Faith Focus

Term

3 W

eek

1

You don’t have to look too far to see how easily we find different ways of looking at situations. From time to time, the internet goes viral as we debate what we can hear (Yanny or Laurel?) or which colour we see a dress (blue or gold?). Our politicians and leaders are both widely praised and criticised for the same decision. Imagine trying to be an umpire in professional sports and have any sort of agreement that the correct decision has been made. At my optimistic best, I can look at the Crows season to date and see an exciting rebuild as new and young players begin the growth into future champions, while most see the worst Crows team ever to begin a season.

Our staff devotion on Monday encouraged us to start our term by adopting a gratitude mindset. Each and every day, we can be guaranteed to experience a range of circumstances. During each day, there will be a mixture of expectations both being met and not being met. Studies have shown how adopting an intentional gratitude mindset leads to a range of wellbeing and health benefits.

I think Martin Luther was onto this some 500 years ago. He knew that how he started the day and what he focused on, would greatly influence the way he saw each situation. In his small catechism he says ‘In the morning, when you rise, make the sign of the cross and say “In the name of the Father, the son and the Holy Spirit”. I’ve read it paraphrased as something like ‘before your feet hit the floor, remember God and his great love for you. Remember he has made you his own, through grace.’ Luther faced some incredible challenges amongst the joys of his life, but remembering God loved him as he started each day, provided a peace and gratefulness that was unshakeable.

As we begin this new term together, I will be taking on board the advice to practice habits of gratitude and encouraging us as St Mark’s, to do this together. And I’ll be trying to remember that before my feet hit the floor, I start the day knowing God’s love for me, and letting that be the colour on my day.

2020

James Heyne

Buddies are back! Another activity we have been able to restart in Term 3.

Important BitsPrincipal PonderingsIt’s been wonderful to add a few more of our usual activities into school life again. Our first whole school chapel service on Monday, students working in groups across classes, our lunchtime SRC clubs, Janene’s lunch club and chess club. Working and playing together with others is something our students value and enjoy.

As I outlined in my memo last week, we will continue to plan events such as concert, in line with current restrictions but be ready to open them up further if permitted to do so.

Thank you for the social distancing and moving to classrooms via outside entrances rather than our corridors.

School PhotosSchool photo day has been scheduled for Monday, 10th August. Please ensure full winter uniform is worn, if you have sport lessons scheduled that day, please bring your sport uniform along.

If you have already returned your order form in Term 1, there is no need to amend it, but if you haven’t returned a form, please do as soon as possible.

2021 And 2022 Foundation EnrolmentsYou may have noticed our banners and signs around Mt Barker, or seen a pop up on your Facebook or google feeds advertising an opportunity for enrolments in 2021 and beyond.We are now back into our usual enrolment processes for all Year levels in 2021 and Foundation 2022.

We will be writing to current school families who we have enrolment details for a child to begin Foundation in 2022. If you don’t receive a letter from us next week, please contact the office as we may not have you on our 2022 list.

Welcome To New FamiliesIt’s always great to welcome new famillies into our community. This term we have 6 new students: Tilda (6B); Zac (5SM); Will (5A); Elsie and Alexey (3L); and Lachlan (2S). We trust you and your families enjoy your time here and quickly feel part of St Mark’s.

What is Book Fair?Each Book Fair is designed to give children access to more books from relevant new-releases to classic award winners. All profits benefit the school, so our school library resources will be growing as well.

Book Fair VisitsDue to current situation with Covid19 we are having to make some changes to how Book Fair is accessed. This will impact the number of parents and children that can be in the Library before and after school. Please see the schedule below.

Novelty Items/PostersChildren will still be able to visit Book Fair with their class teacher to shop for small items but there will not be as many novelty items available for purchase. Items will be covered and will not be able to be handled by children.

Tuesday 4th AugustBefore School 8.15 - 9am Foundation Parents9:00 - FH9:30 - 1M10:00 - 1D10:30 - 2S11:25 - 2K11:55 - 4S12:25 - 4BLunch Time - Year 5 Book buying1:45 - 6SP2:15 - 6BAfter School 3-4pmYear 1 and 2K Parents

Wednesday 5th AugustBefore School 8.15 - 9amYear 2S and 3L Parents9:00 - FS9:30 - 3L10:00 - 5SM10:30 - 5ALunch Time - Year 6 Book buyingAfter School 3-4pm Year 4 and 5A Parents

Thursday 6th AugustBefore School 8.15 - 9amYear 5SM and Year 6 ParentsLunch Time - Year 4 Book buyingAfter School 3 - 4pmAny parents that couldn’t make allocated times.

ATTENTION ALL FAMILIES!From now on, all tuition payments are being

managed by the school.

