Compass No. 615 July 2021

From the Principal

Open for Learning

It is interesting to clench your fist and then to open your hands and feel the difference in mindset that this brings.  Entering into each new moment with hands open, creates opportunity for connections to be made and learning to occur.  The simple act of opening our hands, breathing and slowing our thinking can be part of an intentional act to let go of fears, frustrations and assumptions that bind and limit us.  Being open to discovering new facets of people and circumstances enables us to embrace and learn through both success and challenges.

God invites us to engage in conversation and reflection with Him.  Praying with open hands, starting with what we are thankful for, reflecting on those things that challenge us and then praying for God’s guidance, opens the opportunity for growth and joy.  As we start the new term, a new day, or a new moment, God invites us to learn through and then let go of those things that limit our thinking.  Starting afresh and being open to learning and connection opens us to possibility.

Principal's Log

We welcome everyone to the start of a new term.   A particularly warm welcome to new students, their families and new staff.  We welcome Mrs Lara Masselos and Mr Paul Brace who will respectively be teaching Visual Art and Media, Health and Physical Education and Science in the Middle and Senior College. Mrs Masselos brings industry experience in both the areas of art and film and television and Mr Brace offers extensive experience in leading and teaching in international schools.  We also welcome Miss Melissa McNeill as the new Tuckshop Assistant and Ms Leigh Finter as the Acting Head of Senior College Students and Mr Josh Cummins as the Acting Head of Wira House.  We wish these staff and all members of our community a fulfilling semester of learning and growth.

At the end of last semester, we had the pleasure of enjoying the talents of our music ensemble groups in a new café style format.  Families appreciated the opportunity to relax and enjoy the food provided by our hospitality department while being entertained by the talent of our musicians.  The students and music staff are to be congratulated on the breadth of style and quality of performance.  We thank students and their families for their support.  We thank our music staff, capably led by Mrs Aleisha Tuaine and Mrs Helen Williams and hospitality department for a thoroughly entertaining evening.

Later in the newsletter, and also via email we will be asking that families advise us of their desire to purchase laptops through the College for 2022.  Our suppliers have advised that wait times of up to six months are likely to be in place for the delivery of laptops next year.  We ask that all families who will be in Year 3 to 12 in 2022 read this information carefully and complete the accompanying survey so that we are able to place a reasonably accurate order in the next two weeks.

Over the holiday period, a letter that contained a summary of developments and advice about vaping was emailed to all parents.  Parents are asked to read this letter to ensure they are informed and able to support their children to make the most of the opportunities within the College.

Parents have been invited to book for next week’s P-12 student, parent and teacher conferences via https://www.schoolinterviews.com.au/ (P-5 code: r3yqh) (6-12 code: ez7eh). Families are encouraged to take this opportunity to have a three-way conversation that celebrates and strengthens learning.

We wish our Year 8 students and staff all the best as they embark on their outdoor education experience next week.  This experience will provide rich opportunities for personal growth, strengthening of relationships and engagement with the environment.

Our 20th anniversary photo provides a wonderful reminder to celebrate the gifts that we have and to engage with open hands.  May God equip us to gracefully embrace the fullness of each moment.

Dr Bronwyn Dolling, Principal

From the College Pastor

Positive Friendships

The threads this term focus on things like high expectations, family support at school, creative activities and learning restraint. We begin, though, with the thread of positive peer influence. This thread is about children and young people who influence their friends and model responsible behaviour. The thread is really about the interactions between friends and learning to be good friends.

Jesus befriended all sorts of people he came across when he walked the earth. Tax collectors, fishermen, soldiers, women, and children. At one point, he said to his twelve closest friends, the disciples; I do not call you servants anymore. Instead, I have called you friends (John 15:15). For three years, Jesus befriended a varied bunch of companions. He showed his disciples how to treat people radically different from the religious teachers and rulers. He welcomed all people, whether they were seen as ugly or unattractive and rejected by the popular in-crowd. The positive way Jesus related to and befriended people had a profound effect on them. It changed and transformed them because through him they tasted God’s grace and forgiveness.

That’s what positive peer influence and a healthy friendship is all about; showing care, trust and respect to our mates. The same sort of trust, respect and friendship Jesus shows us. May the Lord Jesus Christ give you and your children generous, resilient hearts as you live with and forgive your friends and model it in all your relationships.

Pastor Tim Jarick, College Pastor

From the Director of Students

Resilience

I welcome you all back for Term 3 and I hope that all families have had a chance to rest and recuperate in preparation for the start of Semester Two. It is an especially warm welcome to new students and their families as we begin a close relationship supporting you in your journey with us.

