Student Voice…

“I want to be able to do my work and not get distracted by drawing”.
“I want to learn how to use joining words in my sentences”.
“I want to learn to share my toys with my classmates”.
“I want to learn to plan, carry out and assess my progress on a task”.
“I want to learn how not to hold a grudge”. 

(Northern Student Goals, 2023)

Recently, there has been a growing awareness of the importance of involving students in their learning journeys. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child states that children have the right to express their views on decisions that impact them. Australia’s National Framework for Protecting Children emphasises the need to actively listen and respond to the perspectives of children, and the 2023 Youth Coalition describes a future where student voices contribute to their own wellbeing, engagement, and civic participation.

In the Bible, Genesis 1:27 reminds us that God created man in His own image: as one who speaks and listens. Having a voice, and listening to the voices of others, are important parts of reflecting God’s image. Christian Schools Tasmania’s Strategic Plan reflects this notion, acknowledging the importance of supporting student voice and agency. At Northern Christian School, we encourage our students to have a voice in their learning and to listen to the voices of one another. We do this by involving our students in decision-making in many aspects of school life, including: 

• encouraging our students to contribute to the creation of their learning goals to promote interest, meaning and engagement;

• acknowledging and supporting our students’ diverse learning styles and preferences and providing different choices in learning tasks and activities;

• facilitating our Student Representative Council and encouraging these students to be a voice for their peers;

• actively involving students in processes such as our Annual Child Safeguarding Review to ensure a learning environment where every student feels safe and heard; and

• collecting and acting on data through practices such as annual Visible Learning Interviews and Endeavour Survey Student Forums to find out how our students experience school life.

 As we continue this learning journey with our students, we will explore new ways to foster student voice in our school, empowering them to have a voice in shaping their futures and contributing to the life of our school and the wider community. 

Kerrie Prentice - Learning Enrichment Coordinator

• Rock climbing to the top of a high wall.

• Abseiling - stepping off a platform of 9 metres high with nothing below.

• Climbing stacked milk crates as high as you can go until it falls... some were 11 or 12 high!

• Walking along a tight-rope, balanced by a rope and a buddy.

Courage, teamwork and trust - three qualities that all the students displayed over the course of the camp, with many of them achieving feats they never thought possible!

While the camp was filled with many exciting challenges that physically tested our trust in each other, we were also reminded about the trust we need to put in our saviour, Jesus. In our devotion time, we heard three stories from John's gospel - Jesus turning water into wine, Jesus telling Nicodemus he must be 'born again', and Jesus telling the Samaritan woman that whoever trusts in Him will never thirst again! I encourage you to read these amazing stories in the Bible in John chapters 2 - 4. In a nutshell, we learnt that an abundant life now, a new life forgiven from sin, and an everlasting life into eternity, are only found in Jesus. He is the one we must put our full trust in!

In addition to all of this, our time on camp was well spent playing in the games room, racing down slides, kicking soccer balls, bouncing on trampolines, eating yummy food, exploring rock pools, singing around a firepit, chasing glow sticks and much more! Thanks to all the students, teachers, staff, and parents who came along to make it such a wonderful time! 

Will Davis - Year 3 Teacher

The Light Festival is this Friday, 25 August, and we are very excited about this wonderful event!

This year, we are using Eventbrite to ensure we cater sufficiently for our families so the event runs smoothly. Please keep in mind some points when booking your free tickets:

• This event is for Immediate Family members of current students only, which means the student, their siblings, and their parents or primary carers. Unfortunately, due to catering and parking limitations, we are unable to welcome additional grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, nieces, nephews, or family friends. Please ensure you have only booked tickets for your immediate family. Any additional tickets that have been booked can be cancelled via Eventbrite. Any additional family members who arrive at the event will be asked to leave.

• There are a number of duplicate household ticket sales on Eventbrite. Please discuss with your household who has booked tickets already and ensure only one set of tickets is booked so we can ensure we have accurate numbers for catering. Any additional tickets that have been booked can be cancelled via Eventbrite.

If you require a disabled parking space to be reserved for this event, please contact the Office.

Book Week Parade
Wednesday, 30 August at 9.20am

Families are warmly invited to Northern's annual Book Week Parade. This year's theme is ‘Book Safari’. For the parade, students are encouraged to dress up as their favourite safari animal or book character. The event will be held in our Performing Arts Centre.

Book Fair

Book sales as part of the Book Fair will open after the Book Week Parade.
Each class will be given time to complete their Book Fair Wish List on
Monday 28 August or Tuesday 29 August. Students will bring their Wish List home and share it with their parents and carers.

