Last Thursday I spent the afternoon with the Prep classes. As a Unit of Inquiry, our Preps are investigating people in the community and the relationships that connect us to groups and communities. The questions flowed thick and fast. They had me on my toes, wanting to know what I do, whether I like doing it and how it ‘fits in’ with our community. Sometimes, to be true, I wonder about such things myself. These have been the strangest of times and there has surely been many “balls in the air”, balancing often conflicting requirements and expectations to present “operating procedures” which are reasonable, deliverable and sustainable.

I am a teacher. It defines me. It is my vocation. My greatest weekly joy is still teaching “my” class, an opportunity that in my opinion is too seldom exercised by colleague Principals. Strolling … er, walking with purpose around the campus, interacting with students of all ages, is what puts the wind in my sails. St Andrews’ staff inspire me; they’re truly impressive. The parents, with rare exception, offer their trust and respect, not just simply through the act of enrolment, though moreover through their words and actions which genuinely affirm that they are “happy” that their children are being deeply valued and well educated. Sure enough, there can be some less cheery days, and sometimes those days can come quite close to one another. Despite that, though, and amidst days of significant challenge as an educational leader, it was easy for me to reflect with the Prep classes that I have “the best job ever”. It is invariably complex, indeed complicated, often bordering on chaotic, though a teacher I am, and with that I am well pleased.

COVID-DAYS CONTINUE

It is easy to feel, with all students back on campus, that things have returned to normal – they have not. Sure enough, teachers and students have seamlessly returned to the face-to-face exchange of learning, though the management of ‘non-school’ matters, even within the context of ‘at-school’, continues to present unique challenges.

I will continue to communicate all matters on a latest and fullest basis, at least weekly. At times, it feels I am doing little else recently other than digesting incoming formal communiques from Regulatory Authorities, considering how they are applied, and re-framing them as they are disseminated across our own community. I have never written so much. Seems like a good note to end this newsletter reflection on!

David Bliss
Principal

THE HEART OF EDUCATION

The students are the heartbeat of the College and we are thrilled to have our learners back learning in classrooms. While some of our operations are still impacted by Covid-19, the deep levels of care and commitment for each of our students, their learning and their wellbeing, remains at the heart of all we do. We are incredibly proud of our young people and the manner in which they attended to their studies at home. They have re-launched into the learning alongside their peers and teachers with vim and rigour and we hold every confidence that they will attend to their assessments with confidence and a commitment to achieving their personal bests.

COMMUNITY CONNECTION

Last week we hosted two Community Connect virtual parent information sessions – Middle School (Mrs Warner and Mrs Roper), Senior School (Mrs Warner and Ms Stewart) where we discussed the smooth transition back into classes, gained feedback on our virtual Student Led Conferences and held a Q&A session for parents. I’d like to thank all of the parents who attended. Thank you for welcoming us into your homes. Our Virtual Student Led Conferences will continue in Term 3 given the positive feedback. Thank you also, to and all of those who have sent in words of praise and thanks to members of our team. Last Friday the P&F ‘shouted’ a special coffee and cake for all staff to say thank you on behalf of our wider parent community. Thank you.

STUDENT PULSE

Our Pastoral Care program continues to focus on student wellbeing and connection. Given the challenges presented by Covid-19, we have been proactively looking at ways to reassure our young people and to work through natural feelings of worry and anxiety during unpredictable times. The College has also invested in a digital tool for measuring the week-to-week wellbeing and engagement of students. This will complement the work of our pastoral care team. Pulse tracks the wellbeing of individual students so that the school can respond to those who express a need. It also tracks anonymised student sentiment about their engagement with the school so the school can make changes based on student voice.

http://resources.educatorimpact.com/Pulse/Pulse_FAQs_Parents.pdf

NATIONALLY CONSISTENT COLLECTION OF DATA ON SCHOOL STUDENTS WITH DISABILITY (NCCD)

Every year, all schools in Australia participate in the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD). The NCCD process requires schools to identify information already available in the school about supports provided to students with disability. These relate to legislative requirements under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and the Disability Standards for Education 2005, in line with the NCCD guidelines (2019).

