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St Peters Lutheran College
Springfield School Newsletter
15 AUGUST 2013 WEEK 6 TERM 3
We are quickly
approaching a very
significant time of
year for our Year 12
students as they make
their final preparations
for the Queensland
Core Skills Test (QCST)
to be conducted
at the beginning
of September. A
few weeks later,
Verification submissions for Authority subjects
will be sent to be reviewed by District Panels
as the process of determining Exit Levels
of Achievement, and subsequently Overall
Positions, formally commences.
We explicitly prepare our Year 12 students for
the QCST through exposing them to questions
and practice papers, analysing the quality
of their responses, providing feedback and
discussing and teaching specific strategies. This
year I have been involved in preparation of
students for both the Short Response Items and
the Multiple Choice Papers with Mrs Norrlin
who has been working with our Year 12 students
in preparing for the Writing Task. Through
rigorous engagement in these processes of
preparation it becomes abundantly clear that
the test does indeed assess core skills that
are being developed through each student’s
academic program. Further, a less obvious but
clear factor in preparation is the activity of a
student in life outside of school, and the culture
and habits of the home. Is reading a valued
activity in the home? Are matters of social
concern and current events discussed around
the dinner table? Do family activities broaden
horizons? Attention to the broader education
can enrich what students bring to the classroom,
assisting them to provide deeper responses at
higher levels of thought and quality which will
invariably find expression in many ways in many
environments including through such critical
assessments as the Queensland Core Skills Test.
You may say that the Overall Position system is
under review and may well change in the years
ahead. This is true but the skills, processes
and capabilities of which I write are not valued
merely in the context of secondary school test
performance but in tertiary studies and more
importantly in the holistic development of
lifelong learners who are mindful, critical and
engaged young people contributing to a healthy
community and making their way across an
evolving landscape.
what’s on...
Please check the online calendar for the most
up-to-date details
Monday 19 – Friday 23 August
Children’s Book Week
Wednesday 21 – Friday 23 August
Monday 26 – Tuesday 27 August
Open Library for families (Book week),
3.00pm to 4.00pm
Friday 23 August
Jeans for Genes Day,
Prep – Year 12 Gold coin donation
Mr Craig Schmidt
Deputy Principal
Saturday 24 August
Open Day, 9.00am to 12.00noon
100th Day of School
Our 100th Day of School celebration took place on Friday 9th August with the Prep and Year 1
students coming together for a range of fun, number-related activities. Since the start of the school
year, the students have been counting the number of days at school on a 100 number chart, eagerly
awaiting the 100th day.
For our special celebration, students came to school wearing some fantastic number-inspired outfits
and brought a zip-lock bag of 100 items from home to compare. Creative juices were flowing, with
popular activities like making Cheerio necklaces, ‘100’ reading glasses, ‘100 Days Smarter’ crowns and
icing biscuits with 100s & 1000s. One of the challenges of the day was to build a pyramid using 100
plastic cups. It was a fantastic morning!
Friday 30 August
Fathers’ Day Breakfast & Chapel, 7.30am to 8.45am
Yr 8 Production – Concourse, 6.00pm to 8.30pm
Friday 6 September
Community Celebration, Spring/Nature,
5.00pm to 7.00pm
Tuesday 10 September
P & F General Meeting, 6.30pm Library
Thursday 12 September
Year 8/10 Immunisations Round 3,
9.30am – Staff Room
Wednesday 18 September
Term 3 concludes
Thursday 19 to Friday 20 September
Student Free Days
// Ministry
Year 10 Business Class cleans up with Coal Seam Gas
On 24 July, the Year 10 Business Class attended
Sustainable Business Conference hosted by
the University of Southern Queensland at their
Springfield Campus. The Conference focussed
on how sustainability can be incorporated into
business with the St Peters students taking away
the student trophy for their ideas about issues
surrounding the Coal Seam Gas industry.
The day started with a lecture addressed
by a USQ lecturer who presented on their
specialised topics. Our group was presented to
by Professor Slaughter who provided an insight
into the controversial topic of coal seam gas.
Prof. Slaughter explained what coal seam gas
was and gas and the various repercussions that
this source of energy has on the environment,
agriculture and farming and humans. Ultimately,
he questioned the sustainability that coal
seam gas has in relation to various aspects,
particularly the environment. At the end, he
supplied the students with two questions that
were to be answered in groups and further
submitted to a panel of judges to critique
our works.
Next, three keynote speeches were delivered
by three individuals who were commendable
in their various fields. Firstly, Prof. Dr Ulrich
Nissen, travelling all the way from Germany,
spoke on sustainable green energy and
especially, the new system of renewable energy
being implemented throughout Germany –
“Energiewende”, which is set to change the way
Germany sources their future energy needs
hoping to be less reliant on Nuclear Power.
Secondly, Peter Jamieson spoke on behalf of
Triple Eight Racing, which constructs the car
for famous drivers such as Jamie Whincup and
Craig Lowndes, and equally famous sponsors
like Red Bull and Holden. Peter spoke of the
importance of a business unit constantly seeking
excellence and reviewing their operations
for Optimum performance based on an open
communication platform.