Contact our Business Manager, Cameron Wright via the school office on 8391 0444 or email

cwright@stmarks.sa.edu.au with any enquiries.

Coming Up July Thursday 23rd SRC Nominations Due

Friday 24th No Chapel SRC Candidate Speeches

Wednesday 29th Band Rehearsal, 8.20am

Friday 31st Chapel, 9am SRC Members Announcement and Blessing

David from Chesslife coaching the children in Chess Club.

SAPSASA News SAPSASA Sport is returning with modified rules and procedures to keep our students safe.

Year 6/7 SAPSASA Hockey and Soccer trials have begun and other sports will be advertised soon, e.g. football and netball. Students will be invited to take home a consent form if they are interested. For further information please contact Mr Scott.

Save the Date!School Photo Day

Monday10th of August

Full Winter Uniform

Extra Activities Return!It was an amazing buzz in the school this week as we started to return to some kind of normalcy with activities we haven’t been able to enjoy for the past 4 months.

Janene’s Lunch Club started up again on Tuesday this week with plenty of laughs! Years 5-6 are welcome and generally learn a variety of different crafts like quilling, card making and scrapbooking.

Year 5’s were pleased to meet their new Year 1 buddies for Term 3.

They played a maths subtraction game called Free the Bears.

Throughout the term they will meet for learning, games and sometimes even eat lunch together.it’s a wonderful way to connect our student community across the year levels.

Art Club began again in the library on Tuesday for some budding cartoonists.

Great comics boys!

Chess Club began again on Tuesday and was very well attended. Chesslife run the weekly coaching sessions in the library at recess time at a cost of $5 a session. If your child is interested you can register through their website https://www.chesslife.com.au/.

So far, a great and busy start to the term!

School LifeSRC News

RE: Student Representative Council (SRC) - Semester 2 - 2020

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

A Student Representative Council or SRC is a group of students in a school elected by their fellow students. At St Mark’s, the SRC organises ways for students to participate and contribute to their school community. Our SRC consists of a student from each class from Foundation to Year 6. In previous years, the Semester 1 SRC serve for just one semester (1/2 year). Exceptions to this have been; Foundation classes wait until Semester 2 to elect two representatives each and the School Captains (Year 6 reps) both serve for the entire year.

Due to the restrictions of Covid-19, our Semester 1 SRC were not given the opportunity to fulfil their role as they would have been able to in previous years. Therefore, we are inviting Semester 1 SRC to continue in their role of leadership for the remainder of 2020 but also provide an opportunity for others who wish to join the SRC in Semester 2 to stand for election in Week 1 of Term 3.

On Tuesday July 21st (Week 1, Term 3), students in Foundation to Year 5 will be invited to consider nominating themselves for election to the SRC in Semester 2.

SEMESTER 2 FOUNDATION S boy and girl representative FOUNDATION H boy and girl representative 1 D girl representative 1 M boy representative 2 K girl representative 2 S boy representative 3 L girl and boy representative 4 S girl representative 4 OW boy representative 5 A girl representative 5 SM boy representative

Students from Foundation to Year 2 are asked to prepare a short speech (under 30 seconds), which can be read, about why they would like to be on the SRC. Year 3-4 should aim for a 1 minute speech and Year 5’s should be prepared to speak for 1 ½ - 2 minutes. No promises of what will be delivered are allowed, nor bribes to achieve votes.

SRC members must be willing to attend regular meetings to share what they have discussed during class meetings or to assist in the organisation of assemblies or school events. These are often held during lunchbreaks.

A general guide for the speech is: ‘Good morning. My name is …… I would like to be on the SRC because…..’ (Foundation students may like to use this sentence only and just insert their name and one reason why they would like to be on the SRC).

On Thursday July 23rd, class teachers will ask for the names of students wishing to nominate themselves. On Friday July 24th, speeches will be delivered in classrooms and the preferential voting system will be used to determine the outcome of the election. SRC members for Semester 2 will be announced by the Principal after Friday Chapel in Week 2.

Students are not permitted to serve on the SRC for two consecutive years except for the School Captains who may be previous SRC representatives from a Year 5 class. If you have any questions, please see your class teacher or myself.

Loredana Saracini Deputy Principal June 25th, 2020

School LifeWelcome back to school!

Last night, we had our first meeting since March and it was so great to see everyone again. Please stay tuned to find out about the events we are planning for the community for the remainder of the year, starting with the...

P and F Student DiscoSave the Date

Saturday, 22nd August Many Blessings,Deb Zimmermann

Issue 5 Book Club order forms have been sent home this week. Orders and payment are due in by Friday 7th August.

