How do you know when a three-year-old has accepted you into the inner circle of trust?

They tell you the truth…

After a beautiful segment of time spent with my family in the United States, I journeyed down to the Early Learning Centre to hang out with some wonderfully precocious children who, overjoyed to spend time together, greeted me with shouts of welcome. As we sat down for some Jesus Time, one of the little girls approached and stood directly in front of me.

‘Pastor Reid,’ she said, ‘your head looks like a potato.’

I felt so blessed.

While it may be true that my head is, in fact, shaped like a tuber, what pleased me most was that this young lady trusted me enough to share with me what she saw as truth, and in a way that worked easiest for her.

Now of course, I could have chosen to be offended. I could have stomped out of the room and vowed never to return. But those options were obviously not the correct ones. Her perspective allowed me to enter her world and to speak in a trusting way.

So it was with Jesus. When the crowds, or the disciples, came to Jesus with specific outlooks on life, certainly, Jesus could have taken offense. (Certainly he was frustrated at times). Even so, he often looked on those ‘little children,’ as he called them, with love. From there, he entered into a conversation that would take them to a new level. They trusted Jesus enough to allow him to help them wrestle with life.

This term, we’ve been focussing on the things that Jesus did: heal, pray, teach, etc… and we see that in Jesus’s responses to all people, he seemed to notice what people needed most, whether physical healing, prayer or teaching. His eyes were open to listen and to speak.

I hope you all have people in your life who will speak openly and honestly, and because you trust them, you can return the favour. I also hope that you are able to speak to Jesus openly and honestly because he still listens, still cares, still heals, prays and teaches us even today. Generally, these things happen through the same trusted people – but Jesus can work through them!

God’s peace to you as you hear Jesus’s voice.

Pastor Reid

DEVELOPING RESILIENT YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN

Resilience has been somewhat of a buzz word for the past decade. For some time now, Australia’s leading psychologists have spoken of the importance of resilience in our young people. More and more we hear of student’s feeling stressed, anxious, depressed or just not coping. As parents and educators, we want our students to overcome or be exempt from these conditions. Resilience is a good place to start

What is resilience?

It’s the ability to overcome adversity and obstacles, the ability to land on your feet or more simply, it’s the ability to bounce back.

“Resilience is the happy knack of being able to bungy jump through the pitfalls of life. It is the strongest antidote we know of for self-harm, depression and drug abuse and it’s built on our sense of belonging.” Andrew Fuller (Psychologist.

How can we help our young people build resilience?

(Largely adapted from a conference I attended by Andrew Fuller – also visit: https://andrewfuller.com.au/resilience-an-update/

Develop a sense of belonging and connectedness. Ideally, this ought to happen at a number of levels. When one feels connected into their family, a community, church group, surf club, their school, perhaps their year level, class, sports team, orchestra, choir, debating team, friendship group, whatever it may me, they feel valued. When one is valued, one naturally feels more positive, more confident, stronger, happier and more able to handle knocks and disappointments in life.

Encourage a diversity of friends. If all fails with friends at school, having youth group friends, surf club friends, childhood friends to spend time with helps.

Encourage a charismatic adult in their life. Somebody outside the family that they feel connected with, trust and may have influence in their life. It might be a teacher or that favourite ‘aunty’ your family spends time with. My children have five or six “Aunties” that I hope and pray they will seek out if they ever feel we as parents just don’t quite cut it or understand.

Tell inspiring stories of determination and resilience. The ones about grandfathers at war, parents who left their native country to create a better life for their children elsewhere. Bible stories such as David slaying Goliath, and Daniel in Lion’s Den. Stories of disabled athletes who overcome. The mountain climber, Aron Ralston, who amputated his arm for survival. Also tell positive, glass half full stories.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). This simply means seeing one’s mind as a control centre. Recognise what one thinks, affects how one feels and how one feels affects how one acts. Our students can handle things so much better when they take control of their thoughts. Remember the story of the little engine that could? ”I think I can, I think I can”.

Identify strengths. It is easier to build resilience when kids have successes in life. Find something they can succeed in. Give them plenty of praise and encouragement and also teach them self-praise. It’s great if they can say to themselves “actually I was quite good in that drama play, I’m a talented actor”, “I have natural endurance, if I train hard I am likely to do very well in cross country”.

Teach them how to Problem Solve. Define the problem, brainstorm a range of possible solutions and considering the outcome for each. Pick the best solution based on examining all consequences. Do it! ... and evaluate the outcome.

Rediscover some family rituals. It doesn’t matter whether it is a family walk after dinner, pancakes for breakfast on birthdays, the Friday night pizza or the Saturday morning clean up, rituals are precious. The best rituals often cost nothing. These are the activities you hope that later on your children will reminisce and say, “Mum always made sure we did” or Dad always made sure we did.”