The last speaker was Hayley Titman from
Consolid8 Accounting who excellently engaged
and motivated many students to think about
studying accounting. Hayley has managed to
build her business up from the ground, and
also ensure that it is sustainable, both for the
environment and financially.
By the end of the keynote speeches, the
prizes were awarded to the runners-up and
winners of the questions answered earlier.
To incredibly surprise, a St Peters team was
announced winner of the University of Southern
Queensland Sustainable Business Conference
2013, compromising of the following students;
Dana Stephens, Morgan Davies, Mitchell Maric
and Abby Croxford. Congratulations to all four
and also the other students who attended the
conference. The day was definitely a success
with smiles all round and plenty of additional
knowledge. A big thank you is certainly in place
to Mr Ashton who organised the day and our
attendance, the staff and students at USQ and
the keynote addresses.
You are made through the
sacrifice of stars
– Brian Swimme
When I did my science in the 1970s at UQ I did
biochemistry and microbiology. Science does
not stay still and neither does the God of life.
My preparation for Science week chapels has led
me into cosmology – the amazing story of how
the world began. Science currently tells us about
the huge initial expansion of energy in the big
bang, and of the precise balance and fluctuations
that led to hydrogen and helium atoms swirling
around dark matter, and collapsing into stars
that grew the chemical elements needed for life.
When stars collapsed, carbon was thrown out to
become new stars and eventually the building
blocks of our life. This wonderful, complicated
universe was like a search engine looking for
life and finding all the bits it needed. Leave
behind the acrid debates about evolution and
God, and about life being totally random. The
current picture is much richer than that. Now I
know that there will be paradigm shifts, and that
science will have different explanations in ten or
a hundred years, but we still need to know and
trust the biblical message that this has all come
from love; that God leads us through pain and
sorrow to new life; that the sacrifice of Christ,
like that of stars, is life giving; and that God and
life are conspiring to move us beyond ourselves
as separate and all there is, to a bigger, broader
connectedness. So do your science and exploring
and asking with awe and wonder, and remember
that you are always being invited into love.
Pastor Michael Mayer
(Indooroopilly)
By Abby Croxford and James Ashton
We Love Reading
2013 Trampolining
National Club
Championships
Congratulations to Madeleine Fitt,
after only 4 months of training after
a 6 year break, Maddie won gold by
placing 1st for Double Mini and 1st for
Trampoline for Level 4 at last weekend’s
2013 National Club Championships.
She competed against about 86 other
athletes from various States in Australia.
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Curriculum Matters Year 8-12
As we approach the business end of Term 3 and students are frantically preparing assignments,
I would like to take the opportunity to remind parents and students of our assessment and
assignment policy:
Assignments and Assessment Tasks
Task sheets will provide the student with specific details about the task and how it is to be judged.
The task sheet will be provided to the student at the commencement of the task.
An effective task sheet will state in simple, subject-appropriate language:
• what is required of the student;
• how or where the responses are to be presented;
• the due date of the completed task;
• requirements for the submission of drafts;
• the conditions under which the assessment will be undertaken; and
• how judgements about student achievement will be made.
Drafting Guidelines
As assignment style assessment items are undertaken over an extended period of time with both
in-class and out-side class time provided to undertake the task, measures need to be employed to
monitor student progress and to ensure the security of the submitted item.
Many subjects require that, as part of the assignment preparation process, a draft of work or other
evidence of sufficient progress be shown to the teacher ahead of the due date. A draft is a response
that is almost complete i.e. nearly good enough to submit for assessment. The purpose of viewing
student drafts is to provide students with feedback, so that they may improve their response. Such
feedback may be written, verbal or be delivered in the form of advice to the whole class.
The presentation of an assignment draft may also be necessary to:
• serve as a means of allowing students to authenticate the authorship of their response;
• serve as a means of demonstrating that an inquiry process has been followed ;
• provide valuable opportunities for students to seek general advice from their teachers prior to
submission of the task for assessment;
• ensure that work is progressing at a rate to suggest that work will be completed by the final due
date;
• ensure that the task is being completed consistent with the assessment criteria and standards –
those students heading in the wrong direction can be redirected; and
• allow work to be used as evidence of completion when the final copy of the task is
not submitted by the due date, in accordance with the College ‘Late Submission and
Non-Submission of Student Assessment Policy & Procedures’.
In many subjects, the submission of a draft is a compulsory requirement of the task, being mandated
by the syllabus.
Whilst all Subject Areas may operate with different procedures regarding the use and submission of
drafts, the following principles will apply.
• Drafting is a consultation process, not a marking process. Teachers will not award a notional
result or a level of achievement for any criteria for a work in draft form;
• The intention regarding feedback is to highlight general areas that the student needs to address
in order to improve the overall standard of their work;
• Editing and proofreading in relation to all aspects of communication is primarily the
responsibility of the student. Teachers may indicate some textual errors and indicate that the
draft requires more careful editing;
• Drafts are to be submitted only to the student’s subject teacher; and
• Parents will be advised when a student fails to submit a draft where it is a compulsory
requirement.
