Being Still 16/5/2017

Issue 14

Be still and know that I am God.

Psalm 46:10

We live in an overscheduled society. Most of us spend time, even on the weekends doing

tasks we have to do instead of the things we want to. We have become so used to a hurried

and frazzled existence that sometimes we are oblivious to the growing physical and emotional

stress that threatens to overwhelm us.

Nowadays people value ‘immediate’ or ‘faster’ everything - immediate or faster connections,

faster food, immediate responses to emails and quick fix religion. Thank goodness our God

won’t stand in line with all the others who want our attention. God said, ‘Be still, and know that

I’m God’. Yet our world tells us that if we are still we are not being productive, not

accomplishing anything, there’s something wrong.

One of my favourite parts of the day is the opportunity to welcome students and parents to

school each morning. It’s my opportunity to ‘slow down’ and connect with students as they

leave your care and enter ours - the St Mark’s family. Morning duty is also an opportunity to

observe how students are travelling and if they need an extra measure of encouragement or

a high five to kick start their day of learning.

As I greet you and the children in the morning I find myself worrying a little as I see so many of

you rushing about to get your children out of the car, collecting bags, making sure toothpaste

is not smeared on faces, pinafores, jumpers or even ties and then just before you drive off

there’s the quick kiss and the whispered words, ‘I love you’.

From God’s word we also learn…

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with

thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Philippians 4:6

While I stand there each morning in the cold or if I’m ‘extra blessed’ in the sunshine, I pray. I

pray that as you leave our school you choose to travel safely and that in the busyness of your

day, you take the time to slow down, be still and just be - be still and acknowledge an all-

powerful God. Take the time this week to join me in thanking Him for our many blessings - the

gift of children, the gift of friendship and family and the gift of forgiveness given to us through

the cross.

Loredana Saracini

Deputy Principal

What’s on at St Mark’s?

A Secret Mission

Today our Year 3 students went on a secret mission and experienced a day in the dark! We would like to

take this opportunity to thank Star Dome from Sci-World for supporting St Mark’s in this exciting endeavour!

Emergency Drill

At St Mark’s the safety of all students is our priority. On Wednesday May 17th we will be practising both our

emergency Evacuation and Lock in procedures.

Dancify

Dancify will continue this coming Wednesday until Wednesday May 30th (Week 5) in the school hall. Please

note students will be required to wear their sports uniform for these sessions.

SAPSASA Cross Country - Friday May 19th

This coming Friday some of our students from Year 4 - Year 6 will be attending the SAPSASA Cross Country

Day. We wish them well.

Chapel

We look forward to this Friday’s chapel beginning at 9:00am in the school hall. This week’s chapel will be led

by Pastor Clayton. Please join us in singing God’s praises for our many blessings here at St Mark’s. Parents,

grandparents, friends, aunts and uncles - all are welcome to stay for coffee and chat with Janene after

worship.

Special Friends & Cancer Council Morning Tea

St Mark’s will once again open its doors to the community with a Special Friends Day on Thursday June 8th.

This is an occasion when students invite a friend, grandparent, aunt, uncle, older sibling or anyone else they

consider to be significant in their lives. The day will begin at 9:30am with Special Friends joining classes for an

activity and perhaps a stroll through the school grounds. From 10:30am our dedicated Parents and Friends

will then host their annual Cancer Council Morning Tea in the school hall. Students will be creating an

invitation to give to their special friend with all of the details of this event in the coming weeks. A photo

booth will also be operating for special friends and students. Students or their special friend will be able to

keep the photo as a memento of the occasion.

Other dates for your diary….

Emergency evacuation drill - May 17th

SAPSASA Cross Country - Friday May 19th

Year 6 Sunday Worship at St Mark’s Sunday May 21st from 10:30am

ICAS Digital Technologies - Tuesday May 23rd

Year 2 Sports Challenge led by Cornerstone College students - Thursday May 25th

House Sports - Friday May 26th

ICAS Science Tuesday May 30th

Year 6 LEAH Day Cornerstone College - Friday June 2nd

Special Friends & Cancer Council Morning Tea - June 8th

Further information about all of these events as well as many others will be communicated through the

school newsletter.

School Band news

Advance notice: There will be no Band rehearsal in Week 5 this term

Instrumental Lessons

If your child is interested in learning an instrument, we have piano, drums, guitar and violin available from

Year 2 onwards. Flute, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, trombone & bass guitar are also available from Year

3 onwards. We have many talented instrumental tutors who provide lessons within the school day.

Enrolment forms are available from the front office.

Sounds on Sunday

Sounds on Sunday will be held at the end of Week 7 on Sunday 18th June from 2-3.30pm in the School

Hall.

The School Band, Senior Choir, Year 3 Recorder classes, Year 4 ukulele classes as well as individual

students and small groups will present an afternoon’s performance of their favourite music. The School

Band and Senior Choir members are required to attend as each student has an important role to play in

this concert. If your child is unable to attend, please inform me in writing.

Instrumental tutors will be working with some children to perform in the concert if they have been

learning their instrument for at least a year and are confidently able to perform on the stage. Proficient

students who learn outside of the school are also very welcome to perform. For these students, forms are

available from the front office and should be returned no later than Friday 9th June. All are welcome to

attend this musical event and then share with us an afternoon tea provided by the school.

Thank you for your support.

