Community 28/3/2017 Issue 9 In a world where people often feel isolated and alone, God created a unique and loving community called the Church. One of the first acts in Jesus ministry was to establish a community of believers, the disciples. These 12 men together with Jesus transformed the world with the Good News of the Kingdom of God. Throughout his ministry, Jesus modeled and taught about life in this new kind of community. We are not created to do life, mission or ministry alone. Community was God s plan to change the world. Jesus was completely capable of preaching, teaching and healing by himself. It s not as if Jesus needed anyone to help him! But God designed us to need each other and Jesus lived this out by taking along 12 friends. Being in a loving community helps us in many ways. We have friends who share the same values to encourage us when we feel down, someone to help when we struggle with a problem, we learn to love as Jesus loved and it helps us stay committed to our Christian faith. Community also helps us stay obedient to God. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you John 15:12! The only way to love others is to live in a community. Last Friday was a celebration of community, the St Mark s community. I certainly felt God s presence amongst us! There was God at work through the many parent volunteers setting up the BBQ s, the much loved coffee machine, the colourful shade cloths, team banners and so much more. God was present as our loving staff guided our students through their many events, their words of encouragement and an occasional hug for the student who may not have achieved the ribbon they had hoped for. God was everywhere and for this I was truly thankful. In Hebrews 10:24-25 we read, And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another The St Mark s community certainly spurred each other on during Sports Day! Our students are truly blessed! Loredana Saracini Deputy Principal What s on at St Mark s THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU On behalf of the staff and students we would like to thank the P&F for their effort in catering for Sports Day. We also take this opportunity to thank the many parents who assisted staff in packing up at the end of the day. We thank you for your commitment to our community! We would also like to take this opportunity to thank Mr Tyson Scott for his coordination of the day. A job well done! Assembly We welcome all parents to attend our school assembly on Wednesday at 9:00am in the school hall. This week our Assembly will be led by the Year 3SM class.
Year 5 Camp Tomorrow our Year 5 students will be travelling to Walkers Flat. Camp is always an exciting experience and we look forward to the stories we know students will be eager to share on their return! Open Day On Thursday March 30 th St Mark s will open its doors to the hills community and beyond. Members of the Student Representative Council will have the privilege of sharing the wonderful facilities we have at St Mark s. The student led tour will end with a morning tea for our guests. Should you know of any families moving to the Mt Barker district, we encourage you to advise them of our Open Day. All are welcome to ring the school office to book a tour. Chapel Friday chapel will begin at 9:00am in the school hall. Coffee and chat with Janene will follow chapel at 9:30am. This week s chapel will be led by Pastor Clayton. We extend a warm welcome to all parents, grandparents and friends. Parent & Teacher Meetings for 2017 Parent & Teacher meetings will be held on Thursday April 6 th (3:30-6:00pm), Monday April 10 th (3:30-5:30pm) and again Wednesday April 12 th (3:30-5:00pm). Meetings will be 10 minutes duration. A letter has gone home to all families summarising our Parent & Teacher meeting on line process. Bookings can be made via the school s website at www.stmarks.sa.edu.au (News & Events/Parent Teacher Meetings). Your letter has provided you with your login details and the password required for the process. If you should encounter any problems using PTO, please contact the school office on 83910444 or email contact@stmarks.sa.edu.au. Stations of the Cross On Thursday April 13 th St Mark s will be reflecting on Jesus final journey to Calvary. We invite parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles and also friends to join students and staff for this event where together we will walk, pray and sing God s praises for his ultimate sacrifice. End of Term Term 1 will end Thursday April 13 th. Term 2 will commence Monday May 1 st, 2017. We need your help.. The school has received a deposit on 20th March 2017 under the name of Harper Family. If this is you, could you please contact the school immediately. LEAH Schools Partnerships As we announced last year, we have strengthened our partnership with Cornerstone College in a practical way to assist families who have students enrolled at St Mark s and Cornerstone at the same time. A rebate is available from us for your child attending St Mark s and from Cornerstone for your child enrolled there. An application form is available from our office if you would like to apply for the rebate. It should be completed and returned to us and then we will forward it to Cornerstone College for them to action.
