Weekly
news
Term 2, Week 5
Coming up this week
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MISSION STATEMENT
To work under God in partnership with parents to provide an inclusive, nurturing and high quality education for every student.
VIsion
Flourishing through faith, belonging and the pursuit of excellence.
From The Principal
COVID and Sinus and Flu, Oh my!
The Wizard of Oz was one of my favourite movies growing up. In one scene, Dorothy and her dog Toto follow the yellow brick road through a forest that is rumoured to have formidable animals. Dorothy chants, “Lions and tigers and bears, Oh my! Lions and tigers and bears.”
It feels a bit like we’re going through a forest of formidable ailments: Covid and sinus (colds) and flu. We are grateful to be part of a community that bands together against such invisible predators. This article is to thank you for your help and to let you know what we are doing as a school to mitigate the risk of illness. We hope that viruses will soon be as tame as the Wizard of Oz’s Cowardly Lion.
Thank you!
First and foremost, the staff would like to thank YOU for keeping children home when they are unwell. We have children and staff who are more vulnerable to illness than others. By keeping your children home, you are taking on additional responsibilities – that is not lost on us. Also, you are protecting our community and for that we are most grateful.
The challenge of ventilation and temperature
Classrooms are doing their best to keep the air clean. The HEPA filters that were donated by P&F are running (thanks, P&F!). Also, classrooms are cracking open windows for cross-ventilation of air. The downside of cross-ventilation is that classrooms are colder than they otherwise would be. Please know that teachers are doing the best they can to balance the cold with the need for air movement. Students are allowed to wear jackets in the classroom. From a parent perspective, please make sure that students arrive at school in warm, layered clothing.
Minimising large gatherings
We are looking to mitigate the risk of whole-school gatherings. Beginning in Week 6, Years K to 2 will have chapels on Monday mornings. Years 3 to 6 will have chapel on Wednesday mornings. Both of these chapels will begin at 9.10am. We will continue to have the doors open in the chapel area as we meet. The smaller numbers of students at chapel will allow us to spread out further in the space.
Assemblies will now be only on the Fridays of Weeks 4 and 8. During these assemblies, we will pay attention to the spacing of students and will refrain from singing.
Continued conversations with students
Classroom teachers have been speaking with students about how they might best keep their classroom clean and safe. Conversations may include but are not limited to the video “Sneezing 101” that is attached to this newsletter. Feel free to refer to the video in family discussions.
May God continue to bless us all with good health and quick recoveries.
Janet Moeller
Principal
From The DEPUTY Principal
Social and Emotional learning – Helping children who are neurodiverse-build friendships
Attached is an excellent article from CASEL. It talks about ways in which parents can support their children who are neurodiverse. If you have an interest in this area or have a child who is neurodiverse, it is well worth a read. The article includes lots of common sense and practical advice to support children in making friends.
Early morning drop offs
Last week, I noticed some students being dropped off at school at 7.50am. Just a reminder to all parents that duty supervision starts at 8.10am. There are Duty of Care concerns if students start arriving at school before this time. Please consider enrolling your child at OSHC as a before school supervision option. Many thanks for your anticipated cooperation with this.
Contemporary Learning Tours
A couple of weeks ago myself and a couple of teaching staff members were able to attend a Contemporary Learning Tour of some schools in Sydney. The tour gave us an opportunity to visit schools that have designed and set up flexible learning spaces. It also gave our teachers an opportunity to observe how these schools have set up their teaching and learning programs with real emphasis on ‘skills’ development such as collaboration, and being adaptable and flexible in their thinking. It was excellent professional learning for us all.
Students not feeling well
Just a reminder that, if your child is feeling unwell and displaying COVID-/flu-like symptoms, they should stay at home until they are symptom-free. It is so important that we all do our part in ensuring we keep our school community fit and healthy. Thanks for your cooperation with this.
K-6 Athletics Carnival
Next Wednesday 31 May we will hold our Athletics Carnival at Jubilee Park. Many thanks to all our parent volunteers. Ms Stewart informs me we have lots of volunteers who have all completed their parent volunteer paperwork and are signed up to help.
PE Uniform on Clubs Day
After reviewing Friday Clubs with the staff, it has been agreed that all students can wear their sport uniform on Friday Club Day. The remaining Club days are Friday 26 May, Friday 9 June, and Friday 23 June.
We’re skipping through the term!
Jump Rope for Heart is well underway and it’s great to see so many children out in the playground skipping with smiles on their faces. Lutheran School Wagga Wagga has already raised $649.
It’s not long until our Jump Off Day on Monday 19 June 2023 so keep on practising those tricks! And don’t forget to share your online fundraising page with friends and family to raise money for a great cause! We have 18 signed up already!
Still need to sign up online? It’s easy just follow this link and enter your details: http://www.jumprope.org.au/parents
P.S. Don’t forget our skipping goal of 40 hours! Currently, we’ve completed 7 hours. Only 33 to go!
Dylan Evans
Deputy Principal
Lutheran Legends Award
Congratulations to the students that received Lutheran Legends Awards at last Friday’s assembly
Values Focus
What is God Like?
