Jesus said, “I feel deep concern for these people…They don’t have anything to eat.” Then after the miracle of being fed…all of them ate and were satisfied… and… the disciples picked up seven baskets of leftover pieces. (Matthew 15:32,37)

Leftovers are great. When my wife or I have cooked dinner for our family and there are leftovers we are so grateful the next day to be able to bring them to lunch at our workplaces. We are happy not only because the leftovers save time and money preparing or buying another meal, but also because they usually taste better the next day when the flavours have fully set in. The left-over meal from the night before is much better than what we could have prepared in the rush of the morning. Leftovers are great!

Jesus in his famous miracle story of feeding the four or five thousand (depending on which gospel you read) also produced leftovers. From loaves of bread and a few small fish, thousands of people were miraculously fed, men, women and children. But not only were they fed and satisfied but they also had leftovers. We are told that the disciples collected seven baskets of leftovers. The fish probably did not keep the next day but maybe the bread did. If it did, Jesus’ miracle kept on giving with the leftovers the following day. It was a gift that kept on giving. However, at the other end of this miracle story is the compassion that Jesus had on the people.

The miracle started with compassion. The leftovers happened because Jesus felt deep concern and compassion on the people who had not eaten. He didn’t want to send the crowds away after they had followed him and listened to him for so long. So Jesus acts compassionately on the needs of the crowd. Jesus is moved with mercy and acts on this empathy. His compassion leads to the contentment of the hungry people as they are fed, their thankfulness and probably even generosity as they share food and the leftovers together. It’s a grand picture of what compassion does to a group of people.

Compassion towards another human being can grow gratefulness and generosity. Gratefulness for what we have and generosity with what we can share. Being aware of God as the giver of all good things widens our worldview and aids us to attend to those in need. We can become the vehicle of God’s tasty leftover compassion. Through Jesus, God showed the hungry people great compassion on the day they were miraculously fed. As we contemplate God’s care for us and the needs around us, what leftover compassion can you show to others today?

Tim Jarick, College Pastor 

At the beginning of typing a web address, we used to have to type www. and the full web address.  Today, there is a tendency for us to access and search in the online environment without having to type this.  However, it is important to remember the www (World Wide Web), because too often people forget about the global scope and reach of the online environment and post communication, images, or content that they think is 'private' or that there is some 'anonymity' in this context. 

For the past five weeks, I have been working with all Year 6 Personal Development classes to unpack the nature of the online environment.  I asked students 'Would you leave the front door of your home unlocked?'  All students responded 'NO!’ which would please parents and guardians to read (learnt safety behaviours).  However, we then viewed a clip where a young person (Becky) added another person that they did not know to their online friends, and this person was able to access and comment on Becky's pictures and take note of her location (through posts and check-ins), access her posted photos, recognise her school (through her photos) and communicate with her.  As we listened to the voice-over (which depicted the online communication), the visual display demonstrated Becky on her computer in her bedroom, but the other person who she accepted and did not know had walked into the unlocked front door of Becky's house, into her bedroom and then started taking physical photos off the walls.  

Students did convey surprise by the lack of physical security and safety that was on display; however, quick to see that Becky's choices online was what they were seeing (invitation, acceptance and sharing of information to someone she did not know).  We also looked at scenarios regarding images and whether students would 'post, share, or delete' in response to various situations.   It was very positive to listen to student’s depth-of-thought used to justify their responses: they considered the impact on themselves, their families and others by the choice of responses.  We summarised the importance of care, dignity, respect, security and safety strategies for them to action.  Also noting not to forget the www (World Wide Web) scope and reach.  

In working with students in this area, it does come back to individual choices and the way in which one uses the technology.  Ultimately, what people choose to do in the “real” world is not differentiated from the profiles one keeps or the interactions in the online or digital realm. In accessing the World Wide Web: we sometimes need reminders that this is a public space.

In growing young people in an ever-technological age, it is about individual choices in relation to appropriate communication and interactions that assist to shape a positive culture in which technology can enhance learning and social connections. It is not about solely blaming the capabilities of the device or the access to the technology when things go array, because technology will keep evolving.  At the heart, having clear expectations about appropriate interactions and choices is important.  Another vital component is to reflect on the length of time young people are accessing these devices.  Dr Michael Carr-Gregg reflects on the importance of 'green time' and 'sleep hygiene': the ability to set expectations to ensure that young people are being active in the physical environment (putting the device away) and not having devices in bed rooms so that young people can get quality sleep.