I am sure that many of you have heard the term ‘resilience’. Many of you would have needed to demonstrate resilience at many times in your lives. The capacity to develop resilience will continue to grow over time as we experience new and challenging events. Resilience has been referred to as wellbeing under pressure. Leading Australian psychologist, Andrew Fuller, has described resilience as “the happy knack of bungy jumping through the pitfalls of life.” Founder of the ‘Resilience Doughnut’, Lyn Worsley, suggests resilience is “the process of continual development of personal competence while navigating and negotiating with available resources in the face of adversity.” Certainly, the news over the holidays drew my attention to the fact that many people the world over have needed to demonstrate resilience. What also drew my attention, was the work, including podcasts by Dr Justin Coulson, founder of Happy Families. In particular he and his wife in one of their podcasts, spoke about parents and carers jobs is “not to fix every challenge that your child faces…the more you fix, the more you disable your child. Rather be there as a support as they look to find solutions (when they’re not emotional).” For younger people it may be that you fix it with them but having them lead the process. https://www.happyfamilies.com.au/

As we commence a new term it would be natural that we may experience a bit of a shock getting back into routine. Indeed, our prayer at assembly referred to us asking God for persistence as we re-adjust back into classes. Whilst we hope all students have a smooth term, it is only natural that there will be some ‘pitfalls’ along the way. The most important thing is that we are there to support them as they navigate events and find solutions to their problems.

‘Steps’ Year 8 Outdoor Education

Please join me in wishing Year 8 students all the best as they embark on their Outdoor Education Program next week from 19th to 23rd July. I thank Ms Kim Wood for her leadership of this program and the staff who will be supporting her and the students during this time. There is a tremendous amount of organising that takes place well in advance of any program that occurs and we are grateful to have someone of Ms Wood’s calibre leading the way and shaping the programs for various cohorts in the College.

Student Handbooks

I would like to remind families that all students in Years 6 to 12 need to have their handbook with them for each lesson. This document is a conduit for maintaining open lines of communication between school and home and complements the other means of communication with staff and students. I would kindly ask that Years 6 to 10 have their handbooks signed weekly and that for Years 6 to 12 students, if they are late arriving or departing early then the appropriate slip is filled out in advance please.

Mr Ben Ryan, Director of Students

From the Head of Staff and Students P-5

How are you?

So many times, over the years we have all asked someone how they are. So often it is a cursory question or a common courtesy to each other. The busyness that surrounds our days rarely lends the time to be able to really dissect how someone really is. Fortunately, the growing movement around having conversations about wellbeing and kindness has shone a light in areas once seen as off-limits or uncomfortable. More and more we are asking one another how we are and taking the time to reflect and listen to each other. Listening with empathy is a powerful technique.

Our students are no different. With a continual news cycle our students are incidentally interacting with subjects and conversations that have the potential to worry young minds.

Our theme this term focuses on the notion of wellbeing and what it means to be “well”. But it would be remiss to expect any one to be in a state of bliss all the time! Life requires persistence, and tenacity. Our students require discomfort and resilience for them to comprehend and construct a sense of wellness.  Every day we are faced with situations that present uncertainty. The skills and attributes that we arm ourselves with as we navigate challenging times, are the systems that allow us to rebuild and manage our sense of self.

Building our state of mind can be a complicated initiative. Steve Biddulph, the author of Raising Boys and Raising Girls, has written a new book Fully Human. Within this book, Steve describes the mind as a four-storey building. On the ground floor is healthy eating, exercising, and resting well to sustain physical health. The second storey is our feelings, where and how we emotionally respond to the evolving landscapes around us. The third storey is our logic. How we think through issues with reasoning and facts. The fourth floor is our connection to the “something bigger”. Our faith, our relationships, the environment, mindfulness etc. One floor cannot survive without the other. He states that by spending the appropriate time in each “floor” we are building our wellness and self-awareness. By understanding that we can at times can get stuck on a floor, we build our skills to move and build our personal wellness.

When we zoom out on the life of a student at the College, we see that these four floors are covered through the experiences that they encounter. They are challenged physically and educated about self-care. Our You Can Do It program is focused on student recognition of emotions and regulation and how they can help build capacity. Our curriculum develops logic and problem solving. Our Lutheran values and positive school’s framework show that without a sense of something bigger than themselves, we are less than we can be. The analogy of the whole child is encapsulated beautifully by these attributes.

This journey is not possible without the support of the wider community and we are thankful for the continuing support of your children in their journey here at the college. We look forward to supporting your child during the remainder of this term and beyond.

