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Good Shepherd Grapevine – 13 August 2020

Upcoming Events

 

Keeping Up with the #Christians

We are living in an era of overnight shipping, high-speed wireless internet, and front-door, fast-food delivery services – because, well, the fast-food drive-thru just isn’t fast enough anymore! But how do we live out our Christian faith in this wild, unprecedented cultural moment we find ourselves in?

How do we survive – let alone thrive – when we feel incapable of keeping up in this speedy, efficiency-driven culture?

I recently had an “ah-ha!” moment while stumbling around social media. #CHRISTIAN has over 10 million posts on Instagram alone. It’s a behemoth-sized shop of catchy religious one-liners and paraphrased Bible verses. The trend seems to be a spiritual byproduct of the fast-food, overnight shipping culture. With the flip of our thumb, we can consume ridiculous quantities of daily spiritual inspiration, but it comes at a cost. It gives us condensed content that can be chewed and swallowed in seconds. But rarely (if ever) does it give us the lasting nourishment we need to be satisfied. So, we return for more…again and again.

Is it possible that in the midst of our struggles, we go to places like #CHRISTIAN to find immediate hope and encouragement, but actually leave feeling more worn down and left behind?

In Mark 6, Jesus and His disciples hop in a boat and head for the other side of the lake, hoping for some R&R from their non-stop ministry. But when they arrive, they find more of the same. An enormous crowd of needy people has gathered. As Jesus’ boat makes landfall, Mark 6:34 notes, “He had compassion on them, because they were like a sheep without a shepherd.” Through His compassion, Jesus gives us a glimpse into His heart for the crowd, as well as His heart for us. And ultimately, He pulls off the greatest “fast-food miracle” the world has ever seen. But, while we are often drawn to the miraculous power of Jesus to multiply bread and fish, I want to point out a few details that often get overlooked in this passage:

“Jesus directed [the disciples] to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass…” 

Rather than immediately perform the miracle, the first thing Jesus does is instruct the people on the posture they must take to receive: seated in small groups on the grass. A crowd of 5000+ strangers, just longing to get a glimpse of Jesus, end up sitting together in small groups and becoming friends and neighbours. These are broken people sharing their stories and finding common ground with one another through one thing: their need for Jesus. So, while it would seem tempting for Jesus to speed things up and “get it over with,” He intentionally slows everything down and throws a magnificent picnic. I’m convinced that Jesus does this because He is not solely interested in feeding fish and loaves to hungry stomachs. He wants to feed a hefty portion of belonging to hungry souls!

Where can you slow down and find a dose of belonging today?

“…they all ate and were satisfied.”

Mark goes on to tell us the outcome of Jesus’ miracle: “…they all ate and were satisfied.” Those who sat on the green grass were satisfied because they realized that the God of the Universe cared for their entire being. He spoke to their hearts and minds through teaching, brought smiles and laughter through new friendships, provided physical nourishment through bread and fish, and offered spiritual encouragement through the invitation to be the guests of honor at a divinely appointed picnic!

How do you see God caring for each area of your life?

When you find yourself in that place of feeling left behind by the speed of life or left out by those who seem able to keep up better than you can, remember that we follow the Good Shepherd. He knows how to care for every area of our lives and He’s saying, “Slow down. Sit and find rest in me.” When we find ourselves longing for Jesus, let’s resist the urge to go looking for Him on a quick Instagram search first. Instead, let’s remember that Jesus might not be so interested in efficiency and speed. He is calling us to slow down and be present with friends, family, and especially with Him. And as the world continues to speed up, He promises that He will never leave you behind.

Blog written by Andy Franks Pastor of Student Ministries at Bridge Community Church in Orange, CA.

Submitted by Jayden Evans.

