The School year is concluding! And with this conclusion, so the student’s adventure through God’s Big Story as found in the Bible is also concluding too! The Bible’s final book is Revelation – a book filled with amazing imagery and challenging concepts. It was penned by the disciple John in the last years of his earthly life in a Roman penal colony on the island of Patmos. All Jesus’ other disciples had been martyred by this time and John was the last surviving member of the original twelve.

From an earthly point of view there was no ‘happily ever after’ ending for the disciples, but all of them finished their time here on earth in great peace and joy, for they knew deep inside them that they were safe with their saviour Jesus. This is reflected in the Book of Revelation where John receives a vision of heaven and in Chapter 21 where he records - ³And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’^[^b^] or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

This is what awaits all people who exit their time here on earth trusting Jesus as their Lord and saviour. It is this promise that brought peace and joy to the original twelve disciples and enabled them to live out lives of incredible love and service and it is the same promise that we are given today as we entrust ourselves to Jesus and his love and forgiveness and surrender our very lives to His direction and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

Our journey here on earth is always challenging – being filled with great joy and sorrow as we navigate our way through all before us but the promise of being with Jesus now and into eternity means that we are in God’s Kingdom now and forever and this is the greatest truth we can receive in our lives. May our celebrating of Jesus Birth in the upcoming weeks be filled with joy as we live in the promises he makes to us through the Bible.

Graeme Schache
Lay Chaplain and Middle/Senior School Teacher

Congratulations to the Graduating class of 2020. You are a remarkable group of young people and we thank you for your individual and collective contributions over your time here at St Andrews. Year 12 Graduates, may God bless you and keep you safe through the journey of this life and may you remain confident in God’s love and plan for you. Mind the GAP (Live with Gratitude, Accountability and Perspective) and above all else, seek joy, be hopeful and continue to share your light with the world!

This week we held the Year 10 and 11 Awards and Celebration Assemblies and next Tuesday we will hold the Years 7-9 Awards and Celebration Assembly and the Year 9 Gala Night of Nights. Thank you to Ms Stewart (Years 10-12), Mrs Roper (Years 7-9) and their teams for continuing to support our Senior and Middle School students to flourish within and beyond their academic studies.

LEADING TOGETHER

It was an absolute pleasure to spend some time with our Year 11 students this week as they attended their leadership camp at Emu Gully. The camp is based on the ANZAC traits of Courage, Mateship Sacrifice and Perseverance. I hold every confidence in the next group of Student Leaders, our 2021 Year 12 students, after witnessing their strong character and connection while on camp.

SEMESTER TWO REPORTS AND THE START OF 2021

Reports will be available on Parent Lounge to parents in the first week of the holidays. Please use the feedback contained in the reports as a means of affirming your child’s effort and progress throughout the final semester, and also as a basis for setting new learning goals for 2021. We are working towards notification of class lists through Parent Lounge in late January.

All Middle and Senior School classes resume on Wednesday 27 January 2021. Our Year 7 students (2021) will attend an Orientation Day on Monday 25 January from 8:30am – 3:00pm and new students in Years 8 to 11 will attend a morning session (8:30am – 11:30am). This is compulsory and ensures a smooth start for our new students. All Year 12 students first day will also be Monday 25 January. Please remember that traffic congestion is likely on the first day, Wednesday 27 January, so please exercise extra care and patience.

FAREWELL AND THANK YOU

A special mention of farewell and thanks to the following staff who are not returning to St Andrews next year:

Mrs Michelle Atkins who commenced at the College in 2008, teaching Year 3, has been an invaluable member of our Junior and the Middle School staff for the past 13 years. Michelle has been commuting from Brisbane over the past two years after relocating with her family. Michelle will commence work at St Peters Lutheran College Springfield in 2021.
Mrs Miranda Magee who commenced at the College in 2010 and was involved heavily in the early adopting of technology to ‘flip learning’ in classrooms. Miranda has worked with passion, commitment and exceptional skill in both our English and Student Services departments over her years of service. Miranda and her family have relocated to the northern end of the Gold Coast.
Mrs Robyn Williams who commenced at the College in 2002 and has worked tirelessly to support students as a member of our Student Services Teacher Aide team. Robyn is looking forward to retirement and will likely continue her service to the College in a voluntary capacity.