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

From the Head of Career Development

Careers Expos and University Open Day events coming up

Term 3 is a busy time for careers events, with the Tertiary Studies Expo in Brisbane and the Careers Expo here on the Sunshine Coast, as well as all the university Open Days. Here is a list of events for all who are interested:

Tertiary Studies Expo – at Brisbane Showgrounds – Saturday and Sunday, 17-18 July

USC (University of the Sunshine Coast) – Open Day Online – Sunday 18 July

Sunshine Coast Careers Expo – Venue 114, Bokarina – Tuesday 20 July, 3pm-6pm

ACU (Australian Catholic University) – Open Day (Brisbane Campus) – 7 August

Bond University – Open Day Online – 24 July

Griffith University – Open House (Online) – 12 July-20 August

Griffith – Open Day (Nathan, Gold Coast and Southbank campuses) – Sunday 8 August

QUT (Qld University of Technology) – Open Day – 24 July on-campus; 25 July online

Meet USC – on-campus Open Day – Sunday 1 August

UQ (University of Qld) – Open Day (St Lucia campus) – Sunday 1 August

In each case further information is available on the individual university website. Registration is required for some events.

Early offers for ACU have now commenced

The ACU Guarantee program, Australian Catholic University’s early offer scheme, is accepting applications right up until 24th September. ACU has already started issuing offers to successful applicants, and these offers will continue right through into October. If you are applying for a course at ACU in 2022, you can apply for an early ACU Guarantee offer now. Details of the program are available here: https://www.acu.edu.au/

Aviation trades 2022 pre-apprenticeship Intake

Aviation Australia has opened enrolments for pre-apprenticeship courses in Aeroskills (Avionics), Aeroskills (Mechanical), and Aeroskills (Structures). Each of these courses are pre-cursors to Aircraft Maintenance Engineering apprenticeships in the chosen area. These courses will commence in January 2022, and are available to all Year 12 school leavers. For further information go to https://aviationaustralia.aero/

Mrs Wanda Hayes, Head of Career Development

Food for Thought

Top 10 Good Parenting Tips – Best Advice in 2021

A good parent is someone who strives to make decisions in the best interest of the child. A good parent doesn’t have to be perfect. No one is perfect. No child is perfect either. Keeping this in mind is important when we set our expectations. Successful parenting is not about achieving perfection. But it doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t work towards that goal. Set high standards for ourselves first and then our children second. We serve as role models for them. Click on the link below for more information.

https://www.parentingforbrain.com/

Friends of Pacific

Connecting College and Community

Thank you for the great response to the announcement of our Aussie World Family Fun Night.  It’s exciting to see so many of you have already reserved your tickets for this whole of school community event.

This celebration of Pacific’s 20th year is a wonderful opportunity for us to join together as a community and look forward to the next 20 years!

Get your tickets at Flexischools Aussie World Tickets or scan the QR code to link.

Junior Car Park Space Auction

Congratulations to the winners of the Reserved Car Park Space!  Your donation helps Friends of Pacific to support our College Community.  It was an exciting bidding process with so many families vying for this coveted space.  We thank you all for supporting us in this.

Quote of the Week

“Kindness, like a boomerang, always returns.”

- Author unknown.

Click here to follow our Friends of Pacific Facebook page.

Mrs Jenny Lee, Friends of Pacific Chairperson

Library News

Farewell to Ms Dearnaley

The library staff are sad to say goodbye to Ms Madison Dearnaley who is finishing this week. Ms Dearnaley has been a favourite with staff and students alike and we will miss her warm manner, extensive knowledge of children’s literature and amazing IT skills. Good luck, Maddy!

Book Club

Book Club orders went out this week to students in Prep to Year 7. Please place orders online by Sunday 25th July.

Book Week

This term we are gearing up towards Book Week in Week 7. This year’s theme is Old Worlds, New Worlds, Other Worlds. Mrs Griffin has been busy over the holidays creating an amazing display. Pop into the library to have a look. More information will be forthcoming about our Book Week competitions and activities, including, of course, our dress up day.

Clay Creatures

The library staff hosted a clay creatures session at the staff retreat day this week. Staff got creative using clay, craft materials and found natural objects to make a sculpture. The tactile, sensory nature of the activity encouraged mindfulness and playful exploration and was a very popular session on the day.

Ms Narelle Keen, Teacher Librarian

College News

Positions Vacant – Casual School Crossing Supervisor

Positions exist for Casual School Crossing Supervisors at various schools across the Sunshine Coast.

  • A School Crossing Supervisor must be able to work in all-weather conditions,
  • 1 hour and 30 mins per day - a maximum of up to 5 days per week (on a rostered basis).
  • Relief opportunities on your rostered days off.
  • Pay Rate $31.11 per hour.

Commencement of employment for the successful applicant is dependent on:

  • The favourable outcome of a health assessment.
  • A Positive Notice Blue Card (you do not need to have a blue card to apply for the position).

Applications are available from the School Administration.

