This year, College worship across all year levels has been focusing on God’s Story. We have made our way through the Old Testament in Semester One – racing through a couple of thousand years of history as recorded in the Bible. We have touched on some of the significant people and events, endeavouring to investigate how God has interacted with His people before Jesus arrived on the earth, 2000 years ago. We have commenced Semester 2 with the Christmas event. Obviously, this doesn’t quite ‘fit’ with our calendar but it is the pivot point of the Bible and the beginning of the life that has impacted our culture more than any other in history.
In the weeks ahead, we will investigate the ministry of Jesus. His actions, teachings and ultimately His death and resurrection have had, and continue to have, such a profound impact on our world. This is especially true for those of us who confess faith in His rescue of us from sin and death but is also true for all people as His influence upon all of society is profound.
We invite you to enter into conversation with your children around the awesome things that Jesus did in the three short years of His public life. We are certainly excited to celebrate key aspects of His ministry in the weeks ahead. Our school is built upon the Gospel – the Good News that we are rescued by Jesus as we place our hope and trust in the forgiveness He has won for us.
Graeme Schache Lay Pastor
Secondary School
From the Deputy Principal / Head of Secondary School
GROWING WITHIN AND SERVING BEYOND
Our Year 9 students have embraced the BINGA outdoor education experience with optimism, grit and the Andrian Spirit. We welcomed the boys back from camp mid-week and I look forward to visiting the girls onsite this weekend. There is no underestimating the learning that comes from facing the challenges of outdoor education experiences alongside your classmates and I would like to acknowledge the work of Mr Tanguy, Ms Bible and Mr Bliss who all went above and beyond to ensure this learning experience for our Year 9s was possible.
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This week IC’20 launches for selected students Years 7-12. This program builds entrepreneurial skills and mindsets and brings mentors from industry into the College to work alongside our students and staff over a 10-week program. In its third year, the program has led many of our students into social-enterprises and small business endeavours.
Walk My Way, a Service Learning Initiative, is but a few short weeks away (8 August) for our students in Years 10 – 12. Any students interested in participating in the 26km walk to raise funds in support of access to education for refugee children in Africa should see Mr Schache as soon as possible for the details.
CELEBRATING ACADEMIC SUCCESS
We celebrated academic success achievement and endeavour during Years 10 – 12 Year level Meetings last week. I’d like to acknowledge the hard work, academic mindsets and agility of our learners. Learning Advisors and Year Level Coordinators reinforced the importance of reflecting on goals and setting targets for growth and improvement with their classes.
Our Year 12 students and teachers are busily working through the remainder of senior curriculums and preparing for the Mock External Exams later this term (Weeks 8 and 9). We will generate an end of Term 3 Report for our Year 12s to give them and their parents a clear indication of where they are at with their studies before they head into revision for External Exams in Term 4.
CONNECTION AND COMMUNITY
Yesterday we held virtual Student Led Conferences. Thank you to the teachers, parents and students who attended. If you were unable to attend and have questions about your child’s academic progress and development, please contact teachers directly as they will be all too happy to hear from you. While we are still unable to have parents onsite in large groups, we are very open to meeting with parents who have any concerns so please do not hesitate to contact me or any member of the team to make an onsite arrangement.
SENIOR SCHOOL STUDIES AND CAREERS EXPO AND MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDIES CELEBRATION -UPCOMING VIRTUAL EVENTS
The Senior Studies and Careers Expo is for all families for students going into Year 10 and 11 in 2021 (current Year 9 and 10 students) and will be held on Monday, 27 July starting at 5.00pm online. The aim of this event is to give students and parents the opportunity to gather valuable information about key Senior School subjects and information so that students can make informed decisions as they plan their career pathway through and beyond their senior schooling. This is a compulsory night for students.
As our Year 9 girls will be at Mt Binga camp on the night of this event, Year 9 girls will receive detailed information and attend a session with Ms Stewart (Head of Senior School) and Mrs Wrigley (Director of Learning and Student Pathways) upon their return. The parents of Year 9 girls are encouraged to join us on Monday, 27 July.
