COLLEGE COUNCIL RELEASES STRATEGIC PLAN 2021-2024

Every School (most especially Faith-based schools) has a Mission Statement, articulated Values, Statements of Intent, all of which are clearly sign-posted by a Strategic Plan.

No school (or business) can hope to succeed by not having a plan and simply hoping to stumble across success.  A strategic plan works like a roadmap, clearly defining the best route for the College to take in the years ahead. It helps us to chart the route to meet the opportunities and challenges that lie in wait. It helps us to sharpen our focus, develop the right goals and helps everyone to commit their efforts into meeting them.

Certainly, strategic planning isn’t just beneficial for the management hierarchy – it gives everyone in the College a sense of purpose. With a definitive mission and clear goals and objectives to work towards, we know our efforts have deep meaning, centred on creating opportunities and outcomes for each other, most especially our students.

The College Council spent considerable time in the latter half of 2020 working with all staff, the student leadership team across all three sub-schools and focus groups of parents to draft and refine The Andrian Way, our Strategic Plan for 2021-2024.  The highlight of this process was our 2020 College Captains leading the Council through a workshop during a weekend Retreat.  The result is that The Andrian Way is heavily punctuated with articulated priorities given through “student voice”.

The College Council approved the release of our Strategic Plan at their most recent meeting.  Whilst it is a four-year plan, it will be re-evaluated, and potentially amended, at the conclusion of 2022.  In addition, it is my responsibility to report to Council each quarter on the achievement of operational goals and priorities as mapped from the Strategic Plan.

It is very important that The Andrian Way is broken down into deliverable and sustainable chunks, the interim achievements of which can be identified and celebrated, or conversely it will be little more than a statement of worthwhile intent gathering dust on a shelf crowded with competing priorities.  

Available on our website, our Strategic Plan, The Andrian Way, can be found here.  I commend it to your attention.

Peace and Grace

David Bliss
Principal

We have arrived at the end of Genesis – the first book of the Bible in our adventure through God’s Story. In amongst humans continually ‘Going Our Own Way’ God calls out an individual – Abraham, with whom he sets about developing a close relationship. No prizes for guessing whether Abraham is able to conduct himself well though! Overall, he is faithful to God but some of the decisions he makes in his personal journey of life are highly dubious. Despite this, God honours his promises to Abraham and these are passed down through Isaac, then Jacob until it reaches Joseph. Joseph of technicolour dream coat fame. It is in Joseph that we see God’s desire to restore and rescue humanity from ‘Going Our Own Way’ begin to seriously play out. Joseph falls victim to all sorts of disasters at the hands of other humans who are hell bent on ‘Going their Own Way’ but as the story unfolds God engineers fantastic rescue of Joseph. Joseph must have been ever so close to giving up and abandoning his relationship with God but God saw to it that he was cared for and sustained in each of the terrible situations he found himself in and this can be read in Genesis Chapters 37-50.

Joseph’s narrative concludes with the beautiful words he spoke to his brothers once they are all safely with him in Egypt – having been rescued from the massive famine that swept the region. Joseph says to them 

“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” Genesis 50:20. 

God brought about a significant rescue of his people despite them being hell bent on ‘Going their Own Way’ and this sets the tone for the ensuing episodes of God’s Story. This is reflected in the words of John Henderson, Bishop of the Lutheran Church of Australia who wrote in a recent article that ‘The Bible introduces us to a God who patiently and lovingly rescues His people over and over again’. Just as Joseph’s brothers and other individuals inflicted great pain and suffering upon him, we continue to be hell bent on ‘Going our Own Way’ and so inflicting hurt on ourselves and others. Thankfully, God remains committed to each of us despite our inability to remain totally committed to Him and He is seeing to it that His rescue plan of His good world continues to play out. May each of us experience God’s continued rescue and restoration of our hearts and minds in the weeks leading up to Easter; the culmination of God’s great rescue of humanity.

Graeme Schache
Lay Chaplain and Middle Senior School Teacher

NURTURING THE INDIVIDUAL

Our College Mission statement of “Celebrating the Gospel, Nurturing the Individual and Empowering Lifelong Learners” underpins all that we do here at St Andrews. Over the next three newsletters, I’d like to focus my thoughts on each one of these statements.  This week, my attention is on the second statement, ‘Nurturing the Individual.’ 

