Our Head of College, Simon Hughes is currently attending the National Lutheran Principal Conference in Hahndorf, Adelaide Hills, SA. This is the first he has attended since commencing as our Head of College due to COVID restrictions over the last couple of years. This year’s theme is “Embracing the Past, Inspiring our Future”.
Free Dress for Farmers
We look forward to our Prep to Year 12 Free Dress Day this Friday 13 May.
Children may come wearing their best country clothing to raise money for the St Vinnies Flood Appeal. Gold coin donations will be accepted on the day.
On the Senior Campus, there will be some activities and stalls during break times to raise further funds for the Flood Appeal ; we are also accepting donations of goods of clothes, toys, and homewares you no longer need. These items can be dropped off at the main Senior and Middle Campus Reception from Wednesday 11 May.
On the Junior Campus our Year 6 student leaders will be organising fun activities for our students at first break, please note that the Junior Campus will not be holding stalls or selling goods on this day.
Thank you for your support of this Free Dress Day as the idea has come from the College and Ministry Captains and is responding to the needs of those who are still recovering from the floods.
Thanks from the P&F
A big THANK YOU shout out to the fabulous bakers who weaved their magic again for the Mother’s Day Stalls for both campuses—scrumptious goodies I can vouch for! Well done on all your fantastic efforts they walked out the door. Your efforts are greatly appreciated.
Thank you also to the team of worker-bee parents that jumped in to help at both campuses to make the days run smoothly and allow the students to enjoy the experience of shopping for mums / step mums / carers / grandmas—the joy on their faces is a true treat, thanks again one and all.
Premier’s Reading Challenge
The Premier’s Reading Challenge is not a competition but a way to encourage students to develop a love of reading for life. Through the challenge children and students are given an opportunity to develop their appreciation of the English language, and additional languages, and are encouraged to explore and enjoy a wide range of literary texts.
Children and students can participate in the challenge within their school, early childhood centre or as individual readers (home-educated students, students whose schools are not participating in the program or children who are not enrolled in an early childhood centre).
Children and students who complete the challenge have their efforts recognised through the receipt of a Certificate of Achievement signed by the Premier of Queensland.
Prince of Peace will be participating in the Premier’s Reading Challenge which runs from 9 May until 26 August. Reading record sheets have been sent out to all families via SEQTA and hard copies will be made available in classrooms to students. This is not a compulsory event but one that we encourage all students to take part in.
School and Individual Readers (Prep to Year 9)
For a student to successfully complete the Premier’s Reading Challenge they are required to read or experience the number of books indicated below:
- Prep to Year 2—read or experience 20 books.
- Years 3 to 4—read 20 books.
- Years 5 to 9—read 15 books.
Experiencing a book includes classroom or at home activities such as shared reading, listening and reading along with a book, or being read to.
The requirement for Year 5 through to Year 9 students to read 15 books rather than 20 books acknowledges that older students are likely to select longer, more complex books that may take them longer to read.
Students are encouraged to select a range of fiction and non-fiction books suited to their reading ability. While there is no compulsory reading list for the challenge, book lists are available to help students, teachers, parents and guardians select appropriate reading material. Booklists have been developed in conjunction with the Department of Education’s Reading Centre and the Global Schools Through Languages team (State Schools—Performance) to help students, teachers, parents and guardians select appropriate reading material. They can be found at https://readingchallenge.education.qld.gov.au/about/booklists.
Take up the challenge and join us for the Premier’s Reading Challenge!
Rebekah Bruyn
Learning Coach
Billy G’s Gourmet Cookie and Biscuit Dough College Fundraiser
Billy G’s cookie dough orders are due back next week 18 May so its time to start selling – time is running out!
Getting involved is simple.
Step 1 Go to cookiedough.com.au
Step 2 Click ‘Register now’ and create your own fundraiser page. This is essential.
Step 3 Ask your family and friends if they would like to purchase a tub or two.
Step 4 Place your final cookie dough order via your fundraiser page by Wednesday 18 May .
No cash please – all orders must go through your fundraiser page.
This is a cashless fundraiser which means when you place your final order online, you will need to pay for the order via your credit card etc. We recommend collecting the cash from your buyers, banking the money into your account and then using this to finalise the order. Please do not bring cash to the school.