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The Middle School Studies Celebration will be held on Tuesday, 11 Auguststarting at 5:00pm online. This virtual expo and information night is for all students in Years 7-9 in 2021 (current Years 6-8 students and all new students joining Middle School). Information about electives and subject selection will be discussed, so it is essential parents and students attend this evening. Using online platforms, the format for this event will be interactive and both staff and students will share their stories about Middle Schooling at St Andrews.
Thank you to all the students and staff for their stellar efforts and smooth transition back into the routines of College life. If I can help you or your child please reach out on virginiaw@salc.qld.edu.au
Virginia Warner Deputy Principal / Head of Secondary School
From the Head of Senior School
At the Year 12 Assembly I shared with the students and staff a TED Talk on what makes a good life. It was based on the research of Harvard University in the longest running (75 years) study of a group of men who were in their late teens and are now in their 90’s. This comprehensive study revealed that regardless of wealth, position, power, if you were born rich or poor the biggest predictor of lifetime happiness and even better health is the quality of your relationships.
One statement that stood out was that no matter what you do – “lean into relationships”. This is what we have encouraged our Year 12’s to consider as they navigate the last few months of school and embark on one of life’s transitions – leaving secondary school. It will be the relationships and the skills they have to develop (with community, friends, family, work colleagues) that will provide them with the resilience and opportunities to make the most of this transition time and to flourish. Year 12’s you still have the safe confines of St Andrews for a few months and as you know, you will always be Andrians no matter where your life journey takes you.
Our Senior School LAG classes who have been sending letters to the residents at the St Andrews Lutheran Aged Care. Each LAG has adopted 3 residents and will continue to make contact over the remainder of the year.
The Year 12 Health class who in Term 1 organised a drive to support youth experiencing homelessness for our chosen charity Gold Coast Youth Services. Post COVID-19 restrictions we have now been able to deliver the car load of donations and forward on the $75 raised.
Emily Martin who will be representing South Coast at the upcoming School State Championships for Golf and in August compete in the QLD Women’s Stroke Play Championship - a 3-day event which is a National Order of Merit event and also a World Amateur Ranking event. This event will hopefully get Emily noticed by US Colleges. Emily is currently ranked 15th in the National Girls Order of Merit - which is pretty impressive.
Our SALC Leos who created ‘Sewing Club’, with the help of Mrs Bartel, and sewed a number of bags to donate to Rosies to help those experiencing homelessness. We will also sew more bags for a new project that aims to help young people going into foster care. If you would like to donate items that we can put in the bags (suitable for 5-12 year olds) – toothbrush, pyjamas, socks or underpants – please drop them in at SS Admin or Ms Stewart’s office. The SS LAGs will soon be taking on this service project.
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
Year 11 Physics
Year 11 Physics Student – Fynnlay: Growing Within
Astronomy Course: University of Southern Queensland
Fynnlay R, a current Andrian in the Year 11 Physics class, is studying for a course in Astronomy through an online platform at the University of Southern Queensland. She has recently written her examinations and has successfully completed Units 1;2;3;4. The summary below comprises her results thus far and her personal reflections on the impacts of such a study program.
The program focused on the following topics: “Astronomy and the Universe” (Unit One), “Looking at the Night Sky” (Unit Two), “Eclipses” (Unit Three) and “Dynamics of the Solar System” (Unit Four). The overall result is a B for unit exam 1- 4 consisting of two separate assessments, each having a duration of 70 mins. Continuing, the next examination will be a unit 5 and 6 exam, based around “The Properties of Light” (Unit Five) and “Rotational Mechanics” (Unit Six). Through this course, the content has been extremely challenging at times with the many different new theories and calculations introduced. However, the subject has given me a head start in Years 11 and 12 Physics, as I learn the content before starting the same topics in class. It is an academically rigorous course which prepares me for further study in the world of physics and provides me with an example of what the QCAA external exams will embody. The remaining units include: “Optics and Telescopes” (Unit Seven), “Planetology” (Unit Eight) and “Solar Astronomy” (Unit Nine). Overall, the course has been very fulfilling so far. I love learning the topics on Astronomy and I look forward to learning more fascinating content in subsequent units. To conclude, this course has certainly provided an opportunity for me to “Grow Within” at St Andrews Lutheran College and I hope to Serve Beyond in the future.