Whilst I am sure I am stating the obvious, people matter and every individual person matters. The biblical worldview suggests that people matter supremely because they matter to God.  Genesis 1:26-27 makes it clear that human beings are uniquely created in the image of God. We therefore have inherent value beyond that of any of the other creatures on earth, and this value is not dependent on our abilities, quality of life, or perceived worth in society.   Jesus said that God’s greatest commands are to, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind’ and to  ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’ (Matthew 22:37-40). So, it is with this foundation, that at St Andrews we care about each of our students, we want to know them, we want to engage with them and contribute positively to their life and learning and we want to see them flourish.  How wonderful it is that we all come with different gifts, abilities, different challenges and different dreams and goals, yet we can appreciate one another, work together, challenge one another and grow in character and strength to be all who God has made us to be. 

ALMOST THERE 

What a term it has been! With the Easter break only a couple of weeks away, I am sure all students are looking forward to a time of rest and play, but we are not there yet. A reminder to all families that students will be busy with assessments and end of term testing right up to our final day of term – Wednesday 31 March and it is important that our students finish the term well. A reminder also that, academic results are posted to Parent Lounge and Student Café progressively throughout the year and if you need support accessing these results please contact us at the College.

On our Mufti Day last week, students that came dressed in casual clothes donated a gold coin or two and raised a total of $1,940.55, which will be donated to Rosies Outreach, Gold Coast to support their work with those most in need in the community. 

Well done to those who competed in the Brisbane Metro Futsal Tournament recently and also the Beach Volleyball Schools Cup at Coolangatta. My thanks to Mr Hibbs, Mr McGilveray, Mr Tanguy and Miss Carter for their commitment and time invested with these teams.  It has also been great to see students in the Running Club, out training with Mr Harris in preparation for the school cross-country event early next term. Best wishes to the 70 students out running the hills over the weekend as part of the Kokoda Camp in training for the Kokoda Challenge mid-year. 

Adele Ramsay
Deputy Principal Head of Secondary School 

MINDFUL MARCH 

Mindfulness is the idea of learning how to be fully present and engaged in the moment, aware of your thoughts and feelings without distraction or judgment. With the huge number of distractions in our world today it is often easy to tune out and let technology, social media and streaming services keep us from completing tasks and procrastinating. Even when in classes, a phone in a pocket vibrating every few minutes with notifications will ensure that mindful learning is not occurring. Thus, by the time our young people settle down to sleep, recharge and create long-term memories they are often so jangled that deep sleep is impossible. Nine hours of sleep has been identified as necessary for good health and wellbeing. How much is your child getting? With the perils of modern life in mind, wellbeing research is alive and well. One area of growing evidence is the benefits of mindfulness, a wellbeing tool that can be learnt and must be practiced to flourish in this fast-paced world – taking the time to stop, breathe and just be. However, many of us find this challenging, so to help there are some wonderful apps out there to get us started – using our technology for good. Some examples include Headspace, Smiling Minds, Calm, The Mindfulness App, My Life Meditation to name a few (they are free, some with optional add-ins). For those parents with concerns around their child’s technology ‘addiction’, headspace has some information at the following link:

https://www.headspace.com/mindfulness

A FOCUS ON YEAR 11

Last week I observed a group of Year 11’s run their year level meeting. Not an easy task considering there are 125 of them. They were a sensational example of positive role modelling. We have also seen wonderful instances of effective approaches to learning as the cohort prepared for their first Year 11 block exams. This was prefaced by one of the best whole cohort study sessions I have seen – over 100 Year 11’s in the Lighthouse with their teachers swatting for exams or assignments. I’ll have to double up on the cheese and biscuits for afternoon tea come our Term 2 study session.

Congratulations to:

• Holly R, Izzy Y, Finn A, Sienna D, Sienna Y, Molly J, Tia W and Kealie D who ran the Year 11 meeting last week. Great job team!
• The Year 12 Health class who ran the ‘Help the Homeless’ Week. As a result of their efforts over $1900 was raised to support the charity organisation Rosies. We are still hoping to collect a large amount of clothing for young people, warm clothes, shoes, new underwear and socks, toiletries and long-life foods to donate to Gold Coast Youth Services. Please send your donations to SS admin or Ms Stewart.