Mr Julian Hunt who worked with our students in Mathematics and Technology departments this year has accepted a position at St Peter Claver College, Raceview.

I would like to offer our deepest thanks to all of our departing staff members.

Staff joining our team in 2021 include Mrs Kate Forbes-Ewan who returns to St Andrews to work in English and Humanities; Mr George Maliwat, an experienced Digital Solutions and Mathematics teacher who is relocating to the Gold Coast. Ms Leah Begley an experienced Teacher Aide who has relocated from Brisbane, and Mrs Adele Ramsay, a highly accomplished leader who will assume the role of Deputy Principal – Head of Secondary School. Having spent time with each of our incoming members of the team, I hold every confidence that they will bless our community in years to come.

And finally, from me a most sincere thank you to all members of the College Community for your ongoing support, care, faith and grace. To leave has not been an easy decision and I know that in my heart I will always be an Andrian. This community, founded on the Mission of Celebrating the Gospel, Nurturing the Individual and Empowering Lifelong Learners is truly a special place of learning and flourishing. Put simply, I would not be the leader I am today had I not been blessed to serve in the St Andrews community over the past ten years. For that I am immensely grateful.

STAY CONNECTED

As we prepare for the long summer break, I would like to encourage parents and families to stay connected. I believe the most powerful thing we can do is to stay connected. Stay connected with your child by being open to talking through your boundaries and expectations and also their ideas and thoughts around independence, trust and their world in general. Stay connected to one another. If your child wants to spend time with peers or to sleep over at another family’s house and you are feeling uncomfortable or unfamiliar with the family, call the parents and talk about your boundaries and expectations and their boundaries and expectations. Adolescents often use generalised statements like, ‘everyone is going’, ‘no one else’s parents are calling’ or ‘don’t you trust me’ to push boundaries and to become more independent. The balance of how much freedom/independence afforded a young person is a difficult juggling act for parents and very dependent on the individual, the family values and context. From personal experience, I know how challenging that balance can be. Finally, please stay connected with staff at the College. We are here to help and while there are limits and complexities to how we might be able to offer support, we will always take a restorative hope and intent in raising this that it might prompt family discussions at home and/or conversations amongst staff and parents.

St Andrews is a community of flourishing where everyone is someone and wherein more than a good education, an education for good remains at the forefront of our journey. This is our last Newsletter for 2020. I'd like to express my sincere gratitude to the exceptional St Andrews Staff, teaching and non-teaching for their inspiring service to our College and most importantly, our students. May the coming Christmas season be a timely reminder of God’s blessings and the joy of knowing that Christ gave us the ultimate gift in sending his son to save us all.

Have a very blessed Christmas.

Virginia Warner
Deputy Principal Head of Secondary School

AIP CERTIFICATE OF EXCELLENCE IN PHYSICS

The Australian Institute of Physics (Qld Branch) recognises high achieving Queensland students with the 2020 AIP Certificate for Excellence in Physics.

This certificate is awarded to students with a confirmed internal assessment result that is 90% or greater (or an equivalent IB Level 7 for the International Baccalaureate).

The Australian Institute of Physics is an organisation dedicated to promoting the role of Physics in research, education, industry and the community. Some of the ways that the AIP supports this goal is through promoting and supporting Physics teaching and education in schools, colleges and universities; encouraging investment in government and industrial research; and recognising distinguished contributions to Physics.

We congratulate the following Andrians and recognise their diligence, curiosity, enthusiasm and achievements.

