Issue 34 29.10.2014 Reformation Day Did you know that Friday, October 31, is one of the most significant dates in church history? No, I’m not talking about Halloween—I’m talking about Reformation Day! You probably won’t see neighborhood kids going door-to- door dressed like Martin Luther on Friday night, but Luther and fellow reformers made a huge and lasting impact on the way that evangelical Christians understand and approach Scripture. The Protestant Reformation was shaped by many people over many years, but came into focus when a monk named Martin Luther nailed his famous 95 theses to the door of the Wittenberg church in 1517. Luther was a Catholic priest who was upset at the widespread corruption he observed within the Catholic Church, most notably the sale of “indulgences” that promised postmortem forgiveness of sins for deceased loved ones. Outside Luther’s Germany, similar “protest” movements were helmed by people like John Calvin, Ulrich Zwingli, and John Knox. Beyond protesting corruption in the church, the emerging “protestant” movement challenged many of the theological teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. The reformers believed that Scripture alone—not human traditions or the rulings of a church—held complete authority for Christians and that salvation was a free gift of God that could not be earned by good deeds. The widespread publication and distribution of Bibles—indeed, the fact that all of us can afford and freely read the Bible ourselves—is one of the most enduring legacies of the Reformation. The century following the Protestant Reformation was a chaotic and violent time, but the reform movements survived to form the basis of today’s Protestant denominations, including our Lutheran Church. St. Michael’s Lutheran School, established 175 year ago in Hahndorf by Lutherans escaping religious persecution from Europe, we owe a debt of gratitude to our forefathers who risked (and in some cases, lost) their lives rebuilding the church. On Friday we give thanks at Chapel to remember this pivotal moment in church history and give thanks for our wonderful Lutheran School today offering Christ Centered, Quality Education. Dear Jesus, thank you for the Bible to read your word and promise of salvation. Help us to be true and faithful to you. Amen. Mr. Seidel Dear Parents, Over the last two weeks the Year 2, 4 and 6 classes have been on camp. The students are to be congratulated for their engagement, great manners, risk-taking by being away from home and developing confidence and independence. I went with the Year 6s to Canberra. Highlights included meeting the Governor General, watching Question Time in Parliament House and laying a wreath at the War Memorial following the playing of the Last Post. Next week we look forward to Grand-friends day and we ask parents (as word of mouth is the best form of advertising) to warmly invite any neighbours or friends who have pre-school children to our Open Day on Wed 12 November to see our fantastic school in action. Please see the flyer attached to the newsletter. Many blessings to you all, Steven Seidel PRINCIPAL Please pray for the following families: Scales, Schaefer, Schwarz, Semmens Sheldrick & Grivell
Transcript
Issue 34
29.10.2014 Reformation Day
Did you know that Friday, October 31, is one of the most significant dates in church history? No, I’m not talking about Halloween—I’m talking about Reformation Day! You probably won’t see neighborhood kids going door-to-
door dressed like Martin Luther on Friday night, but Luther and fellow reformers made a huge and lasting impact on
the way that evangelical Christians understand and approach Scripture.
The Protestant Reformation was shaped by many people over many years, but came into focus when a monk
named Martin Luther nailed his famous 95 theses to the door of the Wittenberg church in 1517. Luther was a
Catholic priest who was upset at the widespread corruption he observed within the Catholic Church, most notably the sale of “indulgences” that promised postmortem forgiveness of sins for deceased loved ones.
Outside Luther’s Germany, similar “protest” movements were helmed by people like John Calvin, Ulrich Zwingli, and
John Knox. Beyond protesting corruption in the church, the emerging “protestant” movement challenged many of the theological teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. The reformers believed that Scripture alone—not human
traditions or the rulings of a church—held complete authority for Christians and that salvation was a free gift of God that could not be earned by good deeds. The widespread publication and distribution of Bibles—indeed, the fact
that all of us can afford and freely read the Bible ourselves—is one of the most enduring legacies of the
Reformation.
The century following the Protestant Reformation was a chaotic and violent time, but the reform movements
survived to form the basis of today’s Protestant denominations, including our Lutheran Church. St. Michael’s
Lutheran School, established 175 year ago in Hahndorf by Lutherans escaping religious persecution from Europe, we owe a debt of gratitude to our forefathers who risked (and in some cases, lost) their lives rebuilding the church.
On Friday we give thanks at Chapel to remember this pivotal moment in church history and give thanks for our wonderful Lutheran School today offering Christ Centered, Quality Education.
