As has been seen in Brisbane this week, regulations can change quickly. Our school will continue to strive to maximise parent and student involvement, while maintaining compliance.

The most recent changes to the regulations effectively mean that we can begin operate almost as we were pre-COVID, while continuing increased hygiene practices. There are still some regulations surrounding social distancing which will influence how we do parent related events and possibly some excursions. We will communicate these changes as events arise. Mr Carter has shared some further Junior School related information about the COVID19 regulations in his section of the newsletter.

Staff Change

With considerable sadness I write to let you know that Jair Graham will be finishing his time with us mid next term. He has been an outstanding school psychologist. I am sure that many students and several staff members are indebted to Jair for the direct contributions he has made to their lives. I have met with Jair and Karlie almost every week since I started at the school and have been most impressed by Jair's perceptiveness and how best to care for students in need. Jair expressed to me how much he has appreciated working at the school. I wish Jair all the very best as he moves into a senior role with another organisation and concentrates on his private practice.

Easter

I trust that all of our school families will find time to rest and reflect this Easter holiday, at least over the Easter long weekend. Good Friday and Easter Sunday are, in my view, the 2 most significant events in the calendar. 

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. 1 Peter 1:3 NIV

Our Head of Junior School Learning Support, Mrs Jennifer Grose, has been doing a wonderful job at our school teaching our students to read. To help our school community understand Shire Christian’s approach to teaching this essential skill, I recently interviewed Jennifer. 

BH Jennifer, I understand that there are 2 major schools of thought on teaching reading - the whole language approach and the phonics approach. Can you explain each of these strategies and how they differ?

JG Phonics reading instruction is a method of teaching children the sounds letters and letter combinations make. Whole language instruction teaches children to recognise a word as a whole and remember it based on meaning. 

BH Which is better – whole language or phonics? Why? 

JG Phonics is essential for teaching the building blocks of reading and writing. As children learn to recognise sounds and letter combinations, their brain blends them together so quickly that they automatically read the word as a whole and bring meaning to it based on the context of the sentence. Phonics provides students with problem solving strategies throughout all of their schooling and skills to apply when decoding scientific words in Secondary School.

BH I imagine that there are different versions or styles of phonics. Can you give us an idea how our school approaches phonics?

JG Phonics is not merely 26 sounds of the alphabet. Synthetic Phonics is systematic, explicit instruction of many letter combinations that make sounds. Our program teaches sounds by how they are formed in the mouth. Students look into little mirrors to see what their tongue, teeth and lips are doing together to make sounds. Some sounds are quiet and others make their voice vibrate. 

Practise saying /t/ and /d/. Feel which one makes your throat vibrate. If you get a bit stuck, someone in Kindergarten will tell you with great excitement which one is the noisy brother of the pair of sounds. By Year 1 and 2 students are learning two and three letter sounds. They also know that some letters make more than one sound. Did you realise /a/ makes 5 sounds? One of them is pretending to be a /o/ when it is with a /w/ sound. (was, what)

BH Could you give one or 2 examples of phonics learning activities?

JG Before launching into teaching children sounds; a for ant, b for bat and c for cat, we need to spend time developing phonemic awareness. This is being able to hear the units of sound in speech and learning that a word is made up of different sounds. An activity used daily in Kindergarten is called chaining. We start with a simple word. Eg: dog. Children present this with three different coloured squares. We ask the children to change dog to fog. They look in little mirrors to see what their mouth is doing as they say words. They change the first coloured square identifying that the first sound was changed. What happens when I change fog to frog? This activity teaches the children to listen, speak clearly, break words down, build words up and problem solve. Lots of time is spent developing these auditory and oral skills before letters are connected to sounds.

Our WRASSE spelling program teaches children that letters can make several sounds and there are spelling rules to guide us. Can I play in the rain? /ai/ says a long /a/ sound that is never used at the end of a word. To make a long /a/ sound at the end of a word or syllable /ay/ is used. In Year 1 and 2 Spelling lessons focus for a week on a particular sound and how it is used in words.

