Compass No. 518 November 2018

In the time of King Herod after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, ‘Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising and have come to worship him.’ When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him…Matthew 2:1-3.

Did you know that there are two stories of the birth of Jesus in the Bible? In Luke’s gospel we hear of the Roman census, Mary and Joseph travelling to Bethlehem, Jesus being born in a manger because there was no room in the inn and the angels appearing to the shepherds in the fields. The other Christmas story from Matthew chapter two involves the Magi the wise men from the East who follow the star, King Herod who wants to kill any threat to his throne, and the gifts given to Mary and Jesus by the Magi. This is a different story to the sentimental pictures we often see on Christmas cards. It is a story of power, revenge, the death of innocent children and a family seeking asylum in a foreign country. It sounds very much like a story that could occur today in many war-torn countries around the globe.

This is an essential part of the Christmas gospel we can easily neglect. For God to break into the world in the form of Jesus born to Mary and Joseph, great disruption, tension, and even suffering occurred. We often picture the message of Christmas as being about the little baby Jesus meek and mild. Carols use these images in their lyrics. Nativity scenes model it this way. But God’s entry into the world disrupted the powerful rulers and structures of the time. God’s plan to save the world was not smooth sailing or involved a bed of roses, people opposed this baby born to a peasant girl and wanted him dead. From the moment Jesus appeared on earth, God embodied a life of suffering and sacrifice. Jesus’ life on earth started and ended with opposition and people trying to kill him. The Christmas gospel begins with the womb but ends in a tomb. 

As we celebrate the advent of Jesus this Christmas may we all hear the story anew and read the scriptures more deeply delving into the mystery and hope of God becoming human for us.

Ministry and Service Survey

Every family in the College has been emailed a Ministry and Service survey of three questions to complete. Please check your inbox and click on the link to help provide information which will contribute to the College’s strategic direction in this area. The survey will be open until 5.00pm Friday 30 November.

Ps Tim Jarick, College Pastor 

Gratitude can be thought of as a form of positive thinking that links us to others beyond the self. Gratitude by its nature is profoundly interpersonal and requires interaction with others. It involves us in a particular kind of relationship with others - in giving and in returning thanks. Gratitude according to Anthropologist Afke Komter is a moral force that connects us with something or someone outside self.

At Pacific we very deliberately discuss and teach gratitude to students. Our aim is for students to feel general gratitude such as count your blessings as well as gratitude to others for the support they offer us on our journey. Research shows that gratitude helps develop greater resilience, improves relationships and engagement for students.

As we move towards the end of the year I would like to express my personal gratitude to the Pacific community. There have been many individuals, students, parents and staff that have helped me on my journey this year. Their support and care has helped me on a daily basis and for this I am truly thankful.

To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch heaven. Johannes A. Gaertner

Mr Brendan Delaney, Director of Students

P-2 Swimming 

Continues on Monday and Thursday next week. If your child is attending swimming early in the day, can you ensure they are at the College by 8.30am as the bus will be departing with the first group of students at 8.35am. Students should arrive at the College in their swimmers and parents should also apply sunscreen to children in the morning before leaving home. Sunscreen will also be available at the College.

Hats

A number of students are presenting to school each day without hats. During lunch-breaks, students need to wear a hat or they are required to stay out of the sun.  Students should also wear their hats when travelling to and from the College. Could all parents/guardians please ensure that children are bringing/wearing a hat to school each day.

Carols Concert  

At 5.00pm, Friday, 30^th November, the annual Carols concert will be held in the College grounds.  Food will be available after the concert. A flyer giving further details has been sent home this week.

End of Year Service

Starting at 9.00am, on Monday 3^rd December, the P-5 End of Year Service will be held in the Sports Hall at the College.  At the service, Academic Excellence and Endeavour awards will be presented to students in Years 3-5.  The service marks an important transition for Year Five students who move next year to Middle School. All parents and family members are most welcome at this important event. An invitation giving further details will be sent home next week. 

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

Thank you + Introducing 2019 Committee

Thank you to those who attended our Annual General Meeting on Tuesday evening - especially to our State Member for Kawana,  Mr Jarrod Bleiije MP and Mrs Ruth Zerner, our PLC College Council Chair. Thank you for your time and support throughout 2018.

