As we recover from a time of enormous change and uncertainty, we must look to the future with optimism.

It has been a difficult term on so many levels, and whilst a new normal is emerging, a level of uncertainty remains. It is important to not let this hold us back, but to see the opportunities that have presented themselves.

Although challenging, there are a lot of positive lessons and experiences that we can take away, which have the capacity to contribute to a better future.

In the feedback from parents about the offsite learning experience, many of the positive comments were in relation to the opportunity they had to connect with their children, spending time together as a family, and being more involved in their children’s learning journey. That’s a wonderful outcome and something worth hanging onto.

I hope that the upcoming holidays will provide you with further opportunities to spend time together and enjoy our beautiful environment.

Blessings,
Mrs Fenske

The history of humanity is filled with the hostility of one person against another, and hostility of groups against other groups. In Ephesians 2:14, the Apostle Paul deals with the hostility between Jews and Gentiles, which was a problem in both society and the church in his day. And as we have seen in recent weeks and months, through the media, the issue of race is still a problem in the world.

However, Paul did not just raise the issue of hostility between Jews and Gentiles, he offered a solution to the problem. He wrote, “For He is our peace; in His flesh He has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us.” Paul makes the bold statement that Jesus came into the world to tear down the walls of hostility. Because we are forgiven through Christ, we are all one in Christ and every person is our brother or sister, worthy of love and respect.

The Gospel is truly for all people, and the closer we are to God, the closer we become to others. It is only God who can break down the dividing wall of hostility. When we come close to God we become like God, and God is love.

Prayer...

When school resumes for Term 3, Queensland will be into stage 3 of the “Roadmap to Easing Restrictions”, so school chapels and Sunday worship services at the College will still be restricted. Sadly, this means we will not be able to have services on a Sunday in the Peace Centre yet, but we can still continue to have school chapel with restricted numbers and safe social distancing practices.

We will continue to have chapel via Zoom or pre-recorded, with a small number of students in the Peace Centre at the time. If you would like to join us for chapel, we will be able to host a number of guests, but please advise the school that you will be attending so that we can accommodate.

God bless,
Pastor Adam

Hello all. Despite all the challenges, we have had a successful Term 2 with lots to celebrate and you, as our parents, have played an integral part in this.

As we see things return to some normality, it is important to put things in perspective and reflect on the difficulties we have overcome in recent months.

I wish you an enjoyable June break and I hope you have the opportunity to be thankful for the freedoms and opportunities we enjoy in the Far North.

Year 11 and 12 students are in the thick of their assessment and examinations and are putting in a lot of effort to make sure that their semester of hard work is showing dividends.

School reports will be heading home soon and parents and students will have the opportunity to reflect on how well they have done in Semester 1.

Year 11 students have been working hard to step up to the expectations of senior school but, as is typical at the beginning of their senior studies, one or two have initially struggled to manage the workload and pacing of assessment preparation. It is important to be organised with assessment timetables and get started early, however, we continue to see students putting off assignments until a number are due in a short space of time.

I would like to encourage parents to monitor assignment due dates through the Peace Parent Portal, to support your son or daughter in managing these expectations.

We look forward to the opportunity, next term, to discuss with parents how their son’s or daughter’s senior studies are going and perhaps come up with strategies to improve subject outcomes.

Again, restrictions dependent, this will be a face to face or Zoom (video call) format. Details will follow when we can be confident of what will be allowed.

Work experience is an important part of the Year 10 calendar as students get the invaluable opportunity to attend a workplace for a week at the end of Term 3.

Starting with individual interviews in Week 8 of this term, the students began the process of securing suitable placements in a vocation of interest.

In coordination with Vocational Partnerships Group (VPG), Mrs Rebecca Bolton (Careers Guidance Officer) has been guiding the students on their approach to this valuable and often formative experience.

Building on the success of our Year 7 Virtual Information evening, we are planning for a complementary event for our prospective Year 6 students and parents.