** Please note that BOOK FAIR will be running during this week so you may wish to save your orders to support our Fair. **

Readers Challenge finish date is fast approaching! There are only about 6 weeks left for those wanting to complete the challenge this year. Make sure completed forms are handed in to classroom teachers or Mrs. Paterson or there may be some disappointed children missing out on medals.

Band NewsMr Janus hit the ground running with band rehearsal starting again this week. You may see a preview of one of their performance pieces on Facebook in the next few weeks.

Year 6 Parliamentary ProceedingsDemocracy provides individuals with a voice to create change fairly. Our Year 6 students are no more! We now have 56 politicians working diligently to make some serious change.

On Tuesday morning, our Year 6 students were welcomed in the Library to begin their inquiry into the Australian government. They returned to their classrooms which had been draped in the colour green, the colour of the House of Representatives. Desks had been moved to form the House including a position for our cross benchers.

Each student has now taken on the role of a parliamentarian… a member of the Liberal Party, the Australian Labour Party or a member of one of our minor parties!

Soon we will go to battle through what we expect will be some very interesting debates.

Achievement Awards Congratulations

Jake S (1D) • Sophie M (2K)Lucas M (4S) • Angus H (5A)

Isla N (5SM)

who received Awards at our Week 9 ‘virtual’ Assembly last term.

New Pedestrian AccessIt’s been operational for a while, but some of you may not have seen our new pedestrian access gate to the back of the school off Exhibition Rd.

The gate opens up to a new garden and student seating area. This is only the beginning, some other exciting building upgrades are planned for later in the year.

Is This Yours?A child’s navy Drizabone jacket has been found, please contact the front office if it is yours.

Community Life

School Life Get That Diary Out!Year 2 ScienceOur Year 2 scientists performed a ‘Travelling Ink’ experiment this week to discover which colours different black inks were comprised of.

They were surprised to note that many colours ‘travelled’ out of their black ink, and then were inspired to discover if the experiment worked similarly with other ink colours.

St Mark’s JAFFA Junior Youth welcomes children

in Years 4-7.

JAFFA’s next event is a

KAHOOT QUIZ & GAMES AFTERNOONDo you have quick reflexes to be able to click the right answer

before everyone else?Do you enjoy using new Apps and new types of technology?

Are you naturally competitive?

If you are up for the task??So come along, bring a ‘quick firing brain’ and some friends to challenge and have fun with.

Sunday 2nd August 20203-5pm in St Mark’s School Library

Bring: $3.00, enthusiasm and your friendsJAFFA Junior Youth (school years 4-7): Contact - Emma Graetz

0418 898 430 or emmagraetz@gmail.com for any questions and to RSVP by 31 July 2020.

There are registration forms for new families to complete upon arrival to the first JAFFA event or you can get one from Emma when you RSVP

attendance.

St Mark’s JAFFA Junior Youth welcomes children

in Years 4-7.

JAFFA’s next event is a

KAHOOT QUIZ & GAMES AFTERNOONDo you have quick reflexes to be able to click the right answer

before everyone else?Do you enjoy using new Apps and new types of technology?

Are you naturally competitive?

If you are up for the task??So come along, bring a ‘quick firing brain’ and some friends to challenge and have fun with.

Sunday 2nd August 20203-5pm in St Mark’s School Library

Bring: $3.00, enthusiasm and your friendsJAFFA Junior Youth (school years 4-7): Contact - Emma Graetz

0418 898 430 or emmagraetz@gmail.com for any questions and to RSVP by 31 July 2020.

There are registration forms for new families to complete upon arrival to the first JAFFA event or you can get one from Emma when you RSVP

attendance.

July Thursday 23rd SRC Nominations Due

Friday 24th No Chapel SRC Candidate Speeches

Wednesday 29th Band Rehearsal, 8.20am

Friday 31st Chapel, 9am SRC Members Announcement and Blessing

August Tuesday 4th Assembly, 9am Book Fair

Wednesday 5th Band Rehearsal, 8.20am Book Fair

Thursday 6th Book Fair

Friday 7th Chapel, 9am - led by Pastor Ben Book Club Orders Due today Book Fair

Monday 10th Photo Day, full winter uniform to be worn.

Tuesday 18th Assembly, 9am School Council Meeting, 7pm - Staff room

Wednesday 19th Band Rehearsal, 8.20am

Friday 20th Chapel, 9am

ExcursionsYear 2 - Friday 28th AugustYear 3 - 7th/8th SeptemberYear 4 - 27th/28th AugustYear 5 - 2nd/3rd September

Senior Primary ConcertWednesday 23rd SeptemberMatinee 9am, 11 amEvening Performance - 7pm

Thursday 24th SeptemberEvening Performance - 7pm

End of TermFriday 25th September