Compass No. 534 May 2019

One of the many things I appreciate about the Pacific community is the fact that we have an Early Learning Centre (ELC) on site. One of the things I regularly do as College Pastor is visit the ELC to read Bible stories to the children. Lately when I’ve visited, I’ve made a temporary labyrinth for the children to walk, pray and practice stillness. I greatly appreciate the opportunity to watch these young children walk the labyrinth. To follow the path, reach the middle, sit down, close their eyes and take deep breaths. And then to follow the same path back out. I sit in wonder and amazement at how these little people experience the labyrinth in so many different ways. I’m in awe of how much their little bodies and minds are being stretched through this simple act of mindful walking.

Appreciation is a value of our College community. Appreciation is recognising and valuing the gifts and blessings given to us from God and those surrounding us. It is an attitude of gratitude for learning, loving and being alive. It is a positive attitude that responds in wonder and awe to, and with respect for, the created world and all our relationships.

In Mark’s gospel, we learn that one day people were bringing little children to Jesus. They wanted Him to place His hands on them to bless them. But the disciples told them to stop. When Jesus saw this, He was angry. He said to His disciples, “Let the little children come to me. Don’t keep them away. God’s kingdom belongs to people like them”. In doing so, Jesus taught His disciples how to appreciate the small things in life. Sometimes the small things in life are overlooked. It’s important to take time to value and appreciate what God has put in front of us and the relationships God has placed us in. It is important because appreciation of beauty, simplicity and people can connect us with the transcendent. Appreciation of the small things and people in life can connect us with God and His kingdom. God often works through the small, seemingly insignificant things of daily life to teach us the depth of His love, grace, care and compassion.

Appreciation is a valuable gift from God. What or who can you be appreciative of today and how can you share your appreciation of them?

Pastor Tim Jarick, College Pastor

It would have been seemingly impossible to have escaped the political campaigning that has finally ended after five weeks. The theatrical displays, curated speeches and continued push for a particular policy or position ended last Saturday evening. Regardless of where you sit on the political spectrum, I wonder if anyone actually sat back and thanked Solon, Cleisthenes and Aristotle, several of the founding fathers of democracy, or simply tuned out, turned off the television and got back to what they were doing? The thread for this week focuses on the Lutheran Education Australia value of appreciation. Certainly, it is times like these that the value of the democratic process is reinforced, but is it truly appreciated? The simple task of casting a vote, for many around the globe, is not that simple. Incredibly, it was only 62 years ago that Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his ‘Give us the Ballot’ speech calling for African Americans to be given voting rights. Whilst this is an alarming fact to say the least, it is not unusual to feel somewhat blasé about what is core to our election process. Likewise, there can be a tendency to also ignore the small, beautiful things around us.

The late poet, Mary Oliver, in her piece, The Summer Day in many respects campaigns for us to stop and smell the roses; “how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields”. There is an inescapable pull through Oliver’s words, to be drawn in to the wonder and awe of God’s creation, including even the grasshopper’s interactions with its surrounds. Jesus’ teachings reinforce the need to be appreciative of even the smallest of things and in many respects, it can be the smallest of things that sustain us. The incidental smiles from a friend, colleague, teacher or family member or the sharing a meal together. It may be knowing that in helping another for whatever reason, there is a fulfilment of Jesus’ wish that we show empathy to our fellow human being or it could simply be the breathing in of the cool morning air. I encourage all members of the Pacific community to identify what sustains them in their lives and share this with at least five other people.

We wish the cast and crew of Oklahoma the best of luck for their performances this week. Students and staff have been working tirelessly to prepare and we thank Mrs Janine Delaney and her team for what will be a fantastic production showcasing our many talented students. A reminder too that this Sunday 26^th May is the annual Red Shield Door Knock Appeal and we thank the many students and families who will be collecting donations for The Salvation Army.

Mr Ben Ryan, Director of Students

Under Eights Week is an initiative of Early Childhood Australia and has been celebrated for more than 60 years. The theme this year is: Celebrating the diversity of languages within the home, culture and community. At Pacific, our Kindy to Year 2 students will celebrate Under Eights Week on Thursday 30^th May, from 9.00am to 10.00am.

Please come along and join us for a morning of fun and laughter as we celebrate early childhood. For information regarding activities and what to wear on the day, please refer to Mrs Shelley Hogan’s letter, which was sent home last week.