Mother’s Day Fun
What a privilege to watch and listen to the joy and gratitude as our young people chose gifts and made plans for the special lady or ladies in their lives this past week; and our Prep mums were especially pampered at a special Mother’s Day afternoon tea. I hope that your Mother’s Day was truly special. Our students are wonderful examples of the loving efforts of mums, dads, grandmas and poppies, Ma’s and Pa’s. I want you to know that we see that love in the hearts and actions of your children.
Happy Mother’s Day to you all!
A huge thank you to the team from Parents and Friends who made this Mother’s day stall happen. These special events do not happen without dedication, planning and team of happy helpers. Thank you for your service of love to families, students and staff.
Tuckshop Thank You
A huge thank you to all the parents who helped with Tuckshop on Friday. Not only did the students on campus enjoy some amazing treats, we were the envy of others at the NISSA Gala day! Other students couldn’t believe our Tuckshop delivered such yummy food. This is a wonderful reminder of the quality, care and “extra mile” that is offered at PoP. Thank you
NAPLAN
Much has been said about NAPLAN, test scores and academic results over the years. At Prince of Peace we believe that good teaching and learning is the basis for completing these Mathematics and English tests well. However, it is important to put these tests into the perspective of gathering specific data at one point in time. These tests are unable to measure everything that makes up your amazing child.
NAPLAN doesn’t test a sense of humour, empathy or interpersonal connection with friends and family. It doesn’t recognise abilities when playing sport, coaching and encouraging teammates or someone’s ability to sing, dance, play music, draw, design or create. How well our students complete NAPLAN tests does not define who they are, their character or how they live out their values with family, friends and community showing love, being trustworthy or how they treat their friends.
So, we are doing the tests, but don’t stress, your children are already awesome and exceptional.
Be blessed
Anne-Marie Schmidt
Head of Campus – Junior
Triple P – Positive Parenting Program
To all our PoP Mums, we hope you had a wonderful Mother’s Day over the weekend. Parenting is a tough gig at times and as parents, we need all the support we can get. The old adage ‘It takes a village to raise a child’ is fundamentally true. We rely on support from many sources to assist us in raising our little (and not so little) ones. One resource that is based in research and has stood the test of time is the Triple P Parenting Program.
It’s not only children and teenagers who benefit from positive parenting. It also makes family life more enjoyable, easier and more rewarding for parents.
More and more parents understand that it’s okay to ask for help and, in Queensland, positive parenting support to suit every family is free for any parent or carer of a child up to 16 years old.
The Triple P – Positive Parenting Program is used around the world and was developed right here in Queensland. It helps parents to raise children and teenagers who will grow up to be happier and healthier. Thousands of Queensland parents have already partaken in Triple P and recommend it.
No matter what stage of life your child is at—or what challenges you’re facing—Triple P can help you learn simple but proven ways to give them the best opportunity to reach their full potential.
Triple P makes it easier to manage the common day-to-day challenges of parenting by offering practical skills and tools to help parents:
- develop positive relationships so you can get along well with your kids and argue less
- effectively set family routines and rules that work
- manage problem behaviour and support positive behaviour
- raise well-adjusted, emotionally resilient children
- balance work and family with less stress
- create a happier, safer, more supportive family so you can be the parent you want to be.
There’s also a new program specifically to help with supporting children’s anxiety management skills.
What support is available?
It’s totally up to you. Triple P offers a range of seminars, group workshops and one-on-one consultations delivered as either:
- one-off sessions
- part of a series over several weeks or months, or
- Triple P Online or Teen Triple P Online (self-paced online courses)
- Fear-Less Triple P Online, for parents of children or teenagers who are especially anxious.
You can choose as much or as little help as you like—depending on your individual preferences and situation—and you choose which strategies you’d like to try at home.
How can I do Triple P for free?
Start doing Triple P Online, Teen Triple P Online or Fear-Less Triple P Online at any time.
Visit the Triple P Queensland website to learn more about the program and to find out when free Triple P sessions are being delivered (either in person or via video conference).
You can also search for a free Triple P provider in your local area (note that providers manage their own listings on the website).
Parenting anxious children
If your child or teenager is having trouble with anxiety, the new Fear-Less Triple P program has been especially developed to help you support their coping skills and reduce anxiety.
Supporting families during difficult times
Ongoing uncertainty and financial strain due to COVID-19 can also affect families.
