From the Principal Term 1 Issue 2

Newsletter

St Peters Lutheran School Blackwood

Principal: Mr Mark Rathjen

God in all things

Service

The Year 7s have been working on some specific activities around service as

they begin their roles as Senior Leaders in our school. The past two weeks we

have been taking on some tasks around the school where we can serve the

school in small but important ways. For example; sorting sporting equipment

for each class and SPLOSHC, scrubbing toys in the ELC, re-shelving library

books, organising the maths cupboards, helping Pastor Ben get ready

for Sunday, counting and accounting for chapel offering money, to name a few

of our tasks. After completing the little jobs, students reflected on the activity

to consider what service was done, who was served and how it helped our

school community.

It was interesting to hear how they felt the tasks of helping others can be quite

mundane, even boring, yet when it helps others the task itself is almost

forgotten when we learn and know that others are benefitted through our

actions.

Many students reflected that when initially given a task they felt annoyed or a

bit 'whingy' but once they were in the task and when it was done, they felt

satisfaction and knew it was worthwhile and others were appreciative. I

thought the Year 7s took on every task very graciously and did their best to

complete the task to the best of their ability. I am grateful to each one of them

for their acts of service and I’m sure they will grow in their understanding of

how and why we can serve each other.

It had me thinking about how Jesus looked at service. He never looked at it a

chore, he always showed that it was a way to show love. Jesus' life is full of

examples of service done in love for the people he encountered; feeding,

healing, teaching, washing their feet and ultimately dying. Jesus came to serve

and in response we too are called to serve. We are called to serve in the

mundane and everyday and wherever and with whomever we encounter.

There is a saying, ‘You can serve without loving but you can’t love without

serving”. May God bless our community this year as we seek to serve one

another in humility and love.

Just as the Son of Man did not come to

be served, but to serve, and to give

His life a ransom for many.” Matt 20:28

Mark Rathjen, Principal

Inside this issue... Page Installation Service Thanks ............................ 2

Principal’s LSL .................. 2 Orientation Night Thanks ............................ 2

Car Stickers ..................... 2 Chapel this week ............ 2 Special Interest Groups . 2

PYP .................................... 3 Student Support Plan Meetings ......................... 3 LLL Banking ...................... 3

Uniforms .......................... 3 Parents and Friends StPeters fest! ................. 4

Beachouse .................... 4 Kidz Biz Family Evening . 4

DCSI Screening Checks

(Volunteers) .................. 5 Premier’s Reading Challenge ....................... 5

Book Club ........................ 5 OSH Sport News ........... 6 Parking Control .............. 6 School Dental Service .... 6

Church News .................. 7 Diary Dates ...................... 7 Walking Home ................ 7

Attachments Twilight Tea Order

Form

City of Mitcham Brochure re Children,

Schools and Traffic

Special points of

interest: Tonight 16/2

P&F Beachouse Event

Friday 24/2 Twilight Tea—from 5pm

Reminder that

Twilight Tea Orders

are due to be

returned by Monday

20 February.

We had a very special event on Sunday here at

St Peters. Our new staff, new council members

and school leaders were installed into their

roles. We also had our Receptions receive their

bibles and the choir leading us in worship.

Nearly 200 people were in attendance. What a

fantastic way to formally begin our school year as

all members of our St Peters community came

together. A big thank you to Ps Ben and the

church folk for their welcome, food and on going

love and support for our school.

Installation Service

Thanks

I am informing you all that I will be taking some

Long Service Leave in a few weeks’ time. I will be

away from work from 6 March to mid-May (exact

date TBC).

While I am away, Miss Bronwyn Wilson will be

Acting-Principal. Bronwyn will work closely with

the Leadership Team (inc Rebecca Geue, Diana

Gaskell and Karen Howell) and all of you to ensure

a smooth time of it in my absence.

It seems that there is rarely a good time to be on

leave but sometimes you just gotta take it. At the

moment I am not quite sure what I plan to

do. Initially Andrea and I had planned to take some

LSL together in 2017 but then God had other plans

(and so did Andrea).

