PRINCIPAL S MESSAGE. The Truth. Gary Brummell, Principal

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1 4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. 1 Cor 12: 4-6 Term 3 Week 9 11 September 2015 PRINCIPAL S MESSAGE Our Vision To foster a Christ centred learning community where all students receive an education which enables them to know the Lord Jesus Christ, grow in Him and serve Him to their full potential Regents Park Christian School 59 Regent Street, Regents Park, 2143 Ph: Fax: principal@rpcs.nsw.edu.au IMPORTANT DATES TERM 3 16 September S: Preliminary English exam 17 September S: Year 12 Last day Year 12 Chapel/lunch Year 12 Graduation 7pm 18 September Term 3 ends 5 October (Monday) Public Holiday 6 October (Tuesday) Term 4 begins 7 October School at Work Tour 10.30am 7 13 October Year 11 exams PRAYER POINTS Pray for good weather to allow work to continue on the new Primary building Please pray for Staffing and Enrolments for 2015 The Truth Jesus says I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. The word truth is a difficult concept to understand and grasp. When we say to a child tell the truth we are intending it to be observable, measurable and repeatable. In a court room, four witnesses can take an oath to tell the truth about what they saw happen. All of them can give varying accounts of the same event including colour, time and sequence of events, yet each person genuinely believes they are telling the truth. We often think of scientific fact as a form of truth yet scientists have an axiom called the halflife of truth. Facts can be replaced with more accurate, more comprehensive or more interrelated facts that allow us to be more informed. Ironically, scientists now are willing to call some scientific theory truth. Western rational thinking suggests truth is based on empirical facts and the facts become knowledge that leads to truth. The Hebrew idea of knowledge is a different idea it is dynamic, continuous, not static and fixed. Within it is the concept of a dynamic relationship between knowing, the person who knows, and what is known. When Jesus says I am the Way, the Truth and the Life He is showing us the relation / nature of truth. Jesus came to redeem us from sin and to restore us to a right relationship with Him for now and eternity. The truth that we are seeking to understand has its origin in relationship we call it love. If you tell a person you love them, you genuinely believe it to be true. A scientist would struggle to rationally prove that. Hence we have many interesting theories about human relationship because it is not based on the understanding of love and its intrinsic worth. When your children are first born, you experience love immediately and in a way that gets nothing in return. It is not a rational exercise or a survival of the species response as evolutionary biologists would justify. The idea that truth can be relational and also revelational (through the Holy Spirit) is very difficult for our western, rational mindset to grasp. It has elements of post-modernism where truth is what we construct it to be or believe it to be. The difference is that love is not a construction, does not change and is not selfish or self-centred. What great truth did Jesus give us? 1. Love God 2. Love your neighbour 3.Love yourself The statement that is often used All truth is God s truth relates not as much to ownership and possessiveness but to love. We are God s creatures, the universe was created all for one purpose love and relationship. It was not a science project that God did as an experiment. It was born out of the Trinity s love for each other. When we say a) God is love b) God is truth c) God is the Way we are, in fact, explaining in different ways the character of God. When God says I am the Way, the Truth and the Life it clearly explains it must begin with God and end with God. If we are saying that we want to know truth, we are saying we want to be in relationship with God, everything else is idolatry. Gary Brummell, Principal