BH Your particular area of expertise is providing specialist support to students with reading difficulties. What would be a common struggle your students experience learning to read? How would you respond to that need?

JG In the early years, students who have weakness in phonemic awareness typically struggle to learn to read. Small group practise of phonemic awareness activities is helpful to break the process down and give targeted, explicit instruction for specific students. 

Some students need to put so much effort into decoding words, that by the end of the paragraph students do not understand what they just read. Re-reading is very important. We need to read smoothly enough for it to sound like talking. 

For students who have comprehension difficulties, we teach specific strategies to make meaning as they read. One strategy is to teach them to ‘make a movie’ in their imagination of what they read. Then they can recall pictures rather than relying on remembering words from the text.

BH Thanks so much for sharing how we teach our students to read and for all the great work you do to help our students become better readers.

Mr Brett Hartley
Principal

He sang songs about how Jesus has rescued us from sin by dying on the cross for us and raising to life so that we may have eternal life. It was such a great time to be together to celebrate and reflect on what God has done through Jesus. The kids absolutely loved it! It would have to be one of the highlights of this term. I’d also like to thank Tim and Tamara, our Year 6 House Leaders, for leading us in prayer and reading the Bible.

New COVID normal

It has been wonderful to see parents onsite helping in visual arts lessons, in the classroom, being mystery readers, sharpening pencils and being at our Friday Award Assemblies. Parents are able to come through the Breezeway and visit our morning assemblies now. However we do ask two things. 

• Please register your attendance using the QR codes found in the breezeway and abide by the health and safety protocols.
• If you choose to accompany your child to the classroom on arrival, please encourage them to play with their friends. Some children may have been anxious or had difficulty separating from parents in the past. If this has been true for your child then we would like to partner with you to ensure that your child doesn’t regress. Therefore, you may choose to use the kiss and drop area or say goodbye at the breezeway to ensure a smooth transition for the start of the day.

The dismissal of Junior School students will continue as it is currently with K-2 meeting parents at the fence closest to Allies Rd or in the Breezeway/back of IRC if raining.

Uniform and Hair

On the first day of Term 2 we transition to the winter school uniform. Boys are required to wear long sleeve shirts and long trousers, girls the winter tunic and shirt. The boys short sleeved fitted shirt is not part of the winter uniform. 

Regarding holiday haircuts for boys - please make sure that it is of even length, neat, tidy and above the collar. Therefore no mullets, zig zags, lines etc. For girls, please make sure that your hair is pulled back with a red accessory if your hair is longer than your shoulder. For uniform guidelines please see the school website and pages 12-13 in the student diary. Thank you.

This has been an amazing term and a great start to the school year. Our new students have made friends and settled in well to our school. Our teachers have done an amazing job to ensure everyone feels safe, are cared for and are improving in their learning. We trust that you found the recent Interviews helpful. It has been wonderful to get back to our representative sporting events and participate in competitions with other schools.

I pray that all our families have an enjoyable Easter holiday and we look forward to another action packed Term 2 beginning with our Cross Country Carnival on the first Thursday. See you then!

Mr Paul Carter
Head of Junior School

The mountain of washing, tidying, relaxing or Netflix watching waiting for you is enough to make you refuse their request. Yet often, you concede, and you switch on your animated, interested voice to read yet another book about a frog, or a crayon, or a dog that thinks it is a ballerina. You can tell by the way their bodies relax into you that this one extra book means so much to your little one, and (usually!) this makes it worthwhile. Research reveals that this act of reading together is such a valuable and critical part of our child’s development. As a Christian school who promotes and values the integral role of parents at home, we encourage you to be reminded of the wonderful value that reading aloud to your children can have.

