Thursday 15 February Dear Parents & Friends of Kuyper,

Transcription

1 Dear Parents & Friends of Kuyper, Thursday 15 February 2018 Last Thursday, the Year 9 History class travelled to Hyde Park Barracks in the city to participate in a program called Perish or Prosper. We learnt about the purpose of the Barracks, which were built in Thirty years later the building served as a place for female immigrants and children to stay temporarily until they settled into the colony. While convicts were forced to travel to Australia and arrived in irons, this program focused on a group of young Irish girls. The female immigrants were mostly Irish and were encouraged to leave during the potato famine and come to Australia. The women were given some items, such as a travelling case, clothing and money to set them up for their life in New Holland (Australia). In contrast to this, the convicts arrived in rags and were treated harshly. Learning about the program also enabled us to discover how much Sydney changed between 1820 and 1850 and the consequences of these changes. Our Year 9 group worked as historians, using maps, paintings, newspapers and personal accounts to make a judgement about the individuals studied. It was encouraging to see how engaged our students were in each activity, and a highlight was hanging about in the hammocks and imagining what life would have been like for a convict in the 1800s. A lot of our taller students were quite uncomfortable and asked why the hammocks were child sized. They were shocked to learn that the average height was short in comparison to young adults today. As an example, Mr Shadie was an ideal height and would have been a tall man in the 1800s sorry there is no photo evidence! Our tour guide challenged us to think about whether the convicts and the Irish immigrants of the era perished or prospered. Was the land of Australia (then known as New Holland) a haven for those without a home or a place of misery and torture? What does it even mean to prosper? What does it mean to prosper in God s world? The connotation of the word prosper in today s world is one of purely financial wealth, which is very different to God s definition of prosperity. God s definition of prosperity is much broader than money. I believe that Biblical prosperity means being blessed by God through being able to be in relationship with Him. It does not mean that he will give us everything we desire if we believe in Him. He knows what we need and there are many ways that God can prosper us. Greg Laurie, a Pastor and author puts it like this: Prosperity doesn't necessarily mean that everything is going easy and well. Prosperity means that you are in the will of God. About five years before he made his journey to Rome, the apostle Paul wrote to the believers there and said, "One of the things I always pray for is the opportunity, God willing, to come at last to see you. For I long to visit you..." (Romans 1:10 11). The King James Version puts it this way: "Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you. For I long to see you...". In modern language, Paul was saying to the believers in Rome: "I want to come and see you, and I'm praying for a prosperous journey." Paul prayed for a prosperous journey to visit the believers in Rome, and he got just that. Some may say, "How so? There was a shipwreck and a storm." Yes. But he was in the will of God. Just because Paul went through a dangerous journey to get to where the Lord sent him doesn t mean that the Lord was not with him; it does not mean Paul didn t prosper in the Lord. The convicts and immigrants who journeyed across the sea to come to New Holland put their hope in what they would find when they arrived. I can imagine they knew that this journey would not be easy. Our journey here on earth can be difficult at times, however we prosper in the Lord because we have a home in Him. We have a future and a hope that cannot be taken away; He has saved us from perishing. Alexis Clarke, Secondary Teacher 294 Redbank Rd Kurrajong NSW 2758 T E admin@kuyper.nsw.edu.au W

2 Thursday 15 February 2018

3 Reminders: Note the change of date for the Whole School Celebration to Thursday 22 February. Come along to experience a live performance of the staff item from the Principal s Evening. We have a number of lost property items still in the Office from the swimming carnival. This year s New Parents Dinner will be held on Tuesday 27 March for families who commenced at Kuyper in recent months. Look out for your invitation in the mail! Book Club orders were due back to the Office by Thursday 15 February. You can still order online after this date by going to scholastic.com.au/loop Please return the Vaccination Form for your Year 7 child to the Office ASAP. Would any parents, grandparents or friends be able to spend a few days scanning, saving, ing some resources for HSC Art. Contact the Office if you can help. We are offering a 5% discount on the total amount for this year s fees IF they are paid up front by 23 February Don t miss out on this opportunity, if you can! For those on the SchoolEasyPay system, deductions have commenced. Please contact Tina on Monday if you have any questions. Prayer & Praise Give thanks for the wonderful gift of music, singing and worship. Praise for our new appointments this week. Pray that they settle quickly to their role and feel welcome. Pray for the Peet family as they move from the Hawkesbury and establish in a new location. Give thanks for their involvement and contribution to the school. Give thanks for the many other families who give time and skills to the maintenance and improvement of the school. Pray that our school (and many others) may continue to operate with religious freedom, enabling us to employ staff and maintain our strong and distinctive Christian teaching focus. Pray for staff members who are unwell or who have close family members who are very unwell. Feb Mon 19 Year 7 Vaccinations & Yr 8 catch up Wed 21 Primary Assembly 2:50pm KRC Thur 22 Whole School Celebration 2:30pm Fri 23 Year 7 Sydney Aquarium Excursion Mon 26 Primary Zone Swimming Carnival Mon 26 Secondary Zone Swimming Carnival Wed 28 Prayer & Board Meetings 7pm March Thurs 1 Year 9/10 Science & Geography Exc. Mon 5 Primary State Swimming Carnival Wed 7 Life Education Van Wed 7 Primary Assembly 2:50pm KRC Mon 12 Life Education Van Fri 16 Whole School Celebration 2:30pm Wed 21 Prayer & Board Meetings 7pm Wed 21 Primary Assembly 2:50pm KRC Mon 26 Secondary State Swimming Carnival Tues 27 New Parents Dinner Wed Food Tech Excursion Thur 29 Year 8 Agriculture Excursion Fri 30 Good Friday April Mon 2 Easter Monday Wed 4 Primary Assembly 2:50pm KRC Mon 9 Year 9 & 10 Science Excursion Fri 13 Whole School Celebration 2:30pm Fri 13 Last Day of Term 1 Mon 30 First Day of Term 2 May Tues 8 Prep Vision Screening Fri 11 Whole School Cross Country Sat 12 Term 2 Working Bee

