Compass No 460 - June 2017

On Monday and Tuesday this week, Pacific teachers spent time working with Harvard Educational Consultant Mr Mark Church. The ongoing work and connection with Mark, who works with educators from across the world, gives our educators the opportunity to draw on best practice from an international perspective. Our engagement in growing the pedagogy of our teachers has seen them now being invited to present at the Cultures of Thinking Conference conducted by Bialik College, Victoria in association with the Harvard Graduate School of Education next term.

It is always a joy to witness the energy and spirit of our young athletes at the Year 3-6 Athletics Carnival each year. The encouragement, sportsmanship and celebration of personal bests from all students made it a very positive day. It was heartening to see students of all ability levels receive recognition from their peers and staff but most importantly feeling proud of themselves knowing they had given their best effort. Learning how to compete, giving our best and learning how to win and lose well are very important life lessons. Well done to all of the staff and students and a particular thank you to the PE staff, Mrs Natalie Campbell and Mr Darren Hooper for their leadership.

We are pleased to announce that Mrs Christine Doyle, who is currently the Deputy Principal at Living Faith Lutheran Primary School at Murrumba Downs, will be taking on the role as the Head of Teaching and Learning Years 3 to 5 from the start of next term. We look forward to growing with Mrs Doyle who is a very passionate, enthusiastic and innovative educator with leadership experience in Lutheran, Christian and Education Queensland primary schools. We also celebrate with Mrs Laura Bonner who has been offered the role of Youth Touring Program Manager with the Queensland Music Festival. This opportunity will provide an excellent opportunity for Mrs Bonner to enhance her performing arts connections and skills. We will be advertising for a Drama and Dance teacher this weekend.

It has been exciting to have our teams participate in the SCISSA Rugby 7’s competition for first time this year. They are to be congratulated on their spirit and sportsmanship and the growth of their teamwork and skills over the season. Well done to all teams and coaches Mr Josh Danzey, Mr Andrew Block and Mr Darren Hooper. In particular, we congratulate our U15 team and coach Mr Darren Hooper who were crowned SCISSA champions for 2017.

We wish our Year 9 and 10 students and accompanying staff all the best as they engage in their outdoor education and service learning opportunities over the next two weeks. These are important life experiences that provide opportunities for young people to learn about the rejuvenating power of the natural environment, grow resilience, character and confidence by working through personal challenges and develop in their relationships with each other and God. We thank teachers Mr Duncan McNee, Mr Nico Prinsloo, Ms Angela Hill, Mr Josh Danzey, Mr David Druery, Mrs Marnie Whittaker, Ms Emma Middleton, Mrs Sharon Middleton, Mrs Virginia Schlotterbach, Mr Ben Dutton, Ms Leisa Ilott and outdoor education aides Jessie McMahon, Dean Turner, Troy Petersen, Bethany Rouche, Maddie Bell, Joshua Grimley and Eliza Dreves for their assistance and support of this program. We also thank Dr Peter McMahon, Miss Kim Stone, Ms Michelle McMillan and Pastor Tim Jarick for the planning and leadership of these activities.

We pray for peace around the world and for all those affected by acts of violence. May God grant us the wisdom to pause and pray for guidance and perspective when confronted with obstacles, challenges and disappointment.

Dr Bronwyn Dolling, Principal

Emotional Resilience is essential in our daily lives, especially to help us deal with confrontations, making choices, getting bad results, encountering negative situations that are beyond our control or struggling with difficult day-to-day activities.

As adults we generally face such difficulties with varying levels of resilience. Equipping children with the skills to develop emotional resilience is an important facet of their growth.

Negative Habits of Mind greatly fuel emotional discomfort. These negative habits of mind include self-downing, the need to be perfect, the need for approval, the ‘I can’t do it’ or ‘I can’t be bothered’ mindsets and being intolerant of others. This week, I would like to continue to share some strategies from the You Can Do It Program, which may help eliminate or help to balance these negative mindsets.

To Eliminate ‘Needing To Be Perfect’

Explain to your child that he/she shouldn’t be afraid to make mistakes. Explain that mistakes are a natural part of learning and while it is good to try your best, it is not helpful to insist that everything is done perfectly. Explain that even the greatest scientists and inventors bumble and stumble their way to success. For older children, you can also explain that demanding perfection of oneself can lead to being so worried that it actually lessens one’s ability to perform well. Encourage your child to develop the positive type of thinking called ‘Risk Taking’. In ‘Risk Taking’, a person prefers to do his/her best but accepts that mistakes are inevitable and frequently important as one is learning something new.

Other suggestions for eliminating your child’s need to be perfect include:

• Help your child become more aware of his/her perfectionism and its negative effects on his/her anxiety.
• Have your child make a list of the things he/she always wanted to do but was afraid of not doing perfectly. Encourage your child to try one of these activities.
• Encourage your child to identify areas of weakness. Have him/her try activities in these areas. When he/she has attempted such an activity, point out that he/she now has evidence that he/she can tolerate doing things imperfectly.
• Encourage your child to stop ruminating about grades and instead, get involved in activities unrelated to school.
• Teach your child that there is a continuum of achievement and that achievement is not an all (perfection) or nothing (complete failure) outcome. Encourage him/her to set goals at a place on the achievement continuum where he/she does not have to be the best in order to learn something and have fun.
• Acknowledge and praise your child for attempting things and not doing them perfectly.

Mr David Druery, Head of Staff and Students P-5

QUT offers bridging programs in Mathematics B, Physics and Chemistry and registrations for their summer programs are now open: https://www.qut.edu.au/study/short-courses-and-professional-development.

Mrs Natasha Purcell, Careers Counsellor 

Once again, the fine weather and the club’s welcoming spirit ensured another successful hosting of CDNA at Pacific Lutheran College last weekend. Thank you to Pacific Soccer for their support and assistance in facilitating the canteen. It was greatly appreciated.

Being a small club, hosting such an event in the middle of a long weekend with a third of our teams having byes could have been a challenge. However, our club spirit shone through and ensured that everybody had an enjoyable day. It was particularly pleasing to see the tasks shared across the entire club between the CDNA visits. There were only a couple of people who were required to participate on both days, which is an extremely positive outcome. Well done to everyone.

Again, it was difficult to select our players of the week, however the recipients for their efforts on 3^rd June are:

• Unicorns – Mahli Gates for her commitment during the game;
• Mustangs – Sarah Barrett for great team play;
• Ponies – Bye;
• Brumbies – Bye;
• Fillies – Jewel Jamieson for 100% effort; and
• Arabians – Georgie Jones for a great defensive effort.

Mr Trevor Colton, President PLC Netball Club

Pacific Lutheran College is fundraising with Entertainment™ again this year. Order your NEW 2017 | 2018 Entertainment™ Books and Entertainment™ Digital Memberships today and 20% of the proceeds will go towards Pacific Lutheran Early Learning Centre! To order your book or digital membership, visit: https://www.entertainmentbook.com.au/orderbooks/230p536.