2 ALL SCHOOL NEWS BOYS HAIRSTYLES If your son is needing a haircut, please ensure that they do not talk you into a combover style (pictured). As described in the Primary and Senior Handbooks: hair must be worn neatly and must not cover the collar or fall below the eyebrows. Hair should be cut in a conservative style and of even length. No part of the hair may be shorter than a No. 2 comb/clipper. Students may face suspension from school for breaches of this policy. Unacceptable hair cut DRAMA PRESENTS GOVERNMENT CHANGES TO SCHOOL ABSENCES The Minister for Education has approved changes to the use of the Attendance Register codes for These changes are effective from the beginning of the 2015 school year. In short, the new standard states: Holidays - Holidays taken by students outside of school vacation periods will now be included as absences. A Certificate of Exemption will no longer be granted for this purpose. Families are encouraged to holiday or travel during school vacations. If travel during a school term IS NECESSARY, a request for absence should be addressed to the Principal clearly explaining the reason for the travel, the dates of absence, and, if travelling overseas, a copy of the itinerary should be attached. If the Principal does not believe the absence is in the best interests of the student or does not accept the reason, the student will be marked as absent on the register. If the absence is in excess of 50 days the student may be eligible to enrol in Distance Education. (NB: A student cannot be enrolled in more than one school concurrently including Distance Education). KINDERGARTEN 2016 Kindergarten enrolments for 2016 are filling fast. If you have a younger child who you hope to start Kindergarten at RPCS in 2016 you need to put in an application form immediately and notify our Enrolment Officer, Diane Dorizas. It would be sad if your child missed out. SCHOOL SPORT, MUSIC & EXTRA CURRICULAR PHOTOS Photos are available for viewing & purchasing on via The School Photographer website. The cost is $16.00 per photo. How to purchase: 1 Go online to 2 Select Online Payments & Online Ordering 3 Select Event Photography 4 Select- Regents Park Christian 5 Enter Password Click Submit Once you have selected the photos you wish to order you will be able to add them to your cart & purchase with your credit card via PAYPAL. WE NEED INSTRUMENTS! There are several students who are eager to begin learning an instrument but the school has no more to hire out! Many households have unused instruments in cupboards or garages. It s such a shame for them to be left lying around when students could be learning valuable skills and making music together. Please look at home and see if you have a trumpet, cornet, flute, clarinet, saxophone, trombone, violin or other string instrument hidden away. Any donations or sale of unused instruments would be very welcome.

3 LOST PROPERTY - If you have lost an engagement ring, please contact the Office on UNIFORM SHOP Open Fridays (term time) 8am 12pm & pm The Uniform Shop gratefully accepts donations of 2 nd hand uniforms for Primary and Secondary as they are of great assistance to families in our community. Donations can be left at the office or brought in to the Uniform Shop on Fridays. Layby is also available if you would like to have your items set aside and pay them off slowly. Items can also be put on hold. Online ordering now available! Uniform Shop information and order forms can be found on the website under the RPCS Today tab. Orders will be packed on Fridays and sent home with the students. Name labels: Personalised, iron-on name labels are now available for purchase from the uniform shop for $0.50 each. The labels are to be ironed on at home and will come with instructions. Each Secondary blazer sold will have a free label included. Run by Heartbeat Church Who: For children 0 5 Yrs When: Every Friday (during school terms) Time: From 10.30am until 12.15pm Where: Regents Park Christian School Play time, Morning tea, Story, Craft, Music Fee: $ 2 per session HEARTBEAT COMMUNITY CHOIR Everyone is welcome 21 July 15 September, 9 weeks Every Tuesday from 9.00 am Heartbeat Church (61 Regents St) Enjoy Singing, Friendship and Morning Tea Donation $ 5 per session Contact: or familychaplain@heartbeatchurch.org.au HEARTBEAT COMMUNITY CARE welcomes your donations of: quality, 2 nd hand men s, women and children s clothing and shoes; and homewares (no electricals) Our Emergency Relief program welcomes donations of nonperishable food items such as canned soup, Weet-Bix and basic hygiene items such as toothpaste. All donations can be dropped off at Heartbeat Community Care (Shop 1/5 Amy Street, Regents Park) or at the Heartbeat Church office (61 Regents Street, Regents Park). FREE ENGLISH CLASSES We invite you to join our fun and friendly English language classes where you can learn and share. When: Every Tuesday during school terms Time: Between 10 and 11.30am Where: Heartbeat Church, 61 Regent St, Regents Park