Take time to be. “We live in a world that suffers from attention deficit disorder. We rush children from activity to activity, from lesson to lesson and from one organised event to another. Then we wonder why, when there is a lull that they say, “I’m bored”. Be a counter-revolutionary. Find some time each week just to be at home without anything structured happening” (Andrew Fuller 2011).

Finally, being in relationship with God. Being confident in the knowledge that God is actively involved in our lives. Knowing He walks with us each day and guides us. Knowing He values us beyond measure.

It is not hard to see that in nurturing the individual and building resilience we create happier, healthier children. Young people that may continue learning and growing and go on to make a genuine difference in their world and our global world.

There are a number of very good ‘resilience’ programs available for children of all ages. At St Andrews, we aim to teach resilience to our students in various year levels. If you are particularly interested in more information on specific resilience resources, please let me know.

Adele Ramsay
Deputy Principal Head of Secondary School

Term Three continues to be an exciting, busy and interactive term in regard to all things Library Services.

DR KARL SKYPE SESSION

Last week, St Andrews Lutheran College welcomed Dr Karl Kruszelnicki, award winning Scientist, Author, Presenter and one of Australia’s National Living Treasures. Dr Karl expanded our Year 4 and 5 students’ minds in all things Science during his dynamic question and answer session. Thank-you to the staff who helped organise this collaborative initiative: Mr Robert Slider (Head of Science), Mr Nick Willner (IT/AV Support) and the Library Services team.

FUSE CUP GIRL GAMERS

The FUSE Cup Girl Gamer Competition is a safe, supportive, and specialised division and a brand new initiative from the creators of the FUSE Cup Esports competition. A large group of excited and passionate girls arrived for the Mario Kart trials conducted by Mrs Slabosz this week. We are excited to announce the final team for the FUSE Cup Girl Gamer Competition: Ruby G, Maeve S, Olivia M and Stella D – congratulations girls!

SUPER MAX AND BRYCE CARD MAKING

The Secondary Library continues to host a Super Max and Bryce card making station. Join us during break times to write notes of hope and caring to be given to children in need. Thank you to all of the students who have taken the time to create a note for this worthy cause.

BOOK WEEK 22-25 AUGUST

Book week is fast approaching. Library Services have planned fun activities throughout Book Week, including a Staff and Student Costume Day on Tuesday 23 August, to coincide with Crazy Sock Day to raise money for Super Max and Bryce!

New Sign-In/Out Procedure for afterschool hours (3:10pm – 5:00pm)

Please be advised of the new after-hours CRC Secondary Library Sign-In/Out Procedure for all students in Years 7-12.

In addition to these new requirements the sign-in process will now use Sine Pro electronically. Students will need to sign-in and out using their school email at the entrance to the Library. We ask students to be patient as everyone adjusts to the new system.

There is no need for parents/carers to sign students in or out, students may leave the Library when they know their parent has arrived to collect them.
All students must sign-in and out if in the Library between the hours of 3:10pm-5:00pm.
Students who are signed in need to stay in the Library unless they receive permission from the supervising staff member to go outside.
An after-school detention may be issued to students who do not follow procedures and sign-in and out.
Cases where students have not signed in or out will be followed up.

CRC OPENING HOURS

Monday and Friday 7:30am – 5:00pm

After Hours: (3:10pm-5:00pm)

All students need to sign-in and out at the CRC front desk.
The direct phone number to contact the CRC after hours is (07) 5568 5906.
Please see the Senior Library After Hours Policy on parent lounge for more information.

ASK A LIBRARIAN

Remember students may log in using student details to read e-Books through the Wheelers online platform.

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 email us directly:

Head of Library Services: Barbara Kristo
Teacher Librarian (Junior School): Vikki Rees
Senior Librarian: Trudy Slabosz
Library Aides: Cara Harrington and Brad McMillan

Library Tech: Deklan Kelly

The Library Team

STUDENT LED CONFERENCES AT ST ANDREWS LUTHERAN COLLEGE 2022

You will have received an email outlining the upcoming Student Led Conferences and how to book for these. Student Led Conferences will be held on Friday 2 September all day. Students are only required to be at school for their booked time, OSHC is available for students who need care at school for the day. The following information may be helpful for parents and caregivers as you prepare for these.

WHAT IS A STUDENT LED CONFERENCE?

A Student Led Conference is between the student and their parents/caregivers. It provides students with the opportunity to think about and show their learning. Unlike the Three Way Conference, when the teacher is also a participant, during the Student Led Conferences the teacher is present as an observer and offers support only if needed.