I might just watch the Autumn leaves fall. I know

that I leave a cohesive and committed staff, student

and parent community who will work well

together and will support Bronwyn and the

Leadership Team while I am away.

While I plan to take a complete break, I will

continue to pray for you all and the school.

Principal’s LSL

Thank you to those of you who have taken up the

Sticker challenge! For those who’ve missed it, we

have asked all families to kindly place a SPLS sticker

on their back window.

After you do, take a photo of it (with you or your

children) and post via the School Facebook page.

We have more stickers in the front office if you

have lots of cars (parents only to collect). This is a

small but important way to get our school ‘brand’

out and about.

Car Stickers

We were very happy to see so many parents come

out last Tuesday for our Classroom Orientation

Evening. It is a real encouragement to have so

many families come along.

We hope it was helpful and is the beginning of

excellent communication between us all to allow

for the best learning opportunities for our

students.

Orientation Night

Thanks

Special Interest Groups are ready to start for

another year. A letter is on its way to explain the

options available. We anticipate starting in

Week 5. I am very thankful for the willingness of

our staff to give of their time to provide a wide

range of extra-curricula opportunities once again

this year.

If any parents (or grandparents) would like to offer

some additional activity please let me know.

The more the merrier!

Special Interest Groups

This Friday we plan to present bibles to our Year 4

students and Receptions who were not able to

present on Sunday. Our Year 7s who were

absent on Sunday will also receive their formal

commissioning as school leaders.

Everyone is welcome (as always) to be part of our

special chapel on Friday. Stay for tea/coffee and a

chat afterwards.

Chapel this week

Page 3

IB Learners strive to be Inquirers Knowledgeable Thinkers Communicators Principled Open-minded Caring Risk-takers Balanced Reflective IB Learner Profile

Primary Years Programme (PYP)

Keeping Safe – Child Protection Curriculum

The Keeping Safe: Child Protection Curriculum (KS:CPC) is a programme that your child/ren

will be learning throughout the year. All the teachers at St Peters Lutheran have received

explicit training in the Curriculum.

The KS:CPC is an evidence based, best practice curriculum developed collaboratively with

child protection specialists, teachers, educational leaders and other professionals. It covers a

range of topics including new additional material on current issues such as bullying and cyber

safety.

The KS:CPC is divided into 5 documents specific to the year level of the students. There are

2 main themes: We all have the right to be safe We can help ourselves to be safe by talking to people we trust

There are 4 focus areas: The right to be safe Relationships Recognising and reporting abuse Protective strategies

The KS:CPC fits primarily within the Health and Physical Education learning area of the

Australian Curriculum but can also be incorporated across other learning areas. Some of the

delivery will occur in Units of Inquiry and others as Stand-alone units. More specific year

level information on the Keeping Safe Curriculum in your child’s class will be outlined by the

class teacher.

If you have any questions, please feel free to talk to your classroom teacher or come and visit

me at a time that suits you.

Bronwyn Wilson, PYP Coordinator

As previously advised, we are conducting

Student Support Plan meetings for

students with identified learning

difficulties on Tuesday afternoons

between 3-5pm for the whole of

Term 1. Emails have been sent to families

with the scheduled time for their meeting.

If it is not possible for you to attend the

meeting time scheduled, please contact

Sarah Smith via email, at:

sarah.smith@stpeterslutheran.sa.edu.au

to arrange an alternative time.

Student Support

Plan Meetings

Uniforms A reminder that all students must be wearing the correct summer uniform in Term 1.

Where the forecast maximum temperature is 20 degrees or below, children may wear the winter

uniform. If your child is unable to wear the required uniform at any time, parents are requested to

notify the school.

Thank you for your support in ensuring all our students are in the prescribed school uniform.

LLL Banking

(Thursday)

School banking is operated through the

Lutheran Laypeople’s League (LLL).

Students can make deposits with the LLL

through the school. Banking day will be

THURSDAY in 2017, where you send

your child/ren’s passbook and money to

school via the class communication box

and it is returned the same day.

Please enquire at the school office if you

need any further information about this.

