Term 3 Week 1 20th July 2012 - St Columba Anglican School

Term 3 Week 1 20th July 2012
ALL THE LATEST NEWS FROM ST COLUMBA ANGLICAN SCHOOL PORT MACQUARIE
From the Principal…
Our school bags are tough. I have seen bags, bought in junior high school, still being used on university campuses. They are not cheap,
but treated well (and even treated with disregard) they will serve their purpose.
For me the problem is not the quality of the bags but the issue of the weight they often carry.
Speaking to students at the bus bay, they often ask me to pick up their bag so that I can see how much it weighs. They are often
inordinately heavy. These students are not complaining. They see the weight of the bag as a badge of honour - something they are
proud of. But this may be bad for their development - physically and educationally.
Is your child’s heavy schoolbag harming their health? 24/04/2012 By Sean McDougall
For most parents, it’s an achievement to get the children to school in time with everything they need (homework, the signed
consent forms, the right sports gear, musical instruments, the cake for the class party).
But it seems we should also now be weighing their school bags. The combined weight of everything they are having to carry to and
from school is causing growing concern among back specialists. Eighty per cent of children regularly carry bags that are up to 20
per cent of their body weight on their back, according to research from BackCare.
The weight of the bags is not always a sign that the school is demanding too much homework. It is more often a sign that the student
has chosen not to organise what they really need for homework. It is more a sign that they throw everything into the bag rather than
think about what they need. Weight does not necessarily indicate the amount of work being done!
We provide good lockers to facilitate sensible management of texts, folders etc, but are they used effectively?
These overloaded bags are also a symbol of what will soon be changing in education.
With more and more textbooks being produced on disc, or downloaded onto the myriad of electronic devices, the heavy and
expensive textbooks of the past (anyone remember the hardcover Messel Science books?) will soon be a thing of the past.
With modern educational technology, students will be able to plan, research, collaborate, review, complete and display work on
devices that weigh less than a kilogram.
“Twenty pounds of textbooks in a backpack hauled home every night tells me a few things. One thing it tells me is that the curriculum
and instruction in our schools is still too focused on what is contained within textbooks rather than on 21st century problem solving,
collaborative learning and authentic learning. Replacing my son’s backpack three times because the weight of the textbooks ripped
them apart bothers me. But what bothers me more is the way in which the books are being used.” History Tech blog
As we move towards a more effective use of technology to enhance teaching and learning, I hope that the overloaded backpack will
become a thing of the past.
Learning modes and processes are changing with increasing speed. Soon the necessity to carry multiple folders, computer discs (even
thumb-drives), textbooks and written assignments (so easily and regularly misplaced between home and the hand-in, and so often the
subject of plaintive and panic-fuelled phone calls to parents) will be a thing of the past.
In the interests of developing physiology and developing minds, the loss of the heavy school backpack cannot come soon enough.
“I think 20 pounds of textbooks is too much – not because I don’t want my kid to work hard but because I’m afraid he’s being asked
to work hard on things that won’t do him a whole lot of good five, ten and 20 years from now.”
Terry Muldoon
Principal
The Columban Page 1

Talent Show 2012
The SCAS Talent Show held on Columba
Day was a huge success. Students
showcased a fantastic array of talents,
and reminded us yet again what a
diverse and talented group of students
we have at SCAS.
The Columban Page 2

The “Friends of the Creative Arts” is a group of dedicated and enthusiastic parents and friends who
provide support to the Creative Arts Department at SCAS.
The group has assisted by running barbeques for visiting school bands, and by organising several successful
fundraising events, raising almost $10,000 over the last 15 months.
These funds have been used to purchase additional resources for the Creative Arts Department from
Kindergarten to Year 12—musical instruments to loan to students, percussion items, a double bass for
the Primary School Strings Programme, a choir riser and more!
The “Friends” would welcome any parents or friends who wish to be part of this fantastic group and
help in their support of the Creative Arts Department. Please email the FOCA Coordinator, Mrs Libby
Baker at l.baker@scas.nsw.edu.au if you would like more information.
SCHOOL KISS AND DROP ZONE
The School’s “Kiss and Drop” zone at the front of the campus was established to allow quick drop
off and pick up of students in the morning and afternoon peak times. Parents are asked to form a
queue when they arrive at the school, leaving a thoroughfare adjacent to the queue for traffic
travelling to the car parks or wanting to exit via the bottom gate.
We have had several reports over the last weeks regarding parents using the thoroughfare to
“queue jump”. This is not fair on parents who are queuing for sometimes up to 30 minutes in the
afternoons. Please be aware that staff will be monitoring the kiss and drop area this term.
We also ask that when moving off from the kiss and drop zone that you check for cars before joining
the traffic exiting the school campus.
The Columban Page 3