We also warmly thank the following parents who are stepping down from their current roles; Tracey Hindmarsh (2018 Committee Member), Lisa Ackerman (2018 Secretary) and Deni Fowler (2018 Vice Chairperson). Thank you for your commitment to our volunteer committee - for your time, energy and efforts in delivering a vast range of events to our Pacific community. We would like to make special mention of Tracey Hindmarsh who has given many years of service to Friends of Pacific in various roles including five years as Chairperson.

I am honoured to be staying on as Chairperson in 2019. My fellow committee members include:

Vice Chairperson: Allyson Sarvari

Secretary: Erin Carter

Treasurer: Penni Buchanan

Executive Committee Member: Lisa Ackerman

OCEANfest Coordinator: Teena Thompson

Thank you for volunteering your time, talents and energy to serve our Pacific community!

We have an additional three Executive Committee positions to be finalised in 2019.

Christmas Carols BBQ

Friends of Pacific will be hosting a BBQ at the upcoming Christmas Carols event on Friday, 30th November.
If you are keen to help out, please let us know at fop@pacluth.qld.edu.au or turn up at 3.30pm at the College Gym.
We greatly appreciate any time and help you can offer.  Also, look out for the ‘Containers for Change’ to aid in our campus recycling efforts at the event.

Save The Dates

PLC Golf Day @ Pelican Waters: Sunday 9 June 2019

Trivia Night @ PLC  Saturday 17 August 2019

With planning already underway for our 2019 + 2020 events, we look forward to welcoming many new faces to our volunteer committee at our first meeting in 2019 at 6.30pm on Tuesday, 19 February in the College Library.

Mrs Jenny Lee, Chairperson

Library Monitor Lunch

To thank our library monitors for their service this year, we will be holding a farewell lunch this Wednesday, 28^th November, in the library at 1pm.

Thinkers Club Break Up

The final Thinkers Club for the year will be held next week. We will be having a break up party, as well as our usual activities.

Borrowing and Library Classes

Our final library classes were held this week. Next week we ask that students start bringing back their books. There will be no borrowing in Week 8 as the library is conducting stock take. In the final week, students who have returned all of this year’s books may borrow up to 30 books for the holidays.

Academic Excellence Awards

Students in Years 3-11 who are receiving an Academic Excellence award will receive a letter asking them to select their book prize. A selection of books will be on display in the library from Tuesday, 27^th November, until Friday, 30^th November. Students will need to bring their letter to the library and select a book by Friday lunchtime.

Ms Nell Keen, Head of Library

SAE Qantm Creative Media Institute Summer Program

The SAE Brisbane campus, located in West End, is opening its doors these holidays for the SAE Summer Series for students aged 15 years and above (Year 10 and over). This is a 3-day program designed to expand your creative skills through working on projects in the fields of Animation, Audio, Design, Film or Games. The program will run from 23 – 25 January 2019 from 10 am – 4 pm each day. Register before 11:30pm on 9 December 2018 for the early bird special of $120.

https://sae.edu.au/news-and-events/events/summer-series-brisbane-january-23-25-2019/?date=2019-01-23&id=988

SAE Qantm Creative Media Institute Info Night

This event will be held at the SAE Brisbane campus, located in West End, from 6 – 8 pm on Thursday 29 November 2018. SAE has Diploma and Degree courses in Animation, Audio, Design, Film, Game, Web and Mobile. FEE-HELP is available for eligible students. For more information and to register, visit the SAE website.

JMC Academy: Undergraduate Information Evening

This session will be held from 5.00pm on Thursday 6 December 2018 at the JMC Brisbane campus. It is for students who are looking for course options in the creative arts. JMC offers tertiary courses in Animation, Film and TV, Music, Songwriting, Game Design, Entertainment Management, Audio Engineering and Digital Design. For more information on the undergraduate information evening, visit the JMC website.

TAFE: Don’t miss out on Cre8 Festival

The Cre8 Festival 2018 is a free showcase of the best student works from the year across all areas of the creative arts. This includes fashion, floristry, photography, digital design and much, much more. It will be held from 6 – 8.30 pm on Thursday 29 November 2018 at the TAFE Queensland Southbank Campus, 66 Ernest Street, South Brisbane.