For free positive parenting tips and strategies to help parents, children and teenagers stay calm and optimistic when dealing with COVID-19 challenges, read the digital magazine or try the extra COVID-19 module now included in the Triple P Online program.
For further information on these programs please go to https://www.qld.gov.au/community/caring-child/positive-parenting
Coreta Lennon
Deputy Head of Campus – Junior
I Am because We Are
The beginning weeks of Term 2 have seen opportunities for parents to connect in face-to-face ways through parent teacher interviews, Open Morning tours, Mother’s Day stalls and the Middle School Student Leaders’ installation worship Service. It was a real joy to be able to have parents back on the campus, as these interactions remind us of the personalised relationships that grow and are nurtured through this way. These connection-building experiences remind us of the meaning behind the word Ubuntu—I am because we are. We cannot exist in life by ourselves, God created us all to live in relationship with each other. May we be reminded of this as we continue to live life’s journey together.
Middle School Student Leaders Installation
We were delighted to be able to be install the Middle School Captains and House Captains for 2022, and bless all Year 9 students as they take on the role of representing the voice of the Middle School student body. It was also special to have student leaders’ parents and teacher mentors at the service, who were included in the badging ritual.
Below is the message that I shared during the Worship service;
The final year of Middle School at Prince of Peace is unique for all of our students. We call the Year 9 journey at Prince of Peace—Ubuntu. Ubuntu is a beautiful and old-age concept that embodies the ideas of connection, community, and mutual caring for all. Ubuntu means I am because we are.
Desmond Tutu in his book No Future Without Forgiveness, describes Ubuntu as ‘My humanity is bound up in yours. For we can only be human together.’ What Desmond is saying here is that we are all connected; we have a responsibility to one another. Our words and actions have the power to lift each other up and unfortunately, the reverse as well, they can pull each other down. But as Desmond reminds us in his life of service to the world; we cannot live a fulfilled life without forgiveness.
In Term 1 as part of Ubuntu, a calling ceremony occurred where Year 9 students were invited to accept the call to go on the journey in being human together. As part of the ceremony each student had found a stick that represented who they are. All of these sticks were bounded together into one bunch. When we look at a stick that has fallen to the ground and compare it to another one, we notice that not one stick is the same. Each stick has a different length, texture, edges, and layers of bark to it. This symbolises that each of us is made unique in God’s eyes and that we all have different talents, strengths, and skills to use in service to others. We have many layers, not just what we see on the surface.
This group of sticks represents how we live in community with each other and seeing each other through God’s eyes, our creator. When we do this, we are living through the eyes of others and not just our own. This means putting yourself in other people’s shoes and walking the journey of another. When we do this, we can feel vulnerable because we are taking a risk to move out of our own comfort zone. But when we all do this; it is a normal way to live. It invites trust to be the basis of our relationships with each other and releases others to be free to be themselves. This is the challenge for each of our Year 9 students as they live the Ubuntu journey.
We affirm all Year 9 students on their call to serve our community through the Ubuntu journey and those students who will be installed into formal leadership positions. Each person in this community is a leader. We all have a voice and are empowered to use this voice for the good of others. As Philippians Chapter 4, our text for this service suggests, when you inspire through kindness and love, when you lead by example, when you do the right thing when no one is watching, when you demonstrate love in action—you are leading.
On behalf of all the staff of the Middle and Senior Campus, Mr Hughes, Mr Klupp, Mrs Spring and myself, we congratulate and encourage all Year 9 students on the important roles that they will undertake as leaders of the Middle School in 2022.
We congratulate the following students on gaining leadership positions:
Middle Captains
Georgia East and Hannes Forbes-Schutz
House Captains
Bradman – Isaac Harmer and Isla Rogers
Fraser – Ashleigh Bleckwehl and Shalyee Godbolt
Jackson – Nicholas Horsington and Chloe Selwood
Laver – Bianca Rhind and Lara Savaille.
Parent/Teacher/Student Interviews
Thank you to parents who attended the recent parent/teacher/student interviews. These interviews are most enriching when the student is present, as it gives everyone the opportunity to hear areas of strengths and growth and dialogue in setting targets and goals. If you were unable to make interviews, please do not hesitate to contact teachers to gain this feedback. The next parent/teacher/student interviews will be in Term 3.
