Good Shepherd Grapevine – 12 May 2022
Upcoming Events
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You Can Be Anxious About Nothing
If we’re honest, we may secretly believe that we get a pass from obeying this particular command. We tell ourselves that it simply can’t mean anything. Not when we suffer trials that are altogether devastating. Surely God knows our human frame. He knows we can’t control the anxious thoughts that bombard us — nor the shortness of breath, the heart racing, or the restless nights that can accompany those thoughts.
Alternatively, we tell ourselves that “do not be anxious about anything” is for the spiritually mature saint, a verse to aspire to. And since we’re not there yet, we can dismiss this direct command for a while. Moreover, we’re careful not to burden others with it. If a fellow believer is battling anxious thoughts, we think it insensitive to bring this verse to bear on the situation. Better to show sympathy than to risk sounding trite.
But God has not given us an impossible standard or one to be attained only by spiritual growth. He’s telling us what’s possible by his Spirit. He knows the crippling effects of anxiety, and he’s telling us we needn’t submit to its tyranny. He’s blessing us with divine direction as to how to receive supernatural help.
Call to Prayer
Anxiety consumes. It commands the breadth of our thoughts, and fills them with dread. Unfurling its scroll of worst-case scenarios, it extinguishes hope and pummels our faith. A favorite tool of the enemy, it’s effective in silencing God’s voice and trumpeting our fears.
When we’re hit with the cares of this world, it’s hard to avoid those anxious thoughts. Our God knows. “Do not be anxious about anything” doesn’t mean we will never feel anxious. The verse is telling us what to do with it — give it to God. It reads in its entirety:
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
We can be anxious for nothing because in everything — each and every trying situation — we are involving the God of the universe. Rather than bear the load ourselves and allow it to cripple us, we take it immediately to God, “casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).
Article adapted from Kim Cash Tate
Submitted by Rachel John
Prayer Corner
This fortnight, staff and students pray for:
FAMILIES
- GRIEGER: Jennifer, Joshua, Olivia, Tate, Deacon & Mason
- GRIPTON: Wade, Sarah, Zachary, Aimee & Holly
- HARVEY: Craig, Virginia, Mitchell, Bella & Olivia
STAFF
- Ynai Porter – German Teacher
- Stephen Grieger – Maintenance & Groundsperson
- Fiona Lloyde – School Chaplain
- Sonya Abdelmalek – LSO
Birthdays
May
3 Sofia Seabrook
5 Heidi Pritchard-Gordon
11 Nash Jachmann
18 Lillie Byrne
19 Campbell Pech
21 Samuel Scanlon
27 Brodie Heinrich
29 Dexter Lawrence
29 Scarlett Lawrence
Baptisms
May
8 Archie McGorman
14 Jordan Seidel
22 Priya Rathjen
25 Cooper Jachmann
26 Samuel Scanlon
Principal’s News
As per my email at the start of term, Covid – 19 restrictions are slowly easing and it’s great to see parents gradually returning to school and being involved in the life of Good Shepherd again. This year for the first time since 2019 the School Captain, Tillie Waechter and Priya Rathjen joined with me at the Angaston war memorial for the ANZAC Day dawn service. The girls demonstrated creativity (making the wreath) and collaborative leadership. They both did a wonderful job of representing Good Shepherd at the service.
This term we welcome two new staff members to our team. Mr Stephen Grieger joins us as our grounds/maintenance officer. Steve has many years of experience serving in Lutheran schools, first at Trinity Lutheran College Mildura and more recently at Faith Lutheran College Tanunda. The other new staff member, Ms Ynai Porter, will commence as German teacher for the remainder of this year. Ynai is a graduate teacher who is passionate about German and is very excited to begin her teaching career with us. I am sure both Steve and Ynai will feel welcomed into the Good Shepherd community.
Ynai is replacing Lara Hepner who is on maternity leave following the birth of her third child, a little girl, Rachel Adele. Rachel was born on Good Friday. After a bit of a tricky start, both Lara and Rachel are doing well and hope to come in for a visit soon to see the children.
The P and F formally met for the first time last week. It was fantastic to be able to start considering community events and ways to both fund raise and fun raise within the school. Good Shepherd’s 60th birthday celebrations are a major focus for this year and will be commemorated with a service of celebration in the Shepherd’s Hub on Sunday 31st July, followed by a shared lunch and tours of the school throughout the afternoon. A photographic exhibition of ‘Good Shepherd through the ages’ will be on display along the Learning Street. The P and F are also producing a commemorative cookbook which we would like all families, past and present to contribute to. This will be a lovely (and practical) memento of this special anniversary, so start digging out your favourite recipes!