Parents and Friends

An information evening for all interested in helping

on the St Petersfest 2017 organising committee will

be held NEXT WEEK on Wednesday 22 February

2017 at 7pm at the School.

If you want to be a part of this amazing whole

school event, then come along and find out what is

involved. Please direct any enquires to

stpeterslutheranpandf@gmail.com or to

Sam Fletcher on 0400 835 070.

All Welcome

Thanks to everyone who bought a ticket for our

annual Beachouse ‘lock-in’ being held tonight,

Thursday 16 February 2017.

It’s wonderful to see this event, now in its 3rd year,

continually supported by the St Peters Lutheran

community.

Special thanks to Nicky Hart and the

Parents & Friends Association

for coordinating such a great event.

St Peters Lutheran School will be hosting a

Growth & Development Family Evening on

Thursday 2 March 2017

in the St Peters Lutheran School Chapel

The sessions are conducted by Kidz Biz

Education and are designed to be fun, informative

and easy to understand. These highly interactive

sessions will provide students and their parents/

care providers with an introduction to basic

personal and social development education;

traditionally known as the ‘facts of life’.

There will be two sessions run on the evening. The

duration of each session will be approximately

50 minutes. The topics covered in each are:

Session 1:

‘Where Did We Come From’ (suitable for

Reception to Year 4 students)

Commencing at 6.40pm and concluding at 7.30pm

Myths about where babies come from

Conception

The 9 months of foetal development

The birth process

Session 2:

‘What’s Happening To Us”

(suitable for Year 5 to 7 students)

Commencing at 7.40pm and concluding at 8.30pm

Puberty (physical and emotional)

Body image and media influences

Dealing with parent issues

At the end of each session, a list of recommended

and age–appropriate books for both students and

parents will be provided or, alternatively, they can

be downloaded from the Kidz Biz

website www.kidzbiz.edu.au

Page 5 Newsletter

DCSI Screening Checks (Volunteers)

In January 2016, changes were recommended for the replacement of SAPOL National Police Certificates

with DCSI Screening checks for all staff and volunteers not covered by teacher registration in South Australia.

This is the DECD benchmark and exemplifies our commitment to child protection.

Volunteer screening is required for:

people attending excursions;

volunteers working closely with children with disabilities;

sports coaches who are not parents or guardians of a child in the team;

parent volunteers if their own child is not involved in the service or activity;

people attending overnight camps and school sleepovers.

If you would like to take part in any of the above activities, the school can arrange for an online application to

be emailed to you for submission. The school will cover the cost of the screening.

To initiate the application, you will need to contact the school office by email to

admin@stpeterslutheran.sa.edu.au

and provide the following information:

your full name

date of birth

email address.

Once an application is initiated, you will receive an email containing the application and instructions etc.

ARE YOU UP FOR THE CHALLENGE IN 2017?? If so, please ensure you fill in your student reading records as you read your books during 2017; get them

signed off by your parents or teacher as you go; and hand in to the school library by Friday 8 September.

All books read between 30 January and Friday 8 September 2017 are eligible.

The Challenge is to read 12 books in total.

8 books must come from the Challenge booklists, available on the Challenge website; current lists

will be made available in the library, in the coming weeks. PLEASE leave them in the library as they are

for everyone to use

Look for the Challenge stickers on the spine of books in the library

4 books can be of students own choice and these can include class novels and research texts.

Student reading record forms can be printed directly from the website.

Welcome to our first Book Club for 2017

Inside there are lots of great book bargains to choose from. A ll the students’ favourite series and some new ones can

be found inside. Catalogues were sent home with students yesterday.

The closing date for orders is Monday 20 February.

The LOOP will be open on the Scholastic website until Tuesday morning.

To use this option: Please follow the prompts in your catalogue.

If you wish your order to be kept as a “SURPRISE” please put your name (not your child's) and a contact number on

the top of the form and we will hold your order at school for collection. If you use the LOOP, please email Sharon and

she will hold your order for collection. sharon.smith@stpeterslutheran.sa.edu.au

St Peters Out of School Hours Sport News

PARENTS: Please email

sharon.smith@stpeterslutheran.sa.edu.au

with ANY OSH Sport questions, news items, etc.