Restrictions permitting, this will be an in-person event but we are also planning, for interested parents and students, to be able to Zoom into our information session.

This will provide a great opportunity for our future students and parents to understand the structure and approach to Year 6 and the support provided for transition to senior studies.

Our senior captains have shown considerable leadership in organising and facilitating a number of activities to engage students in exercise and social interaction across all sub-schools, through a range of options.

Drawing Club, Board Game, Ping Pong and Chess Club, sport and game rotations, Friday Quiz, Ukulele & Guitar Club (PUGS), careers support and quiet study areas are some of the activities that have resumed since students have returned.

We are looking forward to extending this next term, with the Middle School Captains lined up for a Friday Quiz and becoming more involved in support of these leadership opportunities.

New ideas are always welcomed, and the captains are currently evaluating the “Talk to Us” suggestion box that has being doing the rounds of the College. All students are provided with the opportunity to suggest activities and initiatives that they are interested in.

Semester 1 reports will be sent home this week. These include two grades for each subject area and a general comment from the Home Group teacher.

The general comment is designed to elaborate on your child’s work ethics and statements around core learning subjects. The reports are based as best as possible on learning seen and evidenced, given the current COIVD19 pandemic.

Parent/teacher interviews are scheduled for Tuesday 21^st and Wednesday 22^nd July 2020 (Week 2 of Term 3).

The format of these interviews will be determined by the government requirements at the time and may be in person or via Zoom.

Booking information will be sent to you and you can manage bookings via the Peace Parent Portal (PPP).

School holidays are a good time to check uniform pieces. We ask for your support in ensuring our uniform standards are adhered to by having the correct uniform.

Jumpers: Currently, with the colder weather, there are students who wearing jumpers to school that are not part of the College uniform.

Shoes: The correct shoes also need to be worn - shoes for our formal uniform are black leather shoes.

Hats: Thoroughly washing hats over this break and ensuring they are relabelled will also assist students.

If you are unsure about the correct uniform, please make contact with the College or view our Uniform Standards - Students Dress Code policy.

The College has a number of students who have allergies to nuts and nut products. To help us manage the health and safety of our students we ask families to please refrain from packing nut products in lunch boxes.

Thank you for your support and understanding with this very important matter.

It is common for girls to sometimes experience ups and downs with friendships - we find this particularly so in the Year 4 age group. It is an age when girls are starting to develop their own thoughts and feelings around friendships, but are often missing the support strategies needed to make and keep friends.

Each year, our Student Welfare Officer, Miss Chantal Moritmer, and myself, run a five week program for the girls talking through some of these issues and completing practical activities to support them.

We have made friendship soup, looked at our own friendship traits, and had some honest conversations about how we harm friendships. We have looked at verbal and non-verbal communication, using "I" messages and the golden rule.

We finished the program last week by writing “Friendship Wanted Ads”...

Thank you to Mr Dunsmuir for putting together a great cross country event.

The course was changed to ensure parents could watch all races and we Zoomed the finish line and presentations.

Thank you to parents who cheered on the students from behind the fence. It was a great atmosphere, despite not being able to be altogether.

Congratulations to Red Emperors for their win.

Thank you for all you support during this challenging and different term. I have been extremely proud of our community, our teachers, our parents and our students.

The learning curve has been steep but together we have achieved something great!

Enjoy a safe, healthy and happy holiday break. See you all on Monday 13^th July for the start of Term 3.

As the term closes, hopefully so does our COVID chapter. It certainly has been a very strange experience for us all, not just for the students and staff who have been at the College during this time, but also the students who have had to remain at home.

By the time many of the students return it will have been over seventeen weeks since they have been at school and most likely the longest period of time that they have been with their families since they started their boarding careers.

There are certainly mixed emotions for those who are still here as they have really enjoyed the space, quiet times and extra attention they have been receiving, however, on the other hand, they have missed the comradery, noise and vibrancy that a full boarding House provides. We will face some new challenges at the beginning of next term as the current and returning students adjust to living as one again, but, it’s fair to say we are all excited and looking forward to normality being restored.