Prayer Corner

This fortnight, staff and students pray for:

FAMILIES

  • NOACK:  Tracey, Philip, Charlotte, Ryan, Hannah, James, Benjamin & Tom

  • OSBORNE:  Jessica, Zac & Zeke

  • PALOFF:  Stacey, Ben, Dakota, Lennix, Arlo & Gus
  • PECH:  Amanda, Andrew, Campbell, Spencer & Maddison

Birthdays

August

1  Amelia Klemm
1  Zahli Schultz
9  Romek Kuchar
12 Eleanor John
12 Ava McGorman
15 Tilly Barrett
21 Sam Abdelmalek
22 Thomas Spiteri
25 Jadon Brandon
27 Leo Abdelmalek
27 Sean McCarthy

Baptisms

August

1  Max Gaston
1  Thomas Gaston
23 Jed Klau
31 Maya Klose

STAFF 

  • Rachel John – LSO/Librarian
  • Edith Unger – Volunteer
  • Dan Hausler – 3/4 Teacher
  • John Morgan – Caretaker
  • Rebecca Liersch – PE/Health

OUR PRAYERS

  • This week we pray for our Facilities Sub-Committee for their efforts in keeping our school looking so good.

Principal’s News

Dear Parents,

It’s been a busy start to term three with the reintroduction of Assemblies and Chapels, Goodies, Knockout Netball, class excursions, school photos, netball club, Tournament of Minds and Student Led Conferences. We’re just not used to the busyness of ‘almost’ normal school life, but we certainly welcome it.
With the escalating situation in Victoria and the recent COVID–19 cases in South Australia, some parents have expressed concern that schools may be required to return to some form of remote learning this term. The reality is we just don’t know. Obviously, we will comply with all Government/SA Health directions but there has been nothing to suggest that a return to remote learning is imminent. Please be assured that we have continued to review and revise the remote learning operational procedures that were established earlier this year and staff are prepared for the various possibilities including a partial return, full return or (God willing) business as usual and even further easing of current restrictions. Should anything change you will be immediately contacted and informed of the requirements.

As we begin planning for 2021 we ask that you let us know of your intentions regarding the continuing enrolment of your child at Good Shepherd Lutheran School. If your child will not be continuing next year, we ask that you please inform the school of your decision in writing with at least one term’s notice (as per the Enrolment Policy). Also, if you are intending to submit an application for enrolment of a sibling and have not yet done so please make this a priority as places are filling rapidly for 2021.

I am very pleased to be able to inform you that Mrs Fiona McDonald will be joining our staff from the start of next year in the leadership position of Teacher/PYP Coordinator. Fiona has 16 years teaching experience, 9 of these at Immanuel Lutheran Primary School, Novar Gardens. She is very experienced in the International Baccalaureate and is passionate about curriculum development. As a teacher in an IB school, Fiona has been through several IB evaluations and has demonstrated that she is very capable of supporting staff and leading us through our self-study year and upcoming IB evaluation next year. Currently living in Hallett Cove, Fiona and her husband are very excited about relocating to the Barossa Valley and becoming fully involved in our school and local community. Joining Fiona as our 2021 classroom teaching team are: Jayden Evans, Naomi Guglielmo, Daniel Hausler and Abby Beames. 

Towards the end of last term Chris Linke (Chair of GSLS Board) and I met with Neville Grieger to review progress on the Strategic Action Plan. The Action Plan was developed with Neville at the end of 2018 following input from the GSLS Board, staff and parent community. The Board felt it was timely to assess what goals had been achieved, what needed further work and what remained ongoing. I am pleased to report that in a relatively short timeframe many of the initial goals have been achieved or are well underway, others remain an ongoing priority. As part of the review the completed goals were removed from the plan and the progress points were also removed to allow for further improvements to be implemented. Copies of the GSLS Action, Draft 2.0 Version can be obtained from the Front Office if you would like to offer further comment. 

Blessings,

Anne Marschall
Principal 

Classroom Snapshot – Mr Evans’ 6/7 Class

 

6/7’s Adjective Information Report

In English this term the very talented students of Mr Evans’ 6/7 class have been creatively learning about how to add detailed adjectives to their information reports to make them more descriptive. Students created their own zany monsters and then wrote an informative report about each monster’s unique features with a focus on factual adjectives.