COLUMBA DAY 2012
Columba Day 2012 was huge success, with staff, students and
community members enjoying a great afternoon of sunny weather, fun
and games, and great entertainment.
After a thrilling box car rally, the students made their way to the front
oval, where they enjoyed the “bucking bull” ride, jumping castles and a
petting zoo. There was also face painting, nail art and balloon
sculptures, as well as great food and drink items. All money raised on
the day will go to the Butterfly Foundation.
The Columban Page 4

COLUMBA DAY 2012
The Columban Page 5

Don’t miss this great opportunity tomorrow
Saturday 21st July
Woolworths
Earn and Learn
Please note that this promotion has
been extended until 12 August 2012, so
please continue to bring in your sticker
cards and support this wonderful promotion.
Full sticker cards can be returned to your
class teacher or to the library. If you
would like extra empty cards please
send a note in your child’s diary.
A big Thank you from Mrs Julia Jenkins in
the library for all the sticker cards we
have received.
Coles Sport for
Schools 2012
SCAS is still collecting vouchers for
the Coles Sport for Schools 2012
campaign.
During the last voucher drive the
School collected enough points to
receive over $3,000 in sports
equipment for the Primary and
Secondary Schools and we would
love to beat this amount.
Vouchers can be left in either of the
boxes in the School Front Office or
Student Services foyer.
The Columban Page 6

SECONDARY SCHOOL
Monday 23rd July
Wednesday 25th July
Thursday 26th July
Friday 27th July
HRIS Athletics Carnival, Glendale Athletics Centre, Glendale, Newcastle - Students are
required to be at the School at 5.00am for 5.15am departure. Students will return to
SCAS at approximately 7.45pm.
Port Macquarie Invitational Debating Gala for Secondary School
HRIS Cultural Festival at Hunter Valley Grammar School
Parent Polyglots French Classes—5.30pm to 6.30pm
Camden Haven Careers Expo for Year 12
HRIS Cultural Festival at Hunter Valley Grammar School
Japanese Sister City visit—Handa Higashi (27th July to 1st August 2012)
Mock Trial— Round 5 to be held at Wauchope
Saturday 28th July Sydney Dance Eisteddfod 2012 (28th July to 30th July 2012)
Tuesday 31st July
Secondary School Parent Teacher Interviews— 3.45pm to 8.00pm in the Iona
Centre. Online bookings required.
Wednesday 1st August Year 10 Geography Excursion to Lake Cathie
Thursday 2nd August Year 10 Parent Morning Tea—10.00am to 11.00am in the Trade Training Centre
Year 10 Canberra Excursion Monday 13th August to Friday 17th August 2012 —Year 10 Canberra Excursion
Year 8 Camp
Monday 10th September to Wednesday 12th September 2012—Coffs Harbour Beach
School, Bonville
Wednesday Evenings Parent Polyglots French Class—5.30pm to 6.30pm
Term III— Concludes Friday 21st September 2012
Term IV— Commences Monday 8th October 2012
Concludes Wednesday 5th December 2012
SCAS Friday Night Rugby: Information about games, locations and times are available on the website
www.portjuniorrugby.rugbynet.com.au
Notes on SCAS Website: All notes sent from school are available from the SCAS website
www.scas.nsw.edu.au Click on the SCAS Extranet and then Notes. You will need to enter the user name:
scasweb and then the password: sw-4353.
Secondary School Email Address: secondaryschool@scas.nsw.edu.au
Home sick? Email your absence to: absence@scas.nsw.edu.au
The Columban Page 7