The Library will be open for book sales as follows:
Wednesday, 30 August, after the Book Parade until 11.30am,
and 1.00pm - 1.30pm
Thursday, 31 August from 8.30am - 9.30am, 11.00am - 11:30am 
and 1.00pm - 1.30pm

EFTPOS and cash may be used for book purchases.

If you are able to help at the Book Fair with book sales, please email me. All volunteers must have their Working with Vulnerable People Card.

Competition

To celebrate the upcoming Book Week and this year's theme of ‘Book Safari’, we will be holding a creative writing and/or illustration competition:

THEME: Wild Animals GROUPS: Prep - Year 2 and Years 3 - 6

• Students can work individually or in pairs.

• Students can be the author, do an illustration, or do both.

• The Library will be open for students to work on their entries at lunchtime on Wednesdays and Fridays, and we encourage students to work on their entries at home as well.

• Entries must be handed in at the Library by Friday, 25 August.

Prizes will be awarded at the Book Week Parade on Wednesday, 30 August.

Rachael Herring - Librarian

Monday, 4 September from 8.00am - 9.00am

Fathers and father-figures are warmly invited to join Northern Christian School students for a relaxed Father’s Day morning.

This will be a special time for our students with the adult men in their lives. Be it dad, big brother, uncle, grandad, stepfather or a family friend; you are welcome to share this morning with our students. It will include a sweet treat and a barista-made coffee to be held inside our Performing Arts Centre and on the Performing Arts Centre Green!

We'd love to see you there!

As part of our 30 Year Anniversary, the Student Representative Council (SRC) will be coordinating Heritage Day on Tuesday, 19 September.

The SRC felt that students wanted to celebrate this special milestone in a fun way, so we voted and decided to encourage everyone to dress up as students from the early 1900s. There will be old-fashioned custard and jam buns for morning tea, activities from the 1900s that students will enjoy with their buddy class, and we will also hear from Mr Malcolm Lacey about the early days at Northern Christian School when he served as Principal.

As part of this special day, we will be filling a time capsule with an item from each class that reflects our school in 2023, which will be buried on this day.

We can't wait to see everyone in their old-fashioned attire at our Heritage Day!

Maya - Student Representative Council 

Friday, 20 October from 2.00pm - 4.00pm

This year, we celebrate 30 years of God's goodness and faithfulness at Northern Christian School. Together, we will continue to build a bright future that will transform not just the lives of our students but the wider school community.

You are invited to attend our afternoon of celebrations!

Our Service of Thanksgiving starts at 2.00pm. You will hear stories from our special guests, including from those who built our school, in some cases literally with their bare hands! The service will conclude with an afternoon tea where you can reminisce with others as you look at the school's history.

At 3.30pm, tours will commence so you can see our new Kinder precinct, some memorabilia and the beautiful work of our current students.

What a wonderful way to celebrate what God has done through Northern Christian School!

Tickets are FREE but must be ordered via EVENTBRITE. As this event is held during school time, current Northern students do not need to reserve tickets. Students must be accompanied by an adult after 3.00pm to remain for the afternoon tea and tours.

The Tasmanian Brick Enthusiasts Inc. and Brixhibition invite all Primary School students in the Southern Tasmanian area to compete in their Lego Competition running in Term 3, 2023.

Students are invited to take part in the challenge by creating their own Lego masterpieces to be displayed at school in the Learning Enrichment Room. There will be medallions for age-group winners, one of which will also be for ‘Overall Winner’ for the school. The overall winning entry will then have the opportunity to compete against other schools around Hobart and have their entry judged by the Tasmanian Brick Enthusiasts Inc. members, where place Trophies for 1st, 2nd and 3rd  + other prizes will be awarded.

• Each Lego display is to be no larger than 52cm x 52cm x 52cm, or no larger than four 32x32 lug Lego baseplates.

• Each Lego display must be an original or freelance design - not made from a Lego kit.

• Some adult help is allowed, but the Lego design should mainly be child’s own design.

• Each Lego entry to be completed and displayed at your school, in-house or virtually, by no later than Monday, 11 September.

• Lego submissions can be handed into the Learning Enrichment Room from Monday, 4 September or virtually as a photo emailed to myself. Students are to be holding or positioned next to their creations. Photos will be displayed in the Learning Enrichment Room.

• All Lego Challenge Overall Winners will be judged by Tasmanian Brick Enthusiasts Inc. members, to determine the Grand Prize Winners by bringing their model (or photo) to South East Sports Complex, Montagu St, Sorell to be on display at the Brixhibition Hobart 2023 event Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 October.

• Grand Prize winners will be announced at 3.20pm on Sunday, 8 October during Brixhibition Hobart 2023 at Sorell.

Happy Building!

Luke Lamont - Year 6 Teacher