Students were assessed on their ability to create dazzling, frightening, horrifying, wacky designs that really highlighted their monsters multiple assets.  They described their monsters’ personality, classification, dietary requirements, physical and mental characteristics as well as their humble abode and habitat. 

Jayden Evans
6/7 Class Teacher

PYP Corner – Evaluation September 2021

You may be thinking, September 2021, that’s a long time away! Yes it is 12 months from now, but our evaluation process has been kicking into gear with the staff here at Good Shepherd working away step by step at our self study for this process.  Below is a brief overview of what evaluation is all about for a PYP school. It involves ALL members of the school community, so keep yourself  informed over the next 12 months, as we may need your help!

Programme evaluation is both a requirement and a service provided by the IB Organization and ensures on a regular basis that the standards and practices of the programme are being maintained. It occurs approximately every 3 years and the school is required to complete an in depth 12 month self study in which we evaluate ourselves against the IB standards and practices, before being visited by an evaluation team in September 2021.

This process provides an opportunity for the school to reflect on our achievements and explore new initiatives to enhance the implementation if the IB PYP programme.

Evaluation reviews all aspects of the school life affected by the programme including; teaching, administration, governing body, students and parents.  You may be asked to complete questionnaires or participate in discussions over the next few months as we prepare information for our self study, so please take the time to support this process when you can.

The evaluation visit takes place over three days and during this time the visiting team will gather their own evidence through observations, meetings with school community and looking through documentation in order to assess our implementation of the programme standards and practices. 

Keep an eye on future newsletter articles for continued updates and information regarding this process.

Blessings,

Rebecca Klemm
PYP Coordinator

Student Led Conferences 2020!

It was great to see the school buzzing with families last night, as the students had their ‘time to shine’ and share their learning and achievements through the student led conferences.  Thank you to all the teachers for the time and effort put into preparing for the conferences and to all the families who came along to celebrate their children’s learning.  Mrs Klemm has received lots of positive feedback through the parent reflections and knows just how proud many of the students were to share their knowledge and skills.  What a wonderful experience for all involved!

IB PYP Learner Profile Awards

 

Week 3 – Monday 3 August 2020
FDN Sophie Doering Risk-Taker/
Knowledgeable		 Sophie puts her best effort into all tasks and has worked hard on all aspects of literacy this term. She takes risks and ‘has a go’ by sounding out words in her writing, without asking for assistance.
1/2

Will Pitman

Open-Minded

Will has been exceptionally caring and accepting of our new class member. Will has supported and encouraged with patience and confidence.
3/4 Oscar Doyban Caring

Oscar showed true care for his buddy as he interacted with him last Thursday. He was a good role model and ensured his buddy left with a smile on his face.  Brilliant leadership, Oscar! 
5/6 Oliver Doyban Communicator Oliver has displayed excellent communication skills over the last week by asking for help when he needs it, asking questions, and explaining his thinking to other students.
6/7 Matilda Barrett Knowledgeable Matilda has showcased her talent this semester in all her unit of inquiry work. She consistently creates work of a high standard with great effort and detail.

 

 

Week 4 – Monday 10 August 2020
FDN Matita Schroeder Principled Matita has demonstrated bravery by trying new things in class and persisting through challenges. She also showed great courage and independence.
1/2

Samuel Scanlon

Ezekiel Osborne

Balanced

Principled

Sam has been showing incredible improvement this term in controlling his emotions. As a result, he is doing some great learning and is setting a fantastic example for his classmates.

