Northern Newsletter

From the Principal

The Wonder of Easter…

I don’t know about you, but I get overwhelmed with the giant bunnies stocked up on so many aisles at the supermarket, which have been displayed literally since Boxing Day. What confusion this can bring to children about the actual ‘Wonder of Easter.’ At Northern, we aspire to provide a Christian education that instructs the head, shapes the heart, and equips the hand as we look at God’s world with biblically-informed glasses. This past week, I have been so encouraged by the conversations I have heard within our community, the questions our students have been asking about Easter, and the way our teachers have shared what Easter means to us as Christians through reading the Bible. Seeing and hearing students delight in the wonder of what God has done for us through Jesus has been wonderful and so special.

In classes and at Line Up this week, students were reminded of the real reason for Easter, the most beautiful and necessary event in all of history. I shared with our students the best news that I have read:

After sharing this with students, I was struck again by the comments made by many students who were in awe of how undeserving they are of God’s love and grace. As articulated by Hunter in Year 3, “Easter means to me that you can celebrate and thank Jesus for what He has done for us…He saved me from all of my sins when I should take the punishment for what I have done, but Jesus loves me so much that He has taken the punishment for me. The news that Jesus saves us is really, really good.”

Here are some ways that you may like to look at the ‘Wonder of Easter’ with your children:

Easter is a major part of God’s big rescue plan. It shows us how much Jesus loves us and is one of the most exciting parts of God’s story. In fact, you can find it a few times in the Bible. Here are two places to read the story: Mark 14–16 and John 13–21.
Watch and read ‘God’s Story: Easter’ online by Crossroads Kids’ Club.
Read ‘The Easter Fix’ by Steph Williams - A great book video to share with younger children why Jesus died and came alive again.
Listen and watch The Donkey Who Carried a King’ Book by R. C. Sproul. This book offers a unique perspective on the events of Jesus' Passion Week and calls all believers, both young and old, to follow in the footsteps of the Suffering Servant for the glory of God.

We pray that students and their families will know in their hearts that Easter is simply the fact that the Lord Jesus died for us and has called us to take up our cross and follow him; that all of our families will be struck by the wonder of Easter and the full meaning of Easter. As you unwrap your Easter eggs and enjoy family time, I encourage you to reflect upon Easter by reading the Easter story as a family and praising God for the greatest gift He has given us - Jesus.

Bethany Armstrong - Principal

School Calendar

TERM 2

APRIL
26 | First Day of Term 2
31 | Subway Lunch - Order via QKR! before Thursday 9.00am
31 | Little Learners - Incy Wincy Spider

A list of Term Dates for 2023 can be found on our Parents Page and also on the School Calendar.

VIEW FULL SCHOOL CALENDAR

Facebook Recap

Here’s the stories we’ve posted just in case you missed them. Don’t forget to like our page and posts!

2023 Student Leaders
Reading Cafe
Forest School Program
Meals on Wheels Easter Egg Donations
Athletics Carnival
Visit from Federal Member for Lyons, Brian Mitchell
Visit from Member for Derwent, Craig Farrell

And the Winner is…

On Wednesday, 22 March, we held our 2023 Athletics Carnival. It was wonderful to have so many families come out to support us on the day. Thank you to the Community Engagement Committee and all the volunteers who helped out with recording results, handing out ribbons, setting up, packing up and many other tasks. See our Facebook post for all the photos.

Athletics champions are those students who not only performed well on the day but more importantly participated enthusiastically. The 2023 champions are as follows.

Prep: William and Ivy
Year 1: Harvey and Sophia
Year 2: Archer and Ellie
Year 3: David and Amity
Year 4: Brock and Charlee
Year 5: Hunter E and Michelle
Year 6: Ryley and Tiffany

The winning house this year was Wellington. Well done to all of the students who participated and gave their best efforts on the day.

We love our Christian teachers — and we value their genuine faith. However, the Australian Law Reform Commission has released a consultation paper which would prevent schools like ours from choosing staff for their active lived faith. It's time they heard from some actual parents—like you!

If you value the contribution of Christian staff and teachers, this is your opportunity to have your voice heard. Please visit MyChristianSchool.au and send a message to your MP about the difference Christian teachers and staff make in our school.

Year 4 Update

It has been a wonderful first term in Year 4. Students have enjoyed reading and creating poetry. It was encouraging to observe students as they wrote acrostic poems about each other and the passion that students put into ensuring that the poem they wrote was kind and encouraging to the person they were writing about. These can be viewed in the Year 4 hallway.

In HASS, we have been learning about Indigenous Australians prior to British colonisation. We have explored cultural features, including the significance of symbols. As a part of this, students were required to write an imaginative recount and then use symbols to tell their recount through art.

Year 4 has spent Friday afternoons at Forest School with Mr Whittle this term. Students thoroughly enjoyed exploring the bush for creatures in their natural environment as well as building shelters and swings.

