Compass No. 613 June 2021

As a parent, do you feel like you are a taxi service for your child or teenager? Do you find yourself driving your young person from home to school, to sport, to dance, to music, to work, and all those other commitments? The parent-taxi service can be demanding on top of everything else a parent does. Nevertheless, this “transport service” that parents often provide also points to a positive thing. Your young person is involved in out of home activities that are helping them develop socially, physically, and financially.

Children and teenagers need that wider social circle beyond their family to broaden their horizons. Whether that is through a sporting club, church, or job. Having other trusted adults who coach, guide and mentor young people is important for their maturity. The kind of relationship that can develop with an adult role model, other than family, can be profound.

In these last two weeks of term, our thread focuses on youth and out of home activities. This is all about young people spending time each week in extracurricular activities or community activities, out of the home, that exposes them to stimulating activities with their needs in mind. Children and young people all need activities and programs outside of the home to fully develop, mature and learn. Sporting clubs, music, dance or church groups, community organizations like Scouts, Guides, Rotary, Lions, volunteering and part-time work commitments fall into this area. However, overcommitting to extracurricular activities so that there is no downtime to rest and replenish can be counterproductive to family wellbeing.

Some questions for young people to take stock of their out of home activities include:

• Overall, are you happy with how many different things you do with your time?
• Are the activities you are involved in stimulating and challenging for you?
• Are you making friends with caring, responsible adults in your activities?
• Do they bring out the best in you?

(P. Benson, J. Galbraith, P. Espeland., “What Teens need to Succeed”, Search Institute, Minneapolis, p.145)

A prayer for the way families use their time:

Thank you, God, for the opportunities we have to grow and learn through our sporting and work commitments, programs and activities we do in the wider community. Thank you for the opportunities we have to be challenged, making friends with caring, responsible adults, and the new skills, talents, and knowledge we can acquire. Help us use our time wisely and where we do not get involved in these activities, bless us in other ways as we connect with people outside our families. Amen. 

Pastor Tim Jarick, College Pastor

Last week, Middle College and Year 10 were involved in examinations. Students would have had varied experiences during this time, some would have encountered challenges and others, perhaps periods of extended reflection. We hope that all students felt cared for and looked after, as we appreciate the intensity of emotions that exam time can provoke in young people.

I thank all involved in the leadership and management of this examination period, and especially the students for their concentration and commitment in aiming for their academic personal best. I would also like to thank the families for their support, as we navigated through this together.

Importantly, it is the way our young people respond to the feedback from teachers over the coming week that will be an important indicator of their capacity to learn and grow. I encourage students to look for and listen to the feedback that will be broader than a singular grade. The positive relationship between student and teacher is crucial in any school community and importantly it is the ongoing dialogue between all stakeholders that will allow for clear feedback that is actionable.

Finding Meaning in the Everyday

I spoke at Chapel this week about the message that comes out of Matthew 25:31-46, ‘The Sheep and the Goats’. What we might take from this scripture passage is the importance of understanding that God is continually working through us as we engage in good works for others, including those who are less fortunate.

We must be brave and courageous enough to accept that this is what God is doing and indeed what it is He is calling us to do. I challenged Middle and Senior College students to specifically reflect on the micro interactions they have with each other, their families, and the community. These interactions might include a friendly smile, a helpful hand, a warm greeting or opening a door for someone. An outcome of these reflections is to consider whether they have been positive or perhaps required more purpose and consideration. Hopefully, our young people can similarly find the meaning in the everyday through those interactions.

Safety in Carparks

I would like to remind all members of the community who drive themselves or loved ones to school each morning that the driving limit is 10km/h once entering the school gates. It is vital this limit is adhered to for the safety of all. I would encourage all students to exit the vehicle you are in, on the pathway side. Similarly, I would ask all students who travel in College buses and coaches to remain seated with their seatbelt fastened for the entire duration of their journey. This is a legal requirement for the safety of all passengers and for the driver to maintain their licence.

Since this is my last newsletter article for the term, I take this opportunity to wish you all a safe and relaxing break as holidays commence on Friday 25th June.

Mr Ben Ryan, Director of Students

Central to the ‘You Can Do It’ theme for this term, is the notion of becoming a problem solver. With so much of the world around us becoming easily accessible through technology, the concept of persisting when our surroundings become unsure, is an important view to promote to our young people.

