Learning Futures – Learning Now!

Over the past 6 months, I, along with Mrs Coreta Lennon and Mrs. Rebekah Bruyn have regularly joined other Lutheran Educators from across Australia with Louka Parry from The Learning Future to examine the needs of education in a constantly changing world. We can easily acknowledge that the world is changing at the fastest rate in human history, transforming the ways we live, work, and learn.

As a group we’ve been challenged by the discussions, research, data, and stories of educators striving to create learning environments and structures that develop students now and into the future—a future that needs to include an emphasis on learning, social and personal capabilities. It has been a privilege to learn in this space and be inspired by outstanding educators.

But what does this mean for our learning at PoP?

• How do we need to change and consider what is happening for the benefit of the students in our care?
• Do we consider what best practice was 20, 15 or even 10 years ago, is still best practice now?
• What do we keep? What do we tweak? What do we transform?
• What will our learning spaces look like in the future?

We have already started the journey:

• The work our teachers are doing in Project Based Learning and Inquiry; linking subjects with key concepts that intersect with real world experiences is underway.
• The way our students use technology as a tool in their learning has been in place for some time now.
• The work of our Year 6 teaching team in Area 6 (formally the Library) who work in a collaborative and flexible way to benefit the needs of students.
• The emphasis on communication skills, empathy, creativity, initiative, resilience, adaptability and collaboration as essential skills is being strengthened.

There is much to do as we walk together to prepare for the future.

Timetable Review

This term the staff have been looking closely at the structure of our timetable on the Junior Campus.  Is it meeting the needs of our students in their learning and playing?  Are there some tweaks we could make to improve learning? What evidence can we gather from other schools about the impact of possible changes?   We’ve come up with some ideas but nothing is set in concrete yet.  Here are a few of our initial thoughts.

• A longer morning session for learning. Teachers have long known that productive periods of learning occurs in the morning when students are fresh. Students would be encouraged to bring a small “Munch and Crunch” healthy snack for the morning session and of course the class teacher would build in a movement break to keep the learning momentum.
• Play and eating breaks of different lengths. First Break of the day is longer after the long learning session. The second play and eating break being shorter.  Less time in the hotter part of the day.
• Eating at the end of playtime. Many schools have started this with the positive effect on a calmer entry back to class for lessons that follow the break.  Older students often settle and eat as they are not rushing off to play.

While this review is not finalised yet, we are considering some changes on the Junior Campus.  Please note the start and finish times of the school day will remain the same and the changes, once finalised will start in 2023.  Please let us know if you have any amazing ideas as we value your input too.

Farewell Mr Barben

It was with sadness that I accepted Mr Barben’s resignation this past fortnight. Mr Barben will leave PoP at the end of the year to work in Melbourne.

Mr Barben has had a positive impact on PE and Sport on the Junior Campus. Many a time I have bounced through their classes in The Shed, joined one of the skill rotations and heard encouragement for all things sport as students have thrived in the PE environment.  The number of students participating and trying out for District sports teams has increased this year and we’ve continued to participate in NISSA Gala Days and Carnivals.  Providing information and organising these events is a huge job and never easy, so thank you MJ.

I am sure you will join me in thanking Mr Barben for their work this year and pray every blessing for the adventure ahead.

Class Placements—2023

Most families across the College are aware of the cautious stance taken when inviting class placement requests from families. I have children of my own and understand how much they would love to be placed with their best friend, or a preferred teacher that a sibling may have had. I also realise how important it is for them to grow as individuals and not be reliant on others for their academic and social successes.

I encourage all families, as we enter the final term of the 2022 school year, to allow their children to grow spiritually, emotionally, academically, socially and independently as they transition to their new 2023 class. I strongly encourage parents to place faith in the judgments and insights that our teaching staff have into individual students and their school persona.

I have the highest regard for the insights that our teachers offer into the placement of students for the following year. I also have the highest regard for the quality and competency of each of our teaching staff in their professional capacity as educators. Each classroom teacher also seeks feedback from their students on their friends from this year. This assists with the construction of class lists for the following year.

As in previous years, any request for a specific classroom teacher will not be considered. As you can appreciate, staff movement amongst year levels is inevitable, and therefore specific teacher requests often become redundant. However, if you believe there is an important consideration (that sits outside of friendship and teacher requests) that needs to be taken into account when placing your child for 2023, please submit this request in writing to the attention of Mrs Anne-Marie Schmidt. My commitment to you is that such requests will be considered, however, please understand that no guarantees can be made.

Ultimately, I will be guided by our teaching staff and their knowledge of your child, as well as any pertinent information you may be able to provide in relation to your child’s specific learning needs. Please ensure that these requests are submitted in writing by Friday 14 October, 2022. Thank you for your assistance in ensuring the complex process of class placements for the 2023 school year is attended to in the most equitable and professional manner possible. Please be aware that once class placements have been allocated, there will be no further movement of class arrangements except in exceptional or uncontrollable circumstances.

