Compass No. 512 October 2018

This notice is from the Australian Government Department of Education and Training (the department), to advise you that the department has requested that your child’s school provide a statement of addresses, in accordance with the Australian Education Regulation 2013 (Cth) (the Regulation).

A statement of addresses contains the following information about each student at the school:

• Student residential address (not student names)
• Student level of education (i.e. whether the student is a primary or secondary student)
• Student boarding school status (i.e. whether the student is boarding or a day student)
• Names and residential addresses of the student’s parent(s) and/or guardian(s)

Schools generate a record number for each student for the purposes of this collection, which is also provided to the department.

For more information please click here.

Mr Mike Healy, Business Manager

In the last week of the holidays, I went back with my family to a place I lived for a while, western Sydney. One of the things that I often end up doing when I go back to somewhere I lived, is to go to all my favourite eating places. It’s like a food pilgrimage. Eating the food in that place brings back memories. Because I lived in western Sydney, where there are lots of people from the Middle East, I went to a Lebanese restaurant. The food was sensational. The chicken is the best I have tasted as it is butterflied and slowly roasted over charcoal. It has that distinctive smoky, lemony, garlicky flavour. It is served up with dips like baba ghanoush which is smoked eggplant, hummus made from chickpeas and a white garlic sauce that is extremely pungent and eaten with hot chips. The other dips are eaten with pita, flatbread and there is tabbouleh salad and brightly coloured pickled vegetables and falafel on the side. Are you getting hungry yet? Food is great for bringing back memories, connecting us to places and connecting us to people. That’s what Jesus does in a number of stories in the bible. He connects food with people and with himself.

In the story of the dinner invitation in Luke chapter fourteen, Jesus suggests that we can connect to people that we don’t know, through food. The simple act of sitting down at the table and sharing food does something to us at a deep level. I’m not talking about grabbing some McDonalds fast food in the drive through on your way rushing somewhere. No, I’m talking about sitting down, taking time, eating, conversing and building relationship with people, especially people we do not know. In this food story Jesus said; When you give a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or sisters or your relatives or rich neighbours, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed because they cannot repay you. Luke 14:12-14

Sitting down and eating food with those who cannot repay you is what Jesus recommends here. It’s radical hospitality because it is really welcoming the stranger. We don’t often do this, welcoming a complete stranger into our home and eating with them.  It is hard enough just to get together with each member of our family, to eat together uninterrupted, let alone invite a stranger into our home to do this. But Jesus tells us that it is the stranger, the disabled, the poor, the homeless, that Jesus invites us to eat food with and connect.  In crossing the line of family and friends and expecting to be repaid for our social interactions, Jesus says we will be blessed by those who cannot repay us. Such is the nature of radical hospitality, welcoming the stranger.

Safety is a big concern in our society but who is the stranger, the different or little known person you could eat food with and connect. Someone you could build relationship with and become friends with and see in a new light? 

Ps. Tim Jarick, College Pastor 

During the last week of term the Year 6 students planted over 300 trees in Kawana Forest. For several years now the Year 6 cohort have been linking up with The Sunshine Coast Council to complete this important environmental project. Well done to the students and staff for caring for our environment. The Year 6 students and staff are off to Canberra next week for an exciting week of learning. I look forward to hearing all about the experience at future assemblies.

Formal hats from Year 7 to 11 are being checked by PCG teachers and if your student’s hat has holes or is looking a bit out of shape it will need to be replaced. Term 4 also sees a return to summer uniform for students.

Other important dates coming up are The Melbourne Arts Tour on October 19 to 22 and Grandparents Day on the 26 of October.

Finally, as we move into this very busy time of the year I would like to Quote Trappist Monk Thomas Merton a hermit who maintained a compelling correspondence with some of the most influential thinkers of his age such as Martin Luther King.

‘We are so obsessed with doing that we have no time and no imagination left for being.’

Mr Brendan Delaney, Director of Students

Welcome to the new term. I hope all families spent a relaxing and enjoyable time together over the holidays. The term has started at a hectic pace with Year 5 students attending their Outdoor Education camp this week. There are also a number of important events scheduled for this term.

Grandparents Day/Special Friends Day

The sense of community which exists at the College is a fundamental and important feature of an education at PLC. On Friday, 26^th October we welcome to the College grandparents and family friends of students. The morning offers students the opportunity to show and involve their extended families in their daily experiences at school.  Visitors to the College will spend time in classrooms with the students before attending morning tea and being entertained by a variety of musical performances.