Numerous studies champion the neurological and emotional benefits of reading with and to children. In particular, Dr John Hutton of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital has conducted 20 years of research into how reading is a critical aspect of child health and development. Combining his original background as a bookstore owner, Dr Hutton now uses his skills to apply MRI studies to help understand exactly what happens in a child’s brain when they are read to. His research found that the part of the brain that is activated during shared reading experiences was responsible for processing visual associations. This ability to imagine and see what they are hearing is fundamental for them to develop into independent readers as they grow.

Reading together is relational. It is an emotive experience. With my background in English teaching, I am probably biased when valuing the place of books and shared reading. Reading aloud to my Year 12 classes has always been just as necessary and valuable as reading to my own little children. There is something distinctively different about a shared reading experience compared to a solo reading experience. Perhaps it harks back to our traditions of oral storytelling. Incredibly though, in God’s divine wisdom, there’s a deeper, biological reason why reading with our children is such a rich experience. Studies show that listening to speech is more spontaneously comprehensible and more linked to our emotional brain centre than reading. Therefore, the simple act of being close to our child and their hearing the rhythms and sound of our voices as we help construct mindscapes of words, carries far greater potential than we first realise.

To read with our children is to gift them with a glimpse into our world. A world in which they learn about God’s creation, people, differences, hardships and beauty - where grand Biblical narratives can frame each story we share. A child who is read to before the age of 5 is exposed to a far wider scope of language than those who are not read to, culminating in the child being exposed to approximately 1.4 million words before they enter kindergarten. This broad vocabulary is not the only benefit. By introducing your child to the various themes and experiences in the books, you are helping to guide your child’s response to navigating the complexities of life. 

Dialogic reading is an approach that most of us would adopt when reading aloud to our children. It involves actively inviting and engaging a child into the reading process and allows for a dynamic and active collaboration. As we read, we can ask them questions, we can pose “I wonder” statements, we can build on a child’s prior knowledge and gently challenge them to consider new ideas. In fact, the pedagogy behind dialogic reading with my 4-year-old is not too dissimilar to how I would approach shared reading with a Year 12 class. Reading aloud and in this interactive manner with our children (or our students) is fundamentally modelling for them ways to access, make meaning of and critique texts. As our children watch our mouth shape certain sounds and as we turn pages and engage with the text, they are being provided with the tools to access the empowering potential of literacy and literature. We are literally making visible the mysterious and often invisible act of reading.

Words matter. They can empower or disempower, enable or inhibit. They can proclaim truth, or they can selectively construct narratives. They can reinforce dominant discourses, or they can challenge and interrogate unquestioned beliefs. By ensuring children are read aloud to, we can use the inflections and tone of our voice to introduce our children to the nuances of words. We can help them begin to understand that it is often what is unsaid, or the implicit inferences around words that carry great meaning. 

An insightful, international survey is conducted annually by Scholastic called the Kids and Family Report. It provides information on the attitudes of children and their families about reading. Some noteworthy observations from the latest Australian survey include: 

• Across ages, the overwhelming majority of children (86%) say they love(d) being read books aloud at home or like(d) it a lot—the main reason being because it is a special time with parents. 
• More than half of children aged 0–5 (57%) are read aloud to at home 5–7 days a week. This frequency declines to four in 10 kids aged 6–8 (41%), and continues to decrease with age. 
• Of those children aged 6–8 whose parents no longer read books aloud at home, half (51%) did not want their parents to stop. 

These statistics are of particular interest in light of the fact that evidence continues to show that being read aloud to is a key indicator of whether a child will grow up to be a frequent, independent reader. The crucial role that a parent can play is highlighted in the following findings:

• There are three dynamics that are among the most powerful predictors of reading frequency for children aged 6–17: 
• How often a child is read books aloud 
• A child’s reading enjoyment 
• A child’s knowledge of their reading level 
• For children aged 6–11, additional predictors of reading frequency include where they read books for fun, parental involvement in encouraging reading, and how early they started being read books aloud. 
• For children aged 12–17, additional predictors of reading frequency include having parents who are frequent readers, the belief that reading books for fun is important, and in-school opportunities to talk about, find and read books. 