Callum A

Alexandra B

Clare V

Abbey B

QUEENSLAND UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY – INTENSIVE LEARNING EXPERIENCE IN STEM

Fynnlay Rooney, currently in Year 11, has been accepted by QUT (Queensland University of Technology) for the Intensive Learning Experience - an opportunity for female students entering Year 12 in 2021 to attend a two-week intensive delivery of a first-year unit. This program is an affirmative action to address the current gender imbalance in STEM professions nationally and is in response to Industry demand for women in these fields. Fynnlay has been accepted into the “Physics of the Very Small” (PVB112) program at QUT. The Units will be offered through the Start QUT program, which includes university academic credit on successful completion of the unit. In a safe and supportive environment, the two-week block of learning will cover the Unit assessment, providing progressive feedback on students’ practical exercises, further investigation research and project plans. All costs associated with the Unit are covered by QUT.

Unit benefits:

Short intensive Learning experience - approximately 80 hours over two weeks which includes, lectures, discussion, exercises and assessment.
Small girls only cohort.
Aims to bring students over a knowledge and confidence threshold.
Orientation: Friday, 4 December 2020, 9:30am-3:30pm
Intensive mode block: Monday, 11 – Friday, 22 January 2021, 9:00am-5:00pm

Dr Gordon Naidoo
Senior Physics Master

MLTAQ LANGUAGE SPEECH COMPETITION

Congratulations to the following students who placed in the MLTAQ (Modern Languages Teacher Association Queensland) Competition ran in conjunction with Education Perfect this year due to COVID. This is an amazing achievement for our students. WELL DONE!

Year 4 Japanese

Eloise M                      Gold Award
Alby H                         Silver Award
Nahlah B                     Elite Award
Olivia R                       Gold Award

Year 5 Japanese

Dylan A Silver Award
Addie H Gold Award
Fisher P Elite Award

Year 6 Japanese

Ashleigh C Elite Award
Dylan W Silver Award
Madalyn D Bronze Award
Madison T Silver Award
Seren C Silver Award

Year 7 German

Annie R Elite Award

Year 8 German

Skylah E Bronze Award

Year 9 Japanese

Asher J Bronze Award
Patterson C Bronze Award

Year 11 Japanese

Jett A Bronze Award
Katie S Silver Award

Year 11 Spanish

Kiki P Credit Award

Year 11 German

Skyla G Bronze Award

JAPANESE LANGUAGE GOT REAL!

This week Year 9 Japanese Language Students video-conferenced with Osaka Shi Ritsu High School in Japan. They asked questions to the Japanese students in Japanese and tried to keep the conversation going as long as possible. They thoroughly enjoyed the experience. What wonderful students we have at St Andrews Lutheran College!

Dani Goucher
Head of International Students and Languages

We are very happy to see students back in the CRC during recess and lunch breaks and before and after school. The Senior Library space was used for Year 12 examinations, so it has been a quiet time. We missed your smiles and laughter.

However, the Library still has continued to positively impact student learning during this period. Brisbane based spoken word performance poet, Angela Peita and digital storyteller/poet, Daniel Cabrera, visited Year 7 English classes to support their poetry unit. Mrs Kristo and Mrs Norton also provided multiple whole-cohort lessons on how to use Premier Rush as their tool for digital storytelling.

The Librarians have also been busy organising the Year 7 Readers Cup being held this week. This event has been in collaboration with the English teachers to promote literacy and the reading culture within the school.

Middle school students from the Minecraft Club have been busy “Crafting the Village Green”. Their ideations of what the Village Green should be, were presented to Mrs Roper, Head of Middle School, this week. Some wonderful ideas were shared such as a waterslide, climbing walls, shady eating areas and produce gardens complete with bee hives.

The CRC Senior Library Annual Report has been prepared. This report details the accomplishments of the year. The St Andrews Lutheran College community is welcome to view the report here (video) or here (pdf).

Remember students may log in using student details to read eBooks during the holidays through the Wheelers online platform. Middle School students may also be interested in a holiday writers camp with Brian Falkner – who was a visiting virtual author to St Andrews this year. Brian teaches the skills to construct well-crafted imaginative stories to young writers. Find out more information here (pdf).