Some of us may find it easy to talk with others, some of us might find it hard. Likewise, some of us may find it easy to pray with God, others might find it difficult. Perhaps your image of God is authoritative, so you approach prayer as a duty, or in a formal way, like you might have done when you were at school when speaking to a teacher. Maybe you picture God as a figure you fear, so you come to prayer with a level of anxiety. For myself, prayer became easier when I began to picture God as someone who makes me safe, someone who makes me feel loved. When prayer was seen in that way, prayer became a conversation with a friend.
When we think about prayer, perhaps helpful questions are: Who do you think you’re praying with? or, What do you think God is like? These images may help or hinder our prayer. The bible is full of ways to imagine God: as breath, light, silence, a rock, a secret, a parent, a king, a shepherd and as love just to name a few.
This week in Chapel we shared the story “What Is God Like?” by Rachel Held Evans and Matthew Paul Turner. You can hear the story read on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/kRD2gY8F5TM . Perhaps you’d like to listen to it as a family this week and wonder with each other about what images come to mind when you think of God. Perhaps you might draw, paint or mold your images together.
Maybe you can pray to God this week as a household, together naming one thing you’re thankful for, one thing you’re sorry for. You might name a person or issue you would like to pray for and one thing that has amazed you this week.
Shalom
Darren Wright
Chaplain
Curriculum Matters
Students have now completed 2 rounds of SpellMaster. Round results are posted on the Library window after marking and teachers also have access to the results in their classroom.
223 students have entered the competition this year. The words have been tricky for students, with some spelling patterns proving too difficult for even the most talented of spellers. This year students’ tests are returned after marking so that they can see how they performed. Thanks to all students and teachers for participating in and supporting this event.
TOM (Tournament of the Minds)
Over the next few weeks, Mrs Whatmuff and myself will be showcasing the TOM competition. TOM is a problem solving program for teams of students. The tournament’s aim is to enhance the potential of children by developing diverse skills, enterprise, time management, and the discipline to work collaboratively within a challenging and competitive environment. All students who are interested in being part of a highly competitive team are encouraged to nominate themselves. This year our school will enter two teams into the competition. The selection criteria will be exactly the same as in previous years. We look forward to seeing what creative, fun and original ideas students come up with for their response to the entry challenge and in the auditions.
Australian Lutheran World Service (ALWS) Visit
On Friday 19th May, Celia Fielke from Australian Lutheran World Service visited our school. ALWS is an agency of the Lutheran Church of Australia that reaches out to people hurt by poverty, injustice and crisis.
K – 3 students were introduced to ‘Caring for God’s world and people’– being good stewards of his creation and showing God’s love to others.
In the Year 4 classrooms the learning focus was about ‘Welcoming the Stranger’– How do we welcome people and show the love of Jesus to others? The session reflected the learning sequences focused on the book ‘The Boy at the Back of the Class’. A story narrated as a child’s perspective on the refugee crisis, highlighting the importance of friendship and kindness in a world that doesn’t always make sense. Celia’s workshop tied in beautifully with what Year 4 are currently learning and gave students a deeper level of understanding and empathy.
During Term One, Year 5 learnt about Natural Disasters through a project based learning unit. Celia was able to complement this learning by also talking about Natural Disasters through the ALWS lens – how do natural disasters affect people already living in poverty? What does ALWS do to help them prepare for this?
Team 6 and Celia focused on the question ‘Is it fair?‘ – A focus on social justice issues such as disability, human and child rights, and rights of minority groups. Students were asked the question – Does it seem fair when some of us have more than we need? When a person’s basic human rights are violated, when their basic needs are not met, life becomes a struggle. At times and in certain situations, people are not treated fairly or even realise that they have the right to speak out.
‘Social justice means moving towards a society where all hungry are fed, all sick are cared for, the environment is treasured, and we treat each other with love and compassion’. Medea Benjamin
On behalf of the school I would like to tank Celia and ALWS for this thought-provoking and educational visit. We look forward to working alongside ALWS in the future.
Emma Grant
Learning Innovation Coordinator
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P&F News - PIE DRIVE
Take a break from cooking! P&F have arranged a bakery drive so that you can stock up your freezer – perfect for those days when life gets in the way and cooking is just not an option. Pies, quiches, sausage rolls, desserts and sweet treats, something for everyone.
Orders can be picked up from school on 21 and 22 June.
From The Sports Desk
RAS Cross Country
On Wednesday 17 May our Cross Country team travelled to the Albury Wodonga Equestrian Centre for the annual RAS Cross Country Carnival. There were 300 students from 10 local schools competing against one another in 2km and 3km events. Our team performed extremely well, winning three of the eight races and placing second overall behind Trinity Anglican College.
We wish the students who qualified for the NSW CIS Cross Country in Sydney all the best. Thank you to Mrs Lauren Forsyth, Mrs Renee McLachlan and our parents and grandparents for assisting with the organisation and transport.
Caroline Stewart
Other Information
Families leaving the school
Please note that one full term’s written notice is required if you are withdrawing your child from Lutheran School. We purchase learning materials based on projected enrolment numbers at least one term in advance. Hence, the enrolment contract you signed specifies that failure to provide a term’s notice will result in you being charged for the subsequent term.
Uniform Shop Orders
If you would like to purchase uniforms from the Uniform Shop, please email [email protected]
We will email you once the order is ready to be picked up from the office. Thank you.