Information provided about students to the Australian Government for the NCCD includes:

year of schooling
category of disability: physical, cognitive, sensory or social/emotional
level of adjustment provided: support provided within quality differentiated teaching practice, supplementary, substantial or extensive.

This information assists schools to:

formally recognise the supports and adjustments provided to students with disability in schools
consider how they can strengthen the support of students with disability in schools
develop shared practices so that they can review their learning programs in order to improve educational outcomes for students with disability.

The NCCD provides state and federal governments with the information they need to plan more broadly for the support of students with disability.

The NCCD will have no direct impact on your child and your child will not be involved in any testing process. The school will provide data to the Australian Government in such a way that no individual student will be able to be identified – the privacy and confidentiality of all students is ensured. All information is protected by privacy laws that regulate the collection, storage and disclosure of personal information. To find out more about these matters, please refer to the Australian Government’s Privacy Policy (https://www.education.gov.au/privacy-policy).

Further information about the NCCD can be found on the NCCD Portal (https://www.nccd.edu.au).

If you have any questions about the NCCD, please contact Sandi Aleman, Secondary School Student Services Coordinator sandia@salc.qld.edu.au

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

Virginia Warner
Deputy Principal / Head of Secondary School

MINDFULNESS IN MAY

Well, it is May and I think it will still be important to practice Mindfulness – hence Mindfulness in May. As our young people hit the back end of the term after a somewhat unusual start (remember Covid-19 isolation) it will be important that they settle quickly back into the routine of school, bells, uniform expectations and that important measure of learning – assessment. While teachers and the broader bodies (QCAA) have considered the ramifications of the isolation period and online learning there will still be assessments to complete and our students need to be working mindfully towards these.

Over the last few weeks of practicing mindfulness with my own classes I noticed that my students had a positive shift in energy and focus – we seemed to get more done in class. Don’t forget, mindfulness is a superpower and mastering our thoughts and emotions can be a positive outcome of mindfulness leaving us in the moment – whatever that might be.

The Benefits of Mindfulness include

Source: https://www.timetothrive.net.au/work-with-gayle/mindfulnessmeditation/

Some wonderful websites that explain this superpower and give practical applications include:

https://www.smilingmind.com.au/mindfulness

https://www.headspace.com/mindfulness

https://www.mindful.org/medita...

https://www.calm.com/

A Shout Out to Parents – you have made it. Whatever the age of your young person they are now back at a fully ‘stocked’ school. Well done! The link below is a neat article from the Search Institute acknowledging the efforts of parents (it is an American link). https://tinyurl.com/y9rwd9hl

Congratulations to:

All of our Senior School students who did such a fantastic job during the period of isolation and online learning. I can safely say that your teachers are very proud of your efforts but we are very much looking forward to teaching all our classes in a face-face environment.
Our College Captains for their messages of hope and joy. Thanks for leading the way team.
Our Senior School teachers for their hard work, dedication and growth mindsets – we learnt a whole new way of teaching in a few weeks and went above and beyond to make sure our students did not miss a beat in terms of their learning.
To our parents for their faith in us and for their support of their young person at home.

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

SPECIAL EVENTS

Students and teachers have been participating in special events in the Senior Library this term. These included making felt poppies, writing cards to a Vietnam Veterans and creating a craft board – which were hung by teachers and students along the front fence to commemorate ANZAC Day.

Our Year 8 English teachers and the library team organised a very successful online author visit with Brian Falkner. Using Microsoft Teams, Brian Falkner spoke about his writing process using humour to engage and connect with the students. Thank-you to the dedication of the teachers involved: Mrs Atkins, Miss Bible, Mr Casey and Miss Hughes.

QUEENSLAND PREMIERS READING CHALLENGE

Ready, set, read…registrations for the 2020 Premier’s Reading Challenge are now open! The Premier's Reading Challenge is an annual statewide initiative for Queensland students. We are challenging our St Andrian Years 7, 8 and 9 students to take up their books to read for pleasure and information!