Dr Gordon Naidoo Senior Physics Teacher
Hospitality News
In Semester 1 our Hospitality class engaged in a range of cooking activities. Within the first few weeks we learnt basic cooking skills. We started our first lesson in the kitchen by making a small meal, an Acai bowl. From the knowledge of the kitchen we learned through small activities it helped to lead to our final assignment. The assignment we were given allowed everyone to be excited. We designed a child’s Birthday party! To achieve this, we created a theme. Using the theme, we were involved in creating important aspects of the best party! For our practical assessment, we had to design, create and bake a birthday cake to match our theme.
We enjoyed many aspects of this elective and everyone to have fun. Working as partners to create meals we would eat was appealing to our minds and it inspired us to work hard. Although we worked super hard, we still had fun. When we were making our final cake, we enjoyed working as partners to help design the perfect cake for each other, and when it came to make them, we had heaps of fun. We also enjoyed that this elective allowed us to learn how to perfect the simplest to the hardest meals. This was achieved by the many skills our teachers taught us. Our whole class loved Hospitality; everyone was involved. An added bonus was it allowed us to take home all sorts of food to eat!
Giselle and James
Year 9 Students
Secondary School Library News
The Senior Library embraces the core values of the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) with our commitment to respect the diversity, individuality and equality for all and recognition of the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
The Library’s current digital and book displays, and book talking, focus on these values of celebrating diversity.
The Library also acknowledged National Reconciliation Week 2020 from 27 May – 3 June.
"Galleries, libraries, archives and museums are considered sites of memory, spaces to engage with history and identity, but for me these places are sites of forgetting, erasure and distortion. They are built on stolen land. Their names validate the place names that colonisers used to confirm their occupation of stolen land and to nullify the history that took place before colonial invasion (Sentance, 2018)”.
In honour of our First Nations Peoples, and National Reconciliation Week, the Library team reviewed our practices regarding the stories and knowledge of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We aim to promote the often-hidden voices of Indigenous communities, by implementing the following:
Intentional sourcing of new fiction and nonfiction by Indigenous authors in diverse genres and subjects/topics.
All titles by Indigenous authors will be labelled with an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander flag on the spine.
Intentional sourcing and cataloguing of websites which offer authentic perspectives from Indigenous communities – such as the map of the Colonial Frontier Massacres.
ACTIVITIES
The CRC Senior Library continues to buzz with many extracurricular events during lunch breaks. Students have joined up to the following Clubs: Minecraft: Craft the Library; Esports and the student directed Reading and Writing Club and Dungeons and Dragons. Crafting activities from pompom making, bookmark creation, and origami creation are also weekly lunch activities.
ESPORTS
Congratulations to Kye (team captain), Harry, Hayden and Sonny, who will be representing St Andrews Lutheran College at the FUSE Cup. The competition will be played online, with schools from around Australia competing in FIFA20. After participating in our trials, the boys will compete in regional heats against other Gold Coast schools. Thank-you to teachers Brendan Smith and Julian Hunt, who have been part of the Esports organising committee.
New books, including fiction, nonfiction and graphic novels have been catalogued and placed on display, ready for students to engage and connect with reading for pleasure. Students can also access books digitally through the Wheelers eLibrary by using their school log-in details.
ASK A LIBRARIAN
Your Librarians are always happy to help with research, finding resources, book recommendations and IT support. Come in and chat to us or via Teams or email:
You may have seen the Marshmallow Challenge, where the children are told that if they don’t eat the marshmallow that is in front of them, they will get a second marshmallow. These videos often make for very entertaining viewing as the children pull really funny faces as they wrestle with the choice of eating the marshmallow now or wait for a second one.
You can see children going back and forth with their thinking. We have labelled that toggling. They are toggling between what choice they are going to take. Sometimes when children are confronted with a choice they can pull some funny faces as they work through their options. They are thinking “If I take that chocolate biscuit, I will get a yummy treat but if mum sees me, I will get into trouble.”
It is important that children have the opportunity to toggle over the decisions that they need to make in life. This gives them opportunities to weigh up the consequences for a decision or action that they take.