Last week, Mrs Sarah Atkinson shared some facts around the number of questions that educators can be asked over the course of a day, year and even throughout their career. Many questions that teachers are asked can usually be quickly solved, such as "I don't have a pencil", "What time is music? or "I can't find my writing book".

The total number of questions is approximately three million! As parents, we can also imagine how many questions that are asked over the course of raising a child. Three million plus? Maybe more!

More importantly, at the college, we aim to develop a culture of thinking by using questioning to deepen understanding. By responding to questions that can be easily solved, we create an environment that encourages our students to ask first and become passive observers rather than critical thinkers and doers.

So many of the questions that young people ask are easily solvable by a series of simple steps. This week and into the future, students are being encouraged to "Try 3 before me." By following three simple steps:

• Ask yourself (stop and focus)
• Look Around (What are others doing? Are their directions I can follow?)
• Ask a friend to help (maybe try more than one friend)

Of course, if these strategies have been unsuccessful, their teacher is always there to support them. By encouraging our students to be autonomous when faced with a challenge, we inadvertently create a growth mindset in our young people and improve their capacity to develop a ‘You Can Do It’ attitude. We encourage you to refer to these strategies when possible.

Events

This week, I have enjoyed accompanying the Year 5 cohort down to Bornhoffen PCYC in the Numinbah Valley. Learning in the outdoors provides our students with new and exciting opportunities to form relationships, explore personal boundaries and manage unfamiliar experiences. Special thanks to our Head of Outdoor Education, Ms Kim Wood, for her preparation before, during and after this experience and to Mrs Melanie Percival, Mrs Luanne Pollard, Mr Scott Crompton, Mrs Chrissy Dobson and Mrs Karen Vorster for their commitment to the Outdoor Education program at Pacific.

This Friday, we celebrate an important milestone in the spiritual journey of our Prep students, when they are presented with their first bible courtesy of the St Mark's congregation at our weekly chapel. We pray that these bibles enable our students to engage with God's word.  Special thanks to the congregation of St Mark's, Pastor Ray Morris and our college Pastor Tim Jarick for coordinating this important event.

We look forward to the P-2 Cross Country Carnival taking place next Wednesday afternoon. The students have been training hard and look forward to testing themselves on the course, next week. We thank Mr Darren Hooper, Head of Junior Sport and Mrs Natalie Campbell, Sports Aide, for their preparation of this event and all the other sporting opportunities our students are fortunate enough to be involved in.

Take care and God Bless.

Mr Damian Davis, Head of Staff and Students P-5

The children in Studio Two at the Early Learning Centre have been exploring identities and roles through real life play. The morning meetings have been an opportunity for the children to share their ideas with peers, making connections through similarities and interests. During morning meetings this week, one of the children asked to care for the animals, which led to a discussion about where animals go if they are unwell.

Through peer-to-peer teaching, some of the children shared their own knowledge and experience that pets go to see the animal doctor, who is called a vet. Our pets go to the veterinary clinic and other animals like koalas might visit the animal hospital like the one at Australia Zoo.

The children discussed the roles required to create a vet space in the studio, including; animals, pet owners, a vet, vet nurse and a receptionist. The children assisted in setting up our area and have been demonstrating care, empathy and respect toward the animals and each other, while treating the animals in the clinic.

Mrs Julie McCosker, Service Leader

It can be tempting to allow children to continue to behave badly or to perform chores, homework or sports practice poorly when they argue or resist feedback. Parents need to be part coach, teacher and counsellor so that children learn how to behave well, develop healthy attitudes to learning and know how to get the best out of themselves. Feedback is one of the most effective tools we can use to achieve this.  If we give feedback poorly, it will at best be ignored and at worst, rupture relationships and damage self-worth. If you provide feedback effectively, you will see improvement in behaviour, attitudes, and learning, even amongst feedback resistant teenagers. Click on the link below for more info.

https://www.parentingideas.com.au

Mrs Annie Williams College Counsellor

Thank you to those that were able to attend the Friends of Pacific meeting last night.  We are grateful to have the support of so many in our College Community. 