In closing I have some very sad news to share. Neville Grieger, who was the Chair of the Good Shepherd Board for the first half of 2021, passed away peacefully at home on the 9th of April after a short battle with cancer. In addition to his service as Chair, Nev also worked as a consultant with the Good Shepherd school community to develop our current strategic plan. This is a plan that has seen the school consolidate into a position of strength with a focus on updating facilities, curriculum reform and an emphasis on wellbeing and ensuring that the Gospel continues to inform all activities within the school. We thank God for the blessing that Nev was to Good Shepherd. He is now at rest with his Saviour whom he loved so dearly.
Blessings,
Anne Marschall
Principal
Welcome to…
Rachel Adele Hepner!
We are proud to congratulate Lara and Jacob Hepner on the arrival of their gorgeous baby girl, Rachel.
May God bless the Hepner family as they enjoy each precious moment that a new baby brings into the family home.
Classroom Snapshot – Mr Hausler’s 5.6 Class
Agency in the Year 5/6 classroom
We had a wonderful first term in the Year 5/6 classroom. After starting with home learning for the first two weeks of the school year, the students arrived at school with a heap of enthusiasm, focus, and determination. Students quickly learned about the kinds of attributes that it takes to be a good leader, learned about their character traits, and before you knew it they all had their own student leadership position at Good Shepherd!
The Year 5/6 students also found out about the theme that their Exhibition or Expo would be based upon – The United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals. Students discovered what these goals involved and matched their interests and passions to one of them to explore as part of the “X” process.
Their student agency didn’t stop there though, as they decided, via conversations within a class meeting, that they really wanted a class pet. Rather than simply choose which animal they wanted, students were asked to think about the animal they would like the class to have a pet (using reasoning and common sense) and asked to “sell” the idea to me. Students had to find out about the type of food it eats, work out how much (g, kg, etc) it would be fed in a week, how much in a term, and how much in a year. They needed to create a simple budget to explain how much the animal, its enclosure, toys, food, etc would cost. Students measured the classroom and created a map to show where the animal enclosure would be placed. As students worked through many of their calculations they solved problems involving the four operations using a range of strategies. Finally, students asked their peers about preferred names for the pet and constructed data displays appropriate to the data. Students found their information for their presentation by asking parents or adults who had owned pets of the same species before, used multiple websites to check the accuracy of answers, and some students even made phone calls to pet stores to check the availability of goods and to ask for expert opinion. Once this was all done, students presented their research in a persuasive manner to the class and the class voted on which animal they now thought the class should have as a pet. The result? A turtle of course!
We don’t quite have the turtle yet (maybe late this week or early next week), but since voting students have been involved in even MORE learning (unbeknown to them). They have used appropriate units of measurement when filling up the turtle tank with water, used estimation and rounding skills, and used percentages to help calculate the dosage of chemicals to add to the water to make it safe for the turtle to live in.
This certainly has been a wonderfully rich learning experience, all triggered by the students’ initial request to get a class pet. They have been immersed and learned a lot through, what some might call – TURTLE POWER!
2022 School Captains
and Leadership Positions
During the last week of Term 1 our school captains for 2022 were presented with their official name badges at assembly. Mr Hausler’s 5/6 students also received their official name badges for leadership positions including Sporting Equipment Managers, Sustainability Leaders, Worship Coordinators and Library Leaders.
We wish all our senior students every blessing as they work together in their various leadership positions throughout the year.
Mother’s Day Stall
On Tuesday and Wednesday of week 1, term 2, students had the opportunity to purchase a special Mother’s Day gift from the Mother’s Day Stall.
Thank you to Mrs Gripton for organising the stall and to Tillie, Priya and Aimee for helping during their lunch break.
We hope that our Mum’s enjoyed their gifts on Mother’s Day.
Library News
Book Fair!
Our book fair will be held in Week 4; Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday before and after school and first half of lunch.
P&F News
CANTEEN
We are pleased to announce that the Canteen is now fully operational in Term 2. If you have chosen to do orders weekly, please ensure that your orders are placed before 9am Wednesday.
If you wish to help in the canteen, please speak to our Canteen Manager Sarah Gripton.
CALLING FOR RECIPES
This year, Good Shepherd is celebrating its 60th Anniversary. As part of the celebrations, the P&F are producing a cookbook. We would love to include recipes from past and present students and families.
There are no limitations as to what the recipes can be – your favourite dinner time meal, a cake, a family recipe that has been handed down from generation to generation or simply anything you enjoy cooking!
There are three ways that you can submit your recipe:
- Fill out and return the attached template to the school.
- Email your recipe to Virginia Harvey at virginiaharvey80@gmail.com
- Take a photo of the recipe and send it to Virginia on 0407 716 350
All recipes must be submitted by Friday the 20th of May.
We look forward to seeing all your delicious recipes in our book!