As a parent and a teacher, I know too well the way that ‘life’ gets in the way of our good intentions. Yet, as I am sure we all know, these times with our children are precious. I encourage you to continue to know the value of what you are investing into your children when you read aloud to them. As teachers, we can continue the process of reading aloud to our students in the classroom, but we know that our time and influence is limited. The true potential and foundations begin in your homes. Those quiet moments shared reading the same favourite books over and over has the ability to provoke wonder. What a tremendous gift to be given - to embark on this imaginative journey with our children.

Mrs Natalie Bluhdorn
Head of Teaching Practice

The videos below have been made to encourage and inform our community about how Shire Christian School provides a quality Christian education and cares deeply for students.

Junior School

Secondary School

Throughout the day we completed 10 different challenges in the areas of Mathematics, English, Science, Cartography, Ideation, Creative Producers, Legacy, Code Breaking, Engineering and Art and Poetry.

The theme of the day was Icons. The tasks were very challenging and exceedingly hard, but we worked in teams and enjoyed the day. Our Year 5 Team came second overall, out of the 19 Year 5 teams they competed against. 

They also received second place in Legacy, Science and Ideation.

Our Year 6 Team came first in Mathematics.  

We left feeling exhausted however, satisfied and challenged by the day.  

Written by the Year 6 da Vinci Team

Two separate days with vastly different weather forecasts provided a focused discussion on the ways each play connected with its module from Director of Sport for Jove Company, Damien Ryan. Combined with enacted scenes and discussion of the theatrical compositional choices by the playwrights, it was highly informative and timely in revision. But don’t take our word for it, here’s what a few of the students thought:

“I gained a lot from the Symposiums. The director shared very distinct and interesting points that went into more depth.”

“I was able to gain a deeper understanding of the play as different scenes were explained in detail. All the ideas in my head about the play came to life through watching the performance. From watching short parts of the play through the actors and the filmed production I was able to get an insight into how the play would have been performed. I also understand more of the text as it was explained in great detail alongside the module.”

The first leg of the fieldtrip consisted of visiting Tambourlaine Organic Wines in the Hunter Valley. This section of the excursion was undertaken as part of the topic People and Economic Activity. Students learnt about the wine production process from the vineyards to winemaking.

Students undertook fieldwork research to help understand how all of the sections of the winemaking process interconnect. They used fieldwork techniques like observation and note taking to discover how winemaking takes place in the Hunter Valley. 

Students also had the opportunity to go to Newcastle on the second day of the fieldtrip as part of the topic Urban Dynamics. A local guide showed us the changing urban landscape in Newcastle. Students had the chance to participate in a scavenger hunt across the Newcastle CBD, which involved finding clues about the changing character of Newcastle.

The field trip was a great outdoor experience for the students. They were able to experience a part of NSW that many of the students are not familiar with.

The Year 12 Geography students came away with great memories of the time spent together and a wonderful case study on the Hunter Valley and Newcastle.

Mr Matt Miller
Head of HSIE

The excursion was undertaken as part of our topic on the Representation of the Ancient Past and gave students the opportunity to observe and analyse artefacts firsthand. 

As part of our study, we have been looking at identifying the difference between fakes, forgeries, replicas and relics, and many students were excited to be able to apply these skills with the ‘hands-on’ program offered by the museum. This program allowed students to be able to examine real artifacts from ancient times up close.

Everyone was very excited to have this opportunity, and we learnt a lot about the process of identifying artefacts and the inferences we can make about an artefact using the physical features or provided descriptions of it as well as the examination process and the detail needed for precise deductions.

Students were able to see artefacts from various places such as Egypt, Greece, Pompeii and Herculaneum, Rome, Troy, Classical Athens and Sparta, and were intrigued by the various collections such as The Egyptian Galleries which involved The Mummy Room, the Object/Art/Specimen exhibit where they were able to see a genuine taxidermied Tasmanian Tiger, and the Roman Spectres exhibit which featured a detailed model of Pompeii constructed entirely from Lego.