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

This time of term will see an increase in assessments for your children. It is important that they keep on top of exam dates and assignment due dates. If you are concerned about your child, please reach out to their Class Teacher, LAG Teacher or Year Level Coordinator. All assessment dates are on Parent Lounge and Student Café.

A timely reminder for all families to speak about online safety and phone use. Phones and devices should never be kept in a child’s room to charge overnight. It is too tempting for a young adolescent to continue to use games or social media apps late into the night. It is also important to sit with your child occasionally and discuss their phone usage. A great website is the Carly Ryan Foundation site. The link below will supply you with App fact sheets on the main Apps teenagers are using. There is also an online safety contract that may offer you some points to discuss with your children. Please sit with your child and discuss their online world.

https://www.carlyryanfoundation.com/resources/fact-sheets

Feel free to contact me at any time.

Lisa Roper
Head of Middle School 

During Week 6, our Year 8 Language students had the opportunity to dine in authentic German and Japanese restaurants.  While the German language students devoured a Schnitzel and some Apple Strudel at the Bavarian Haus Restaurant in Surfers Paradise, the Japanese students savoured exquisite Bento Boxes at our local Japanese restaurant, Wazen in West Burleigh.  A fun night was had by all including the Language staff.

Dani Goucher
Head of International Students and Languages

And… we’re trading. 

The launch of The Share Market Club was so much fun on Friday, 12 March. Numbers swelled from 33 in 2020 to just over 100 as our ‘stockies’ entered syndicates to begin trading when the market opened on Thursday.  

Ninety-five students and 8 staff have opted to take part in the first Share Market Game of 2021. Students have been given $50,000 of ‘game money’ to trade in Australian companies on the ASX website. The game market mirrors that of the real stock exchange with students having the opportunity to win cash prizes (real money) amongst the thousands of syndicates playing in Australia and New Zealand. 

Students can trade between 10:00am-4:00pm Monday to Friday (AEDT) with a fortnightly trade meeting set up for students to research both the companies and the behaviour of the market. 

At the time of writing, we’ve already had multiple trades and fierce competition is building as students aim towards the first prize of $600 (Australia and NZ) while avoiding the cursed Wooden Spoon (possession remains with Mrs Barbara Kristo from the 2020 Game).

Get in the game!

Meg Sippel

Year 11 Sport and Recreation students enjoyed a visit to Surf World last Tuesday. The experience augmented work completed in class where students have been studying the history of Australian surfing and its impact on the Gold Coast and its economy as a world-renowned tourist destination and surf location. Daryl led the group through the large number of items on display which centres its displays around board development and other historical events in the development of Surfing in Australia.

Tony Carter
Head of Physical Education Department

This week, the Year 1B class explored the advantages and disadvantages of good and bad bacteria in the environment. To show the effects of a spreading disease, the curious students were given vials of liquid. Most vials were filled with water; however, one was filled with acidic vinegar. As the liquids were exchanged using pipettes, the vinegar was distributed around the room and the introduction of phenolphthalein to the vials revealed the presence of the ‘disease’ in the room. Afterwards, eggs were placed into various liquids to investigate the effects of different types of foods on teeth. Two eggs were placed in coffee, one coated in toothpaste, and another was placed in vinegar. In the following week, the students will watch as the eggs begin to change. Finally, to demonstrate advantages of bacteria, we simulated the creation of yoghurt using instant pudding and the class enjoyed watching the liquid solidify over time. It was a terrific experience to work with the young scientists and I look forward to next time!

Hugo G
Year 11 Biology Ambassador

Interior Design is all about colour; students loved learning how to mix colours using paint. They are understanding how colour sets the tone of a room. Earlier in the term, students enjoyed crafting their statement piece for a rustic themed room.

Liz Polentas
Head of eLearning

In order to foster a greater sense of community the SRC reaches out regularly to understand pressures and passions that St Andrews students share. They are an active part of student life and student voice. They often work to raise money to fund student welfare activities and make efforts to connect and listen to student priorities. In particular BBQs and hospitality for respective year levels serve to build bonds with students across the year levels.

