This Friday 16th March is the National Day of Action Against Bullying and Violence where school communities are invited to imagine a world free of bullying. A world where the dignity and worth of all people is respected. At Pacific we take a proactive response and aim to grow young people through immersion in a culture of respectful relationships. There is the intentional teaching and living of values of love, compassion, courage, acceptance, empathy, humility, appreciation, service and forgiveness on a daily basis.
Times of stillness and reflection are key to growing a culture of respectfulness within ourselves. Slowing down our emotional responses, honestly recognising our own strengths and needs and those of another person helps us to engage thoughtfully with each other. It is helpful to reflect on the culture of respectfulness within our minds, our families and our groups. To slow down, be thoughtful and to build others up is almost counter cultural. The first step towards a world free of bullying is within our grasp. We can establish a personal commitment to thinking and acting respectfully towards all people as individuals, as a family unit and within our place of learning and work. In the words of the eighth commandment, “to put the best construction” on our interactions.
Before God we are all simultaneously saints and sinners. God’s love and grace for humanity is unlimited. There is plenty for us to share around.
We congratulate our STEM team who won the Sunshine Coast Science and Engineering Challenge yesterday at the University of the Sunshine Coast. The Challenge is part of a nationwide STEM outreach program presented by the University of Newcastle in partnership with communities, Rotary clubs, universities and sponsors. Throughout the day, our Year 10 students competed against seven other schools in the region, undertaking various hands-on challenges. This term, our students have been engaged in exciting learning within the STEM area across Mathematics, Science, Design Technology and Information Technology and within our newly instigated Year 9 and 10 STEM courses. We congratulate our students and thank teachers Mrs Marnie Whittaker, Mrs Claire Richards and Mr Wes Warner for their leadership and guidance in this area as well as Miss Rebecca Ross, Mrs Janine Stone, Mr Ian Learoyd and Mr Adam Doyle who contribute to STEM learning as Heads of Departments.
This Friday 16th March, we will celebrate ‘Pacific as a Peace Place’ in recognition of the National Day of Action Against Bullying. 
On Friday 23rd March, members of our community are urged to join over 300,000 students across Australia and adopt a wheeled mode of transport for Ride2School Day. The event is Australia’s largest celebration of active travel to school. If driving to school in the family car is your only option, you can still be TravelSmart by parking the car a short distance away and then riding (or scootering/walking) from there.
Aloha OCEANfest 2018
We warmly welcome Mrs Teena Thompson as our OCEANfest Convenor for 2018. Teena has always given great energy and thoughtfulness to all FoP activities she’s been involved in, including previous OCEANfests. Mrs Tracey Hindmarsh will again support the year level stalls with encouragement and guidance. Our sponsorship team will shortly begin contacting local businesses outlining the promotional opportunities on offer. Sponsorship of OCEANfest 2018 is a unique opportunity to connect with our ever growing and diverse community. Throughout the years of successful OCEANfests, we have forged many successful partnerships that have enabled us to raise funds, support our community and our students’ academic, sporting, social and cultural experiences. Our logistics team have also begun their meticulous planning with a particular focus on the use of space and equipment. To join any of the teams, please email 
Earlier this term, Year 11 Biology students went on a two-day excursion, visiting Woodfordia and various sites of Petrie Creek. On the first day, we went to an area just outside of Woombye and another in Florabunda where, with our two ECOllaboration instructors, we tested for various water parameters. The tool we used was a Horiba U-50, which can measure 11 parameters simultaneously. At an approximate cost of $6000, we appreciated using the technology currently used by Environmental Project Managers in the field. Due to the fact that one location was upstream and the other downstream, there was a difference in results. We found that Woombye had lower dissolved oxygen, cleaner water, lower turbidity, increased flow and shallower water compared to Florabunda, which was downstream. Our next line of testing involved macroinvertebrates. Stephanie, Layka, Olivia and Georgia put on waders and using a technique referred to as ‘boot scootin’, caught some macroinvertebrates for us to identify and analyse. The biotic data proved that the pollution in the water was very low at Woombye but moderate downstream at Florabunda. One of our last stops for the day was Australia’s largest residential floating wetland 
at Parklands II. Here they use the bacteria inoculated root systems of the floating wetlands to filter storm water contaminates that end up in urban bodies of water.
aromatic hydrocarbons found in petroleum, in addition to soaking up heavy metals like mercury. The presentation also included a variety of interesting facts about the cellular structure of mycelium and how they use enzymes. In addition, Dr Tuszynska discussed how they are important in the sustainability of forests because plants ‘talk’ to each other via the Wood Wide Web.
Games This Week
Pacific FC Merchandise
Concertedly Baroque