Zeke is learning to take responsibility for his actions. He has been making positive choices to support his learning and has been encouraging others to do the same.
3/4 Ava McGorman Knowledgeable

Ava has been attentive in class discussions and used strong inquiry skills as she investigated into the properties of soil and rocks.  Well done, Ava!
5/6 Luke Scanlon Principled Luke has shown amazing honesty and consistently follows our class and school rules. He has also shown that he knows what is fair, and makes sure everyone in the class is treated fairly.
6/7 Annabel Lloyd Knowledgeable

Annabel demonstrated great attitude and fairness during the knockout girls netball. She displayed great leadership capabilities and strong integrity.

 

P&F Winter Pie Drive

Order forms have been sent home. If you did not receive your order form please collect another from the Front Office.

Chaplain’s News

Dear Good Shepherd Community, 

Hope you are all going well within this cold spell of weather…

This week’s newsletter article is on ‘conquering kids techno tantrums’.  A very interesting read. It mentions how technology has been intentionally made to cater for our basic psychological needs. It also explains how technology works with our brains neurotransmitter dopamines pleasure response.

Don’t forget our school has a membership with Parenting Ideas. As part of this membership, you can access the webinar mentioned at the end of the article.

Have a great week,

Fiona Lloyde
Chaplain

Conquering kids’ techno-tantrums

by Dr Kristy Goodwin

 

Many of us have witnessed our kids or teens emotionally combust when asked to switch off their gaming console or put their phone away. I colloquially call these ‘techno-tantrums’. Many of us fret that this signals that they’re ‘addicted’ to technology and find ourselves worrying about why they behave in such intense ways.

So, what makes technology so psychologically appealing for kids and how can we help them to unplug so that screen-time doesn’t end in scream time?

Technology is so appealing

Technology has been intentionally designed to cater for our kids’ most basic psychological drivers. As humans, our three most basic psychological needs are the need for connection, competence and control.

Technology caters for these needs in very clever ways. For example, our need for relational connection explains why many of our boys are obsessed with multi-player video games and girls are infatuated with social media. These online tools have also been designed to help young people experience competency- gamers see tangible measures of their performance by their levels of attainment, or battles won. Scrolling through YouTube and ‘selecting’ which video they’ll watch next also enables young people to experience a sense of control and agency over their lives – something they biologically crave.

Here’s what technology does to their brains and bodies

Digital technology impacts on children and young people in the following ways:

‘It feels good’

When our kids use a screen it’s usually a pleasurable experience for them. Their brains secrete the neurotransmitter dopamine, which makes them feel good. This means, when you demand that they turn the device off, you’re terminating their production of dopamine (pleasure response).  It’s better to provide a choice of more appealing transition activities when you want them to move away from a screen. For example, suggest that they ride their bike, or walk the dog after they’ve switched off the device.

‘I want more’

The online world has no stopping cues, so our kids and teens never feel ‘complete’ or ‘done’. They can always refresh social media; continue to play to attain another level in a game; or watch another YouTube clip. This is also referred to as the state of insufficiency.
One parenting tip that works is to give your children and teens hard end points. Rather than giving them a quantity of time (for example, you can watch an hour of TV today), give them the finish time (for example, I’d like you to switch off the TV at 4:30pm).

‘It’s so novel’

Our brains are wired to seek out new and interesting stimulus. The online world is always instantly gratifying, fast-paced and requires minimal cognitive effort. In comparison the offline, real world doesn’t always offer novelty. The real world is a lot slower-paced, and it’s not always instantly rewarding and interesting like our kids’ digital world.

Ensure your kids and teens have ample time to experience boredom. Our brains were never designed to be switched on and processing information as they are in the digital world. Opportunities for boredom allow the brain time to reset and help our kids become accustomed to not always being ‘switched on’.

Related webinar

Our school has a membership with Parenting Ideas. As part of this membership, you can access the below webinar recording ‘Understanding techno tantrums’ at no cost.

About

In this webinar Dr Kristy Goodwin helps parents and carers understand why children and teens emotionally combust when they digitally-disconnect, and how to establish new, healthy technology habits.

