Compass No 437 - October 2016

Ms Nell Keen was one of two librarians jointly awarded the Queensland Teacher-Librarian of the Year at the Queensland School Library Association’s Conference earlier this week. This award recognised the highly effective and innovative way that Ms Keen supports young people’s learning through encouraging their engagement with a variety of physical and virtual experiences at the College. The award also recognised Ms Keen’s leading and innovative contribution to the professional network of Teacher Librarians across the state.

Earlier this year at information evenings, parents were very impressed to learn of the quality of resources available for Year 3-12 students through Lib-Guides, which Ms Keen has designed and made available online. Students across Years 1-5 have enjoyed being able to extend their thinking and creativity as they have utilised electronics, technology and other materials in lunchtime MakerSpace, MineCraft and Coding sessions. The after school Code Club conducted by the library has also been highly valued. The creative displays set up each week by Mrs Peta Peters and Ms Lily Smith have also stimulated interest and engagement, as have special events such as the Shakespeare Week and the celebration of Roald Dahl. Regular opportunities to engage with visiting authors is just one of the strategies that Ms Keen leads to inspire a love of reading and writing. We congratulate Ms Keen and her team of Mrs Peta Peters, Mrs Lily Smith and Mrs Helen Doyle. 

Recently, a number of parents have contacted the College concerned about the actions of some drivers who use the Prep – Year 2 car park to collect or drop off their children.

Before school each morning and in the afternoon, the car park can become quite congested. Often, students are alighting from or entering vehicles and moving through the car park. To ensure their safety, parents are reminded not to park in the drop off zones on the Prep or eastern side of the car park. Parking in the drop off zones causes increased congestion. Drivers are also reminded to follow signage and road markings (for example, not park across crossings) as well as the directions of staff on duty. Your assistance on this matter is greatly appreciated.

This year, Pacific Lutheran College contributed to Operation Christmas Child Australia and New Zealand's National Shoe Box Collection. Coordinated by the Spirituality Action Group, our PCGs collected and filled more than 50 boxes. The boxes will be sent to children living in less fortunate countries. Thank you to our community for supporting this very worthy cause.

Miss Michelle McMillan, Service Learning Coordinator

Last week, 12 students and three staff members travelled to Melbourne for the annual Arts Tour. Armed with comfortable shoes, umbrellas and a whole lot of enthusiasm, we were ready to see what Melbourne had to offer!

The first performance we saw was ‘Kinky Boots the Musical’. Using the music of Cyndi Lauper, ‘Kinky Boots’ was a hilarious story, full of energy and messages of acceptance. The students loved the performance and had fun taking photos in kinky boots after the show.

Saturday began with a trip to St Kilda, where students divided their time between eating along the famous Acland Street and visiting Luna Park. From here, we travelled to the Malthouse Theatre to watch the play, ‘Backstage In Biscuitland’, which tells the true story of a young woman living with Tourette’s Syndrome. While both very real and confronting on many levels, it delivered a powerful message of acceptance that kept students talking for hours after the performance. Next came some relaxed shopping time followed by dinner at the Blue Train Café. To finish the evening, we went to the Eureka Skydeck, which, at 300 metres high, is the tallest public viewing platform in the Southern Hemisphere. Eight of our group were brave enough to do ‘The Edge’ experience, which suspended them three metres out from the building in a totally glass box. Those not brave enough to do this enjoyed the view of the Yarra River and Melbourne by night.

Sunday started with an early morning Street Art Tour of Melbourne. While travelling through the back alleys of Melbourne, it was clear that the art counter-culture was alive and well, with people using every available space to create stunning works of art, intermingled with poignant political statements. This was followed by a trip to Melbourne University, where we watched two musical performances. The first was a piano duet, played on two beautiful Steinway grand pianos, featuring ‘The Planets’ by Gustav Holst and a ballet written by Percy Grainger. The second performance was guitar and percussion based experimental music written by Percy Grainger. Students were intrigued by the experimental techniques used, including bowing a vibraphone, playing guitars with pencils threaded between the strings and the use of pedals and effects we had not heard before.