As part of their ongoing professional development, all Prep – Year 5 staff undertook a You Can Do It Education in-service led by Mrs Sarah Atkinson last week. Each week, students have timetabled lessons on the You Can Do It foundations of Getting Along, Confidence, Persistence, Organisation and Resilience. One of the focus topics discussed last week was the importance of developing emotional resilience in children.

Developing Emotional Resilience In Children

Emotional resilience is essential in our daily lives, especially when we encounter confrontations with difficult people, make wrong choices, get bad results, experience negative situations that are beyond our control and undertake tasks that we find boring, difficult or 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.

Generally, it is not a negative event that causes us to feel down or worried but rather how we think about the event. 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. Eliminating these negative mindsets can be challenging. Over the next few weeks I would like to share some strategies from the You Can Do It Program, which may help eliminate or balance these negative mindsets.

To Eliminate ‘Self-Downing’

Explain to children that they are made up of many characteristics – some good and some not so good. Have children come up with five good things about their skills, talents and personality and five things that could be improved on. You can help children if they get stuck. Then, you should explain that because they possess good qualities, it doesn’t make sense to think ‘I’m hopeless’ when something bad happens. Instead, encourage them to think, “When a bad thing happens, I do not lose my good points. I am still me, capable and likeable”.

Parents can also assist their children to eliminate the tendency of self-downing by:

• Showing interest and excitement about non-curricular areas of your child’s skills, interests and personal strengths.
• Exposing your child to a variety of extra-curricular activities where they are likely to be successful.
• Keeping a record with your child of all of their positive characteristics.
• Acknowledging your child when they display emotional resilience.
• Modelling positive behavior when something bad happens by sharing your thinking out-loud (e.g. “I wasn’t elected to be on the committee. While this is disappointing, I will not put myself down, after all, I’m still me, a capable and likeable person”).

Being emotionally resilient helps us to stay on top of a situation emotionally, rather than letting it take control of us.

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

Wanting more privacy and time alone doesn’t necessarily mean your child has something to hide. Secrecy goes along with the development of independence – it’s a natural part of adolescence. Parents often wonder how much privacy their children need and ask me if it’s okay to violate it. Personally, I believe there should be a direct link between the amount of responsibility, consistency and honesty that children show and the amount of privacy they’re allowed to have. For more information, visit: https://www.empoweringparents.com/article/teens-parents-privacy/.

Mrs Annie Williams, College Counsellor

Prep – Year 12 class photos and sibling photos will be taken on Tuesday 4^th June.

Individual order envelopes were handed out last week. If you would like a sibling photo taken, please collect an order envelope from the main office.

Online Orders: photos can be ordered and paid for online using the secure online platform. Orders placed online DO NOT require an envelope, cash/cheques or paperwork returned to school.

To place your order, visit www.advancedlife.com.au and enter the code B7H 8V9 RRH

This code can also be found printed on your envelope. To ensure a smoothly run photo day, online orders for sibling photos will be cut off at midnight on Monday 3^rd June.

Envelope Orders: photos can also be purchased in the traditional manner using an envelope, with cash/cheque enclosed.

Celebrating our Volunteers!

National Volunteer Week is an annual celebration that recognises the generous contribution of our nation’s volunteers and helpers.

We sincerely thank all of our parent representatives, year-level helpers, event helpers and committee members, who continually go above and beyond to ensure Friends of Pacific are well supported within the Pacific community. You’ll often find these people behind the scenes of our events and activities, not just organising, but also adding their own thoughtfulness and kindness; which makes our daily lives at Pacific richer. We measure our success, not in financial terms, but in community spirit and commitment to bringing the College and community together.

Pacific and IBN Private Golf Day – Sunday 9^th June

The Pacific and IBN Private Golf Day is drawing closer! This week, families should have received a printed flyer and registration form with the eldest child in the family.

Mrs Jenny Lee, FoP Chairperson

This past week in OSHC, children have developed a Science Lab. First, children brainstormed ideas of what they may need for the lab and how we could resource this area with items that we already have here at OSHC. Children researched experiments of their interest and gathered the items they would need to perform these. They worked collaboratively to gather information and problem solve if the experiment was not working. Children also invited their peers to participate and experience the amazement of the experiments.