Last week we had the opportunity to connect with Year 7's and share the BBQ experience. It was great to see the enthusiasm and sharing some time together, across the year levels. In the last couple of weeks there have also been Valentine’s Day initiatives and some leadership offered. Any students interested in speaking with the SRC are welcome to come along and make connection with the Middle School and Senior School representatives.   

James Nelson
Director of Student Development Year 10 Coordinator

HELPING FAMILIES IN NEED 

St Andrews is a caring community that loves to help others in need. One of the ways that families help is by providing meals or support when a family is in need. We have signed up to 'Gather My Crew' to coordinate our support efforts rather than everything happening all at once. The data that you enter into the form below is forwarded to our Gather My Crew Coordinator who will enter your details into our account. When there is a need, an email will be generated and you will be invited to assist. If you would like to be on the roster, please complete the form below. Those families that have already signed up won’t need to sign up again. 

Gather My Crew Sign up - https://tinyurl.com/46rw6n56 

Thank you to all families who responded to a recent call out to provide meals for members of our community. It was certainly appreciated and the family would like to pass on their gratitude for the meals.

MUFTI DAY

Last week we held our mufti day. A total of $1,940.55 has been raised via gold coin donations, this will be donated to Rosies. This is such a great effort all money raised will go directly to the wonderful work that Rosies does in the community. 

A special mention to Mathis in Year 2 who donated $50 of his birthday money to help the homeless – how special!

SINE PRO 

I would encourage all families to download the SinePro App on their phones for an easy sign in process. Once you have downloaded the app and uploaded your details, SinePro can help you sign in when you visit someone on campus. You will need to sign in when you meet with staff or attend College events and by doing it on the app, you won’t have to come to the office. Thank you for your assistance. Please show the staff member you are meeting with that you have successfully signed in on that day. 

PARENT VOLUNTEERS

I am thrilled to announce that parent volunteers are once again welcome to assist in various aspects of the College, most commonly in the area of classroom helpers. This will come into effect at the beginning of Term 2. If you would like to assist the Junior School in this area, please complete the parent volunteer pack and return to Mrs Martens at Junior School Administration. https://www.salc.qld.edu.au/community/volunteer-handbook  On the days that you volunteer, you will need to sign in. This can be done at the office or more conveniently on your mobile phone using the Sine Pro app. Please simply show the staff member that you are working with that you have signed in using the Sine Pro app. 

THREE WAY CONFERENCES

The Three Way Conferences began last Tuesday. A large number of families have chosen to meet with the teacher face to face which is great. Once again you will need to sign in for this meeting. This can be conveniently done through the Sine Pro App on your phone. 

P&F PICNIC IN THE PARK

The P&F Picnic in the Park will be held on Friday 26 March. The Staff and P&F are looking forward to enjoying a social event with you.  You can purchase a sausage or bring your own picnic. There will be amazing music from The Saints. Once again you will need to sign in for this event using the Sine Pro App and will need to show staff upon entry into the picnic.

Darrin Schumacher
Deputy Principal / Head of Junior School

THINKING TINKERING THURSDAY 

In Years 4 to 6 we have launched a new initiative - Thinking Tinkering Thursdays! 

One of the reasons we have developed this concept is to help promote student agency. Agency is basically when our students have ownership of their own learning and action that comes from that learning.  Our job as educators is to facilitate opportunities with their learning that enable more active participation for the students. Agency is described by the International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO) for the Primary Years Program (PYP) as “the power to take meaningful and intentional action, and acknowledges the rights and responsibilities of the individual, supporting voice, choice and ownership…”  (IBO November 2017)

We initially surveyed our Year 4 to 6 students to find out what they would be interested in learning about more deeply and from that, our staff developed learning engagements for smaller groups of students to inquire into their area of interest. (A large group of students chose to audition to be involved in the musical – The Lion King Jr.) This Performing Arts option and the Thinking Tinkering Thursday learning engagements are occurring simultaneously. 

