receiving Runner up Best Play and to Kiara F who was awarded Best Actor for her interpretation of Antigone.

FINAL DAYS OF BEDLAM - Year 10 Drama excursion to La Boite

As the final stage of their La Boite Riot experience, the Year 10 Drama class headed to Brisbane to see the professional version of the show they presented in Term 2.

Overall I really liked the experience of the play we did. Seeing and performing it was really fun and it was really cool to firstly create our own scenes and then able to see the professional version to see how they interpret the play.   Ellena P

I enjoyed how we got to watch the show after doing it ourselves. The overall experience was super fun and different to what I have done before. The actors were very good and I liked watching how different each person portrayed the character.  Tenika F

I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and would recommend it for other year levels to participate in. The workshop for the play was incredibly insightful and I learnt a lot about acting and being part of a production. Performing the play was interesting as it was awesome to see the words come to life and to see the production come together. Going to see the production was the best part, it was fun to see the script that we all knew like the back of our hand reinterpreted by the cast.  Jordy K

CULTURAL AWARDS 

Cultural Awards is an annual event that celebrates the year in the Arts and acknowledges individual student achievement.

The Years 7 to 12 Cultural Awards Evening is Friday 11 October from 6:00pm and the Years 4 to 6 Cultural Awards Afternoon is Wednesday 16 October at 1:00pm.

For Years 7 to 12 students are asked to complete the Cultural Awards Survey and return to Miss Scott

Years 4 to 6 we use ensemble rolls and ask parents to email any additional information to priscillas@salc.qld.edu.au

Parents and students are reminded that the final date for information to be received is Friday 6 September.

                               

Cilla Scott 
Head of Arts

BLAZER ORDERING FOR YEAR 9 STUDENTS 

Next year your child will require a College blazer to be worn for College photos at the beginning of Term 1 and then daily as part of the formal winter uniform in Terms 2 and 3. 

Orders for blazers (new and second hand) must be placed with the Uniform Shop by Friday, 13 September 2019, so they arrive in time for official school photos early next year. Orders placed after this date may incur a late fee as charged by the supplier.

The Uniform Shop has sample blazers to try on for sizing.  There are some new and second hand blazers available for immediate purchase. More second hand blazers are expected at the end of the year and requests for these will be taken. Please click the link below and complete the survey to enable our planning.

Parent Blazer Survey

We encourage parents to accompany their child when ordering blazers to ensure the correct fitting. Please book an appointment. The Uniform Shop is open Monday to Friday from 7:45am to 9:30am and Wednesday afternoons from 2:30pm to 3:30pm. Other times by appointment.  For more information phone 5568 5933 or email uniformshop@salc.qld.edu.au

New Blazers                     
Girls  $195           Boys   $200 

Second-Hand Blazers       
$100-$120 (depending on quality)

A $50 deposit will be required when placing your order and you are welcome to use our lay-by facility to make payments. 

 In addition to the blazer, the following uniform changes occur in Senior School:

• Girls will require a senior tie which is worn all year around.
• The Boys formal shirt changes to a style suitable for wearing with a tie. This shirt is worn all year with the neck left open in summer and worn with the tie in winter (the shirt with tartan trim on the pocket is not worn in the Senior School).
• Boys will require a tie and grey trousers for winter - these are needed for photos too. 

Sharon McVay
Uniform Shop Manager

Year 10 school vaccinations happening soon!

The Gold Coast Public Health’s Immunisation Team will be providing vaccinations to all year 10 students on Monday 9 September.

You should have received an email from admin.immunisegc@health.qld.gov.au to the email address you have nominated with the school. 

• Please ensure you have discussed with your child whether they are/are not having vaccinations done.
• Make sure your child has breakfast on day of vaccination.
• Your child will be given an aftercare slip which includes information on vaccinations given and what to do in the unlikely event that they experience any reactions. 
• If your child is absent, you will be sent an email from the school immunisation team regarding catch-up options.
• If you haven’t completed a consent form please contact Gold Coast Public Health’s Immunisation Team on 1800 940 750 to discuss your options.

If you haven’t received this email you can contact Gold Coast Public Health’s Immunisation Team on 1800 940 750.