Thank You
A big thank you to our House Parents and gap students who have been looking after our boarders throughout this term. With limited opportunities to go anywhere or do anything, the staff have been creative in the way they have entertained the boarders on weekends, and that included lots of muffin making, arts and crafts and barbeques.

It has been a challenging time and they have certainly served our community with care and compassion and we sincerely thank them for it.

Farewell Chris
Chris Crowson came to us at the beginning of this year as a Gap student from England and has been working within our boys boarding house as well as the Boarders Recreation Centre. It is fair to say his gap experience has not been exactly what he was probably dreaming about due to the COVID19 situation, but he has made the most of his opportunities and enjoyed his time. We wish Chris all the very best.

Happy Holidays
To our boarders and families, we wish you a happy holiday break and look forward to seeing you all return for the start of Term 3.

There are always positives in every scenario and we have been able to use the reduced number of boarders as a time to reorganise the rooming configurations of the Boarding Houses. What once were open plan sleeping arrangements have been transformed into paired accommodation for our Year 7 and 8 boarders and single cubicle-style rooms for our seniors.

Every room provides privacy for the students that they haven’t had before and the feedback from the boarders who have been trialling the new layout has been overwhelmingly positive. We are really looking forward to seeing how our returning boarders enjoy the new rooms.

Late last week Lara Asinari, House Parent of Frieden House advised that she would be resigning from her position at the end of the Term. Lara has been in her position since the beginning of Term 4 last year and in a short time has had an impact on the House.

We thank Lara for her service and commitment to the boys and their families and wish her well for her future endeavours.

For any families in the Peace Community who may want their child to experience boarding life, we have weekly and/or temporary boarding options available and our staff are ready to welcome new students into our community.

Should you wish to discuss boarding opportunities for your child, please feel free to get in touch with me at the College.

We are currently advertising for Boarding Supervisors and are offering between 13 and 20 hours per week of work, commencing Term 3.

The positions involve supervising our boarding students both during the week and on weekends.

The positions would be very suitable for anyone at university who is looking to work with children in the future.

If you know of someone who might be interested please ask them to contact the College.

Swimming Carnival

The 2020 school year started well with a fantastic inter-House Swimming Carnival held at Smithfield Pool. Middle and Senior School students had an encouraging level of participation and lots of House spirit, with Green Eagles winning what would be our only carnival in Semester One.

CISSA Sport
The CISSA Sport competition for Year 10 – 12 students was interrupted by COVID-19 and eventually cancelled. This was very unfortunate as a number of our teams were highly placed in their division.

Even though the actual competition was cancelled, our students represented Peace Lutheran College with pride, and coaches have decided on the following award winners:

*Best & Fairest - The player showing both skill and high standards of sportsmanship.
**Spirit of Peace - The player with a positive attitude who always finds a way to make a contribution to the team.

Sport is slowly returning to normal which will allow our Middle School students in Years 7 – 9 to participate in the Junior Secondary Sport (JSS) competition.

This competition will start on Wednesday of Week 1 in Term 3, and we will field teams in Volleyball, Basketball, Soccer, Touch Football, Netball and AFL. The schools we will compete against are Cairns High, Saints (St Augustine’s & St Monica’s), St Andrew’s and St Mary’s.

We are also hoping to reschedule our postponed Cross Country and Athletics Carnivals in Term 3.

There will be no TCN or Peninsula competitions for these sports so our carnivals will be for House competition and Age Champions.

Congratulations to our 2020 Junior Cross Country age champions:

• Prep - Havana and Alfie
• Year 1 - Eve and William
• Year 2 - Hannah and Ruben
• Year 3/4 - Kara and Sebastian
• Born 2010 - Saffryn and Toby

Reading for the 2020 Premier's Reading Challenge has now commenced and a number of super-readers have already handed in their completed reading logs.

Students are encourage to read any books suited to their reading level, to help foster a love of reading and lifelong learning.