4 FATHER S DAY BREAKFAST & ASSEMBLY PRIMARY NEWS Thank you to all the men who were able to attend last Friday s special breakfast and Assembly. Thank you, as well, to the many fathers who risked life and limb to participate in our Gladiator Contest! You were worth the price of admission many times over! It was another wonderful opportunity to celebrate our community and honour our fathers. We hope that the fathers in our community have no doubt about how much we value them. Thank you for being such a blessing. Thank you, as well, to the many parents who helped wrap our Father s Day gifts and assisted in our Father s Day Stall! Without you it wouldn t have happened! Hats off, too, to our magnificent Secondary prefects and the splendiferous Mrs White who demonstrated servant leadership by cooking breakfast for our fathers! WOOLIES EARN & LEARN This year we are again participating in Woolies Earn & Learn Program. If you shop at Woolies, please remember to collect your Earn & Learn Stamps and return them to the school so that we can redeem them for great resources. Blank sticker sheets are available from the Primary office. The program will conclude on 18 September. Although stickers will not be given after this date, you will still have time early in Term 4 to return them to the school. Keep those stickers coming! BOOK WEEK 2015 As part of our annual Book Week celebrations the Primary school will be having a Wacky Hat Parade at Friday Assembly on 18 September. Hats should reflect the 2015 book week theme Books Light Up Our World! Psalm 119:105 proclaims that God s Word is a light to our path. We would like to encourage families to share a Bible verse that has had particular meaning to them. We would like to display these verses in the Hive as a declaration of His faithfulness. A note was sent home this week providing more information. PARENT MORNING TEA - 18 SEPTEMBER Remember that on our last day of the term, we will be holding a morning tea before Assembly. All parents are warmly invited to attend. OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD Each year, our school community works with Samaritan s Purse to support their Operation Christmas Child Project. If you would like your family to participate, brochures and boxes are now available from the Primary office. Completed boxes should be returned by Friday, 18 September. POSITIVE BEHAVIOUR FOR LEARNING (PBL) VALUE: Value: Set an Example for Others Next week, we will continue encouraging our students to set an example for others in their learning. We can be an example for others by using our time and resources wisely, letting others get on with their work and by setting goals and working towards them.

5 K-2 SWIM SCHOOL OCTOBER Our intensive Swim School will be held in Week 2 of Term 4. Students in Kindergarten - Year 2 will have 5 days of swimming lessons. Letters were sent home on Tuesday. Please return the permission slip by 14 September. PRIMARY - END OF YEAR MUSICAL COSTUMES Our End of Year Musical will be held on Friday evening, 27 November. We are asking that our students dress in all white. They may wear white T-shirts, singlets, shirts, skirts, pants, shorts or dresses. We only ask that whatever is worn be completely white (no logos, writing, images). Visit Heartbeat Shop, Lifeline, Salvos or Vinnies and see what they have on offer! ABSENCE FROM SCHOOL If a student is absent from school for any reason, they must bring a note (signed by the parent/guardian) when they return to school. Please make sure that the note clearly includes the student s name, year, and class teacher s name and states the reason for the absence. For your convenience, absence note pro-formas are available from the Primary office. PRIMARY ASSEMBLY - TERM 3 Parents and friends are welcome to attend any time, but particularly so when your child s class is sharing at Assembly. TERM 3 TERM 4 Class Date Class Date 1-2J 9 October 3-4H 11 September 5-6CJ 16 October 3-4J 18 September Kinder 23 October 1-2K 30 October 1-2M 6 November 1-2S 13 November 3-4A 20 November Presentation Assembly 27 November CRUNCH & SIP For many years now, our Primary students have enjoyed Crunch n Sip. If you are in the school around 10am you will see students and staff alike enjoying a drink of water and a serving of fruit or vegetables. Sadly, many of our students are not participating in this healthy habit. Please promote this practice by providing water and fruit or vegetables for your child to enjoy Crunch & Sip. Strawberries are always a favourite with children due to their sweet taste. To keep them sweet and looking their best, remove them from their punnets, when you get home and place them on a paper towel on a plate and cover it with cling wrap. Healthy eating can also reduce our risk of cancer. Hopefully these ideas from NSW Cancer Council will help you prepare healthy alternatives for your children s lunches.

6 CANCER COUNCIL NUTRITION SNIPPETS Healthy eating can also reduce our risk of cancer. Hopefully these ideas from NSW Cancer Council will help you prepare healthy alternatives for your children s lunch. HOLIDAY ACTIVITIES The last pages of this edition of Community News include information on holiday activities at Auburn Library, Parliament House, Bankstown Basketball Stadium and Noah s Little Ark. Activities fill quickly so please book early.