Plans are underway for an exciting community event in celebration of Pacific Lutheran’s 20th Anniversary.  We’ve been working behind the scenes to coordinate this spectacular celebration and look forward to making this announcement very soon.  Stay tuned!

Pacific Together

Pacific Together is a discrete helping-hand offered by Friends of Pacific, in conjunction with Pastor Tim, to College families in times of need. 

If you or someone you know within our College community needs extra support anytime during the year, the Pacific Together care group may be able to help in some small way or offer a care package in times of need.

We invite you to contact Pastor Tim Jarick or Pacific Together via FoP email: fop@pacluth.qld.edu.au

Quote of the Week

“Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.”

- Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Click here to follow our Friends of Pacific Facebook page.

Mrs Jenny Lee, Friends of Pacific Chairperson

Overdue notices were emailed home this week. Please ensure that any overdue library books are returned before the end of term. Students may then borrow an unlimited number of books over the holidays.

STEM Learning in the Library

Year 1 students have been reading If I Built a Car and Something Wonderful. After engaging in discussions about how the characters in the book develop designs, they have designed and built their own vehicles using recycled materials.

Prep and Year 2 students have been reading Wendy by Gus Gordon, who is next terms visiting author. Wendy is about a stunt-driver chicken who plans increasingly daring jumps. Students used this as a springboard to create ramps and jumps which they tested with toy cars to see which design would work best.

Finally, Year 3 students have been doing a research unit, looking at how spider webs are made. This involved student’s designing and creating their own spider web.

Ms Narelle Keen, Teacher Librarian

On Sunday, some members of the Pacific Lutheran Junior Strings Ensemble joined forces with the Sunshine Coast Youth Orchestra for a strings workshop with renowned Brisbane composer and strings pedagogue Loreta Finn. The students were lucky enough to work on music that Loreta had composed herself. They were also joined by the Sunshine Youth Orchestras chamber string groups who entertained the audience during a short finale concert. Congratulations to all the young string players who took part. It was a fantastic opportunity for them to expand their thinking and perform with other musicians from around the coast.

Ensembles Concert – Thursday 24th June

The Music Department warmly invites you to attend our Semester One Ensembles Concert on Thursday 24th June.  This year, we will be hosting this exciting evening in the Pacific Lutheran Gymnasium, offering families the opportunity to enjoy a relaxed dinner as our ensembles perform.  There will be curries and hotdogs available to purchase on the evening, with a bar available for soft drink, wine and beer purchases.  There is also an option to pre-order a cheese box at registration – orders close today!  There will be very limited numbers available on the night.  EFTPOS will be available.

The concert will begin at 6pm with doors and food stands opening from 5.30pm.  Pre-registration is necessary, so please follow the link to register your attendance https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZW2NL8X. We look forward to sharing the hard work of our students with you on what promises to be an exciting evening! 

Mrs Helen Williams, Head of Instrumental Music

The Uniform Shop has all your winter uniform needs on hand.  Formal jumpers are available in all sizes to complement your formal uniform, sports jackets and tracksuit pants for days you require sports uniform.  We also have girls formal trousers and blouses in stock for students Year 1 to Year 12.  Orders can be placed online via Flexischool or make an appointment on (07) 5436 7300.

Reminder: the sports jacket is to only be worn with your sports uniform.

Mrs Peta King, Uniform Shop Coordinator

Sharing a common mission and ministry with Pacific Lutheran College

“Growing in faith and sharing God’s love with others”

Weekly worship services are held at 14 Bombala Terrace Caloundra at 8.30am and 9.30am. We are thankful that we are able to meet together each week for worship. As we do this, there are still physical distancing, signing in, and hygiene requirements we need to follow in order to ensure the health and safety of everyone in our community.

Our worship services are intergenerational with a blend of traditional and contemporary.

You’re welcome to follow us on Facebook and visit our Church webpage.

All are welcome at any of our services.

Pastor Ray Morris, St Mark’s Lutheran Church (0429 856 532 or lutherancaloundra@gmail.com)

16                        Year 11 2022 QCE Information Evening (6pm)

15-17                  Year 5 Outdoor Education Program

18                        Prep Bible Handouts

23                        P-2 Cross Country

24                        K-12 Chapel Ensembles Concert

25-12 July          School Holidays