‘Care, Dignity and Respect’ is a key theme that the college emphasises as key in building relationships and growing others and self.  Therefore, whether a young person is using a pen/ pencil and paper as a tool for communication or an electronic device, they should be thinking before posting/ writing and when at school, using the device for educational purposes.  We have been reflecting about the instantaneousness, public nature, highly accessible, global scope and reach and the permanency of online communication.

The Office of the eSafety Commissioner have a variety of resources to assist parents, who play a crucial role in helping your child have safe and positive experiences online.  In understanding how children and young people use the internet, the risks they face and the strategies to manage risks, you can help enable your children to enjoy the best of the online world.  For further information please go to this link: https://esafety.gov.au/education-resources/iparent.  I would also encourage parents and guardians to access the college's SchoolTV resource (http://pacificlutheran.qld.schooltv.me/category-latest-newsletter), which provides clips, fact sheets, apps and further websites to a range of topics published monthly linked to leading specialists and organisations reflecting on the social and emotional health of young people.  A valuable and professional resource to keep us updated on relevant topics.

Pacific Lutheran Alumni

Are you a past student of Pacific Lutheran College?  We are still interested in hearing from and connecting with past students of Pacific Lutheran College for our upcoming Compass Review.  Thank you already to a few Pacific Lutheran Alumni who have emailed contributions.  If you are able to contribute to this college publication, please email lwallis@pacluth.qld.edu.au for more information. 

Mrs Kim Bonello, Head of Senior School Students

Years 3-6 Athletics 

On Wednesday the Years 3-6 Athletics Carnival was held at USC. The standard of competition and the spirit displayed by all students was outstanding. Special thanks to those parents who acted as officials, provided food to students and staff and supported their children at the Carnival. Special thanks also to Mr Hooper and Mrs Campbell who coordinated the event and all the staff who help set up the track and supervise on the day. 

P-2 Cross Country

This term all students in Years Prep-2 have been busily training for the P-2 Interhouse Cross Country which will be held on Wednesday June 20th starting at 1.40pm. A letter giving details of the event was sent home this week and all details are available on CareMonkey. All parents are warmly invited to come along and support their children’s participation in the event.

Emotional Resilience

Emotional resilience is essential to help deal with the daily confrontations with difficult people, making wrong choices, getting bad results, encountering negative situations that are beyond our control and struggling with day to day things that are boring, difficult or what we consider a waste of time.

As adults we generally face such difficulties with varying levels of resilience. Teaching children the skills to support the development of resilience is an important facet of growth and development.

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” mindset 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.

Needing to be perfect is another negative habit of mind which can be detrimental to a child developing resilience.

To Eliminate ‘Needing to Be Perfect’

Explain to your child that one of the greatest mistakes he/she can make is being afraid to make mistakes.  Explain that mistakes are a natural part of learning, and that while it is good to do the best you can in your work, 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 leads one to be so worried that it 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 the following:

•  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 agree to try one of these activities.
•  Encourage your child to identify areas of weakness.  Have him/her agree to 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, to 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

by Michael Herbert

“Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt,” William Shakespeare. Measure for Measure.

Self-doubt has been described as the unhealthy food that feeds the soul. It is one of the major obstacles to living a satisfying and meaningful life because it causes us to self-handicap by criticising our capabilities and our likability.

In some situations, self-doubt can lead to anxiety, depression, procrastination and lack of motivation. The last point is especially important to understand when dealing with students. Unmotivated students are usually riddled with self-doubt.

Understanding self-doubt

1.      Control the self-talk.

The words “I am not good enough for that” are all that is needed to sow the seeds that one day blossoms into an unhealthy dose of self-doubt. Henry Ford summed up the impact of self-talk nicely when he said: “Whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t, you’re right.” Control the words you let into your head.

2.      Recognise – and then disrupt – repetitive thought patterns that create limiting self-beliefs.

Negative thought patterns lead to powerful habits and, in time, they control us, producing the type of self-doubt that causes even the most intelligent people to sabotage their own success. If we learn to recognise patterns of repetitive thoughts, we put ourselves in a position to firstly, disrupt them and then, replace them with confidence boosting ways of thinking.

3.      Be clear about your purpose and do not let fear get in the way

Fear or anxiety is a normal response to the big things of life. But a Japanese proverb reminds us that fear is only as deep as the mind allows. With purpose in your life, you will develop your passion. And people with a passion are rarely hampered by the sabotaging experience self-doubt.