Interested in leadership and community service?

If so, why not investigate the Lions Youth of the Year. This is a project of Lions Clubs International of Australia. It is designed to encourage student interest in leadership and taking an active role in the community. Students between the ages of 15 – 19 are welcome to apply.

http://lionsclubs.org.au/activities/youth/yoty/

Queensland Government Youth page

The Queensland Government has developed this webpage for young people. It provides links to a range of information and services, covering topics such as:

• Education and training
• Life skills and turning 18
• Work and career
• Driving and transport
• Health and looking after yourself
• Sport, recreation and leisure
• Being safe and knowing your rights.

https://www.qld.gov.au/youth

Mrs Natasha Purcell, Careers Counsellor

If your child is currently enrolled in instrumental music lessons, please be aware that you will be receiving an email which details the rollover of instrumental lessons into 2019. A paper copy of the letter should also come home with the students – please look out for them.

If you have a child who would like to enrol for instrumental music lessons for 2019 then you can collect an enrolment form at any of the school offices or email helenw@pacluth.qld.edu.au for an electronic copy.

Mrs Helen Williams, Head of Instrumental Music

As we continually to strive towards a balanced program amongst our students busy lifestyles we aim to meet the competitive, health and wellbeing needs of all of our students.  Last week we took time out to celebrate the sports successes of 2018 with our students and coaches.

We were excited to have Sunshine Coast Lightning and Australian Diamonds netballer Stephanie Wood speak with our students.  Encouraging them to put in the hard work to reach their goals regardless of the natural talent they may have. We also thank the countless staff and external coaches for their time and effort in contributing to the sports program this year. Without their support we would not be able to offer the sports we do.

Our thanks to the outgoing Sports Captains for 2018: Charlotte Empson and Cooper Pointon.  Well done to Sam Henderson and Alyssa Rabnott our 2019 Sports Captains for being our MC’s at the Awards and Kate Monroe for leading the National Anthem.

Whilst we congratulate all of our award winners, we would like to make special mention of our 2018 Sport Excellence Award winner: Brooklyn Graves.

During 2018 Brooklyn has achieved the following:

• High level of participation at the inter house carnivals
• Athletics Age Champion
• Independent District Representative for Swimming
• Played in 2 PLC Basketball Teams
• Independent District Representative for Basketball
• Regional Representative for Basketball
• Played in 2 PLC Volleyball Teams
• PLC Representative for Trish Buckley Volleyball
• Independent District Representative for Volleyball
• MVP SCISSA Volleyball
• MVP Trish Buckley Volleyball

We also acknowledge Brooklyn’s service to the sports program including:

• Basketball Referee
• 3 on 3 Basketball Referee
• Club Netball Coach
• Club Netball Umpire Mentor
• Assisting at the Disabled Surfing Program

SCISSA Soccer

Congratulations to our Intermediate Girls Soccer Team who convincingly won their Grand Final last night 4-0 against St Andrews.  Whilst displaying great enthusiasm and persistence the enjoyment that the girls played with was refreshing.  My sincere thanks for your commitment to the season. 

A special mention to Mr Brendan Delaney for his leadership of the girls and another successful season to add to his coaching credentials.

Uniform Returns

As all sports teams have concluded for the year all jerseys and uniforms are now required to be returned to Mrs Campbell.

Natalie Campbell, Acting Head of Sport

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.

This year the Uniform shop will be closing for stocktake on Friday 23^rd November.  Please ensure that, if you are in Year 9, that you have purchased your Blazer and Trousers (for male students) and Blazer (for female students) before this date. 

We will reopen on Monday 21^st January 2018.  For appointments please contact the main office on 5436 7300.

If your child is commencing Year One, please see the below pictures for formal uniform requirements.  All of these items are available from the uniform shop.  Formal shoes for Year One are black leather lace ups.

Foundation and Junior College Formal Uniform

If your child is commencing Year 6, please see the below pictures for formal uniform requirements.  Year Six students require a formal hat to be worn with their formal uniform. The bucket hat continues to be worn with their sports uniform.  All of these items are available for purchase in the Uniform Shop.  Formal shoes are black leather lace ups. 

Middle College Formal Uniform

Mrs Peta King, Uniform Shop Convenor

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