CARPARK
The carpark has been working really efficiently. Thank you for the care and vigilance that you are showing when you enter the carpark. Just a reminder that the cars travelling East and West past the cross road near the little chapel must give way to the cars coming out of the JS carpark. Year 1 parents are reminded to collect their children from the asphalt area and not to park near the ELC.
UNIFORM
With the colder weather, the students are wearing a lot more layers of clothing in the morning. As it heats up during the day, these layers are removed. This is a reminder to make sure all clothing is labelled clearly so we can return it when it gets handed in at the office. Please also do not mix and match the uniform. The formal uniform requires the blue jumper and the sports uniform requires the jacket.
MUFTI DAY
The Mufti Day will be on 4 August. The funds raised will go to ALWS to help provide children with an education. A number of College senior students and staff are doing the walk on Saturday 8 August. For as little as $26 a child can receive an education. With an education this child can dramatically change the course of their life.
SCREENCOACH
Is managing screen time a challenge? Finding it hard to get help around the home?
It’s something we hear often from parents. Recently we were introduced to ScreenCoach from Ryan Bowles (Alumni 2008). Gary Borham and his tech start-up team have built a solution to not only get children more active, but have them helping out around the home and develop better screen habits. Something we need from time to time.
The St Andrews Lutheran College community is invited to participate in the ScreenCoach Alpha trial program. ScreenCoach is a fun, game-based app that helps families manage screen time for their kids. ScreenCoach empowers children to make great choices, makes it easier for parents to manage screen time, and through this promotes family balance and harmony. See their website for more myscreencoach.com
They have recently attracted major government funding which has helped them move to this stage quickly. Additionally, this support enables ScreenCoach to offer places in the alpha trials free.
If you participate in the alpha trial they will give you the hardware and software we’ve developed and we will work with your family over a 3-4 week period. You will be given the instructions and support required throughout the process. You will be asked about screen time before the trial, feedback on how the products work and your experience with them, including any bugs or problems. This will be done via surveys, a journal/diary and focus groups. After the trial they will get feedback to ask about the impact or changes in the screen time dynamics in your family, and the strengths and weaknesses of what they have built.
The feedback gained in alpha trials is vital in developing a product that works well, helps address screen time issues and parents’ frustrations.
Participating in alpha trials with ScreenCoach is free of charge, there is no cost to you other than your time. Numbers for testing families are limited and there is a screening process to help us find the right candidates.
If you’d like to participate in the alpha trial, or want to know more, click on the link.
Parents are encouraged to do their own research to see if this is right for you but it could be a useful solution to help manage screen time with your children.
COVID-SAFE
As part of our covid-safe plan, parents are required to stay in their cars before and after school when dropping their children off at school. Please do not walk your children to the classroom. If you need to meet with a member of staff, please do this in the JS admin block or via online platforms. You will need to sign in and answer the Covid-19 questions. Our aim is to keep our staff and students safe and to do our part to help prevent any future outbreaks. Your assistance is appreciated. If your child is displaying the symptoms, please get them tested and keep them at home until the results of the test are known.
Darrin Schumacher Deputy Principal / Head of Junior School
From the Deputy Head of Junior School
WELCOME TO TERM THREE!
This year a new unit of inquiry (UOI) was developed for the Year 5 students which sits under the transdisciplinary theme of How We Express Ourselves. The students investigated the central idea, ‘Technology provides ways to design and create.’ Students commenced the unit by exploring several different outfits displayed on mannequins. They engaged in a ‘See, Wonder, Connect’ thinking routine to help them appreciate how looking closely at something can expand one’s understanding of it, which in turn can provide a basis for making connections to other things. This thinking routine also helped to stimulate curiosity and set the scene for further inquiry.
Some of the wonderings the students expressed were:
What materials are the clothes made from?
Where and how were the clothes made?
I wonder what costs were involved in making the clothes?
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Through the use of Microsoft Teams, the students heard from one of our expert parents, Fleur Boys, who works in fashion designing. This was an incredibly informative presentation as the students (and the teachers, including myself) gained many new understandings. Below is an insightful reflection written by Fisher P (5B):
As part of the unit of inquiry, How We Express Ourselves, the Year 5 students recently had the opportunity to listen to guest speaker, Fleur Boys who is a fashion designer for Billabong. Fleur talked to us about the process of making a clothing item and the jobs involved in doing this.
