Thursday 5 April Dear Parents & Friends of Kuyper,

Transcription

1 Dear Parents & Friends of Kuyper, Thursday 5 April 2018 This thing is a Thneed. A Thneed s a Fine-Something-That-All-People-Need! It s a shirt. It s a sock. It s a glove. It s a hat. But it has other uses. Yes, far beyond that. Dr. Seuss, The Lorax Students in Year 8 have been studying the film based on Dr Seuss s, The Lorax. It is a wonderful reflection on environmental stewardship, consumerism, marketing and manufactured demand. It is also a commentary on the greed of people. For the students, it raises an important question; what do we need in life?. Not want, but need. The world targets our desires through clever advertising, using FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) and many other aspects of our yearning for acceptance. It is alarming how many of our wants have become apparent needs. For teenagers and many adults, mobile phones have become the modern day thneed. This thing is a Mobile. A Mobile s a Fine-Something-That-All-People-Need! It s a camera. It s a clock. It s a torch. It s a map. But it has other uses. Yes, far beyond that. For those members of the community that can remember pre-mobile days, imagine the following.. a day trip in beautiful Kurrajong before the mobile phone was invented. What a wonderful adventure! But you must be prepared. Don t forget to pack everything you might need in the car. A map (remember the Gregory s?). Tick. CDs (just in case you want to relax with fine music). Tick. A torch, a set of encyclopedias (you just never know what you might need to look up!), diary, letter writing equipment (you might need to write a quick letter), oh and some board games. Tick, tick, tick, tick and tick! This possibly may not be your ideal way to prepare for a relaxing outing in God s creation. We have become accustomed to being connected 24/7 through mobile devices. There are definitely positives to having access to information and resources at your fingertips. But there are also many unhealthy aspects to being connected constantly. Our dependence, our perceived need, on mobile devices is cause for conflict between parents and teenagers; sleepless nights for Fear Of Missing Out on social communication; access to inappropriate material, and the list unfortunately goes on. There is also a growing trend of anxiety issues related to being without these devices. We have convinced ourselves, with the encouragement of advertising and key stakeholders in the telecommunications and technology industries, that we NEED these devices at all times. 294 Redbank Rd Kurrajong NSW 2758 T E admin@kuyper.nsw.edu.au W

2 In 1943, Psychologist Abraham Maslow proposed a 5-tier hierarchy of human needs as shown in this diagram. A modern day equivalent may look like this. Humour aside, from a Christian perspective both models are severely lacking. Biblically, our deepest need is to be in relationship with God, through the wonder and horror of the work of Jesus on the cross. But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19 Our most basic needs are spiritual, not physiological. Many of the needs in Maslow s hierarchy may be valid, but the world of needs vs wants is a blurry space for many. The Bible tells us that God will provide ALL of the needs mentioned in Maslow s hierarchy, and more. This includes food, water, shelter, warmth, security, freedom from fear and creativity. Jesus is the perfect example of meeting the spiritual and physical needs of people. Jesus healed (see John 9:1-12 for an example) and also provided food for the hungry (see Matthew 14:13-21 for an example too).

3 Possibly the pyramid should be modified to this. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. Psalm 139:14 So now I am giving you a new commandment; Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. John 13:34 You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. Psalm 32:7 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28 Jesus answered, It is written: Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. Matthew 4:4 When we leave home for school and work each day our first thought should not be whether we are equipped with a mobile phone or any other physical items. Our greatest need is to be leaving home with the knowledge that we are (or can be) in relationship with God. This should also be our greatest want. Jason Shadie Secondary Coordinator PS: This is what a thneed looks like (in Kuyper lime green). If you have a need for a thneed, come and see me, I might have a few spares tucked away somewhere.