Term 1 2017

OSH Sport Teams

The following teams are going ahead this term:

Kanga Cricket (R-2)

C Grade Cricket

Year 1/2 Basketball

Year 3 Basketball

Year 5/6 Basketball

and Year 5/6 Girls Basketball

All students of confirmed teams received their

information letters and consent forms last

Friday 10 February.

All competitions are starting this week (Week 3).

Game times will be emailed to parents as they

come to hand.

Cricket and Year 1/2 Basketball links have already

been forwarded on.

Game Information for

Teams can be found at... The Year 1/2 Basketball game information can

be found at the following link, supplied by

Basketball SA:

http://websites.sportstg.com/assoc_page.cgi?c=1-

4398-0-435857-0&a=COMPS

Please look under Fixtures.

All Cricket information can be found at the

following link supplied by SACA:

http://spsc.sa.cricket.com.au

Please look under Fixtures.

Year 5/6 Girls Basketball

Team

looking for players... The 5/6 Girls basketball team is looking for a

couple of extra players. This team has been moved

to the Friday night competition at the Blackwood

Recreation Centre. As a result of this move, some

players may have difficulty playing every week and

would like a couple more Year 5 or 6 girls to join

them.

City of Mitcham has forwarded to us some information regarding their enforcement of parking

restrictions around schools and kindergartens.

To provide for student safety around roadways at school drop off and pick up times, any

breaches of the Australian Road Rules observed by compliance officers may result in the issue

of an expiation notice.

Attached to this newsletter is a brochure provided by the City of Mitcham regarding parking

regulations.

Parking Control

St Peters Lutheran School,

where the message of Jesus Christ

is communicated and celebrated,

is a caring, supportive learning

community

that encourages global

consciousness, responsible action

and life-long learning.

Diary Dates Term 1

(for your calendar!)

71 Cumming Street

BLACKWOOD SA 5051

St Peters Lutheran School Blackwood

Week 3 (Monday 13/2)

Thu 16/2 P&F Event: Beachouse

Week 4 (Monday 20/2)

Fri 24/2 Twilight Tea

Week 5 (Monday 27/2)

Thu 2/3 Kidz Biz Family Evening

Sat 4/3 Working Bee (Year 2/3)

Week 6 (Monday 6/3)

Week 7 (Monday 13/3)

Mon 13/3 Public Holiday

Week 8 (Monday 20/3)

Fri 24/3 Sports Day

Week 9 (Monday 27/3)

Wed 29/3 Principal’s Tour

Week 10 (Monday 3/4)

Wed 5/4 Parent/Teacher Interviews

Thu 6/4 Parent/Teacher Interviews

Sun 9/4 Community Worship (Year 6/7)

Week 11 (Monday 10/4)

Wed 12/4 Last Day of Term 1

Thu 13/4 Staff PD

Friday 14/4 Good Friday

Phone: 8278 0800

Fax: 8370 0414

Email:

admin@stpeterslutheran.sa.edu.au

We’re on the web… www.stpeterslutheran.sa.edu.au

These dates are subject to change so please make sure you check them each week.

St Peters Lutheran Church

Services each Sunday at 10.00am

ALL WELCOME

Coming up…

26/2 Half Yearly Meeting

1/3 Ash Wednesday Service 7:30pm

5/3 GIFT Night 5:00pm

Any enquiries please contact Pastor Ben:

82782322 or pfeiffer241@gmail.com

Jesus says, “Love your enemies and pray for those who

persecute you”

(Matt 5)

Walking Home

A reminder that if your child/ren are

going to walk home from school this

year, we ask that you please discuss

the responsibilities associated with

walking home with them and

complete a walking home agreement

(as attached to the Week 1

newsletter). This not only helps to

educate your child about appropriate

behaviour when walking without an

adult, but also gives the school a list

of walkers to help us track the

students at pick up time. Walking

home agreements should be handed

in to the Front Office as soon as

possible.