Students could choose from the following options:

• Cardboard Construction - making 3D objects/creations from cardboard
• Engineering Rockets - finding out how to make various types of rockets to launch
• Radical Rollercoasters - creating roller coasters to understand the scientific principles of how they work
• Language Learning - Italian! 
• Coding - learning the language of coding to make things move!
• Cooking - get into the kitchen to learn about healthy eating and nutrition
• Art - creating with clay
• Craft Activities - experience a variety of hands on creative activities
• Photography - learn how to take creative images and decide upon a photographic portfolio to share!
• Art – Painting
• Construction - make some amazing creations using a variety of construction kits e.g. Mecanno, K'Nex

THREE WAY CONFERENCES

Our Three Way Conferences are well underway! This approach is embraced by St Andrews as it offers a forum for students, parents and teachers to collaborate and discuss student’s strengths and areas for improvement, along with future learning goals. It is another way of extending agency to our students. The conference critically involves the student in self-assessment and allows them to take responsibility for their own learning as they work towards and achieve curriculum outcomes. During the conference, the students (with the support of the teacher) can openly discuss their progress and the approaches to learning (ATL’s) they have been developing. The research of Professor John Hattie highlights that student self-reporting is one of the most significant indicators linked to raising student achievement.

Three Way Conferences enable students to:

·      Share their learning journey with parents

·      Understand the importance of self-evaluation and reflection

·      Demonstrate evidence of learning

·      Develop their oral communication skills and increase their self-confidence

·      Accept personal responsibility for their learning

·      Demonstrate voice, choice and ownership 

May the conference offer you the opportunity to gain valuable insights about your child’s learning.

Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:9

Jacqueline Faulkner
Deputy Head of Junior School PYP Coordinator

Students have had the opportunity to make connections with our friends in Japan via Skype.

Students were able to ask and answer questions in Japanese and share their learning from their Term 1 Units of Inquiry.

We have been Skyping with Fuzoku Elementary School for over 10 years now and hope to continue our sessions for many more years to come. 

 Sharon Taki
Junior School Japanese Teacher

On behalf of the staff at St Andrews OSHC, I would just like to thank all the families and staff of St Andrews Lutheran College for their ongoing support of our service. Over the past year in my role, I have felt very warmly welcomed within this beautiful community. 

I would like to remind you all that we are still taking bookings for both our after-school care and our vacation care program. The vacation care program has been recently released on the college website and can be found under the 'Community' tab or clicking here. Pricing is also available in this section.

If you have any questions or even want to come in and have a look around our service, please get in touch either by email standrews.oshc@qlecs.org.au or via text/ phone call 0407 597 843 or 07 5522 5762.

All the staff at St Andrews OSHC look forward to seeing you all this vacation care!

Sara Vidler (service leader).

UPCOMING IMPORTANT DATES 

Trinity College London Exams

Wednesday 24 March
Ruth Butler Theatre

For our students recording their submissions for Trinity College London Speech and Drama and Acting Exams. 

Parents and Friends Picnic in the Park

Friday 26 March
Outside JS Library

Come along to the P and F Picnic and be entertained by our amazing Stage Band, The Saints. The band will play from 5:00pm.

A Night at the Movies
Year 4 – 12 Music Gala

Saturday 8 May at 6:30pm
Ruth Butler Theatre

This Music showcase features performances from our choirs and music ensembles across the College, with some special guests’ performances.

This is a ticketed event. 

Year 9 and 10 Drama Festival Performance

Tuesday 11 May 4:30pm performance
Ruth Butler Theatre

Our Year 9and 10 Drama Class will perform their production of One Act Play Disaster that follows a group as they attempt to perform a 35min version of Ocean’s Eleven – only the lighting operator is out for revenge, the smooth talking conman has crippling stage fright, the acrobat is completely uncoordinated, the lead is on crutches, and the understudy insists on reading the stage directions.

Gold Coast Secondary School’s Drama Festival – Junior Section 

Thursday 20 – Saturday 22 May

Our MS Elective is already rehearsing their production of The Seussification of a Midsummer Night’s Dream for entry in the Junior Section of The Gold Coast Secondary School’s Drama Festival. The play gives Shakespeare’s most beloved comedy the full Seuss treatment. 

Congratulations to Amy D, Finlay R and Bianca T who just won their heat of Battle of the Bands held at Brightside Fortitude Valley. 

