The Lord is my Shepherd

Welcome to Term 2. It has been a joy to see students getting back into ‘new normal’ school routines both at home, and on campus, this term. At the start of the year, if someone had asked me if we deliver Distance Learning, I would have said a said “No” and I would have struggled to elaborate on my answer to this question.

The last few months, we have had so many changes in the world, in Australia and in our community. Our daily lives have changed; we are not catching up with different family members or going camping. We are social distancing and regularly using hand sanitiser. Our daily lives have indeed changed, and schooling has changed. We are now delivering Distance Learning at Northern Christian School. I’m extremely proud of students, families and staff in the way that they have embraced Distance Learning. It has not always been a smooth process, with some hiccups along the way, and we have appreciated your grace. As I read and pondered the survey results, I am in awe of the supportive families we have at Northern. I value your honest feedback and how you have all been working hard to facilitate a learning environment for your child/ren at home. Your seen, and unseen, efforts are greatly appreciated.

As I spent time in God’s word, I was reminded that Jesus is our shepherd and has already gone before us at this unprecedented time. As I reflected on the true meaning of Easter and the sacrifice that Jesus made for us, I looked at John 10:11. This verse reminds us that Jesus is the good shepherd, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep.”

These are uncertain times at present and we can become disorientated. I encourage you to reflect on Psalm 23 and its implications for our lives - now more than ever, and reorientate yourselves:

Psalm 23
The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need.
He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honour to his name.
Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.
You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies.
You honour me by anointing my head with oil.
My cup overflows with blessings. Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the LORD forever.

Psalm 23 is one of first psalms that I learned to recite when I was a child and has stayed closed to me over the years. Psalm 23 remind us that the Lord is our shepherd, he is always near to us and will lead us to our true home if we put our trust in Him.

Timothy Keller writes in regards to Psalm 23, “God has a Celebration meal with us not after we are finally out of the dark valley, but in the middle of it, in the presence of our enemies. He wants us to rejoice in him in the midst of our troubles.” Is Jesus out of touch with our current reality at Northern? Hardly. Jesus is the only shepherd who knows what we are all going through in regards to COVID19 and will be with us every step of the way.

As we venture into Term 2, with so many unknowns, may you be encouraged and rejoice that the Lord is our shepherd and He goes before us. We pray, as a school community, that we will continue to reorientate ourselves and be guided by God and His word.

Miss Bethany Armstrong - Principal

Online - Keeping Your Child Safe

As we continue to engage via our online learning environment, it is timely to review the procedures we have in place to keep children safe.

The Australian Government, through their eSafety website, has provided some
excellent advice, covering a range of topics, under the heading COVID-19: an
online safety kit for parents and carers.

There is also a wealth of resources to assist parents in providing a safe online
environment and some of these will be listed below. While online learning will
be encouraged for those with internet access and the appropriate devices,
following the encouragement to self-isolate, it is very important to maintain a
balance between online time and time spent doing other important and
worthwhile activities.

One very worthwhile way to achieve the balance between necessary and
desirable online time is to enter into family contracts that provide for safety
and outcomes which promote a healthy social, emotional, physical and
spiritual environment. These contracts need to be entered into and agreed
upon with the whole family. The Australian Governments eSafety website calls
these a Family Tech Agreement.

A Family Tech Agreement is a set of rules about how devices, like smartphones, tablets, computers, TVs and gaming consoles are used in your home. It is written down and agreed to by all family members and kept in a place where everyone can see it, such as on the fridge.

The eSafety website provides further information on how this works, along with downloadable templates for establishing such an agreement.

For those families with older students, you may prefer a contract that everyone agrees to.

It is strongly recommended that bedrooms should be digital technology free
for pre and primary school age children. Devices used for learning or
entertainment should be kept and only used in the areas of the house that can
be supervised, like the loungeroom or kitchen.

The eSafety Online safety basics page provides excellent advice on how to
educate your children to safely navigate their digital world and how to avoid
harmful online experiences. It includes targeted advice for parents of children
under 5, kids 5-12 and teenagers 13-17.

My prayer is that you will know God’s love, wisdom, blessing, provision and
protection as you as families journey together through these challenging times.

Mr Malcolm Lacey - Chaplain

Little Learners - Musical Moves

This week we are encouraging our Little Learners to make a musical instrument at home. This ‘homemade’ musical item can range in sound. You may create an instrument that makes loud sounds or even quiet sounds.  

Please find below some suggestions/activities for you to create a musical item with your child/ren.

• Tapping sticks - use some sticks from your own garden.

• Shakers - you can make these from any sealable container. To fill these, use rice, wheat, pebbles or dirt. It is good to use various items and listen to the different noises.

• Drums - large milo tins, shoe boxes or round biscuit tins.

• Rainmakers - use post office cardboard cylinders, with small nails to hammer into the tube (great activity for older siblings to help with). They still work well without the nails. Lastly fill them with wheat or small pebbles.

Once you have made your musical instrument, sing your child’s favourite songs with them, make it loud and quiet, make it fast and slow. Have fun!

We look forward to hearing about your musical experiences and we would love to see some photos of our Little Learners with their musical instruments and share these on our Facebook page. Please feel free to email these photos to us.

 Mrs Jane Edler - Little Learners Coordinator

Scholastic Book Club

Scholastic is still committed to supporting literacy in schools and getting books into the hands of kids. For Term 2, Book Club is going virtual to cater to the distance learning environment. You can view the new catalogue.  

You can submit your orders online using the LOOP platform and books will be delivered to the school.  We will ring you when they arrive to arrange a pick-up time. Orders will need to be submitted by the 18 May. There's no better time to escape with a good book!

Mrs Linda Rowlings - Librarian