7 CIS RUGBY LEAGUE 9s SECONDARY NEWS Under 1s A team of 13 boys participated in the annual Joel Brown Cup on Wednesday 2 September. Two other teams in this competition were Bishop Druitt from Coffs Harbour and William Carey. Our team s best performance was in the second game with Bishop Druitt. We had drawn at 10 points all at half time with two tries each and a goal. The competition was always too organised for our side and in the four games we played as a team of 9 players over 9 minute halves, RPCS were severely beaten. The coach was almost ready to throw in the towel in the last game as our side had no answer to the skill William Carey displayed. A dropped ball in this game means a try against you. We turned over the ball on too many occasions in each of our games. Most impressive players for us were Leamani Ata (Year 9) as Captain, Nicholas Ah Lam (Year 10) and Sunia Siasau (Year 8), each adding tries to our side s 18 points gained on the day. -Mr Kirk Opens On Wednesday 2 September, the Opens Rugby League team participated in the CIS Rugby League 9s finals Gala Day (Tim Mannah Shield) held at St Marys Stadium. The Opens team played four games in total, two against Bishop Druitt College from Coffs Harbour and two against Toongabbie Christian School. They competed well in both games against Bishop Druitt College and led the games early on but were outclassed by a better side on the day. The two games against Toongabbie Christian School were much closer and we led the first game with seconds on the clock only to concede a late try. In the second game we took an early lead scoring the first three tries only to see the lead vanish. We finished strongly with some innovative play and skill and ended up winning Overall, the boys competed well, played hard and fair and had a great day of competition. The best and fairest player for the Opens was Bai Rabuku (Year 11) although Tui Katoa (Year 11) also gets a mention as the best player selected by the NRL officials. Well done to all boys! UNSW ENGLISH COMPETITION AWARD WINNERS 2015 Earlier this term, 30 of our keen writers took up the challenge of the UNSW English writing competition. The well-recognised and highly competitive annual competition involved thousands of Australian and international students. This year the challenge was to write a book review based on a favourite novel. Special congratulations to Kimberley Santos of Year 9 who achieved a High Distinction and was placed in the top 1% of competitors. Congratulations also to Tarrence Tan (Credit), Jeremy Fung (Credit), Annalise Elbazi (Credit), Gabrielle da Silva (Credit) Adriana Taupau (Credit), Stephen Knight (Credit), David Lee(Credit), Jonah Kim (Credit), Kaitlyn Truong (Merit), Grace Elbazi, Caleb Chamberlain, Chloe Sampson, Andrew Huynh, Aminata Mansaray, Jacob Bechara, Christopher Jenner, Earl Choi, Rose McKeich, Jack Guo, Yae Jee Jun, Elena Araujo, Jonathan Jabbour, Gordon Chen, Raymond Wong, Matthew Li, Megan Suriadji and Van Tran. DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY Another year of HSC Design and Technology projects were marked last week. The photograph shows a number of these projects displayed for the BOSTES itinerant markers. Stephanie Tate designed a solution for diabetics that now allows them to travel with all their requirements including insulin in a safe cold pack. Day picnics are now possible and a long weekend away does not include the inconvenience of travelling when health could be at risk. Another project with a simple solution now allows a person in a wheelchair to enter into the home with the press of a remote control. William Choi s domestic, simple and economic solution engages the latch and the wheelchair then can be rolled through saving a fiddle manipulating keys. Swimming programs, fishing rod holders, hospital bed tables, umbrellas and a recycled pallet also featured in the class of 2015.

8 MAX POTENTIAL PROGRAM Some of our Year 11 students have recently undertaken a life-changing experience the Max Potential Program. This is a youth leadership and development program aiming to provide participants with life skills to become community leaders of the future. Sponsored by Dooley s Catholic Club, students work with staff and professional life coaches who, over a 16 week period, help them examine their lives and explore the importance of accepting personal responsibility in guiding their individual future path. Students must also undertake a local community service project designed to help others and leave a legacy in our community. These projects were presented at the Max Potential Showcase on 23 July and the information below is taken from the Auburn Review newspaper published on 1 September. Pictured above right, Angelina Luchko is an art enthusiast who decided to bring together her passion for art with her love of helping children with special needs. Angelina created an Art Haven where children can freely express themselves using a variety of different art forms. Stephina Lunardi (pictured left) has been putting into practice her personal leadership skills. Stephina recruited a number of volunteers to work alongside her to donate to the charity Wrapped with Love. The volunteers helped to knit squares that were then collected and put together as blankets which were then donated to disadvantaged families in need throughout Australia and overseas. HSC YOUR LOCAL LIBRARIES

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