Well done ladies.

Cilla Scott
Head of Arts Department

BEACH VOLLEYBALL QLD STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS RESULTS

Sunday, 7 and Monday, 8 March saw students from St Andrews compete for the first time in the Beach Volleyball QLD State Championships. There were 483 Teams from across the State who competed over the 2 days with 1163 matches occurring on 52 courts down at Coolangatta.

RESULTS:
Junior Girls – 11^th / 27 Teams
Anniella D, Maddie J, Lexi K, Georgia B, Amelia T

Junior Boys – 5^th / 30 Teams
Will R, Ollie T, Jacob O, Callum H, Jaxon C

Intermediate Girls – 6^th / 26 Teams
Skyla E, Aimee F, Emily M, Cesca M, Bella N

Senior Boys – 13^th / 16 Teams
Hayden W, Taj V, Cooper H, Sam C, Jackson R, Oliver S

Please congratulate any of the students as you see them. A big thanks to Ms Slavin, Ms Carter and Mrs Wood for also coaching and managing teams over the competition.

JUNIOR SCHOOL FUTSAL

This week, five Junior School Futsal Teams competed in the first round of the Brisbane Metro qualifying series. After a massive day with each team playing 4 or 5 games each, our 11 Years Boys Red team, 10 Years Boys and 12 Years Girls have qualified through to the Finals Day next week. A special mention to our Girls team who finished top of the table and our dedicated coaches Mr Schache, Andrew, Oscar, Charlie and Bella. 

JUNIOR SCHOOL SLAPS SWIMMING 

It was a fantastic day for our students at the recent SLAPS Swimming Carnival with St Andrews winning the Division 1 Percentage Trophy. St Andrews also placed first in the 10 Years Boys Age Group. Congratulations to Isabel A and Finn T who were awarded medals for outstanding performances on the day. 

Libby Wood 
Head of Sport – Secondary School

Casey West
Head of Sport – Junior School

Emerging Athletes is a new program aiming to assist St Andrews Students in Year 5-12 to improve their physical capabilities whilst maintaining a healthy body. The College is partnering with Fit Lab to assist each student to reach their athletic potential. Fit Lab is a high-performance centre of excellence for athletes which engages exercise and health professionals including Physiotherapists, Strength and Conditioning Coaches and Exercise Physiologists.

To be a part of the St Andrews Emerging Athletes Program students need to be representing the College in one of our signature sports including; Touch, Netball, Futsal and or Basketball. For sports which are not currently training past representation or current club experience they will also be considered.

What ages is this for?

• The program will be offered to students from Year 5-12.

What is the aim of the program?

• To improve student’s power and speed specific to our signature sports.
• To prevent and reduce injury in order to maintain longevity.
• To identify body imbalances. 
• To enhance and address body imbalances.
• To make our students better athletes which in turn improves team performance both in and outside of school.

How does it work?

• Students complete a series of fitness tests which can be nationally benchmarked within each of our signature sports. From this body imbalances and strengths and weaknesses are identified.
• A specific strength and conditioning program is developed for each student. This is delivered through the FITLAB App. As mentioned the focus is on developing St Andrews Futsal, Touch and Netball athletes with high levels of sport specific attributes including power, speed and agility. However, another highly important focus is injury prevention. Specific exercises will be available for all athletes to complete in order to stay fit and healthy. This is so important to prevent injury and strengthen growing bodies.
• Students will have the opportunity to complete their training both at school or at home. The School Gym under the supervision of Callum Hannay and HPE staff, will be available before and after school as well as some specific lunchtimes. All programming will consider the child’s age and experience in order to develop effective and appropriate exercises.
• Each training session students complete their assigned exercises and record the results in the training Fit Lab Training App. Fit Lab exercise professionals then provide feedback to St Andrews coaching staff directly so that student progression is consistent and monitored.
• Each Term the St Andrews Emerging Athlete is re tested in all benchmarks to provide ongoing feedback and appropriate adjustment. 

Is there a cost?

• Yes. There is a cost of $10 per week per term for each student. This is based on an 8-week term. 
• Students can also nominate to purchase a St Andrews Emerging Athlete shirt. 