Students need to read a minimum of 15 books (at their reading level) between now and 28 August. While there is no compulsory reading list, there are suggested booklists on the Premiers Reading Challenge website. Students need to record the books they read and return the forms to the CRC Library by the 30 August at the latest.

Students who finish the challenge will a receive a certificate signed by the Premier. We look forward to seeing many students participating.

RED ROOM POETRY OBJECT COMPETITION

Another great competition that is open to our students is The Red Room Poetry Object 2020 Competition. Red Room are looking for poets and poems that voice the hidden histories of special objects and talismans that we keep close through the orbit of our lives.

More information is available at: https://redroomcompany.org/projects/poetry-object/

NEW BOOKS NEW LOOKS

New books have been catalogued and placed on display, ready for students to engage with reading for pleasure. Students can also access books digitally through the Wheelers eLibrary by using their school log-in details.

LIBRARY SUPPORT

The Library team has been proactive in supporting students and teachers at this time of learning from home, leading webinars, providing digital support and troubleshooting to assist with using online resources such as Pearson Online, Microsoft Teams and Microsoft Forms. We have also continued to loan out textbooks and helped students find reading materials online through our e-book platform, Wheelers. Some Middle School students have found the Library a welcome haven to do their online learning during this time.

ONLINE DIGITAL RESOURCES

Remember to join up to THE WONDER ZONE on Teams to access digital resources to support independent learning, reading, games and more!

ASK A LIBRARIAN

Your Librarians are always happy to help with research, finding resources, book recommendations and IT support. Chat to us live via Teams or email:

barbarak@salc.qld.edu.au; courtneyg@salc.qld.edu.au; yvonneb@salc.qld.edu.au

Warmest regards
The CRC Senior Library Team

RESPONDING, RECOVERING, REINVENTING

Like you, we were really excited about school starting again last Monday. It has been great to have the students back on campus and students connecting with their friends again. We have been forced to respond to a situation out of our control and teach differently. We’ve reinvented ourselves and learnt new skills. It is like a reset button has been pressed.

In the first instance we needed to respond to a crisis that didn’t exist a few months ago. Plans were put in place to ensure the student’s education journey was minimally impacted. Wellbeing plans were implemented for students and staff. Caring for families who have lost their source of income overnight were implemented. There is no manual for this type of thing, but the College responded based on advice from Government and health agencies and using the wisdom and experience of College staff to put in place plans for the community. At the forefront of all our discussions were Education and Wellbeing.

Some children have had very little contact with others outside of their families for 10 weeks. Others have been at school as their parents have been essential workers and formed friendships with other students. The social aspect of the return to school is vitally important and something that we are putting thought into. The teachers have been instructed to dedicate time on developing students social and emotional skills on their return to school.

Another important aspect of the recovery is the academic recovery. We have had a wide range of support for the students learning from home. It is a reality that some parents were able to spend a large amount of time with their children while others found it a struggle to balance the commitments. Some students thrived by being at home with their learning, others struggled with the change. The teachers are going to have to spend a great deal of time assessing where the students are at with their learning and plan accordingly. Don’t underestimate the enormity of this task.

As part of the return to school the focus has been on the students in the classroom and establishing routines. The co-curricular aspect of school, which is so important will resume next term.

An important aspect of our mission statement is “Empowering Life Long Learners”. This certainly has been true for all us as we have embarked on the “Online Learning from Home” platform. I have learned many new skills and it has allowed me to think differently. As we return to school we will need to reinvent ourselves as we go about school with different guidelines. This provides us with an excellent opportunity to rethink what we have always done and do things a little differently. It would be a real shame if we went back to doing things exactly the same way we did previously.