Relief Bus Drivers

Pacific Lutheran are looking for relief bus drivers to remain on our books and fill in as required, usually on short notice.  The successful people will need to hold the appropriate drivers licenses, drivers authority and a blue card.  Training on the different routes will be provided.

Please contact Sanet Strong if you are interested sstrong@pacluth.qld.edu.au

Mr Mike Healy, Business Manager

IT Equipment

Our college community will be aware of the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 global pandemic to the supply of various goods and services across the world. This impact has already been significant in the technology sector, with the supply of new IT equipment and obtaining parts for repair of existing IT equipment being particularly problematic. In addition to the pandemic, the continuing global Integrated Circuit (chip) shortage is also increasing delays in the delivery of new devices – especially laptops – to the point where most major manufacturers (including Microsoft and Apple) and commercial suppliers are warning of delays of up to six months for deliveries on any new orders.

Most industry commentators are now warning that these shortages will also impact retails suppliers such as Harvey Norman and JB HiFi etc. This unfortunate situation is expected to continue until at least mid-2022. Considering this relevant information, and following the advice from multiple suppliers, we are planning to pre-order devices for the 2022 College device leasing program within the next few weeks. This should provide sufficient lead time for the requested devices to be delivered in time for the start of the 2022 school year.

To better accommodate for expected demand, we are requesting that all our Junior and Middle college families complete a survey to indicate if they are planning to lease a new device from the college in 2022. This request is particularly important for families with students staring Year 3 or Year 4 in 2022, as these students will be starting their one-to-one device journey. This request will also be important for families who may already have a leased device which expires at the end of this year, and who wish to commence a new device lease in 2022. We would also encourage families who are still unsure whether they will lease a device from the college or purchase their own device from a retail supplier, to indicate they may lease a device, as we expect retail device shortages may cause leasing a device from the college to be the only viable option.

The survey is only intended to provide the college with preliminary device numbers and is not considered entry into a leasing agreement. Separate nomination forms will be distributed later this term for official device nomination – providing either lease or BYO options along with updated device specifications.

However, ordering devices after July will not enable our suppliers to guarantee delivery by the start of Term 1 in 2022. We would like to request that you please complete the survey (link provided below), by 28th July to enable the college to collate the results and prepare appropriate device orders. All responses to this survey will remain confidential, and the results will only be used to determine approximate device leasing numbers for 2022.

The Survey may be accessed via this link https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/devicelease

We thank you for your consideration of and cooperation with this request.

Mr Steven Rattey, ICT Manager

Sport News

Senior Sport

Touch Football

It is fantastic to see so many students get involved with SCISSA Touch this term. While it was a tough first game for some teams, it was a great learning experience for all of our players. Congratulations to the Intermediate Girls Team A for their emphatic win.

District Athletics

Students who have made the 13-19 Years district team will be receiving information and relevant consent forms within the next week via Operoo. We are looking forward to taking our big group of talented students along on the 12th and 13th of August. To assist with our efforts for the carnival, we have organized specialist coaches to work with students in the lead up to districts. Sprinting, throwing and jumps coaching will be held every Monday from the 26th July until the carnival. It is expected that athletes make themselves available to take part in these sessions.

Mr Cameron West-McInnes, Head of Sport

Junior Sport

Junior Basketball Program

This term we are pleased to offer a Junior Basketball Development Program for students in Years 2 - 6. The program will be run after school on Wednesday afternoons from 3:15pm – 4:45pm in the school gymnasium and outdoor courts.

The basketball program will be run by Mr Lee Miles who has over a decade of coaching experience in running junior development programs here on the Sunshine Coast as well as working with our Junior SCISSA and Senior Basketball teams this year. Lee will be assisted by myself, and recent school graduates Brooklyn Graves and Phoebe Swan. 

The program will commence on Wednesday 4th August and will run for five weeks, finishing on Wednesday 1st September. During these sessions, students will focus on fundamental basketball skills through drills, before moving into gameplay.

The cost of this 5 week program is $30 which includes a basketball for each student to take home.

If you are interested in registering your child for this program, please send an expression of interest email to PLCSport@pacluth.qld.edu.au. An information letter and registration details will be forwarded to you.

Mr Darren Hooper, Head of Sport P-6

St Mark’s Lutheran Church

Worship @ St Mark's

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)

Upcoming Dates

JULY

16                        SC Schools Basketball Competition Commences

19-23                  Year 8 Outdoor Education Program Woodford

20                        Year 11 Leadership Day 2

20                        Year 6-12 Parent Conferences

20-21                  Year P-5 Parents Conferences

27                        9-12yrs District Athletics

27                        Year 10 2022 Subject Selection Eventing (6pm)

28                        Year 12 Tertiary Information Evening (6pm)