School Newsletter, 2016 No. 1

Term 1 Week 1 29th January 2016 Issue No. 1

From the Principal Welcome to the 2016 School Year It was a pleasure to see all our students and families, returning from their holidays this week.

Our buildings and grounds were immaculate after much hard work from our property and cleaning staff. The beautiful rains have also watered our grounds, which are looking beautifully green and ready for our students to enjoy. We have so much to be thankful for.

Our teachers have been back at school for over a week in preparation for the school year. Our Professional Development week focussed on the unity we have in Jesus.

We networked with the staff at Charlton Christian College to find our motivation in

Jesus and the strength of collaboration to develop greater outcomes in our schools through Synergy.

The first three units of the New Hope International Effective Teaching and Learning Series helped us to further think through what it means to be a Christ-centred learning community, how learning is best achieved through being a community and also the role of the Holy Spirit in helping us to build community. I look forward to sharing some reflections from our journey with the school community throughout this year.

Our school dedication service this morning focussed on our response to God’s faithfulness. We looked at the parable of the talents where Jesus told the story of

three different servants who were given resources to use by their master. Two servants faithfully used the talents and were rewarded; yet one refused to do so was declared ‘wicked’ by the master. In 2016 we are encouraging our students to think about being faithful in their service of the Lord:

The Learning Begins for 1/2C

1T are Going Dotty 1T have been reading books written and illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds this week.

After reading ‘The Dot’, they experimented by mixing water colours to create their own dot paintings.

▪▪Our motivation for faithfulness is God’s great goodness to us ▪▪ Our tools for faithfulness are the blessings that God has given each of us ▪▪Faithfulness is not passive but an active use of the blessing that God has given ▪▪Faithfulness is something that is expected of us. It shows where our heart is.

In the Science Laboratory

▪▪We find great reward in being faithful, both now and into eternity

Year 10 Science students are learning about DNA in their unit on Genetics. This week they were in the laboratory, extracting DNA from wheat-germ.

Our prayer is that our students would grow more deeply in their understanding of God’s faithfulness to them and their faithfulness in response.

A letter went home to the school community this week, both in paper form and also via email, containing details of staff and executive changes, as well as information for our Parent Information evening. Please ensure you join us on Tuesday, 9th February to meet with your child’s teachers from both Primary and High School and to better understand key events and directions for the year ahead.

We look forward to the good things that God will do in, through and for us in the year ahead.

Rich blessings Geoff Peet

On the Cover As the sun rose over the classrooms on Wednesday morning, we looked forward to seeing our students again. It is a privilege to join with our students and their families, as we embark on an adventure in learning for 2016.

Welcome Students

What’s on the Schedule 2016 Term Dates Term 1: Wed 27/01/16 - Fri 08/04/16 Term 2: Tue 26/04/16 - Fri 01/07/16 Term 3: Mon 25/07/16 - Fri 23/09/16 Term 4: Tue 10/10/16 - TBA Parent Information Evening Our annual parent information evening will be taking place on Tuesday, 9th February.

This is an important evening of connecting with your child’s teachers and finding out dates, details and programs for the year ahead. The program for the evening will be as follows: 6:00pm Primary Information Session 1 (Primary Classrooms) 6:30pm Primary Information Session 2 (Primary Classrooms) 7:00pm Principal’s Overview Session (Church Auditorium) 7:30pm Year 7 Information Session (E14/15) Year 9/10 RoSA Information Session (E8) Year 11 Information Session (Church Auditorium) As well as the usual Primary Sessions, there are three concurrent high school sessions this year, to give parents an overview of the process, events and requirements for each of the three stages of high school.

We strongly recommend the attendance of families on the evening and look forward to connecting with you at this time.

Primary Swimming Carnival This year’s Primary Swimming Carnival will be held at East Maitland Aquatic Centre on Monday, 8th February. This is an opportunity for students to display their swimming skills and enjoy a day of community.

All students are encouraged to dress in their house colours, participate enthusiastically and cheer on their teammates. Please remember to bring your school hat and sunscreen for sun protection.

We love to have all parents join us for a fun day of competition and encouragement. If you are willing to help in any way, it would be greatly appreciated. To offer your assistance, please email Mrs Gorrick at b.pearson@maitlandcs.nsw.edu.au

Secondary Swimming Carnival The Secondary Swimming Carnival will be held on Friday, 19th February at East Maitland Aquatic Centre.