4 Logan Meere, Year 10 Logan has involved himself in a wide range of sports outside & inside of school, including swimming in Term 1 and cricket in Term 4. Swimming Logan trains at the Richmond Pool with his brothers and sister from Monday to Wednesday for 1½ hours before school, and occasionally on Saturday mornings. Recently Logan attended the Whole School swimming carnival and has shown an excellent effort in every race. He achieved very successful times in his races and especially in freestyle, where he swam seconds and in butterfly, where he touched the wall at seconds. As a result, Logan has qualified for the upcoming CSSA Zone swimming carnival where everyone at Kuyper will be wishing him well. In past years, Logan has qualified for the State competition, and this year he is hoping to progress even further. Cricket Logan trains for cricket on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday for 2½ hours after school. On Saturdays Logan competes in two games of cricket. His first game is from 8:30am-11:30am and his second game from 1pm-7pm. This year Logan is participating in cricket competitions for the Hawkesbury representative teams where he competes against other regions, such as North Shore, Sydney and Blacktown. Next year, Logan will join the Penrith cricket team. In the past, Logan represented his region and competed against other regions at Lismore. The competition in Lismore went for two weeks and his team finished in second place. Logan is now looking forward to his semi-final and grand final cricket games in under 15's and 4 th grade competitions. Well done Logan for your excellent efforts and achievements and all the best in the future! Written by Grace Prevost, Year 10 Staff Changes at Kuyper Sadly, Connie Peet who has faithfully served us in the School Office and in the classroom for the last year, leaves us tomorrow, headed for the country with her family. This has been a sudden decision because of the nature of her husband s employment, having accepted a transfer requiring the whole family to move. We wish the family well with this new adventure! We welcome two new members to the Kuyper team this week. Ruth Thompson has been appointed by the School Board as the new Administration Assistant in the School Office. Ruth brings a wealth of experience, having worked in a number of areas, including educational fields. Ruth is also one of our Kuyper parents. Lisa Clucas joins the Support team, working directly one on one with a Year 5 student. Lisa comes fresh from working in a similar position at Pacific Hills Christian School. Lisa is a qualified teacher now working as a teachers aide. We look forward to the blessing both Ruth and Lisa will bring to our community.

5

6 NSW School Vaccination Program 2018 Each year NSW Health works with schools to offer the vaccines recommended for adolescents by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC). In 2018, the following vaccines will be offered: Year 7 students: Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine in a 2-dose schedule at 0 and 6 months Diphtheria, Tetanus & Pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine (dtpa) as a single dose Year 10 & 11 students: Meningococcal ACWY vaccine as a single dose Confirmation of Vaccination clinic details is as follows: Monday 19 February am Yr 7: dtpa and 1st dose HPV - all students Yr 8: 2nd dose HPV catch up Friday 08 June am Yr 10: Meningococcal ACWY Yr 11: Meningococcal ACWY Yr 7: dtpa and 1st dose HPV - catch up Yr 8: 2nd dose HPV catch up Thursday 30 August am Yr 7: 2nd dose HPV Yr 7: dtpa and 1st dose HPV - catch up Yr 8: 2nd dose HPV catch up Yr 10: Meningococcal ACWY - catch up Yr 11: Meningococcal ACWY - catch up School Opal Card Please Assist! An important requirement of School Opal is the need for students to Tap On and Tap Off when they travel to and from school. Opal data gathered by tapping on and off is used to determine demand for bus services. If students don t Tap on and Tap off, services may be cancelled or reduced due to the lack of recorded patronage. With this in mind, we ask for your assistance in reminding your child that tapping on and off at the beginning and end of each trip is one of the conditions of using a School Opal card. This in turn helps us ensure we are able to provide the appropriate level of service for your child.