Did You Love Book Week?

Thank you to everyone for participating in Book Week.  We looked amazing, we laughed, we had fun and we celebrated stories.  Thank you to the Year 6 students who read to us during Book and Blanket, to the School Captains who quizzed us during the parade, for parents who came and cheered and helped with the costumes and the Kindy for being super cute.

Be blessed,

Anne-Marie Schmidt
Head of Campus – Junior

Middle & Senior Campus Sport

Met North Track and Field Carnival

Congratulations to the following athletes who attended the Met North Track and Field Carnival on 24-26 August at the UQ Sport Athletics Centre: Hannes Forbes-Schutz, Freya Forbes-Schutz, Jonas Forbes-Schutz, Addison Houslip, Kristjna Mikulec, Chloe Noon, Heidi Noon, Alex Schmidtchen, Finn Sorpassa, Dylan Turley, Luke Turner, Sean Turner and Harry Valencia.

It was the first time since 2019 that the carnival had been run and it was clear to see the students were relishing the chance to perform on a bigger stage. Lots of records were broken, with our very own Addison Houslip breaking the 1500m record by a whopping 6 seconds! As well as this result, Addie also won the 800m which will see her progress through to the State Championships for both events. Well done!

Joining Addie at the State Champs will be Heidi and Chloe Noon, with both girls qualifying for the 800m and 1500m. Chloe finished 2nd in the 1500m and 3rd in the 800m, with Heidi finishing 2nd in the 800m and 3rd in the 1500m. A wonderful achievement for both girls, particularly Heidi as it will be her last year competing at the event.

We are still awaiting confirmation from Met North about some other events, with a number of our students nominating for longer distance races as well as the steeplechase. We are hoping we hear about these in the coming days and will update you in the next POPCORN article.

Finally, a special thanks to Sue Noon, Rosemary Cameron, Katrina Voss and Rachel Denning for supporting our students throughout the carnival.

National Cross Country Championships

Congratulations to Hannes Forbes-Schutz and Jonas Forbes-Schutz who attended the National Cross Country Championships last week in South Australia. The boys performed well, in wet and muddy conditions. Well done gents!

StreetSmart Junior Boys Cricket Team

Our Junior Cricket team travelled out in Week 3 to Brendale Sporting Complex to play Ferny Grove State High School in a T20 match. The boys showed great enthusiasm and sportsmanship throughout the day in both preparation and play. Despite our Juniors unfortunately losing on the day, each of the boys expressed that they had a blast. Hopefully the boys that attended on the day are still as enthusiastic and committed in future, to come out swinging next year.

Well done to the following students for their participation in the competition: Thomas Gilfillan, Wyatt Handley, Isaac Jones, Thomas Quine, George Fletcher, Chris Doyle, Lucas Pattison, Eli Johnson, Declan Spain, Sam Tweedale and Taj Austin.

StreetSmart Open Boys Cricket Team

Our Open boys team travelled to Gympie on 29 August to participate in the Area Central Finals of the StreetSmart T20 competition. The team played their first game against Matthew Flinders Anglican College, who are a well-known team on the Sunshine Coast. We lost a few early wickets, before Ryan Pustolla and Ryan Eaglestone started to steady the ship. There was some good lower order batting from Lachlan Robson which helped us see out the 20 overs. Unfortunately, Matthew Flinders came in to bat and achieved our total within the 20 overs to take the win. Some good bowling was seen from Elijah Walsh, Ryan Eaglestone and Lucas Cantarella.

The second game of the day was against Shalom College, Bundaberg. Again we were able to take some early wickets, through Dylan Turley and Elijah Walsh, before their middle order struck up an entertaining partnership. Setting a rather imposing total, Elijah Walsh was the pick of our batters, top scoring on 29. He played some beautiful strokes and put the pressure back onto the fielding team. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to take the win, with Shalom bowling us out just before the end of the 20 overs. A special mention to Jeremy Schofield—Jeremy had never played cricket before and was active in the field and nearly managed to take a screamer of a catch. He also had a go at batting and managed to get a hit.

Well done to all members, you represented the College well: Elijah Walsh, Ryan Eaglestone, Ryan Pustolla, Lucas Cantarella, Toby Kenyon, Dylan Turley, Lachlan Robson, Nathan Lilly, Jeremy Schofield, Thomas Lefevre, Raggy Nagpal and Leon Fletcher.

All Schools Challenge: Aus Cycling

Best of luck to Thomas Tucker who will be competing on the Gold Coast this weekend in the Shimano National All Schools Cycling Challenge. Tom is a very talented BMX racer who will be looking to add this title to his already impressive resume. Good luck Tom!

Gabby Collman
Sports Coordinator
HPE, Science and Mathematics Teacher

Worship

Sunday 4 September

9am Worship

Youth@PoP — 3:30 to 5pm.

5pm Together@5 

Please keep an eye on the Prince of Peace Church Facebook page for service updates.

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