Subject Areas also have the discretion to apply additional rules and restrictions relating to the
submission of drafts. These may include, but not be limited to:
• the form in which a draft may be submitted e.g. sentence outline;
• the number of drafts that can be submitted for teacher feedback;
• any additional steps in the assignment completion process;
• the form in which any feedback will be structured;
• whether or not the draft needs to be attached to the final copy of the assessment task; and
• the amount of feedback that will be provided on drafts submitted after the draft due date or on
drafts submitted unreasonably close to the final due date of the assessment task.
Congratulations
Shai Williams
Congratulations Shai!
• Qualified for next year’s nationals
in Hobart
• Made it into the Qld state
development squad
• Presented with Encouragement
Award at the Awards BBQ
which was selected by the QLD
Diving Board
What’s New In Tuckshop
This Week!
Angel Bay Burgers
$4 each
Did you know?
Our Slushys have no
artificial colours or
flavours!
As such, students should always read all task sheets and course outlines carefully.
Article continues on page 4
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Use of Technology for Assignments and Assessment Tasks
Students are encouraged to make use of computers and Ipads (School computers/Ipads and/or
home computers/Ipads) when appropriate for completing assignments and assessment tasks. If
a computer/Ipad is being used to complete a task, the recommended procedures for the use of
technology outlined below should be adhered to:
• save the document regularly;
• back up work regularly and if saving to the hard drive, also save to another source (email,
icloud, external hard drive, USB stick etc.);
• print out draft copies of work and keep these in a safe location;
• do not leave the printing of assignments or tasks until the night before it is due; and
• do not bring work to school on a USB for printing on the day that the assessment task is due
and allow a few days if planning to print the task at school.
Generally, technical failures related to computing equipment will not constitute sufficient grounds for
the granting of an extension.
I hope this update has been useful. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if I can be of
further assistance.
Robyn Norrlin
Curriculum Leader Key Learning Areas Year 8-12
Live well with
Asthma
Are you or someone you care for living
well with asthma? If you:
• wake up coughing, wheezing
or breathless
• struggle to keep up with
normal activity
• use your blue reliever puffer more
than three times a week
• are unsure about the way your
medications can work best for you
These are all signs your asthma is not
well controlled or signs you are not living
well with asthma.
If your asthma is limiting your quality
of life, Asthma Foundation Queensland
invites you to join us for a free one hour
Live Well with Asthma workshop. To
register please call Asthma Assist on
1800 645 130 or visit
asthmafoundation.org.au
Book Week 2013
To celebrate Book week 2013, Junior School students will hold a celebration on Wednesday
21 August. Students are asked to dress up as their favourite book character or focus on the
theme ‘Reading across the Universe’. We will start the day with a Book Week Assembly,
followed by a parade and then moving to our classrooms for activities relating to the theme
and the short listed books for 2013.
Where: The Exchange,
Blamey Street,
Kelvin Grove Q 4059
When: Tuesday
3 September, 2013
Time: 11:00am – 12:00pm
There will also be a Book Fair held in the School Library from 21 – 27 August for Prep – Year 7
students. Students will visit the Book fair during school time and make a wish list. Mrs Ryan
will have the library open for families to visit the Book Fair on 21 – 23 August and 26 -27
August from 3.00pm – 4.00pm.
Pastoral care teachers will be sending more detailed information out to their families.
Careers That Start In Science
Seeing as we are celebrating Science Week this week I thought a little
information about careers in Science would be timely.
Science Is Everywhere
From acoustics to zoology and everything in between, a multitude
of today’s jobs require a science background. The rewarding careers
profiled in this book demonstrate the huge range of jobs available in
Science. In fact, over the past decade, the number of Queenslanders
employed in occupations related to Science, Technology, Engineering
and Mathematics has increased by 106,000, and the demand for these
skills is likely to continue.
Today’s Science students will need to tackle tomorrow’s problems –
and they will be significant.
Why Study Science?
Science qualifications are your springboard to a new world of career
opportunities. Training in science opens the doors to an array of
occupations you may not have considered. A solid science background
can lead you on a career path into research, teaching, industry and
business, government, consulting, project management… the potential
is almost endless.
A science degree has many benefits because you can use your
skills and training to make a difference in the global challenges that
confront us in the 21st century. Reducing the impacts of climate
change, curing illnesses, advancing economic policy, developing new,
life-saving drugs, protecting the environment and exploring space
frontiers!
Some courses at UQ in the field of Science:
• Bachelor of Advanced Science
• Bachelor of Agribusiness
• Bachelor of Applied Science (Agronomy, Animal Production,
Crop Production, Equine Management, Horticulture,
Veterinary Technology)
• Bachelor of Environmental Science
If you’d like any further information about different Science courses or
careers, please come and see me!
Sarah Johnson
Year 5 Teacher/Careers and Guidance Counsellor
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