As a part of Visible Learning, students have been using data folders to track their learning goals and progress. This is a wonderful way for students to take responsibility for their learning, be reminded of their goals, and give them direction on where to go next. It has been exciting to see students enthusiastic about their growth.

Tara Williams - Year 4 Teacher

Term 1 Interim Reports

Kinder to Year 6 Term 1 Interim Reports were sent home with students today. The Interim Report briefly indicates your child’s start to the school year. A more detailed report will be issued at both the middle and end of the year. If your child was absent at school today or does not return to your household today, any remaining reports will be distributed at the start of Term 2.

If you have any concerns regarding the report and your child’s progress, please contact their class teacher to discuss further. Parent / Teacher Interviews are held later in the year after the Semester Reports are sent home.

5 Steps Poster Winners

Recently, students were asked to create a poster to remind each other of the ‘5 Steps’, which is a strategy that we use at Northern to help support students in the classroom and playground. This strategy helps students to avoid and reduce conflict with their peers. This year, the winning posters were created by Olivia E and Connor. These posters will be copied and placed around the school. Congratulations to our winners, and well done to everyone who contributed. There were many great entries. The two winning posters are below.

Samuel Whittle - Pastoral Care Coordinator

Olivia’s winning poster

Connor’s winning poster

Sunday, 21 May 2023

Come along and join the 2.7km ‘NCS Team’ fun run/walk. Families are encouraged to join in on the fun. Prams are welcome! Miss Armstrong and members of the Community Engagement Committee will be assisting on the day.

Enter via the website
Select - Hansen orchids 2.7km
Select - Join team and NCS
Cost is $20 per participant. $5 bus fee for those who would like to be returned to the start line at the end of the race.

Once entered, please email the Community Engagement Committee to confirm your attendance. We look forward to seeing you there!

Jaimi Willrath and Alice Oates - Community Engagement Committee

Toys

As a school, we love to teach students about faithful stewardship and support you as parents. Students love sharing with us the many great gifts you give them, often including expensive toys. When brought to school, these toys often become the source of distraction, envy, greed and jealousy, leading to actions that are undesirable. Therefore, it is best practice to leave these at home, as we cannot guarantee their safety and protection. Could you also please partner with us and remind your child to keep these items at home, especially Pokemon cards. There is also not to be any trading of toys or Pokemon cards.

There are exceptions to this rule, such as ‘Show and Tell’, ‘All about Me’ bags and ‘Star of the Day/Week’ items. Upon arrival at school, these items should be given to the teacher, who will put them in a safe spot until it is time to share with the class.

Thank you for your support and understanding.

Keeping Children Safe at Northern

Child and Youth Safe Organisations Framework

The Tasmanian Government is developing a new legally mandated framework that aims to improve the safety and wellbeing of children and young people in institutional settings. The Child and Youth Safe Organisations Framework will contribute to the development of child and youth safe organisations in Tasmania, which promote the safety of children and young people from all forms of harm in institutional settings.

Schools like ours that follow it will play a vital role in preventing harm to children and young people and responding appropriately to allegations made against workers. You can find out more about this via the Department of Justice website.

Safeguarding Children

We consider the health, safety and wellbeing of all children and young people our highest priority. We strive to ensure the safety and wellbeing of children and young people, in particular, through our Safeguarding Children & Young People Policy.

All Christian Schools Tasmania schools are Safeguarding Children certified by the Australian Childhood Foundation. You can learn more about Safeguarding Children policies via our website.

Welcome Brian Mitchell and Craig Farrell…

This week, we were honoured to host Federal Member for Lyons, Brian Mitchell on Monday (pictured above) and Member for Derwent, Craig Farrell on Tuesday (pictured below) as they met with our Principal, School Captain, Abigail and CEO of Christian Schools Tasmania, David Gillman.

We spoke about the importance of us continuing to provide distinctive Christian education. Northern parents joined the meeting to share why they chose Northern Christian School and their thoughts about the importance of Northern continuing to be an authentic Christian school.

We are grateful for Brian and Craig’s time and look forward to continuing to work together to support quality Christian education for our students.

From the Office

Term 2

Term 2 commences on Wednesday, 26 April. With the weather starting to cool down, please be reminded students are not to wear tops under their school polo shirts that are visible. If a student is finding the weather a little cooler, they are encouraged to wear the polo top, then add the knitted or rugby jumper, then add the soft shell jacket to add extra layers of warmth. Students are also permitted to wear the Northern beanies during Terms 2 and 3. Hats, caps, beanies, or jumpers other than Northern uniform items are not to be worn to, during or from school. Students can wear a puffer jacket over their uniform when outside if the weather is wet.

Employment Opportunity

Christian Schools Tasmania are seeking a Business Services Support Officer. This is a part-time position (10 hours per week average) based in Hobart.

For more information and to APPLY, please refer to the CST website.

Feedback

We value your feedback. Should you wish to provide general feedback, please submit an online feedback form.

All Absentees

Fill out the webform at the bottom of the Parents Page on our website or email us.