P-12 Student Art Exhibition

All students in Prep to Year 5 will have a piece of artwork on display at the College Student Art Exhibition which will be held on Friday 26^th October starting at 6pm in the Art Centre. Parents, families and all members of the College community are most welcome to visit the exhibition and view the outstanding artwork produced by students. 

Years 3-5 Musical

On Saturday 3^rd November the Year 3-7 Musical, ‘Shrek the Musical’ will be held. To purchase tickets online (from Friday 12^th October) visit the Events Centre Caloundra webpage at- https://theeventscentre.com.au/whats-on/.

You Can Do It Term 4

Educational research conclusively recognises that school needs to appreciate that unless they place the social and emotional development of all students on the same radar screen as academic development, that many students may not learn to the fullest of their potential. ‘Non–cognitive aspects of student’s development, including their attitudes, values and a range of social and emotional capabilities, strongly influence their achievement, happiness and relationships.’ (Providing all Children with Foundations, page xi M.E Bernard 2007). At Pacific Lutheran College all Prep to Year 5 students complete the You Can Do It Program. This term the focus of the program will be on developing confidence.

Confidence means not being afraid to make mistakes, standing up tall and speaking with a loud voice. Confident people even in the face of adversity do not look upon themselves as failures.  Examples of confident behavior include

• Raising hands to answer/ask questions in class.
• Accepting oneself, not thinking badly about yourself when you make a mistake.
• Being independent.
• Saying ‘I can do something’ not ‘I can’t.’

Parents can support and develop confidence in their children by always encouraging effort and independence.   Allow children to walk from the car to their classrooms unattended and let children carry their own bags (often I see parents loaded up with bags whilst their children happily skip ahead). Fundamental in developing confidence in children is communication. Explain to your children that everyone has the choice to be an optimist (predict success) or a pessimist (predicts failure) and it is how we think that dictates how we act.  When a child acts confidently give praise.

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

In the past 20 or so years, parenting has become a significant focus on our society. We have discovered just how important it is that we get it ‘right’. The effects of or parenting are substantial, and long lasting. We affect our children, their children, and society more generally; by the way we raise our babies into adults.

The emotional security of children plays a significant role in shaping their lives — from their personality, confidence, success in future relationships, and mental health — as they grow.

http://www.emotionalavailability.com/

Mrs Annie Williams, School Counsellor

BBQ at Junior Surf Comp

FoP will host the BBQ at the upcoming Junior Schools Surf Competition (Kings Beach) on Wednesday, October 31. Parents of participating students are also asked to help out on the morning. Look out for further details in the coming week.

Next meeting

Our next Friends of Pacific meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 16 from 6.30pm in the College Library. All are welcome to attend.

Mrs Jenny Lee, FoP Chairperson

Who: Families are invited to attend the PLC Pyjamarama

When: 4.30pm to 6pm, Friday 19^th October

RSVP to Library staff by Monday, 15^th October.

Ms Nell Keen, Head of Library

During Term Three, Year Two learned about the ways in which water supports life.  They investigated the water cycle, the different uses of water and explained the journey water takes to the tap.  Students also participated in an excursion to Ewen Maddock Dam, to explore water catchment and treatment in the local area.  They then posed questions and investigated via STEM projects, issues that affect local and global water catchments and supply and their impact on life, such as water filtration, water supply and storage and even desalination.

Students began to wonder what they could do to help persuade others in the community to be water-wise and promote water-wise behaviour.  So, they filmed short, persuasive, water-wise videos and held a ‘Drought Busters’ day to view the movies in their very own cinema.  Students raised $170.85 towards the Drought Angel appeal.  Well done Year Two!

Mrs Leonie Prout, Year 2 Teacher

Begining with current Year 11's, all applicants intending to sit the UMAT in 2019 for entry to University in 2020 will need to sit the new University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT). From 2019 onwards, the UMAT test will be discontinued.

UCAT will become be a mandatory admissions test for the Doctor of Medicine (provisional entry) and Dental Science at The University of Queensland.

The registration for the UCAT will open in March 2019 and close in mid-May. The UCAT will be offered on a choice of dates throughout the month of July, rather than on one single date.

The test consists of five, separately timed, subtests:

• Verbal Reasoning
• Decision Making
• Quantitative Reasoning 
• Abstract Reasoning
• Situational Judgement Test

For more information about the new test, including testing dates and format visit UCAT online.