Dear Jesus, thank you for the Bible to read your word and promise of salvation. Help us to be true and faithful to you. Amen. Mr. Seidel
Dear Parents,
Over the last two weeks the Year 2, 4 and 6 classes
have been on camp. The students are to be
congratulated for their engagement, great manners, risk-taking by being away from home and developing
confidence and independence. I went with the Year 6s to Canberra. Highlights included meeting the
Governor General, watching Question Time in
Parliament House and laying a wreath at the War Memorial following the playing of the Last Post.
Next week we look forward to Grand-friends day and
we ask parents (as word of mouth is the best form of
advertising) to warmly invite any neighbours or friends who have pre-school children to our Open
Day on Wed 12 November to see our fantastic school
Class Placement 2015 As mentioned in last week’s newsletter, please find attached to this newsletter information regarding class placements and procedures for 2015. Your child
brought home a hard copy of this form last week. Letters need to be in NO LATER than Friday the 31st of October.
Loud Shirt Day 2014
This Monday, the 3rd of November, we will be
supporting the Cora Barclay Centre by holding
our annual Loud Shirt Day. Students are
encouraged to wear a loud and very bright
shirt in conjunction with their sports uniform
and bring along a gold coin donation. All money
raised will go to the Cora Barclay Centre who
help children who are deaf and hearing
impaired to listen and speak. We will be having
invited guests coming to talk at our
assembly on Monday with regards to
the Cora Barclay Centre and all the
work they do to help support these students.
All parents are welcome to attend. Assembly
begins at 2pm.
Reformation Day – October 31st St Michael’s will celebrate Reformation Day in chapel this week. On this day, Martin Luther nailed a list of 95 things he wished to discuss
with the church of Germany. The list related to such things as selling ‘indulgences’ which were for the payment of forgiveness of sins. This began a chain of events that led to Martin Luther coming to confirm his belief of the Bible as God’s truth and an understanding that our faith and salvation are free gifts from God. You are invited to join us for our chapel service at 9am in the Worship Centre.
Reporting Survey Thank you to all families who have taken the time to complete the reporting survey. There is still time to have your say. The survey closes this Friday at 4pm. Please email me if you have not received the SurveyMonkey link.
Mr Dow - Deputy Principal
Koorong Kids Books Orders Koorong Kids brochures will be sent home today and orders are due by Friday 14th November.
Scholastic Book Club
Orders are due by tomorrow morning (Thurs
October 30th) at 9am when they will be
collated.
Mark Le Messurier Mark is a renowned teacher, counsellor and author who spoke at a St Michael’s parent night earlier this year. The parents and teachers who attended that night can attest to Mark’s engaging presentation style, his wealth of knowledge and his practical parenting support. He has written two books which support parents in their role; ‘Raising Beaut Kids’ and ‘Parenting Tough Kids’. Mark is speaking at Lobethal Lutheran School on Wednesday, 26th November at 7pm and you are invited to attend.
Term 4 Fees Thankyou to all families who have finalised their 2014 school fees, however there are still a few that our outstanding. Please don’t be offended if you receive a phone
call this week regarding outstanding fees. Mrs Tracy Downing – Acting Business Manager
School Crossing Monitors 2014 - Term 4 Week 4
AM: Walter Roberts, Mitchell Roberts
& Toby Talbot
PM: Julie Kim, Emily Nitschke
& Lily Ormston
Student Ukulele Group Students from Yr 3 and above are invited to a Come’n’ Try session of the ukulele to be held Friday, 7th Nov at 9:30am in the library, straight after Worship. Christopher Carr of the Ukulele Trading Company, and member of the acclaimed Ukulele Circus, will lead an introduction to the ukulele session. Ukuleles will be provided for the session. Students who are interested in forming a student ukulele group, under the supervision of Mr Dow and Mrs Kelly, will need to purchase a ukulele, either from the Ukulele Trading Company or another music store, and commit to a weekly lunchtime group. The group will commence this term and then continue in 2015.
A notice with reply slip has been sent home to all Year 3 – 5 students today. Please return this to the office asap if you wish to take part. Parents are welcome to attend the introductory session.
Mr Dow & Mrs Kelly
Canteen Update
Please note that on Friday 7/11 we are offering
corn on the cob with/out butter for 60₵. Please
order via lunch order which can be collected at
recess or lunchtime. We have also run out of
Butter Chicken.
Canteen Helpers 2014
Term 4 Week 4 – Year 6
Mon: 3rd November
Amanda Langbein
Wed: 5th November
Emma Cobcroft
Fri: 7th November
Lee Wilhelm & Celia Fielke
Term 4 Week 5 – Foundation Mon: 10th November
HELPERS REQUIRED
Wed: 12th November Sue Ryan & Helper Required
Fri: 14th November
Carly Mickan & Tammy Main
Please call Mel on 0419 034 662 if you can help out.