NAPLAN Testing
NAPLAN testing begins this week for Year 7 and 9 students. Due to the COVID pandemic, this will be the first time that students in these year levels will complete NAPLAN testing since Year 3 or 5. We keep our students in our prayers as they strive to achieve their personal excellence. These tests are a snapshot of literacy and numeracy data which assists our teachers and parents to know where their students are at, in a moment in time, in their academic journey, as well as monitoring growth. The College will use the data for analysis of student and cohort growth, which also informs curriculum development in alignment to the Australian Curriculum.
Open Mornings
We were delighted to host and welcome over 50 prospective families to the Middle and Senior Campus for a tour of the learning opportunities that exist here.
Middle and Senior Student Leaders enthusiastically led tour groups, talking about what they love about their school. We look forward to hosting two more Opening Mornings at the Senior Campus this year in Term 3 (9 August) and Term 4 (14 October). We ask that existing parents encourage interested family and friends to book in via our website.
Existing Prince of Peace families in Year 4, 5 and 6 are also welcomed to book in for a tour on one of these dates.
Thank you for the positive word of mouth that Prince of Peace parents, grandparents, and special friends share within the wider community, as many new families shared with me that they heard of Prince of Peace in this way.
Anne-Marie Schmidt and myself are having our installation ceremony at Prince of Peace Junior Campus at the Lutheran Church on Sunday 15 May, and meeting with families and community members through this special service; I hope you can join us in this community celebration.
As we close for another week of learning may these words from Romans 15:13 be with you; ‘Our hope comes from God. May he fill you with joy and peace because of your trust in Him. May your hope grow stronger by the power of the Holy Spirit.’
Sarah Hoff-Zweck
Head of Campus – Middle and Senior
Careers @ PoP
The yearly Careers and Employment Expo is happening again on 20-21 May at the Brisbane Convention Centre. On Friday 20 May, the Year 10 cohort will be attending this event. The Year 10 students should benefit from this excursion, as it not only gives students an opportunity for conducting valuable research into what they need to do to start making action plans for their Year 11 and 12 studies, but it is also directly linked to a Career Investigation assignment that they are currently working on. Permission forms were sent out last week for this via SEQTA.
Although we are only taking the Year 10 cohort to this event, I would encourage Year 12 parents to take their students to the Expo on Saturday 21 May. There will be displays and seminars from a variety of post-school options. For further information please see visit http://www.careersemploymentexpo.com.au/Brisbane.html
Blessings,
Mrs Julie Grosas
Careers and VET Leader
Senior Campus Music News
Rhythms Riffs and Refrains
This will be a great night, join us at 6pm Wednesday 1 June
Be Present
As we come into final preparation for our first ensemble concert of the year, it is timely to remind you of the importance of students being present for ALL rehearsals. Far too many families are not understanding the unique importance of each individual in the rehearsal, and students are taking missing a rehearsal too casually. I am not unreasonable and I know that a student will be away once a term with a very good reason. But that should be all.
Energise
I also understand that an extra hour of work a week takes its toll and many students are tired. Yes. I am often tired too, especially before the ensemble. But I do find that during the rehearsals I am restored, and by the end I feel much better and more energised. Even my smart watch will testify that my body actually recovers during the music rehearsal. AMAZING but TRUE.
Imagine
Last week we went to Lights Camera Action! A spectacular concert given by the Queensland Symphony Orchestra dressed as characters from John Williams movies. Princess Leia was the concert master and there was in fact, a T-Rex playing double bass! Tricky with those little arms! The light show was stunning and the power of the live music breath taking. We were right at the front near the stage and we could watch the players’ fingers on the strings. The conductor was engaging and informative with little interesting facts about the musical context, score or comments from the composer himself. The whole party of 50 Prince of Peace students from Years 7 – 12 music ensembles and classrooms were outstanding ambassadors for the school in a packed Concert Hall. It was a wonderful way to realise how rewarding live performance can be for both the audience and the performers.
Familiar
It will be good to have rehearsals back to normal with our Mondays back! Thank you to the strings and Ms Leask for being so flexible.
Appointments will be in SEQTA as normal. Please accept these. Thank you
Let’s make music!
Linda Brady
Senior Campus Curriculum Leader of Music and Coordinator of Extra-Curricular Music
Worship
15 May
9am Worship
3:30pm Youth@PoP — Small groups and games in Green Room. Questions? Email youth@princeofpeace.org.au
5pm Together@5
Please keep an eye on the Prince of Peace Church Facebook page for service updates.