We were excited to learn about clothing design. Fleur is inspired to create her designs by travelling across the globe, discovering new fabrics and colours. She then returns to the company and draws her pieces of clothing using the app, Adobe Illustrator. There are many people involved in the process that support the designs that Fleur has drawn. One of the main jobs that must be done, is surveying people of different genders and ages. Fleur and her team do this to find out what their customers want. We were fortunate to learn about the many steps involved in the design process.
Fleur’s talk helped the Year 5 students to design their own piece of clothing. Using the design process, we did many surveys, shared ideas with our classmates and drew many designs. As a result, we then chose our target age group and had fun designing pieces of clothing that they would wear regularly.
We all enjoyed learning from a real designer. It was fun following the design process and successfully creating a piece of clothing for a target group. We were all pleased that we got to see each other’s designs!
As part of this UOI, the students also experimented with coding using LEGO EV3’s. This connected with how technology is utilised in creating the garments we wear.
We are anticipating an exciting term ahead as students take a deep dive into their learning!
I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. Psalms 121: 1-2 (NIV)
Jacqueline Faulkner Deputy Head of Junior School & PYP Coordinator
The Arts
Arts Corner
VIRTUAL GOLD COAST DRAMA FESTIVAL
Towards the end of last term our MS Drama Festival Elective and our Year 10 Drama Class performed their class productions in front of an audience of their peers. At this time the performances were recorded and entered into the Gold Coast Secondary Schools Drama Festival which this year is virtual. Adjudication will happen at the start of Term 4 and if restrictions permit we will hold a screening and celebration of the performances at that time.
Our MS Elective performed Ivy Shambitt and the Sound Machine – a Roald Dahl style piece centred around Ivy and her ability to capture sound. Our Year 10 Drama class presented a contemporary adaptation of Picnic at Hanging Rock which explores the mysterious disappearance of two Melbourne school girls on Saint Valentine’s Day in 1904.
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YEARS 4 – 12 CULTURAL AWARDS
Whilst this has been a most unusual time we would very much like to celebrate and acknowledge our young performers in some way. As such we will be having a recorded Cultural Awards featuring performances from our College Ensembles from Years 4 – 12 as well as a recorded presentation of awards.
How are awards determined?
In Years 4 – 6 we use ensemble rolls to determine levels of involvement and ask that any activities completed outside of the College (this does include those from October last year onwards) be emailed to priscillas@salc.qld.edu.au. The deadline for this information is the end of Term 3.
In Years 7 – 12 students can complete the survey which be available via student notices and email to priscillas@salc.qld.edu.au. The deadline for this information is the end of Term 3.
Performance items will be recorded during normal rehearsal times from the end of Term 3 and start of Term 4 with the event made available via a link mid Term 4. Prior to recording parental permission will be sought through Parent Lounge.
Cilla Scott
Head of Arts
Sports
Junior School Athletics Carnival
The sun was shining down on us as we welcomed back sport to the Junior School with the Years 4 to 6 Athletics Carnival last Friday. It was a wonderful atmosphere with smiling faces, encouragement and lots of effort from all. Congratulations to all students for a wonderful day and to Jubi House for winning the House Trophy.
AGE CHAMPIONS
9 Years – Evie B and Luca Z
10 Years – Summer J and Jye K
11 Years – Claire G and Eli F
12 Years – Ella B and Ryan T
Casey West Junior School PSPE Teacher / Sports Coordinator
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Community
Uniform Shop
Parents and Friends Association
We hope you can join us at our once a term meetings, which are held on a Wednesday evening at 7:00pm in the J Block Lighthouse Boardroom (park at the top of the school near Main Administration Building and look up - you will see the boardroom light on upstairs in J Block).
Meeting date savers -
Wednesday 16 September
Wednesday 11 November
Keep up to date with all P&F news and events on the College Facebook page and also in the College’s fortnightly newsletters.
P&F Team
Entertainment Booklet
Important Dates
Important dates July - August
JULY
Monday 27
Senior School Careers and subject Selection – Virtual