Eric Stonestreet and Amelia Athavle
Year 11 - Ancient History

The Prep children visited Kindergarten and played a 'guess the nursery rhyme' game. They participated in fun activities including decorating Humpty Dumpty cookies. 

It was a great day!

The final went to a close tiebreak in the third and final set, after MJ clawed his way back from losing the first.

MJ also represented Shire Christian School at the Canberra Interschools Tennis Tournament last weekend, a team competition against predominantly older players. MJ impressively won the majority of his singles games and his team placed third.

The fourteen-year-old has been playing tennis since the age of four and says he has invested a lot of time in training and has started to take the game more seriously in the last 5 years.

MJ hopes to make a living from tennis one day and become a professional player. 

After beginning at the school this year, MJ says he has already made a lot of good friends and found the transition to his new school “great and easy”.

The next round of the Interschool competition is at Blacktown, Sydney next week. All the best MJ! 

It answers the question: “Just HOW MUCH did God love the world?” The Father’s action in sending his only beloved Son into a broken, sin-torn world, to bear its sin and guilt as a substitutionary sacrificial offering so that the sins of Mankind can be FORGIVEN by a Holy God reveals a depth of love that surpasses anything we can imagine. I think of Paul’s prayer for his friends in Ephesus: “I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fulness of God.” (Ephesians 3:17b-19). “The love of God is greater far than pen or tongue could ever tell; it goes beyond the highest star, and reaches to the lowest hell.” (F.M.Lehman). God SO loved the world.

Secondly, John 3:16 answers the question: “How did God DEMONSTRATE that he loves the world?” Jesus himself said, “Greater love has no-one than this, that he LAY DOWN HIS LIFE for his friends. You are my friends …” (John 15:13-14a). And again, as Paul writes to the Church in Rome: “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!” (Romans 5:8-9). When John uses the word ‘world’ he is not referring to ‘the Planet Earth’, but to the whole sinful ‘world system’ that pits itself against its Creator/Redeemer and opposes his rightful rule in everything it does. God so loved THE WORLD that he gave his one and only Son.

Thirdly, John 3:16 answers the question: “Is God LIMITED in the EXTENT of his love?” - it indicates the answer is clearly ‘NO!”. Again, Paul spells this out for us: “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us ALL - how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us ALL things?” (Romans 8:32). “I know not where his islands lift their fronded palms in air; I only know I cannot drift beyond God’s love and care.” (J.G.Whittier).

Fourthly, John 3:16 answers the question: “What does God’s love ACHIEVE?” ETERNAL LIFE for EVERYONE who BELIEVES. The old King James Version says “WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH in him should NOT PERISH, but have EVERLASTING LIFE.” It’s an OPEN invitation to ALL, to respond in FAITH ALONE. There is no ‘performance’ condition!

This is the TRUE/AUTHENTIC/REAL message of Easter. Let us all pray that our loving God will give us opportunities to share this message with whomever, and wherever, we can - and that he will give us the grace, courage and strength to do so when they come!

Rev Bruce Christian

For more information, email Mr Joseph Chen. 

Edstart helps make it easy for you to manage school fees by providing flexible payment plans. You can reduce your annual school fee spend by extending payments over a longer period.

With Edstart, you can fund tuition fees, additional charges such as uniforms, extra-curricular activities as well as amounts in arrears.

To find out more, visit edstart.com.au/shirechristian.

Please note that in providing information about Edstart, the school is not providing any recommendation, brokering or advice services. The school does not receive referral fees, commissions or any other remuneration from Edstart.

Contact

The website can answer most questions: shop.ranier.com.au

Email: shire@ranier.com.au
Uniform Shop Phone: Leave a message at 0492 969 088 
Responses will be provided during opening hours

For more immediate assistance, Ranier head office details:  
Online: ranier.com.au/contact
Email: custservice@ranier.com.au
Phone: 02 8337 7290

Prep 1 - Tuesday 20 April at 9:00am.