PICK UP AND DROP OFF

It is mandated that we limit the number of adults on campus which goes against our normal mantra of welcoming parents onto the campus meeting their children at the classroom. It feels a little strange, but it is one thing we can all do to help play our part during this time. As a result, there are more cars coming in and out and an increased amount of queuing. To help avoid this, your assistance is required:

Please park and stay in your car if you arrive before 2:55pm:
a.     Prep to Year 2 students wait under the Bus Shelter;
b.     Years 3 and 4 students wait under the new turnaround area;
c.     Years 5 and 6 wait at the Worship Centre;
d.     Students with siblings in the ELC wait outside the Year 1 classrooms; and
e.     Older siblings are to wait with their youngest sibling.
Timing your run is important. You will be in and out much quicker if you arrive after 3:15pm (Prep to Year 4) or before 3:15pm (Years 5 to 6).
Please move forward as far as possible before allowing your children into the car.

BUS SHUTTLE

Junior School students only (Prep to Year 6) can also catch a shuttle bus to either Coplicks or Burleigh Tavern which will run once a day in the afternoons.

If you would like your child/ren to use the shuttle, please register with the Junior School Administration Office on 5568 5901, before 1:45pm on the day that you want your child/ren to travel on the shuttle. Rolls will be updated at 1:45pm each day and only students listed on the roll will travel on the shuttle. Please note that if students are not on the roll, they will be asked to stay at school. The shuttle will be leaving the College at 3:05pm each day.

ACTIVE TRAVEL

Please don’t forget to use other active school travel measures like catching the school bus, parking off-site and walking to the school gate or riding bikes. We have a patrolled crossing near Daffodil Street.

EARLY DEPARTURE FROM SCHOOL

If you need to collect your child/children early from school, please come to the Junior School Office to sign them out. We will put a call through to their classroom and have them meet you at the Office.

Darrin Schumacher
Deputy Principal / Head of Junior School

WRITTEN REPORTS SEMESTER ONE

At St Andrews we have a number of ways that we report. These include written semester reports, Three Way Conferences, Student Led Conference and the use of a digital portfolio (Seesaw).

Last year the Junior School undertook a process to view our reports with a different perspective. We considered what information it was providing you as parents about the progress of your child and how the written semester reports connected with the other ways that we report. We also desired a reporting system that would enable the process of tracking each individual student as they progressed from Prep through to Year 6.

As a College we are accountable to meet mandatory requirements for reporting. Two of these mandatory requirements include that we must provide parents with two written reports within an academic year and we must use a five-point scale for reporting. Student progress is assessed according to the level of attainment of knowledge, concepts and approaches to learning (skills) that they have attained along a continuum. In Prep and Year 1, progress is identified as being either Beginning, Developing, Established, Applying or Independently Applying. Students in Years 2 to 6 will be assessed on an E – A scale. (Please note that a C outcome is the expected level for the students at that point in time.)

The College needed the report to align with the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (IB PYP) philosophy that we are authorised to implement in the Junior School. We also wanted to highlight the ACARA achievement standards for the key disciplinary areas.

So, when the Semester One Reports are uploaded onto the TASS Parent Lounge at the end of this semester, they will look very different to previous reports. Please note that you may notice a statement appearing on the front cover of your child’s report. The statement explains the impact of COVID-19 on this round of reporting. Due to unprecedented circumstances, student achievement levels are indicative of teacher judgements of your child’s progress for Semester 1, 2020. Whilst every effort is made for these to be accurate there are varying factors which could have impacted on the accuracy of the achievement noted by teachers.

We trust that you will find the new report format to be informative as it sits alongside the evidence of your child’s learning available on Seesaw. (No doubt you would have seen first hand many of the learning activities and teacher feedback over the past few weeks!!)

Your child’s Semester One Report will be available for viewing on Monday 29 June 2020.

This is the day which the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it. (English Standard Version)
Psalm 118:24

Jacqueline Faulkner
Deputy Head of Junior School & PYP Coordinator

With so much time spent online during COVID19 restrictions it is no surprise that many Social Media Apps have become a popular choice for our young people. On the surface it can sometimes seem to be a safe way to get kids interacting and expressing themselves. However, a few parents over the past week have raised concerns about other content that is appearing on some of these platforms that is freely available for young inquisitive minds to find and explore.