SRC News The 2017 SRC are off to a wonderful start! We are excited to share some ways we are going to raise money for two causes. Our first is to help refugee children overseas go to school through the wonderful work of the Australian Lutheran World Service (ALWS). April is also Autism Awareness Month. Your generous support of our fundraising activities will also help Autism SA continue to provide early intervention programs, school support, respite services and an info line service to more than 8,141 people and their families. On Friday 7 th April, we are having a casual day with the theme of SPORT. Students can wear anything to do with sport - perhaps your favourite team, your favourite sport, or even sporting hero. Please bring a gold coin donation. We are also offering Zooper Doopers every Wednesday at lunchtime beginning next Wednesday 29 th March and each Wednesday until the end of term. Just bring $1 to the 4K classroom at lunchtime. The SRC would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your anticipated support. SRC St Marks Lutheran Lightning Pedal Prix 2017 Any Parents / Business owners who would like to sponsor the St Mark s Lightning Pedal Prix team are asked to contact Christina Johnston on 0409 077836 for options. Sponsorship can be monetary or in kind donations with various packages available.
THANK YOU! Thank you for all offers of help, support and companionship at the St Mark s Sports Day! The P & F had a number of volunteers who came to help at the coffee and cake stall, as well as the BBQ/Yiros stall. Without your help, we couldn t have made it the success that it was, so THANKS to all. Special thanks must go to those who donated cakes and goods for the stalls and the raffles! Raffle donations were received from Elizabeth Marsh (Tuppaware), Emma Webb (JB Hi Fi voucher), Monica Strachan (Sazon vouchers), Jess Male (grill pan), Nicole Clark (Wine pack), Michael Yeo (Coles gift card), Jade Luciano (lamp), Jenny Venus (wine and crackers packs), Merridy Blue (wine pack), Colleen Bradfield (skin care packs), Louise Borgo (science toys), Liz Kamminga (necklace and candle packs), Farm Gate Services (pottery bird garden ornament), Penny Geue (Enid Blyton book) and Sarah Scott (colouring books). Thanks also to Lenswood apples who donated 300 apples, which we all really enjoyed and Pulpit Cellars for the ice donation it was a warm day and we really needed it! Of course, there are always too many individuals to thank, but you know who you are! We re all a part of a great community who work together to make it happen. Thanks everyone!
INVITATION TO TENDER CLEANING & MAINTENANCE CONTRACTOR St Mark's Lutheran School Mt Barker provides outstanding Christian education to families within the Adelaide Hills. We are an independent coeducational Foundation to Year 6 primary school with a student population of 339. After 15 years of dedicated and exceptional service our current cleaning and maintenance contractor will be leaving the school in May 2017. We are seeking a meticulous and caring cleaning and maintenance contractor to take over the daily cleaning and some maintenance duties at the school. We are seeking persons who take pride in their work, show attention to detail and who display the values of the St Mark s Community. For further documentation visit www.stmarks.sa.edu.au or email contact@stmarks.sa.edu.au. Tenders close Wednesday 29th March 2017 at 5pm with interviews commencing shortly after. Commencement to be negotiated prior to 1 June 2017. St Mark s Lutheran School Dear Parents/Caregivers, THANK YOU! We would like to say thank you to the lovely person who dropped off a bag of donated games with no name attached, just a note saying For Camp Australia kids to enjoy! The kids have been playing chess and family feud every morning and afternoon. This week we will begin our Easter craft. This is some of the children s favourite craft activities. Don t forget - HOLIDAY BOOKINGS ARE NOW OPEN! We have an exciting program planned for our Adventureland themed Holiday Club. We are open every day (excluding public holidays). Open hours are 6:30am- 6:15pm. We will be going to the movies and doing awesome incursion activities. Please book early for these days to ensure we have enough space/material. All bookings can be made at www.campaustralia.com.au/holidayclubfun or you can call our friendly customer service team 1300 105 343. Please ensure if your child has any medical needs that you visit the website or drop by the service anytime to collect required paperwork. Sam Thomas and team Email: sastmarks@oshccampaustralia.com.au Mobile: 0403 731 488