How can I find out more?

• Get in touch with Mrs Libby Wood the Head of Sport on libbyw@salc.qld.edu.au 

https://www.entbook.com.au/14404l5

Hello all,

The end of Term 1 is always a good time to check in with our young people about their mental health.  

Whilst adolescence can often be considered a time of care-free, peer focused fun it is also a time of planning for the future, facing limits, pushing boundaries, contemplating university entry and backup plans or 6:00am starts on the job.  Add to that, learning to drive, first time employment, new relationships, complex relational and social decision making, developing autonomy, managing social media, managing money, plenty of transitions, exams, assessments and oh yeah – puberty.

Urghh, adolescence is stressful. 

During adolescence, a lot of slow and purposeful brain development is occurring in the areas of the amygdala and the frontal lobes.  These areas of the brain are largely responsible for managing responses to stress and arousal (Lupien et al., 2009).  Studies show that adolescents present an increased physiological response to stress, in comparison to children and adults (Lupien et al. 2009). The adverse effects of stress on the physiological and psychological wellbeing of our young people really must be considered priority, to minimise the potential implications for adolescent depression and other vulnerabilities.  

I encourage you to talk to your wonderful young people about their wonderful brains.  Ask them how they cope with stress.  Let them know, that research shows that adolescents is actually super hard, and remind them to take care of their mind and bodies along the way.

My 5 essentials for a healthy/happy young person…

• Good sleep - 8-10 hours (Australian Institute of Health).                                 
• Good food - More vegetables (sorry guys).    
• Good talk - Change the direction of negative talk.
• Good company - Choose company that makes you feel good.  
• Good exercise - Your brain will thank you.        
• Study breaks – lots of study breaks!   Recommended 10 minutes for every half hour. 
• Fresh air and lots of water.
• Less screen time – perhaps the hardest to achieve but try for no screen time after 10:00pm.

Why not add….

Wishing you a happy end to Term 1 and a stress-free start in Term 2.

Kate Bowyer
College Counsellor 

Resource:  - Innocenti (2017). The Adolescent Brain: A second window of opportunity. UNICEF 2017

It was exciting to welcome three 2nd Generation students to the College in 2021. Daisy M, Prep (Madeleine K); Asher M (Jayde Class of 1999);  Jaxavier (Jeorgia Class of 2008).

As mentioned in the last newsletter, the P&F will be having a few social events this year and as such we are putting together a list of volunteers for 2021. Being a volunteer with the P&F will help us build a strong St Andrews community. If you are interested in helping out please email us at pandf@salc.qld.edu.au 

UP AND COMING P&F EVENTS

PICNIC IN THE PARK
This event will be held from 5:00pm on Friday 26 March on the Junior School Oval. It is a fun, casual night full of entertainment from our music students and a great way to connect with other College families.

LAMINGTON DRIVE  
This is a joint project between P&F and Reid Street Kitchen - orders through My School Connect from Friday 19 March. Delivery to children’s classrooms on Friday 7 May, just in time for Mother’s Day. All funds raised going towards new and exciting play spaces planned for Junior School and Middle School.

DANCE FOR SICK KIDS 
Community and fundraising event for Ronald McDonald House Charities. Save the date Saturday 22 May at 3:30pm at St Andrews Lutheran College. More details to come soon!

Unfortunately, our wonderful community building Fete has been postponed until 2022.

SAVE THE DATES

Please note the following meeting dates in your diary for 2021, we look forward to seeing you there!

Wednesday 12 May 7:00pm  

Wednesday 18 August 7:00pm  

AGM Wednesday 10 November 7:00pm  

If you want to add anything to the agenda do not hesitate to email: pandf@salc.qld.edu.au

Enjoy your weekend and God bless from the P&F team.

March 

Saturday 20 
Kokoda camp

Sunday 21 

Kokoda camp

Wednesday 24

3 Way Conferences- Junior School

Thursday 25 

13-19 years QLD swimming

Friday 26

13-19 years QLD swimming
P&F Picnic in the Park

Monday 29

Year 7 Water Cycle Incursion

Tuesday 30

E-3 Mini Cross Country

Wednesday 31

ELC Easter Celebration
Term 1 Concludes

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