As part of the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme, Three Way Conferences are an integral part of our students sharing the learning they have been doing, while reflecting on the goals they have been working towards and showing parents the skills they are developing. Student Led Conferences are one of the four ways we report to parents in the Junior School:

Three Way Conferences (Term One)
Semester Reports (end of Term Two and Four)
Learning Journal through Seesaw (On-going)
Student Led Conferences (Term Three)

HOW ARE THEY ORGANISED:

It is not a normal school day;
Students arrive with their parents/caregivers at the scheduled time and leave with their parents/caregivers at the end of the Conference. Students are to wear their formal uniform;
Students work with their parents/caregivers. Teachers are in the classroom as a support and observer to the classroom;
Bookings for a timeslot (for the classroom) are made through the link emailed out;
Up to five Conferences will run simultaneously in the classroom; and
This is the time for your child to show their learning.

DURING A STUDENT LED CONFERENCE A STUDENT:

Reflects on their learning;
Deepens understanding of self as a learner;
Demonstrates independence in learning;
Fosters pride and develops ownership of personal goals and achievements;
Utilises their oral communication skills; and
Practices time management.

ON THE DAY OF THE CONFERENCE

Students will escort their parents/caregivers into the classroom and greet the teacher;
Students lead the Conference using a prepared agenda; and
Students will also take parents to the MPH to demonstrate some of their learning in Single Subject lessons (the MPH can be accessed before or after the booked Conference time).

OTHER INFORMATION

Students are required to wear the College formal uniform;
Supervision will be available for P-6 siblings who attend the College when it is not their Conference time in the STEAM room;
Siblings (who attend the College) need to be dropped off to the supervision area (Steam Room) prior to the Conference start time; and
Parents must directly contact OSHC at standrews.oshc@qlecs.org.au or 5522 5762 to make arrangements for their child to attend, if required.

SUGGESTED QUESTIONS/COMMENTS

Here are some questions and comments that parents/caregivers might use during the Conference:

Can you explain this to me?
How did you do this?
What I notice about your learning is …
I was proud of you for …
What would you like to learn more about?

AFTER THE CONFERENCE

Parents/caregivers will be invited to write their child a positive personal note about what they saw at the Conference.

We hope you enjoy this part of your child’s learning journey and look forward to seeing you on the day.

Kind regards,

Karen Koehler
Deputy Head of Junior School / Acting PYP Coordinator

AUGUST IS THE MONTH FOR READING!

We are participating in the Premiers Reading Challenge and will be recording all the books we read this week. The children are very excited about Book Week and the Book Character Parade. We will also be holding a book fair during the week of 19 August.

FATHER’S DAY

Please save the date for the Father’s Day BBQ breakfast which will be held on Friday 2 September, 7:30am to 8:30am. We hope you can come along and celebrate with your child. A Father’s Day stall will run for three days 29 to 31 August. Please bring in $5.00 for your child to purchase a gift. Along with these wonderful events, there will be a Father’s Day Raffle, raising money for Super Max and Bryce. Tickets are $5.00 each or 3 for $10.00 and will be drawn at the BBQ breakfast.

BUSH KINDY

The children of the ELC have been enjoying spending time out in nature and connecting with the natural environment that we are so blessed to have around us. They have challenged themselves in many ways, climbing trees, balancing along logs, working together in teams, supporting each other’s wellbeing, and including others in play. We have touched on things like early math concepts, experimenting with weight, height and length, literacy skills such as using sticks to write in the dirt, and using stones to make patterns. After a couple of sessions, we moved our site to the space at the back of the ELC which has again changed how the children explore and use the space. The children have been exploring and getting used to the new space using items such as sifters, brushes, tape measures, specimen containers and various reference books. We look forward to continuing to learn about our world and all that is around us.

HARVEST TIME

This week we got to harvest our sweet potato vine. We had planted old sprouted sweet potatoes in 2021 and it was exciting to harvest them this week. We harvested such a range of sizes which proved to be so much fun and full of mystery. Pre Prep 2 then had the opportunity to do some great cooking with them. We invite you to bring in any potatoes, onions or sweet potatoes that may have sprouted in your veggie draw to see if we can grow some more.

ENROLMENT UPDATE

We have moved the re-enrolment process to an earlier date this year. Please return all forms that have been sent home by the end of the week. We will confirm all days for 2023 before the end of the year. Once all days have been confirmed, we will then move to the external waitlist. All children who are off to prep or leaving the centre will finish up by Friday 16 December. Please feel free to contact the OSHC office to enquire about Vacation Care for 2023 and arrange enrolment.

SIGNING IN AND OUT

A reminder that signing your child in and out of the ELC is a legal requirement and forms part of your enrolment agreement. Please talk to the staff if you don’t have your phone with you at drop off or pick up.