Pack Your Love in a Shoebox
Operation Christmas Child 2012
Imagine waking up on Christmas morning and there were no presents, nothing to open and delight in, no paper to
tear away to find the surprise inside, nothing to look forward to, no joy!
St Columba Anglican Primary School is seeking your support to assist some of the thousands of desperate children
throughout the world whose lives have been shattered by extreme poverty, civil wars and natural disasters. This is
the eighth year we have supported Samaritan’s Purse with OCC.
It is hard maybe for us to imagine what is like to have nothing but a few possessions tied in a dirty cloth sack, to
live in constant fear and to be looking after little brothers and sisters because our parents have been killed.
The Samaritan’s Purse is a non profit Christian relief development organisation that has found a unique way to
bring some hope, happiness and joy at Christmas to these children through the distribution of brightly wrapped
shoe boxes (unless you are using one of the red and green boxes from Christmas Child) packed with “essential”
goodies that include one item from each of six categories:
1. Something to love—Teddy bear, koala, doll, soft toy
2. Something to play with—Tennis ball, toy farm, zoo animal, super bouncy ball, music box, trucks and cars, finger
puppet, train, plastic tea set, boat, yo-yo, Lego building blocks, jigsaw puzzle, marbles (in bags), skipping rope,
dominoes, simple crafts, mouth organ, recorder, stickers, games, bags, bangles, necklaces, kaleidoscope (but nothing
that is battery operated, second hand, war related or could be used for gambling)
3. Something of personal hygiene—Toothbrush, hairbrush, comb, hair-clips or scrunchies, wrapped soap, face
washer (No toothpaste, Shampoo or bubble bath)
4. Something for school—Textas, magic markers, colouring book, colouring pencils with sharpener, exercise book,
lead pencils, notepad, pens, puzzle books (dot to dot etc), crayons, highlighters, eraser, chalk, pencil case
5. Something special—Carry bag, sunglasses, bangles, necklaces, craft kits, stickers, a personal note, a photo of
yourself
6. Something to wear—T-shirt, shorts, socks, underwear, sunglasses, handkerchief, basketball cap, hat, beanie,
thongs/sandals (nothing second hand)
Brochures are available that give full details and we can assist you by supplying Christmas Child boxes if you don’t
have average sized spare shoe boxes. Shoe boxes come in different sizes so it is important that you use the average
size boxes otherwise the contents have to be unpacked and shared with another box. You can download more
information from the Samaritan’s Purse website.
Each box should be labelled with the Gender of the child and the age category. These labels are on the brochure,
or you can download them (2-4 years, 5-9 years or 10-14 years)
How can families assist? Do remember that the emphasis is on “children helping children”. Let the class teacher
know via the diary that you would like a Shoebox sent home. Then start to gather up the items. Remember the
Bargain Shops are an excellent and inexpensive place to purchase.
Take your children shopping with you and let them experience the process first-hand.
Return the packed box to Mrs Vickers well before the end of August. If you pack your box during the June/July
holidays, then return it when school resumes.
A donation (tax deductible) of $9 would be appreciated with each box to assist with shipping the boxes to their
overseas destinations.
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11 BIOLOGY STUDY DAY
On Wednesday 20 th June, Year 11 Biology students travelled
to Coffs Harbour to attend a study day on Evolution of
Australian Biota. This outreach program, a joint venture of the
Australian Museum, the North Coast Botanical Gardens and
Taronga Zoo, was a fantastic opportunity for students to
handle some very cute and cuddly animals, examine fossils of
extinct mega fauna and observe adaptations of unique
Australian flora and fauna.
The students enjoyed the hands-on activities which were
directly linked to the Preliminary Biology course. There is much
gained from getting out of the classroom and having such
enriching, educational experiences and I congratulate the
students on their exemplary behaviour.
CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY
Mrs Joannne Duncan
Head of Science Faculty
As part of the “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Fever”, we have been successful in obtaining Charlie and the Chocolate Factory T-
Shirts at a reduced cost. We would like to offer these firstly to the cast and crew students, and then once these orders have been
processed, offer them to remaining Year 5 and 6 students. The price for these T Shirts is $15.00 per shirt, and order forms available
from Mr Andrew Hall. Cast and crew orders must be received by no later than Friday 27 th July. Once these orders have been filled,
orders received from remaining Year 5 & 6 students will be honored on a “first in-best dressed” basis.
New Rehearsal Dates
After receiving feedback from some parents regarding rehearsals, a decision has been made to cancel Friday afternoon rehearsals
each week. Instead, the Thursday afternoon rehearsals have been extended to 3:30-5:45pm EVERY Thursday leading up to the
actual production shows. Please note that we only have five weeks left until the shows, therefore it is absolutely essential that ALL
members of the cast and crew commit to being present at every rehearsal. Students who are absent from rehearsals without a valid
reason will be removed from the cast/crew as there are many other students who would love to be involved.
Out of School Hour Rehearsal dates are as follows:
Thursdays weekly 3:30-5:45pm
Weekend Rehearsals
Saturday 11 th
August 1:00-5:00pm
Saturday 18 th August 1:00-5:00pm
Saturday 25 th August 1:00-5:00pm Full Technical & Dress Rehearsal
Sunday 26 th August 1:00-5:00pm (only if needed – to be confirmed closer to the date)
Dress Rehearsals & Performance Dates:
Monday27 th August 9:00am-1:00pm Full Dress Rehearsal
Tuesday28 th August 9:00-11:00am Full Dress Rehearsal with other invited Schools as Audience.
Wednesday 29 th August 11:00-1:00pm Matinee Performance with Student Audience Yrs K-2
and Yrs 7-9, plus general public audience.
Wednesday29 th August 6:00-8:30pm Evening Performance - All
Thursday30 th August 6:00-8:30pm Evening Performance - All
Please diarise these dates for your reference. Tickets for the Performances will be available from the School Front Office in August –
further details will be sent to all in the coming weeks.
The Columban Page 9