MUMS’ NIGHT OUT 4/06/2022
Save the date ladies! Our annual Mum’s Night Out will be held on Saturday the 4th of June at the lovely Wanera Wine Bar in Angaston. This is always a great night out so get those babysitters booked! RSVP to Virginia Harvey by the 27th of May.
Anzac Day 2022
On Monday 25th April we attended the Angaston Anzac Day Dawn Service held at the Angaston War Memorial at 6:15am.
During the service we listened to a story about a local man that went to war and worked with horses. Near the end of the ceremony we presented a wreath on behalf of the school community.
We felt very proud to represent Good Shepherd on this special day.
Tillie and Priya
School Captains
Chaplain’s News
Dear Good Shepherd Community,
Welcome back to term two. This week’s Chaplaincy Corner article is on ‘Happiness’.
Gosh, what a topic…Happiness…What is true happiness?
The Black Dog institutes fact sheet says –
What is happiness? The science of happiness. Life in the fast lane: time, money, and happiness. Can we change our level of happiness?
What makes you happy? (adapted from Abide)
It sometimes seems like everybody is on a happiness quest. For many, happiness is measured in moments and experiences. It’s an elusive feeling that’s hard to sustain. Exploring what makes you happy might be an interesting task for you to research.
Personally, I have learnt that
…No…. thing…. will make me happy….
If only I had…If only I drove… if only I wore…if only I knew….
Even though I love many things.
There is a Sermon that Jesus spoke about on the Mount. He talked in detail about what happy people do, how they behave, and what they should think. He gave a list of statements, known as the Beatitudes. Jesus says, Sow and Reap your way to happiness. This seems to not make sense until we look for what the common denominator is in the secret to happiness.
Happiness is an outcome, a result…happiness is something now that leads to something later. It’s not immediate. For example, a farmer plants seed now that he will reap later.
At the end of life we probably won’t be longing for the what… we will long for the who-for better, healthy connections with others. Its peace in our relationship that makes us happy.
I am sure there are many different scenario’s we could find that could help us understand happiness. Some of us may struggle with happiness, and always trying to pursue it, but happiness is not something we should pursue because it’s based on circumstance. In the bible it says, we can have joy regardless of the circumstance because we have all we need in Jesus.
With Gods richest blessings,
Fiona Lloyde
Chaplain
SAPSASA Swimming
On Friday 6th of May, Harry Swincer and Sarah Cameron represented the Barossa & Light District Team at the SAPSASA Country Swimming Championships.
Harry placed second in the 50 metre backstroke and second in the freestyle relay. Sarah had a great swim in the 50 metre relay placing fourth.
Harry has been asked to try out for the state team and if he’s picked he will compete in Brisbane later in the year.
Building Blocks Playgroup
It has been great to welcome back some familiar and some new faces to playgroup this term. Building Blocks Playgroup is held each week on Fridays from 10am – 12noon in the Shepherd’s Hub at Good Shepherd Lutheran School, 7 Neldner Avenue, Angaston. Please bring a drink bottle, hat and snack for your children. Cost is $2 per child. Please note that at this stage all adults must wear a face mask.
Finance and Administration News
Please avoid phoning between 8.15 – 8.30am as staff are debriefing and in devotion. A phone call prior to 8.30am however will be taken by the answering machine for you to leave a message and we will return your call as soon as possible if required.
If you have not yet enrolled your Foundation child for 2023 please see Danette at the Front Office ASAP.
We also remind families that we require one term’s notice in writing of your intention to withdraw a student to avoid being charged an additional term’s fees.
Did you know that limits for the school card have now been increased. So you may now be eligible if you have not been in the past. Applications for the School Card Scheme are available online. To check if you are eligible click on the following link or contact Sarah Loveday for further information.
1962-2022 Celebrating 60 Years
Angaston Lutheran Parish Service Times
Sunday 22nd May 2022
Angaston: 8.45am HC Contemporary
Gnadenberg: 10.30am HC Contemporary
Keyneton: 5.00pm
Eden Valley: 11.00am
Springton: 9.15am
Thursday 26th May 2022 (Ascension Thursday)
Parish Service at Angaston – 7.30pm HC – Pastor Peter Ziersch
Sunday 29th May 2022
Angaston/Gruenberg/Gnadenberg: Pastorate Service at Angaston 9.30am
Keyneton: 11.00am
Eden Valley: 9.00am HC
Springton: 1.30pm HC
Angaston ELC
Please note that the Angaston Child Care Centre are offering a Vacation Care program for the upcoming school holidays. Please see planned activities below and contact the ACCC directly to book.
Angaston Child Care & ELC are conveniently situated close to the school and provide before and after school care.
- Angaston Child Care & Early Learning Centre: 422 Valley Road, Angaston SA 5353
Director: Suzy Linke
Phone: 08 8564 3387
Email: mail@angastonearlylearning.com.au
Opening Hours: Monday to Friday 6.30 am to 6.00pm