Narelle Steffan

Music Coordinator

Congratulations to the students below who will represent St Mark’s at the Hills and Barker District SAPSASA

Cross Country on Friday the 19th of May. We look forward to you representing our school in a positive

manner.

Year 4 - Alisha H, Seb S, Sam H, Lewis F, Callum U, Ella N, Ella S, Mollie W,

Year 5 - Haidyn I, Jayden N, Matthew B, Thomas B, Henry B, Jai Sanders, James S, Sienna L, Brooke S,

Paige C, Cooper L, Eliza B, Brodie M, Oliver H, Alex B, Alecia B, Riley S

Year 6 - Monique R, Sienna M, Harry F, Richard F, Jude D, Arjen K, Cooper R-B, Blake L and Eddie H.

On Friday the 26th of May (Week 4), we have our annual House Sports competition. The Junior

Primary (Foundation – Year 3) will be participating in a number of relay events and the Senior

Primary (Year 4 – 6) will be competing in a round robin competition of; Netball, Soccer or

Football.

Junior Primary students will compete in relays such as Rob the Nest, Dress Up Relay, Over/Under

and a Water Bucket Relay- this will be based at St. Mark’s. Senior Primary students will compete;

Soccer- St. Mark’s Lions Oval, Football- Mount Barker Football Oval and Netball at the YMCA

courts. You are more than welcome to come and support your child at this event. All events will

start at 11am and will conclude before lunch at 1pm.

If you would like to be involved as a scorer, umpire, or supervisor please see Mr. Scott ASAP.

Hope to see you there in your house colours!

EXPLORING THE SEASONS OF GRIEF

There are times in our lives when we experience situations of grief - family breakup, a death in the

immediate family, unemployment or even a serious health issue. These situations can lead to many

emotions that we find difficult to manage; sadness, anger, jealousy, fear, hopelessness, etc.

At St Mark’s when our students are struggling with grief, we offer a program called Seasons for Growth.

Due to the success of this program for our students, we are now able to offer an adult version to parents

and care-givers called Exploring the Seasons of Grief. This program will run over 5 weeks on a Tuesday

night from 7:30pm in St Mark’s Church. The program will commence tonight, May 16th. Please ring the

school office on 83910444 to register. The fee for the program is $25 which will cover the cost of reading

material. A flyer with further information has also been attached to the school newsletter. We are blessed

to have Mrs Monica Irizarry present the program.

If you have any further queries regarding the program, please speak to Janene Overton (Pastoral Support

Worker).

Monica Irizarry...

I am Monica Irizarry, mum to Brooke Strachan in 5H as well as Lauren and Jasmine who now attend

Cornerstone College. I am also a Social Worker at the Adelaide Hills Community Health Service in Mt

Barker. I have been a Social Worker for 23 years and I have a special interest in helping clients who are

experiencing loss, grief and bereavement. I am a facilitator of a small group program for adults called

Exploring the Seasons of Grief. I have been running this program for clients of the health centre for 3 years

and I now look forward to offering the program to members of the school/church community in a

volunteer capacity.

On Sunday 4 June 2017, Mount Barker & Districts Little Athletics will be hosting our very first Cross Country

event, this is open to little athletes aged U6 to U17 (age as at midnight on the 30th September) and will

be held at Keith Stephenson Park Mount Barker from 11.00am to 2.00pm.

More info at www.mbdlac.org.au

Kind regards

Grette Wilkinson

Mt Barker and Districts Little Athletics Centre

MISSING JUMPER

Amelie Hotker is missing her winter jumper which is clearly labelled. Should you

find Amelie’s jumper, please return to the Front Office—Thank you

Foundation enrolments for future years

We are aware that we have a number of existing families with younger brothers

and sisters eligible to start at St Mark’s in the coming years. We also know we do

not have enrolment forms for all future enrolments of younger brothers and sisters.

As we will commence our enrolment process for our Foundation classes in 2019 in

the coming weeks, it is essential that we have received enrolment forms for all

siblings of existing students. This enables us to ensure places are available for

them. Please contact the school office to receive an enrolment form if you have

not yet lodged enrolments forms for future years.

Have you or do you know someone

who has migrated to Australia?

Our Year 6 classes are currently looking at the history of

Australia’s migration as part of our HASS concept of inter-

connections. We would love to participate in interviews

with migrants who have come to Australia. We are particu-

larly looking for people with stories that relate to:

Displaced people from World War 2

Migrants from Asian countries

People who migrated as part of the 10£ Pom or

Bring out a Brit campaigns

Refugees

Migrants seeking better opportunities

If you are or you know of anyone who has migrated to Aus-

tralia due to any of these reasons, or if you have another

great migration story to tell, please send Miss Barolo or Mr

Seidel an email to organise a time to be interviewed.

Thank you!

dbarolo@stmarks.sa.edu.au or scseidel@stmarks.sa.edu.au

Book Club

Book Club order forms have been

handed out. If you wish to place an

order, these may be done online or

handed in to the school office (with

payment) by Wednesday 17th May.

Readers Challenge.

I have received quite a few completed

forms already!! Well done to those

students for achieving this goal so

quickly. The Readers Challenge finishes

in September. Please encourage your

child to bring home some Readers

Challenge books and record them on

the sheet that should be at the back of

their Communication Books (JP). These

can be recognised by a coloured dot

on the front cover : Orange dot

(Foundation – Year 2), Green dot (Year

3-Year 5) and Blue dot (Year 6).

Thank you,

Mrs Paterson

Teacher/Librarian