I had a look through the following cybersafety websites and would encourage you to do the same:

https://www.esafety.gov.au/key...

https://www.familyzone.com/anz/families/blog

https://www.internetsafeeducation.com/blog

Despite having internet filters there are many ways that children can become exposed to images of pornography, self-harm and attention seeking dares from Social Media users. Curiosity about a hashtag and what it means can also lead a child to google a word or term and lead them to X-rated internet pages that their young minds are not ready to process or understand.

Some of these Media websites and Apps also allow strangers to direct message children adding to the allure of potential predators who are very clever in manipulating children to get information and initiate inappropriate actions online.

Like all Apps that are available and the internet in general, the message is clear from the experts. It is not a matter of “if” your child finds inappropriate content but “when”, and our education needs to focus on what they choose to do with it. Encouraging open and honest age appropriate conversations between children and trusted adults will always be the best response to this situation. They need to know they can tell someone without judgement or repercussion. They also need to know rules and laws about sharing inappropriate images and messages and know there is a trusted adult to speak to if this happens or if they accidentally hit the send button before the rational thoughts kick in.

If you have any concerns or questions, please contact either myself or Karen Koehler to discuss.

mardif@salc.qld.edu.au

karenk@salc.qld.edu.au

Mardi Frost
Junior School Counsellor

PAT ONLINE

I have so much appreciation for our wonderful PAT Tutors who have adapted so seamlessly to teaching online. As with us all there may be elements that they will keep in their teaching ‘tool kit’ but I also know all tutors are excited to be back in the same room with your children.

With the exception of Makin Mini Music, all PAT Tuition will recommence face to face lessons from the start of Week 6. Timetables will be readjusted back and reissued this week to families.

It was such a pleasure to hear the (virtual) debut performance of our Senior Vocal Group with their version of Stand By Me. This audition based group formed at the start of the year and we look forward to hearing them perform live soon. If you did not get the chance to enjoy this performance you can access it below.

CHICAGO NEW DATES ANNOUNCED

Our College Musical Chicago has been moved to the first week of Term 4 with the show running from Thursday, 8 October – Saturday, 10 October. Tickets will go on sale closer to the event so we can be sure that we are in line with the restrictions in place at that time.

Term 2 rehearsals will recommence Week 6 with a reduced cast – with all cast back from the start of Term 3.

CO-CURRICULAR ARTS TERM 2

From this week we have a staggered start to our Co-curricular ensembles. Please see details below:

No JS bands, choirs, dance troupes for the remainder of Term 2.
Stringendo will replace String ensemble on a Monday morning in Junior School Music room.
Jazz band, The Saints and Senior Concert Band will rehearse in the Worship Centre from Week 6.
Senior School Choir will recommence from Week 6 in the Ruth Butler Theatre.
Dansation, Combined Intensity and Locomotion will recommence Term 3. Those times will be used for Chicago Dance Troupes to finalise choreography.
Animi will continue online – with only the Years 7 – 12 Animi Class participating in a face to face class.
Chicago rehearsals will recommence with a reduced cast from Week 6. Cast have been sent a separate schedule.

Cilla Scott
Head of Arts

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Issue 5, 29 May 2020

In This Newsletter

Principal's Pen

Mr Bliss

Chaplain's Chat

Graeme Schache

Secondary School

From the Deputy Principal / Head of Secondary School

From the Head of Senior School

Language News

Secondary School Library News

Junior School

From the Deputy Principal / Head of Junior School

A word from the Deputy Head of Junior School

Under 8's Week

Junior School Library News

Information Regarding Social Media Apps.

Sports

Sport News

The Arts

Arts Corner

Community

Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD)

Entertainment book

Updated Term Dates

Uniform Shop Hours

Principal's Pen

Chaplain's Chat

Secondary School

Junior School

Sports

The Arts

Community

Principal's Pen

Chaplain's Chat

Secondary School

Junior School

Sports

The Arts

Community