Accept yourself, your strengths, your weaknesses, your truths, and know what tools you have to realize your purpose.

Steve Maraboli, Life, The Truth, and Being Free.

Mrs Annie Williams, College Counsellor

Big Kahuna Cent Auction: Basket themes are announced!

Laundry baskets have now been distributed to each junior classroom for the collection of new, donated items for the Cent Auction. We ask themed goods are donated prior to Friday, 20^th July (Week1, Term 3).

From Years 7-12, PCG groups are asked to decide upon a larger item/s and pool their money.

Funds raised at Aloha OCEANfest will see an investment in digital, interactive technology to enhance learning areas across classrooms at PLC. OCEANfest 2018, is also proud to support the PLC Cambodian team with their endeavours to work alongside the Lutheran Church of Cambodia’s Rainbow Hostel and Life Centre.

If you, or a business you know, wishes to be a part of OCEANfest 2018 as a sponsor/prize donor please contact our organising committee via fop@pacluth.qld.edu.au

Next OCEANfest meeting: All welcome to attend 9am Thursday, 14^th June at Wildflower Café, Best Western, Birtinya. Please RSVP to Teena: fop@pacluth.qld.edu.au

BBQ Volunteers for Junior Athletics at USC

Thank you to Allyson Sarvari, Chris and Teena Thompson and Jane Bell who offered their valuable time volunteering on the Pacific FoP BBQ. Your help was greatly appreciated!

Next Meeting: Tuesday 19 June

Our next Friends of Pacific meeting will be held on Tuesday 19 June from 6.30pm in the College Library.  All welcome to attend.

Mrs Jenny Lee, FoP Chairperson

Under 8s’ Day

The library hosted students for Under 8s’ Day last week, with Ms Warren reading the African folktale of Anansi the Spider. Students then made their own spider out of pipe cleaners and beads.

Voices on the Coast Literature Festival

The due date for Year 7-12 to get their permission forms in has been extended but, if students wish to attend, they should get in quickly as tickets to some popular authors sell out.

Geek Girls

This week the Geek Girls used the Makedo construction tools, cardboard boxes and imagination to make a group construction. Makedo https://au.make.do/ is a set of cardboard construction tools including screwdrivers, saws, screws and hinges which enable students to make things easily.

Ms Nell Keen, Head of Library

On Thursday 31^st May, the children from K-2 participated in our annual Under 8s Day morning. This year’s national theme for Under 8s Week was ‘Children exploring language and culture.’  At Pacific, we held a multicultural morning of fun and laughter. The children and their families participated in a range of games and activities from different countries and cultures.

The morning was a big success and it was clear that all of the children had an enjoyable time. Thank you very much for those families who joined in on the fun and a big thank you to the teachers for assisting and supporting this special celebration for our youngest learners.

   
Mrs Shelley Hogan, Prep Teacher 

Last weekend seven middle college students were lucky enough to be nominated and selected for a State Honours Ensemble Programme (SHEP) at the Brisbane Conservatorium of Music in conjunction with Griffith University. The State Honours Ensemble Program is an educational program for music students that helps extend and encourage their pursuit of musical excellence.

The students spent the whole weekend rehearsing with leading conductors which culminated in a spectacular concert which showcased their work. The students found it both inspiring and rewarding to work alongside other likeminded musicians.

This is a reflection from a student.

The State Honours Ensemble Program was overall a remarkable experience where I learnt so much and improved my teamwork dramatically. Across the long weekend, we sight read, learnt and performed music, learning six pieces of spectacular songs from themes graceful to dramatic, or even joyous. We performed at the Queensland Conservatorium in Southbank where the acoustics were amazing, and the concerts were miraculous. Our conductors and assistants were also very helpful whilst practising for our concert and it was great to meet lots of new likeminded people. Overall, I learnt so much in such a short amount of time and would definitely recommend this program in the future.

Sebastian Box, Year 8.

The students were; Gemma - Flute, Sebastian – Violin, Charles – Clarinet, Eden – Violin, Lachlan – Trumpet, Dion – Trumpet and Jasmin – Voice.

Mrs Helen Williams, P-5 Music Teacher & Strings Specialist

Congratulations to all students who represented Pacific Lutheran College at the academic challenge, the Queensland da Vinci Decathlon, last week. The da Vinci Decathlon is designed to challenge and stimulate the minds of school students. Students compete in teams of eight across 10 disciplines: Engineering, Mathematics, Code Breaking, Art and Poetry, Science, English, Ideation, Creative Producers, Cartography and General Knowledge.  The Pacific Lutheran College students performed commendably each day against students from prestigious colleges across Qld. Particular congratulations go to the Year 9 team who came 2nd place in the Ideation discipline challenge, a place they also achieved last year.  