Mrs Natalie Sorbello, OSHC Coordinator

Next week, six Pacific teams of students across Years 5-10 will compete in the Queensland da Vinci Decathlon at AB Paterson College and Nudgee College. The da Vinci Decathlon is an academic skills competition with team challenges in the following 10 events:

• Mathematics – emphasis on problem-solving, number patterns and logic puzzles.
• English – spelling, word origins, definitions, textual analysis and writing tasks.
• Science – engagement with higher level scientific concepts to test their ability to apply them.
• Code Breaking – deciphering complex codes.
• Engineering – a design task that tests problem solving skills, creativity and ingenuity.
• Ideation – creative and innovative process of generating, developing and communicating new ideas in response to a problem or challenge.
• Creative Producers – emphasis on creating a 60 second dramatic performance under pressure.
• Art and Poetry – construction of a poem interconnected with a work of art based on the theme of exploration.
• Cartography – deciphering maps and applying the principles of map making to represent spatial information in an imaginative way.
• General Knowledge – current affairs, entertainment, the Renaissance, sport and trivia.

Students have been training hard at their preferred disciplines for many weeks. Only eight students per year level can be selected to attend the event and we would like to thank all those who trained. Students not competing at the Decathlon provided challenge and motivation for selected team members, encouraging them in their pursuits.

We wish all teams success at the da Vinci Decathlon and look forward to hearing about the challenges.

Mrs Christine Doyle, Mrs Jo Belchamber, Mrs Linda Sydes, Mr Andrew Block and Mrs Melissa Ousley, Decathlon Coordinators

We wish the cast and crew of Oklahoma! all the best for their performances this weekend! They have worked extremely hard on this production and are looking forward to bringing the story to life with fabulous music, exciting staging, brilliant costumes and heart-felt performances.

Mrs Janine Delaney, Director

The middle part of the year is a very busy time for careers-related information events and expos and university open days. When attending these events, it’s important to do some planning to make sure you get good value out of your time investment.

If you are planning to attend a careers event, spend some time planning ahead. Look at what will be available there and decide who you want to talk to, what activities or workshops you would like to participate in and what specific information you are seeking, as well as any questions you have.  

When you are there, don’t be afraid to ask direct and specific questions to get the information you need. Make sure you also allow time to explore what else is there, other than the things you came to ask about, see and do – sometimes, the best career ideas spring out of an expected conversation, or the discovery of something you knew nothing about.

After the event, spend some time reflecting on what you saw and heard. Look through any brochures you collected. Think about how the information you have gathered might influence your future decision making. If you would like to talk it all through, make an appointment to speak with Mrs Wanda Hayes.

Below is a list of highlight events between now and the school holidays. Please click on the links for details of each event.

• 24^th - 25^th May: Brisbane Careers and Employment Expo
• 29^th May: Defence Careers Information Session – Maroochydore
• 6^th June: Hotel and Tourism Management Institute – Information Session – Brisbane
• 2^nd July: Bond University International Relations Experience Day – Gold Coast
• 4^th July: Australian Catholic University Mid-Year Open Evening – Brisbane

UQ – Young Scholars Program

This program provides high achieving Year 11 students with an opportunity to discover, learn and engage with UQ's academic community and like-minded students from across Queensland. For more information, visit the Young Scholars Program webpage. The five-day residential camp at St Lucia campus will be held from 1^st – 5^th December 2019. Applications for the program open on Monday 27^th May.

Bond University – 2020 Scholarships Open Online

Bond University’s scholarship program offers many full-fee and part-fee scholarships as well as cash bursaries. Most scholarships can be used for any single or combined program at Bond (except for the Medical Program). Visit the Scholarship webpage for more information, to download the scholarship brochure and to access the application tips. Scholarship applications for Year 12 students must be lodged online using the Bond University application form.

Mrs Wanda Hayes, Head of Career Development

Any Under 12 boys and girls interested in trialling for the Under 12 Independent District Cricket team are asked to see Mr Darren Hooper and collect a form. Boys would need to have suitable experience such as Saturday club cricket to trial. Girls new to the sport who have some cricket experience such as SCISSA T20 cricket are also welcome to trial.

Mr Darren Hooper, Head of Junior 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.

Mrs Peta King, Uniform Shop Convenor