By Sunday night, we had our first glimpse of the famed Melbourne weather! We travelled by tram through the rain out to Docklands where we watched ‘Vertical Influences’, which was a hip-hop dance performance on ice. Although chilly, we were enthralled by the grace and ease with which five Canadian performers delivered their breath-taking performance.

Monday dawned bright and sunny again, in time for us to walk to the National Gallery of Victoria where we spent time immersed in some of the most stunning works the gallery has to offer. From here, it was back to the airport for the trip home.

Although tired, 13 happy students were returned to their parents on Monday night. Mrs Janine Delaney, Mr Adrian King and Mrs Aleisha Tuaine were so impressed with the students, who did a fantastic job of representing Pacific as we moved about Melbourne. Thanks for the fantastic weekend!

Mrs Aleisha Tuaine, Head of Music

Career decisions are life decisions. When making choices about elective subjects in the Middle College, senior subjects in SET plans, or tertiary courses for QTAC applications, it is important for students to consider how well subjects and courses will link to their strengths – the things they are good at and enjoy doing. For example, a passion for online shopping could lead to a career in marketing and business, an interest in reading and film to a Bachelor of Arts, a love of plants to marine biology or health science!

Training

Afterschool SCISSA training begins next week on Monday 24^th October. A reminder that training is from 3.15pm – 4.15pm. Water polo players will be transported to their training venue but parents will need to collect their child at 4.15pm, once training has finished.

Kayakers will have next Monday off after competing at the State Championships this weekend. We wish the kayakers all the best as they paddle for their twelfth state championship title. Thank you to Mr Gary Graves for his tireless organisation of the kayak program and also to Mrs Colleen Beattie, Mrs Natalie Campbell and Mrs Rae Hall who have all contributed their time and knowledge this year.

Gala Day – Term 4

Our final SCISSA Gala Day for 2016 will be held on Thursday 10^th November. Further information will be distributed closer to this date.

Last week, five of our secondary basketball teams played off for places in the grand finals. The Junior Boys had already advanced through to the grand final against Maroochydore State High School for the second year in a row. The Junior Girls easily accounted for Matthew Flinders Anglican College to cruise into the A-Division grand final against Immanuel Lutheran College for their third-straight year. The Intermediate B Boys had a similar victory over Caloundra State High School, to advance to the finals against Chancellor State High School (Chancellor SHS) tomorrow evening.

In the Senior Girls match, Pacific took on Chancellor SHS. With the scores close at half time, it was always going to be a tough match. In the end, Pacific managed to keep their composure and win in an epic semi-final. Neither team could edge away from each other until the final minute and Pacific took the win, 33-30. The girls now take on Siena Black at Caloundra at 6.00pm this Friday.

Unfortunately, the Intermediate Girls team (who played against St Andrew’s Anglican College in their semi-final) were unable to walk away with a win. The girls had a fantastic season, only losing one other match throughout their campaign. Thank you to all the girls for their involvement throughout the year so far.

All supporters are welcome to come along and watch our teams play in their grand final games tomorrow! We wish our teams all the best!

Blazers for the Year 9 Rite Journey have arrived. We already have plenty of new and second hand blazers, so if you want to avoid the rush, please contact the uniform shop to see if we have your size. Boys will also require trousers and a belt.

If you have second hand blazers that you wish to sell, please ensure that they are dry cleaned before they are handed into the shop for re-sale.

Southern Cross Cultural Exchange (SCCE) is currently seeking families to host French exchange students in 2017. The French students will come to Australia for 10 weeks to immerse in local culture, experience our schools, sports, environment and lifestyle. All students speak excellent English, have their own spending money and cover all school expenses. SCCE will arrange all aspects of the program. It’s fun and interesting to help these young people achieve their Australian dream. If you’d like to know more, please email your interest to Rob at: rl@scce.com.au.