St Peters Lutheran School Newsletter

You got to love the sunflower!  They are tall, bright and vivid in colour.  When together with others in a small or large group they really are an amazing sight. 

Sunflowers are somewhat unique too in that they like to face the sun during the day to soak up the warmth and light which helps them to grow. The flower-head physically moves during the day to keep up with the sun.  I also learned that they prefer to grow together rather than on their own. Apparently their root system goes out laterally rather than down deep, partly relying on the roots of other sunflowers for their support. 

Sunflowers would seem to be an excellent example for living a healthy life.  It is important to connect to others for support to help us to grow - that is what family and community do for each other.  But more so I love the image of keeping our faces to the life source.  Just as a sunflower keeps its face to the sun, we too can follow THE SON, the real source of life and health.  Notice that the sunflower is radiant and almost glowing - it could be said it reflects the image of the sun it follows all day.  We too will reflect the image of God to others as we follow him. Those around us will see examples of his love, grace, kindness, justice and hope and all the fruits of his spirit.   And when we grow and bloom together in family, or as a class of students or in community…what an amazing sight!

GROW as a sunflower…and GROW in a field of sunflowers!

 “All of us, then, reflect the glory of the Lord with uncovered faces; and that same glory, coming from the Lord, who is the Spirit, transforms us into his likeness in an ever greater degree of glory.” 2 Cor 3:18 (Good News)

Mark Rathjen
Principal

Thanks to everyone who has kindly donated their empty cans and bottles to the school. We are always accepting more and our Senior students love to sort and count the containers and of course add up all the money. Every 10c goes to our Nature Play spaces.  

You may have noticed that recently we have begun to use Instagram. Our three main social media accounts (Facebook, Instagram and Twitter) are important ways for us to share information and tell stories about our school. They are linked and so what you see on one medium you should see on another, so no need to check them all.  If you use one or more of these mediums, please ‘like’ and ‘share’ the posts as this is another very effective way to help tell the wider community about our school.

This week (Thurs & Fri), I have the opportunity to spend a few days on retreat. Each year the LESNW Lutheran Principals arrange for a couple of days in August to ‘be still’.  For busy workaholic people this is sometimes very difficult and yet, very needed for most of us.

This year we are in Port Lincoln hosted by Navigator Lutheran College, one of our newer Lutheran schools (Fun facts - the founding Principal was Kaye Mathwin-Cox who was also a founding staff member here at St Peters and our current Council Chair, Tim Geue, is their architect).  We will have some time for discussion and personal reflection as well as getting out and about and seeing what Port Lincoln has to offer (weather permitting).  Personally I find these days very rewarding and I appreciate that School Council allow me the time to attend these important events.  I’ll post some snaps to prove I’m there!

Internet Safety

Our children are/will be using the internet daily to connect with each other and the world around them. It is important to empower families and students to make wise choices, to look after their digital reputation and keep themselves and others safe while navigating the internet, apps and forming their own relationships both online and offline (Carly Ryan Foundation, Project Connect).

As a Primary School, we believe it is crucial that we educate parents and students proactively, so that when the time comes and students are wanting more access to the Internet, parents and children will have the information required to make the best choices possible.

In our Newsletters in Term 3 and 4, we will be featuring a series of information sheets about apps that are currently popular with children from the ages of 4 up to 13 plus. This information is kindly provided for us by the Carly Ryan Foundation.

In the classrooms we routinely educate the children within our Programme of Inquiry about cyber safety, the online world, choosing appropriate games and commenting online.

The best way to keep children and young people safe is to talk with them and be involved in their online world. You will be building your own technology skills, as well as a trusting relationship with your child. They will be more likely to come to you if something worries them.

Parents can:

• help children and young people understand the risks, and practice safe online skills at home and away from home
• supervise online activities and set rules and limits. These can change as children develop their online skills and become more mature
• talk about how and when you will use screen technology in your home. You might agree:
  -  to keep devices in a room that is open (it will be easier to be aware of what children are doing)
  -  that devices will be out of bedrooms after ‘lights out’ as they can interfere with sleep
• make sure children and young people have plenty of technology-free time and develop a range of ‘offline’ skills and interests. Learning to entertain themselves without technology is a skill that needs practice. Physical activity and creative play are important for healthy development
• model safe and responsible use yourself.

(Taken from - Department for Education, Cyber safety)

If you have any issues or questions related to Internet safety or online presence, please speak to your classroom teacher or alternatively, feel free to make an appointment to see me.

Bronwyn Wilson
PYP Coordinator