DENTAL HEALTH CHECK

Dental 2 You will be vising on 1 September for dental health checks. If you would like to book, please do this online or complete a form on the Reception desk.

CARPARKING

Unfortunately, I have had some complaints this week about carparking. Please ensure that your drop offs and collections are as fast as possible. If you are a Prep or Year 1 parent, or a parent that is spending time in an older sibling’s classroom, please park in the Junior School carpark.

Have a good week.

Bronwyn Waters
Director

During Term Three, the children enjoyed visits to the Junior School Library with Mrs Rees. During their visits they shared amazing stories together and continued to learn how they return books after borrowing them. Some of our Pre Prep 1 children also shared their show and tell during the library visits. It has been a fantastic opportunity to practise walking around the Junior School and getting to know the areas before their transition to Prep. Our library visits have developed their confidence with peers and interactions with a broad range of resources.

We have been continuing our unit of inquiry by incorporating students from the Junior School. A group of students came from their Music class and shared what they had been working on. They had created a beat and rap story to match and the Pre Prep 1 children were very interested in hearing them. The children continued to ask questions, even after the students had left the ELC. This led to our own stories and imaginative interactions in our own classroom.

Pre Prep 1 ventured down to the Multipurpose Hall to enjoy and engage in the Japanese Culture Day organised by Sensai. We attended the Japanese dance in the first session where we watched women perform and explain the meaning behind the dances. Pre Prep 1 asked many open ended questions about the clothing and the dances they performed. During the middle of the day, we went to see the Taiko Drums performance which was an amazing experience for our children to observe. The performers began by explaining where they had learnt to play the drums and how the sounds are made. Throughout the performance the children were moving to the beat and used their bodies to create their own drums. We watched students on the stage create their own music using the drums, alongside the performers.

REMINDERS

Please see the August/September upcoming events at the front of ELC
Please remember closed in shoes on Monday/Thursday for Bush Kindy
Book Week will commence Friday 19 August (parade at Junior School)

Pre Prep 1 Team

Thank you to everyone who attended the mid-year interviews. It was great to connect with you and share the progress that your child has made so far along with some of the wonderful things we have been doing in the classroom. As we head into the latter part of the year, we are noticing the shift in the children’s growth and development. Providing opportunities to engage in play helps children to build and extend on their knowledge, skills and understanding of the world around them. Over the past month, we have been focusing on a range of ways to help the children regulate their emotions and talk about their feelings. Self-regulation is the ability to control our thoughts, feelings and behaviours in a way that helps us function day to day and achieve our goals. Building self-regulation skills, particularly early in a child’s life, lays the foundations for children’s social and emotional development. As Educators, it is important that we are good role models and support the children to learn the skills to do this independently. In Pre Prep 2, we do this through the ‘Fill a Bucket’ story, Zones of Regulation posters, breathing techniques, bubbles and sensory toys and spaces. By providing these opportunities, it gives the children the ability to feel safe and secure and have a better day.

The Bush Kindy program has been such a positive experience for the children. They have loved the freedom to explore the environment and spend time connecting with their peers. We have since discovered another space behind the ELC which has allowed the children to explore other areas of nature. During August, we also celebrated National Tree Day. We planted a special tree in the playground and then used the opportunity to bring in some mindfulness and link in with our unit of inquiry this term. The children found a quiet space in the playground to draw a tree while breathing in the fresh air.

Also linking in with our unit of inquiry: How we express ourselves, Sensei shared some videos of some traditional Japanese dancers. The ladies used music and dance to express themselves and to showcase their culture which Sensei replicated in the ELC with our own kimonos. We also had the opportunity to visit the Multipurpose Hall and participate in Japanese Culture Day which included dancing and some very loud drumming. A wonderful experience for the children to be a part of.

Pre Prep 2 Team

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Issue 8, Friday 19 August 2022

In This Newsletter

Chaplain's Chat

Pastor Reid

Secondary School

From the Deputy Principal Head of Secondary School

Language News

Health News

Celebrating Science Week at the College

Secondary Library News

Junior School

From the Deputy Head of Junior School Acting PYP Coordinator

Junior School Library News

Book Week 2022

Early Learning Centre

From the Director of the Early Learning Centre

Junior Kindy News

Pre Prep 1 News

Pre Prep 2 News

ELC Upcoming Events

Sports

College Sports Report

Community

Gold Coast Oral Health Services

Junior School Movie Night

Important Dates

Chaplain's Chat

Secondary School

Junior School

Early Learning Centre

Sports

Community

Chaplain's Chat

Secondary School

Junior School

Early Learning Centre

Sports

Community