4 Reminders Cyber Bullying Consent Forms have been ed home. Please return yours and indicate whether your child will participate or not. Grandparents Day is Wednesday 11 April from 11am. We need your help with catering Morning Tea. Please return your completed invitation tomorrow. Coles Sport for Schools vouchers are finishing up. You can still drop them into the Office on any school day until the end of this term. Thank you for participating. The Year 4 Band Photograph is available to order if you would like a copy. You can collect an order form from the Office and view the photograph if you wish. Our band will be performing at the Hawkesbury Show on Friday 20 April, during the school holidays. Please go and support them if you can! Lost Property is overflowing. Please check to see if any is yours. All unclaimed and unlabeled items will be discarded at the end of this term. School Fees; only a week left before Term 1 ends. Families who are NOT on EasyPay for school fees need to have one quarter of their yearly fees paid by Friday 13 April. Tina Vander Reyden is available Monday - Thursday to discuss your fees. April Fri 6 Police Liaison Officer Visit Year 6-12 Mon 9 Year 10/11 Science Excursion Tue 10 Year 7/8 PDHPE Excursion Wed 11 Year 9-12 Sydney Tower Food Exc Wed 11 Grandparents Day, Prep Year 6 Fri 13 Whole School Celebration 2:30pm Fri 13 Last Day of Term 1 Fri 20 Hawkesbury Show Band performance Mon 30 First Day of Term 2 May Tue 8 Prep Vision Screening Wed 9 K 2 Gym excursion Fri Gym excursion Fri 11 Whole School Cross Country Sat 12 School Tour morning 8am 12noon Sat 12 Term 2 Working Bee Tue 15 NAPLAN online Wed 16 NAPLAN online Wed 16 K 2 Gym excursion Thur 17 NAPLAN online Fri Gym excursion Mon 21 Year 9/10 Campers depart Mon 21 Year 7/8 Campers depart Wed 23 Year 9/10 Campers return Wed 23 Year 7/8 Campers return Prayer & Praise Give thanks for Grandparents! Pray for our Grandparents Day that it would be full of fun and celebration. Continue to pray for the Miller family as they search for a bone marrow donor for Josh. Pray for strength, peace, healing and encouragement. Fri 25 Not Even Once seminar Years 6-12 Fri Gym excursion Wed 30 K 2 Gym excursion June Fri Gym excursion Fri 1 State Cross Country Carnival Mon 4 Medieval Man Incursion Years 5-10

5 The staff, students and Kuyper Community would like to acknowledge and congratulate our school representatives at the State Swimming Carnivals Summer Allen (Year 2), Jade Spillane (Year 9), Logan Meere (Year 10), Grace Allen (Year 10) and Isabella Meere (Year 11). It is a great achievement in itself to qualify for this top level of competition. These athletes competed in many events across the program and excelled in the pool. Many Personal Best times were achieved; Isabella achieved a top 5 placing and Summer and Logan achieved top 10 placing in a few of their strokes. It is always wonderful to see students using their God-given gifts, training and working hard to further develop these gifts, and then excelling. Congratulations again, we are so proud of you!

6 Secondary English Teacher (0.8 FTE full time) Applications are invited from Christians of Reformed persuasion, who are active in their church, to apply for the position of Secondary English Teacher Year 7-12 (0.8 to Full Time) Are you a creative & dynamic teacher who can bring learning to life by moving from faith to action? Join the great team at Kuyper Christian School who enjoy the challenge of learning in God's world together. A staff application form and CV must be submitted with all applications in addition to a 90 second audio-visual presentation made by the applicant that explains what they think is an excellent lesson taught at a Christian school. This can be submitted on a USB memory stick or clouded with an accessible web storage provider. The AV could be a PowerPoint, slideshow or video clip. This role is to commence early Term , or later at a negotiated time. Applicants must provide their NSW Working With Children Check number along with their NESA Teacher Accreditation number. Applications can be sourced from the school office, via tina@kuyper.nsw.edu.au or from our website For more information regarding this role please, contact our Principal, Mr Ian Shaw, on Feel like exploring your creative side these holidays? Join me for a morning, or two, of art and craft using a range of materials and techniques. All materials provided. Group size of approximately 12. Working with an experienced school art teacher, in the art room at Kuyper Christian School, 294 Redbank Road, Kurrajong. Tuesday 24 and Thursday 26 April 2018, 10am 12:30pm $40 for 1 day, or $70 for both days Bring clothes that can get dirty or an apron, a snack and a water bottle To book a place, or for more details, cathiehall1981@gmail.com

7 Wednesday 11 April 2018 Kuyper Christian School Hall, 11am 1:45pm Grandparents Day 2018 will begin with morning tea in the hall at 11am. To help with catering, we will ask each family to bring something to share and let us know how many people will be attending from their group. Whatever you bring to school must be nut-free. Please return the slip at the bottom of your invitation, or The day will run as follows: 11am 11:30am 12pm 1pm 1:45pm Morning Tea in the hall Sing-a-Long Assembly in the Hall Classroom visits and activities BYO Picnic Lunch Finish We are looking forward to a great day of fun and Celebration!

8 Students need a login and password to record their reading. Mrs Kean will have logins and passwords for students next week. There are lists of books that you can read on the PRC website You must complete your online Student Reading Record by 31 August 2018 to complete the Challenge The Challenge opens on 5 March 2018 You must read a certain number of books to complete the Challenge: Challenge Total number of books you must read Minimum number of Reading Challenge books Maximum number of Personal Choice books Reading Challenge book lists you must read from K K-2, 3-4, 5-6, , 5-6, , , 7-9