Preparing for UCAT

UCAT ANZ have a number of preparation materials available to assist students in preparing for the UCAT - these include:

• Practice examinations (timed)
• An online, interactive tutorial that teaches students how to approach questions and useful test strategies
• An incredibly detailed bank of example questions

We strongly encourage students to use the officially produced materials. Candidates should be aware that whilst there are many commercial companies publishing books and offering coaching for our tests, the UCAT ANZ Consortium does not work with any of these companies or endorse the use of their materials. Taking advantage of these opportunities can cost candidates a great deal of money and we would advise you to be sceptical about claims they can help you do well in the test by coaching.

You can find the official preparation materials here.

Mrs Natasha Purcell, Careers Counsellor

Uniforms

All sports jerseys and uniforms are now required to be returned to Mrs Campbell, except for Basketball and Soccer who are continuing their season.

SCISSA Soccer

Next week’s games are:

This Term we are fielding 4 teams in the SCISSA Soccer competition.  We were fortunate with just scraping in all of our games prior to incoming inclement weather.  Our teams played exceptionally well with all teams posting a draw or win. 

Basketball

We wish our Basketballers well in their final weeks of competitions, especially those who will be progressing to finals. This week’s games are:  Round 10 – Term 4, Week 1 12/10/2018

Please note this draw can change at any stage up until Thursday night. Please check http://websites.sportstg.com/assoc_page.cgi?c=0-7260-0-314011-0&a=COMPS for up-to-date information

Water Polo

Congratulations to all of our teams who have competed in the All Schools Water Polo Competitions during Term 3 and 4.  This week’s round saw both our Junior Boys and Junior Girls teams with wins in the final round.  Our Senior Girls recorded a win by forfeit. Game times for the upcoming finals will be notified by Schoology and CareMonkey by the end of this week.

Friday Sport

Students will be commencing their Term 4 sport this week with the exception of Basketball who will continue to train through their final rounds and finals. The Int D Boys Basketball team have finished their season and will commence Term 4 sport this week.

Beach activities also commences this week for some students.  Please ensure consent has been provided by CareMonkey if your child has played school sport and chosen this option for Term 4.  Students are required to be in full school uniform, bring appropriate swimwear, rash shirt and towel.

 Mrs Natalie Campbell, Acting Head of Sport

Congratulations

Congratulations to the U13 SCCSA State Development players who recently attended the Sydney International Cup.  The end-of-season event saw local, interstate and international teams come together to compete in a four-day carnival.

JETTS GRAND OPENING and BBQ

Thank you to those who supported the Pacific FC BBQ at the Jetts Grand Opening Currimundi. 

REPRESENTATIVE TRIALS – This Saturday

Seeking players born 2009 to 2001 wishing to represent SCCSA at the 2019 State Titles. There will be 3 rep trial days for all age groups and players are asked to attend all 3 sessions. Register via this link.

AGM

Our AGM will be held on Monday October 15 at 6.30pm in the PLC Library. Come along to hear the exciting events planned for 2019 and support our not-for-profit club by willingly giving your time, skills and enthusiasm to become involved. Any time is appreciated. Even if you are able to commit one hour a week/month or just put your hand up for a specific task, your help is important. PFC is committed to providing a place where positivity, patience and persistence flourish.

Matt Gigney, Pacific FC President

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

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

14 - 19                                       Year 6 Canberra Tour

15                                              Yrs 4-6 SCISSA Training (3.15 - 4.15pm)

16                                              Friends of Pacific

19 - 22                                       Melbourne Arts Tour

22                                              Student Free – Verification Day

26                                              World Teachers’ Day (Qld)

26                                              Grandparents Day

26                                              Student Art Exhibition (6.00pm)

28                                              St Mark’s @ Pacific Grow and Share – Confirmation (9.30am)

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

31                                              Reformation Day

A reminder for all girls in Year 2-6 to check the communication that has been sent out via caremonkey for our Term 4 Netball Development Program.

The program will be facilitated by Mrs Michelle Dufty, Pacific Lutheran College Netball Development Coach and PLC Club Head Coach. These sessions will include the development of invaluable netball skills for the 2019 season.

Please wear PLC sports uniform or suitable training gear and bring a water bottle and towel. Thank you for your interest in growing your daughter’s netball abilities and passion for the sport.

Ms Leigh Finter, Head of Wira House and Teacher in Charge of Netball