To pass the challenge, students must read:

• Prep to Year 2 – Read or experience 20 books
• Years 3 and 4 – Read 20 books
• Years 5 to 9 – Read 15 books

Complete the Reading Log and return it to your class or home group teacher, or to the Learning Centre by 28^th August 2020.

The Children’s Book Council of Australia have held back celebrations for Book Week 2020. Book week will now be held in Term 4 during the week of 19th - 23rd October 2020.

This year’s theme is Curious Creatures, Wild Minds.

Students will have the opportunity to dress up as their favourite character for the Book Week parade and participate in loads of Book Week activities, including Book Fair.

Have you ever wondered what the most popular books are and who are the Learning Centre's biggest borrowers?

Most Popular Books

• Picture Book – "Don’t Let the Pidgeon Drive the Bus", by Mo Willems
• Fiction – "Just Crazy", by Andy Griffiths
• Junior e-Book – "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Getaway", by Jeff Kinney
• Graphic Novel – "Dog Man: Brawl of the Wild", by Dav Pilkey
• Middle/Senior Fiction – "Hunger Games", by Suzanne Collins
• Middle/Senior e-Book – "Eragon", by Christopher Paolini
• Non-Fiction – "Big Cats", by Sujathar Menon

Super Reading Stars

Students who have borrowed the most books:

• Aapti in Year 3 (print books)
• Layla in Year 5 (ebooks)

Registration for both Academic and Boarding Scholarships is now open.

Scholarships are awarded on academic merit and determined through examinations and an interview with the Principal.

Visit the College website for more information and to register.

In Week 3 of Term 3 - 29th and 30th July - the College will have a professional film crew on campus photographing and videoing various locations around the College as part of a virtual tour we are having produced.

Areas to be filmed will include some classrooms, specialist facilities and outdoor recess areas, and will include also students undertaking and/or participating in normal lesson and/or recess activities.

If you have any queries, or any concerns about your child being included in this filming, please contact our Marketing Department prior to the event taking place.

As previously communicated, our Uniform Standards - School Dress Code has been updated.

We wish to advise that due to delivery delays caused by COVID-19, our uniform supplier, Uniform Link, is currently unable to supply the Middle School Girls Shorts.

If your child wishes to wear shorts as part of their formal uniform prior to the arrival of the new uniform pieces, as an interim measure, girls will be allowed to wear alternative tailored, navy blue shorts, or they may wear the Boys Shorts.

PLEASE NOTE:

• Alternative shorts must be of a 'formal' or 'tailored' style short, i.e. not leisure wear type shorts nor the College sports uniform shorts.
• Shorts must align with the College colours, i.e. navy blue.
• Once the official Girls Shorts arrive and are available to purchase from Uniform Link, any alternative shorts worn during the interim period will need to be replaced by the official uniform piece.

Boarding Supervisor

The College is currently advertising for Boarding Supervisors. The positions would require between 13 and 20 hours per week, commencing at the beginning of Term 3.

The positions involve supervising our boarding students both during the week and on weekends.

This opportunity could possibly be very suitable for someone at university who is looking to work with children in the future.

If you know of someone who might be interested, please ask them to contact the College.

We encourage you to support our school by purchasing an Entertainment membership!

20% of all membership proceeds come directly back to our school as part of our fundraising efforts!

Become a member or renew today and receive:

• 2 months extra membership FREE on Single & Multi-City Memberships
• Bonus $10 or $20 WISH eGift Card
• Bonus $50 Discover Queensland holiday voucher with every purchase

Terms and Conditions apply.

Purchase a membership and take advantage of lots of savings just in time for the school holidays.

PLEASE NOTE: In the event of unforeseen circumstances the above events and associated dates may be subject to change. Please check the Peace Lutheran College website for the most up to date calendar information.

We strive to keep you informed through open, efficient communication. The Peace Lutheran College School App, Facebook and Instagram pages are regularly updated with news, events and important notices.