Curriculum Matters The Abbott government initiated a review of the Australian curriculum soon after being elected and the results were published recently. The executive summary of the final report is interesting reading and can be found at http://www.studentsfirst.gov.au/review-australian-curriculum. The review was critical of the curriculum development process which they believe was done in haste; was unduly influenced by political imperatives; and that the consultation process suffered from fatigue; and most tellingly, that an overall framework to manage how the whole curriculum would all work together was not developed, which “led to a monolithic, inflexible and unwieldy curriculum.” Put simply, there is too much content to cover in each subject area at each year level. The reviewers believe that greater integration in the humanities and social sciences in needed. This is exactly the approach to curriculum integration that we aim to take at St Michael’s, and it has been a challenge to maintain this and give coverage to the required content. Ideally, the curriculum is not hurried through and ‘covered’, but that the students have time to ‘un-cover’ it for themselves in a way that brings deep and lasting understanding. The review also states that “so much mandatory content is included that some argued it was taking up more than the total teaching time available in a school year. This is having an impact on the amount of time available for co-curricular offerings; and for faith-based non-government schools, their ability to imbue the total curriculum with the values, beliefs and teachings that constitute their unique nature and mission.” Our mission is ‘Christ-centred; Quality-education.’ Our Christ-centeredness is highly valued in the school community, and it was gratifying to have this recognised by the reviewers. Other criticisms were made about the cross-curriculum priorities - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures, Asia and Australia’s engagement with Asia, and sustainability – and whether or not it is reasonable to expect that these can be purposefully addressed in every curriculum area. As a school we support these perspectives on the curriculum, but agree that to try and bring them to bear on all curriculum areas is a mammoth task and difficult to do. We look forward to the Government’s response to the review and the updated curriculum documents.
One of the highlights for this term is Grandfriend’s
Day. This is the day when grandparents and special
friends can visit the school and spend the morning in
classes. This day will be held on Thursday 6th
November.
Unfortunately due to the very large numbers that
attend, parents are asked not to be a part of the
day until lunchtime.
9:00am - our visitors join us for Worship 9:30 – 10:50am – classroom visits 10:50am - morning tea in Bukatila
(for visitors only - not students) 11:30am - Concert 12:30pm - Visitors are then to return to the youngest
child in the family’s classroom and join students for a picnic lunch. Please note canteen facilities will NOT be available. (Students are not permitted to leave the school with their visitors – lunch must be within the school grounds).
1.30pm – normal school day resumes and the visitors leave.
If you require any further information please ask your class teacher.
Families are asked to donate a plate of
food (sweet or savoury) for the guests to
enjoy. Please provide your goodies on a
disposable plate. Please drop these off at
Bukatila on Thursday morning of week 4. Please
make sure any containers or plates are clearly
named. You will be able to pick them up after the
morning tea from Bukatila.
From the Year 6 Classes Canberra Trip
War Memorial
National Art Museum
Governor General House
A.I.S
Class Placement Advice 2015
Dear Parents, Over the next few weeks we will begin to look at class placements for next year. In 2015, there will be 14 classes; two at each year level from Foundation to Year 6. In previous years, parents have been invited to write to the school to pass on any relevant information that needs to be considered regarding their child’s class allocation. The consultation process for 2015 will be similar which includes the following;
Teacher contribution – gender balance, academic balance, social balance and dynamics of the cohort.
Student’s contribution – complete a socio-gram of friendships in their year level with whom they learn best.
Parent’s contribution – must be in writing to the Principal.
Please be aware that there may be a restructure of teaching staff to different year levels. This means that some classes may have different teachers for 2015. Also be aware that there are only 2 classes of each year level, so prioritise your information in order of importance. Teaching staff in consultation with the Principal, allocate students to class groups, taking into consideration all relevant information to create balanced classes. Parents may be contacted during this time to discuss specific needs further. Class lists are sent home with reports in Week 8. Please send in writing your input by the end of Week 3, Friday 31st October and addressed to the Principal – Confidential. Sincerely, Steven Seidel - Principal
OPEN DAY
We warmly invite you to experience our vibrant school in action on
Wednesday 12th November.
Morning Tour: 9am to 11am Evening Tour: 7pm to 9pm
Meet the Principal, talk to specialist staff about our programs,
explore the classrooms and facilities, with Q&A over refreshments.
Vacancies are available in Foundation to Year 6 for 2015 and beyond.
Feeder school for Year 7 Cornerstone College middle school.