Ask a Librarian

Your librarians are always happy to help with research, finding resources, book recommendations and IT support. We also love to chat about books, life and the universe.

Come in and chat to us or via Teams or email:

Warmest regards for the festive season and summer holidays,

The CRC Senior Library Team

As the 2020 academic year comes to a close, it certainly has been a year like no other! Carl Rogers once said, “The only person who is educated is the one who has learned how to learn…and change.” COVID did create opportunities for us to change how we did things this year and despite the challenges we faced, the one priority was always maintained and that was ensuring the best possible learning outcomes for our students.

YEAR 6 CELEBRATION DINNER AND AWARDS CEREMONY

It was with great anticipation and excitement that our wonderful cohort of Year 6 students arrived at the MPH with their parents to celebrate together the milestone of completing their years in the Junior School. This celebration is significant as it symbolises a rite of passage as the students look forward to a new chapter in their lives when they begin their journey into the Middle School in 2021.

The students certainly had a special evening as everyone shared a delicious meal together and reminisced on the years they have experienced during their learning journey from Prep to Year 6. It was also an opportunity to acknowledge the many achievements of our incredible students. We wish the Graduating Year 6 Class of 2020 every blessing and look forward to watching them continue to grow and develop as they embark on the next phase of their educational journey!

BEACH SAFETY PROGRAM

The last couple of weeks of this term have seen smiles on many faces, especially of our Preps to Year 3, as they engaged in the Beach Safety Program over the past two weeks. I was able to visit the Prep and Year 1 cohorts as they participated in a variety of beach activities at Tallebudgera. Living on the Gold Coast, many of our students are familiar with the beach, but sometimes the shoreline is not always friendly. Educating our students to stay safe in and around the water is extremely important and many students have acquired new understandings to help them stay safe as they enjoy this part of our stunning local surroundings. A special thank you to our PSPE teacher, Miss Casey West, for organising this valuable learning opportunity for our students.

May I take this opportunity to thank you as parents for the magnificent support you have demonstrated throughout this challenging year. We have appreciated your open-mindedness and flexibility to accommodate the many changes that were necessary. Thank you! Also, may I extend my sincere appreciation to our outstanding teaching staff for everything they have undertaken to facilitate student learning. We have remarkable educators who demonstrate a passion for developing curious inquirers. I am continually amazed by their commitment to support each and every child in their class. Thank you also to the Teacher Assistants and support staff who offer their valuable assistance to staff and children each and every day. What a team!

As I close, may peace, happiness and goodwill be with you and your family not only on Christmas, but throughout the year and beyond. Wishing you a blessed Christmas as we celebrate the birth of our Saviour!

And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

Luke 2:10

Jacqueline Faulkner
Acting Head of Junior School and PYP Coordinator

CULTURAL SHOWCASE 2020

Videos of the Cultural Events can be viewed on our College website:

https://www.salc.qld.edu.au/co...

GOLD COAST THEATRE AWARDS

The nominations for the Gold Coast Theatre Awards were released earlier this week and Chicago received 12 nominations - across every category available to schools.

This is a wonderful achievement and something the cast, crew and creatives should feel really proud of.

As a Department we are particularly proud of Chicago, but it is always lovely when that is recognised by the wider community.

Nominations are:

Best Costumes – Cilla Scott and Paula Guild
Best Program – Alannah O
Jock and Beverly Encouragement Award

Tia W and Isaac T

Magic Moment for exemplary ensemble work
Best Vocal Direction – Kristine Dennis and OG
Best Choreographer – Paula Guild
Best supporting Actor - Lilah T and Tia W
Best Actor - Romi P
Best Director – Cilla Scott
Best Youth Production

PAT APPLICATIONS 2021 ARE NOW OPEN

We are now accepting applications for our Performing Arts Tuition Program for 2021. Applications can be made via the College website:

https://www.salc.qld.edu.au/cocurricular/the-arts/pat-application-form

Please note

Existing enrolments from 2020 (excluding Animi, Year 3 Strings and Mini Musos) will automatically roll over into the new year.