Mrs Jo Belchamber, Head of Learning Enrichment

Kate Monroe, Year 9 student at PLC documented her experience below:

Last week a number of students took part in the da Vinci Decathlon 2018 Queensland State Titles. Students across grades 5-10 travelled to A.B. Patterson College on the Gold Coast over the course of three days. In teams of eight, the students were ready to tackle problems in the subjects of Ideation, Science, English, Art and Poetry, Engineering, Mathematics, Cartography, Code Breaking, General Knowledge and Creative producers with this year’s theme being ‘The Unexpected.’ 

The teams divided the subjects among them according to each individual’s strengths during each of the three sessions as there were three or four subjects per session. I participated in the Ideation, Art and Poetry, General Knowledge and Creative Producers disciplines throughout the course of the day. I have been doing the Da Vinci Decathlon with PLC for two years, last year being the very first time our school participated. For both of the years, our team has achieved 2nd place in ideation. 

In the ideation discipline, students are presented with a current or future problem and background knowledge and are asked to give a clear answer showing deep thinking and thorough planning. Our problem was to demonstrate the need of, and provide a plan on how, the government and society should react if aliens invaded earth or tried to communicate. We were given two and a half hours to prepare a full response, which consisted of diagrams, planning sheets, references, implantation techniques and much more. A huge thank you is in order to Mrs. Ousley and Mrs. Belchamber who took on the role of organising our teams. They gave up weeks of lunch-times to train and support our teams as well as making the long two and half hour journey to the venue and back three days in a row. Thanks, on behalf of the team for shouting us some ice-creams from McDonalds! 

Overall, the Decathlon is an amazing opportunity for all students who participate, and each year teams are able to improve upon the previous year’s results, learn more about interesting and advanced subjects as well as achieve their goals and compete against other schools. It challenges thinking and teaches us to work hard for what we want and to always aim high. I am very grateful to have this opportunity and to have such wise adults to watch over and guide us. 

Mr Brett Kersnovske, Head of Sport

                                            What a fantastic day for all teams on Saturday.  We had a couple of wins, but most importantly lots of laughs and fun. 

We also had our Photo Day which was a great success, so please make sure you have your orders placed.

We have home games this weekend, so please make sure you volunteer for field setup, pack-up or canteen.  

To read more, please click here…

The Uniform Shop is open from 8.00am to 9.30am every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Orders can be placed online via www.flexischools.com.au and will be delivered to your child the following day.

Mrs Peta King, Uniform Shop Convenor

10       Thread: Youth Programs PERMA: Relationships Meaning

11       Years 4-6 SCISSA Training (3.15pm-4.15pm)

11-13  Middle College Exams

14       Years 4-6 SCISSA Gala Day 2

17       Thead: Youth Programs PERMA: Relationships, Meaning

18-19 Year 12 QCS Practice

20       P-2 Cross Country Carnival

21       Years 4-6 SCISSA Photos

22       Years 7-12 Athletics – Javelin, 1500m, 12yrs High Jump

Calling all parents, grandparents and friends of the Pacific community! If you can volunteer for only 45 minutes, (from 12.45 to 1.30pm) then we'd love to hear from you! We have volunteer positions available to serve at the front counter.  We would love to see some new faces at the Tuckshop this term! Your time and effort will be most appreciated by staff and students. If you are unsure about what is involved, please feel free to pop in, meet our Tuckshop Convenor and have a look around. There are jobs to suit everyone and it’s a great way to meet new people and lend a helping hand. Click here to download the Volunteer Form.

Ms Carrie Dickson, Tuckshop Convenor

For any parents interested in Confirmation for their teenager there is a Parent Orientation night on Friday June 8th, 6.00pm at St Mark’s Church, 16 Bombala Terrace. Confirmation is another step for teenagers and adults to continue the journey of learning the Christian faith. In recent years First Communion has been offered particularly through the Years 5s at the college and now we are offering Confirm

ation to interested families in the Year 6 and 7 classes. Please contact Pastor Tim tjarick@pacluth.qld.edu.au or Pastor Ray ray.morris@lca.org.au from St Marks for more information.

Pastor Ray Morris, St Mark’s Lutheran Church Caloundra and and Tim Jarick