Students who are competing in the 100m freestyle or the 200m individual medley should be at the pool at 8:30am. All other students can meet at the school at 8:30am and be transported to and from the pool by bus.

All students should attend the carnival and participate in the activities, where possible. Students should wear their sport uniform or their house colours. Also, please remember to wear your school hat and sunscreen for sun protection.

It was wonderful to welcome all our Kindergarten to Year 12 students to the 2016 school year at Maitland Christian School. Next week we look forward to meeting our new Prep classes.

Canteen Opening Canteen will be open from Monday, 1st February. The canteen menu is available to download on the school website (maitlandcs.nsw.edu.au) or you can register for Flexischools online ordering at flexischools.com.au

The Beauty of Nebulas Year 5 are learning about Space this term and getting a glimpse of God’s AMAZING creation of the universe. In their art classes, they experimented with using sponges and toothbrushes to create these spectacular Nebula Galaxies.

“When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him and the son of man that You visit him?”

Psalm 8:3,4

Parents of Primary students are reminded that they are not permitted to buy food directly from the canteen counter.

They should put food orders in through Flexischools or hand them in at the beginning of the school day.

Raising Digital Kids (Part 1) The following article on Raising Digital Kids was published in the Australian Council for Educational Leaders magazine, e-leading November 2015 (40). It was researched and prepared for ACEL by Emma Clemens Deputy Head of Primary, Emanuel School, Randwick, NSW. Because of the value it has for our parents, we will publish the article in two parts over the first two newsletters of the term.

digital pacifiers. Therefore the approach to managing screen time at home should be balanced and consider the most valuable use of technology. An hour spent passively viewing a mindless television show is very different to an hour spent creating a video or digital animation on an iPad. Using technology in a creative and social context is valuable for children of all ages.

In this digital age, parents are constantly looking to educational leaders for guidance on how to best support their children with use of technology. Leaders of schools need to consider the influence of rapid technology evolution in the school context and home life. Parents can feel they have no frame of reference for boundaries and guidelines because technology is progressing so quickly. However, whether we love it or loathe it we need to leverage technology to best support our students.

When children are provided with helpful boundaries and limits at home, they are far better equipped to learn at school.

Time limits are not always effective due to the psychological flow children experience when using technology. Simply stating ‘your ten minutes is up’ can be meaningless, especially for younger children for whom time is an abstract concept. It can be more advantageous to set a limit based on the game or activity. For example ‘You can watch two Giggle and Hoot episodes’ or ‘You can play two days and one night in your Minecraft game’. Before commencing screen time, children and parents could agree on the duration for play and set the countdown timer using the clock on an iOS device. Instead of an alarm parents can select Stop Playing, which locks the device at the end of the time period. It is also helpful for parents to cognitively prime their child by communicating a warning when the allocated time is almost finished. A transition activity such as jumping on the trampoline or eating afternoon tea can be particularly helpful to move children from screen time to homework. It is also important for the child to take responsibility for the end of screen time. For example the child can be responsible for turning off the television or putting the device away. By putting the

Neurological framework If technology is managed poorly at home, there can be neurological implications for our students. Whenever we do anything pleasurable our brain releases dopamine. When children are frequently playing technological games they are constantly being rewarded, which in turn releases dopamine making the behaviour addictive. This can be compounded by the reality that parents can fall into the trap of giving screens to their children as

locus of control in the child’s hands they are managing the technology rather than technology managing them.

Time limits

Sleep Hand held devices are particularly problematic in causing sleep disorders.

These devices omit blue light, which inhibits the body in creating melatonin. This accumulated sleep debt can significantly impact cognitive development. Therefore it is important to limit screen time in the 90 minutes before going to sleep. If hand held devices must be used, then it can be helpful to lower the brightness on the device and encourage an increase in distance. Watching television later at night is better than a hand held device, because of the physical distance and level of blue light. In addition bedrooms should be tech free zones. A family media management plan can be helpful in establishing what, how, when, where and why technology can be used at home. It can be helpful to have a landing zone, which is essentially a bedtime location for devices. This can be used to do a technology roll call to ensure children do not use their devices throughout the night.