Should you not wish for your child to continue, please complete a cancellation form before the end of term:

https://www.salc.qld.edu.au/cocurricular/the-arts/pat-cancellation-form

Whilst Animi is not continuing, the College will be offering a Dance Class run by Miss Lucy Hourn for Year 1 – 3. Any students wishing to participate will need to complete a new enrolment.

Students currently in Year 3 Strings and Year 4 Mini Musos who wish to join the PAT Program on their instrument need to complete the enrolment form.

https://www.salc.qld.edu.au/cocurricular/the-arts/pat-application-form

SPEECH AND DRAMA - ASCA EXAM SUCCESSES

Speech and Drama students from St Andrews elected to undertake exams with the AUSTRALIAN SPEECH AND COMMUNICATION ASSOCIATION (ASCA) last week.

Students worked hard to produce solo and group programs throughout the year. Usually, these exams are open to parents, but this year, COVID prevented this. However, it was wonderful to see students providing smaller audiences for their peers; and encouraging each other with applause, and genuine questions during the solo exams.

The examiner, Mrs Anita Eldridge, commented on the high standard of work presented across the grades.

Forty eight students received a High Distinction for their efforts. Individual certificates will be available for presentation in 2021.

As a Tutor, I am very proud of every student who performed. It was fantastic to hear the positive buzz of excitement and enjoyment. Hopefully, we will have even more entries next year.

Pamela Cassidy
PAT Speech and Drama Tutor

MAKIN' MINI MUSICIANS

Makin' Mini Music has been alive in the past 2 weeks with end of year concerts happening for the Preps, Year 1s and 2s in front of their respective classes.

The Preps did very well at singing 'Do Re Mi' with actions, the Christmas song 'I'm a Little Star' with actions and playing percussion instruments, clapping and singing 'A Sailor went to Sea, Sea, Sea' and dancing with colourful ribbons to 'Rainbow Colours Song'. They looked very cute in their Christmas outfits and showed tremendous professionalism with their bows at the end of each item.

The Year 1s had a blast performing a range of Christmas items in front of their peers, such as singing ‘We Wish You a Merry Christmas’ with some clapping and movement, ‘Jingle Bells’ on the glockenspiel and a body percussion piece called ‘Down Down Baby, Down by the Christmas Tree’. They also performed the song 'I Like Instruments' on a range percussion instruments. Their skill at playing in time together was most impressive.

The Year 2s created their own rhythms and demonstrated these on chosen percussion instruments for their concert. A rhythmic piece called ‘7s’ using sophisticated body percussion. Dancing to a mash up of 'The Chicken Dance and the Macarena'. They also learnt the song 'Ode to Joy' on the glockenspiel and the ukulele. They demonstrated their ability to play this song as an ensemble using different instruments in their respective music classes in week 6. The pinnacle for some of them having done Makin' Mini Music for the last 3 years. As their PAT teacher I was very proud of them.

Overall a very pleasing end to an extraordinary year for these children. They have worked hard in the group lessons to perform beautifully in these concerts. I am always amazed at what children this age can achieve.

If you are interested in finding out more about Makin' Mini Music, please email Julie Catherwood juliec@salc.qld.edu.au

Julie Catherwood
Makin’Mini Music PAT Tutor

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Issue 15, 27 November 2020

In This Newsletter

Chaplain's Chat

Graeme Schache

Secondary School

From the Deputy Principal Head of Secondary School

From the Head of Middle School

Physics and STEM News

College Language News

Secondary School Library News

Junior School

From the Acting Head of Junior School and PYP Coordinator

The Arts

November Arts Corner

Community

Uniform Shop

Parents and Friends Association

Important Dates

November Important Dates

Chaplain's Chat

Secondary School

Junior School

The Arts

Community

Important Dates

Chaplain's Chat

Secondary School

Junior School

The Arts

Community

Important Dates