PLEASE RESPECT OUR NEIGHBOURS
PRIMARY SCHOOL NEWS
UPCOMING EVENTS FOR YOUR DIARY
Saturday 21st July SCAS Sisterhood Years 6 - 12 in MCITTC 2.00-4.30pm
Thursday 26th July Year 5 Parents Morning tea in MCITTC at 10.00am
Thursday 26th July Primary School Photos Back Up day
Thursday 26th July Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Rehearsal 3.30-4.30pm
Friday 27th July MVAC v SCAS Netball and Soccer Gala Day at SCAS
Friday 27th July Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Rehearsal 3.30-4.30pm
Tuesday 31st July ICAS English Test.
Tuesday 31st July Primary School Parent Teacher Student Interviews in Chapel
(not 2B and 5/6C)
Wednesday 1st August Primary School Parent Teacher Student Interviews in Chapel
(not 2B and 5/6C)
Thursday 2nd August Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Rehearsal 3.30-4.30pm
Friday 3rd August Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Rehearsal 3.30-4.30pm
Tuesday 7th August HRIS Primary Athletics at Glendale Sports Centre
Notes on SCAS Website: All notes sent from school are available from the SCAS website www.scas.nsw.edu.au
Click on SCAS Extranet and then Notes. user name: scasweb password: sw-4353.
Email: primaryschool@scas.nsw.edu.au
CONDOLENCES
The St Columba Anglican School community extends our sincere condolences to Mrs Anna
Carswell, the Assistant Head of Primary School, following the passing of her mother in Perth
this morning after illness.
Please keep Anna, Andrew and Isabella in your thoughts and prayers at this time as they travel
to Perth.
Position Available at SCAS
We are looking for an accountant to join our finance team. If you are interested in
this position, please click on the link to our employment webpage or visit
www.scas.nsw.edu.au and follow the links to our employment page.
We have had several complaints from residents in Kyla Crescent of lawns being marred and torn up by vehicles
completing U-Turns on nature strips. At this time of year these areas can be quite damp and muddy, and easily
damaged.
Please keep this in mind when parking in Kyla Crescent, and when undertaking U-turns in this area.
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CANTEEN NEWS
A full Canteen menu is available on the School website http://www.scas.nsw.edu.au
The canteen is in need of people to volunteer and to help the daily running
of a very productive kitchen. The profits from the canteen go to the P & F which in
turn is given back to the school by purchasing necessary items for the school community.
Helping times can be from 9am until 12 noon or from 9am until 2pm. Please come
along and have a try , you will be surprised how thrilled your children will be to see you
here! Please call Kym on 0408661445 or come by the canteen and put your name down
on the roster. A few hours a week, month or term is a great help
CANTEEN ROSTER
Week
Beginning
Monday 23rd
July
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
Trish
Popplewell, 1
Volunteer required
Monday 30th
July 2 Volunteers
required
GENERAL ENQUIRIES:
2 Volunteers
required
2 Volunteers
required
Amanda Higgerson,
1 Volunteer required
Julie Steen-McAsey,
1 Volunteer required
Tina Sharp, 1 Volunteer
required
Jo McVerry,
Sonya Wheatley
2 Volunteers required Sonya Wheatley,
Karyn Wilson
St Columba Anglican School has a Facebook page. Facebook is a great way of keeping in
touch with what is happening at the School. Our Facebook page will be constantly updated
with news and photos and is a great communication tool for busy people. If you haven’t yet
done so, check out our page and give us your “like”! This will keep you up-to-date with all the
very latest news!
Address: 3 Iona Avenue
Port Macquarie NSW
School Office: (02) 6581 4188
School Fax: (02) 6581 4190
Email: secretary@scas.nsw.edu.au
Website: www.scas.nsw.edu.au
PRIMARY SCHOOL ENQUIRIES:
Dial School Office number and choose “Primary
School Enquiries” from menu
Email: primaryschool@scas.nsw.edu.au
SECONDARY SCHOOL ENQUIRIES:
Dial School Office number and choose “Secondary
School Enquiries” from menu
Email: secondaryschool@scas.nsw.edu.au
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