Posture Children who spend extended hours in front of screens are at risk of developing muscular skeletal problems and postural issues. Parents must remind children to hold their device at eye level. Lying on your tummy is an ideal position as it keeps the device at eye level whilst the head and neck are upright. Sitting on a beanbag is another good strategy for maintaining good posture when using hand held devices. In addition parents should encourage children to blink more when using screens to keep their eyes lubricated.

Multitasking Children often accept the misnomer that it is effective and efficient to multi-task. However, neuroscientific research has demonstrated that the human brain cannot focus on more than one activity at a time. Rapidly switching between tasks may look like multi-tasking, but in fact results in continuous partial attention. Therefore a critical skill parents can teach their children is to manage their attention. Children need to learn the skill of mono-tasking, focusing on one thing and seeing it through to completion. Guided Access on iOS devices is a helpful tool to force children to focus on a single app at one time. To turn on Guided Access go to Settings, General, Accessibility. Three taps on the home button will turn on Guided Access and three taps on the home button will turn it off. © Australian Council for Educational Leaders

School Opal Cards From this week, eligible students within the Opal network are able to travel to and from school with the new School Opal card.

Most students who already had a 2015 school student travel pass will have their School Opal card automatically distributed through the school.

Some students, including new applicants and students changing school or campuses, updating their personal details, or going from Year 2 to 3 or Year 6 to 7, who have already applied or who need to apply, will have their School Opal cards posted to their home address. Most School Opal cards should be received in the first two weeks of Term.

School students will need to carry their School Opal card and tap on and off when travelling to and from school.

Behaviour matters Free travel is a privilege that can be taken away if official Codes of Conduct aren’t followed. In summary, students should remember to:

A grace period applies at the start of each new school year, where school students who have been approved for SSTS travel can travel without a valid pass while new passes are being issued. Students must be in school uniform or be able to provide evidence (such as a school ID or school books) that they are travelling to or from school during this time.

▪▪ Tap on and tap off every time

If your cards don’t arrive or for more information contact 131 500 or concessions@transport.nsw.gov.au

▪▪ Always travel with a valid ticket.

▪▪ Offer their seat to paying customers without being asked ▪▪ Respect transport staff, transport property and fellow travellers ▪▪ Be mindful of safety at every stage of a transport journey ▪▪ Student Codes of Conduct are available at transportnsw.info/school-students

To keep up to date with the events at the school, like our Maitland Christian School Facebook page.

You will find it at www.facebook.com/maitlandcs

Community News

What’s Happening at Metford Community Baptist Church?

Kids Programs are in Recess until Next February Play Group returns Tuesday, 2nd February Rhythm & Dance returns Wednesday, 3rd February Kids Club returns Thursday, 4th February Youth Bible Study returns Friday, 5th February Youth Group returns Friday, 12th February

Metford Community Baptist Church is a community of Christian believers who love Christ, each other and their community. We have services every Sunday (9:30am and 6:00pm) and would love to see you there.

Our Contact details: Pastor: John Cook 83 Chelmsford Drive Associate Pastor: Andrew Sumpton Metford NSW 2323 (Next to Maitland Christian School) Phone: 4934 5350 admin@metfordbaptist.com.au

Church Services: Every Sunday 9:30am and 6:00pm

Upcoming Events Mon 1/02

Pri

Prep Afternoon Tea

Mon 8/02

Pri

Primary Swimming Carnival

Tue 9/02

Pri

Fri 19/02 Tue 23/02

Sec

Parent Information Evening

Sec

Secondary Swimming Carnival

Pri

Primary Zone Swimming Carnival

Mon 29/02

Sec

Year 7/8 Camp commences

Thu 3/03

Sec

Secondary Zone Swimming Carnival

Mon 7/03

Pri

Mon 14/03

Primary State Swimming Carnival Sec

Year 7 Immunisation Day

Fri 25/03

Pri

Sec

Good Friday

Mon 28/03

Pri

Sec

Easter Monday

Fri 1/04

Pri

Sec

School Photo Day

Sec

Secondary Athletics Carnival

Thu 7/04 Fri 8/04

Pri

Sec

Last Day of Term 1

Mon 25/04

Pri

Sec

Anzac Day

Tue 26/04

Pri

Sec

First Day of Term 2

Protecting Your Skin From Sun Damage Students are reminded that hats are compulsory for all students. Wearing a hat can go a long way toward protecting our skin from damage from Ultra Violet radiation. This means we will be less likely to suffer from skin cancers, it will postpone age related skin damage and our skin can remain healthy for much longer.