To redeem
1. Click this link: https://www.parentingideas.com.au/parent-resources/parent-webinars/webinar-understanding-techno-tantrums
2. Click ‘Add to cart’
3. Click ‘View cart’
4. Enter the voucher code TECHNO and click ‘Apply Coupon’ Your discount of $37 will be applied.
5. Click ‘Proceed to checkout’
6. Fill in your account details. These details are used to login to your account and access your parenting material
7. Click ‘Place Order’
The voucher is valid until 17 September 2020. The webinar recording will be available in your Parenting Ideas dashboard so you can refer to it at any time.

 

Dr Kristy Goodwin

Dr Kristy Goodwin is a digital wellbeing and performance speaker, author and researcher (and mum who also deals with her kids’ techno-tantrums!). She’s the author of Raising Your Child in a Digital World, and a media commentator who doesn’t suggest that we ban the iPhone, or unplug the gaming console (digital abstinence isn’t the solution). Kristy worked as an educator for fourteen years before becoming an academic and speaker who’s on a mission to help children, teens and adults tame their technology habits so they’re not a slave to the screen. For further details visit www.drkristygoodwin.com.

Canteen Manager

We are seeking a fun, energetic, food loving, people person to coordinate the management of our very popular school canteen.  As our volunteer Canteen Manager you would look forward to providing nutritious recess and lunch options to over 100 students each Friday. This would involve menu selections, ordering of goods and working alongside our cheerful team of parent volunteers each Friday.  No experience necessary as our current Canteen Manager would be on hand to show you the ropes during Term 4.

Please contact Anne Marschall if you would like to sink your teeth into this ‘tasty’ role within our school community.

Backpacks 4 SA Kids

Matita’s grandma has provided our school community with an opportunity to help a great cause, Backpacks 4 Kids SA. This charity organisation provide backpacks to children that may be removed from their family to relieve anxiety and stress caused by neglect, abuse or family violence.  You can read more about Backpacks 4 SA Kids by visiting their website: Backpacks 4 SA Kids.

Please refer to the list below for the items that our families have been asked to source for Backpacks 4 SA Kids. Any donations can be dropped off at the Front Office over the next few weeks.

Thanking you in advance for helping Matita’s family support this great cause for SA Kids.

 

Please Note:

Due to current guidelines amid COVID-19 we are unable to share homemade baked goods with children at school.  If you would like to bring in something to share with your child’s class it must be purchased from a store and be indivdual pre-packaged goods. Thank you for your understanding.

Finance News

School Fees

School fees for Term 3 are due by Friday 21 August 2020.  Please contact Sarah Loveday if you would like to discuss payment arrangements.

We are very mindful of the continuing economic impact that COVID-19 is having on many of our school families. Please be assured that we understand. We have directly contacted those families that we are aware of who are experiencing financial stress to offer support. If you are also finding this time financially challenging,  and have not yet been contacted, please make it a priority to contact our Finance Officer, Sarah Loveday, for a confidential discussion about how we will support you. 

School Card Scheme 2020

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.

https://www.sa.gov.au/topics/education-and-learning/financial-help-scholarships-and-grants/school-card-scheme

Golden Years at Good Shepherd

Congratulations to our inaugural winner Renee Barry for correctly identifying ‘Kylie Doering’ as our current school mum who appeared in our last newsletter as part of the Reception/Year 1 Class of 1996.  Renee is pictured with Kylie and her daughter’s Sophie and Rachel who are both attending this year’s Foundation class.  Whilst it’s nostalgic for Kylie to send her daughters to the same school she attended, Kylie also stated that “When selecting a primary school for my children, it was important to me that the school has a variety of learning facilities and offers many opportunities for the students to grow both academically and spiritually in a warm and caring environment.”  We hope you enjoy your D&M’s coffee on us Renee!

Does your family have a Good Shepherd story to share?  We would love for you to contact us with your stories or memories.  Feel free to phone the school or email us at gsls@goodshepherd.sa.edu.au.
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