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May 17, 2012: MJR Superheroes DAy
At St Andrew’s Ferny Grove on Wednesday May 2nd the whole school celebrated MJR Super Hero Day. This day came about as a result of a bill presented to the Year 7 Youth Parliament, which was unanimously voted in! There were some fantastic Super Hero names, abilities and costumes at assembly. Please find below a report on the day from the Year 7 Committee who presented the bill:

The M.J.R Super Hero day was full of fun and the M.J.R way of life was spreading. Everyone was very involved in this exciting day and we saw bright clothes everywhere as well as some very creative superhero names. Our goal for this Bill was to not only let the students express their superhero fashion, but to also let them express their M.J.R superhero powers. We encouraged the students to live up to their superhero name by making a difference to others around them. The students were very excited to both dress up and show off their amazing supernatural powers. We told them that they did not need to wear a suit to be a superhero. People shine by showing kindness, not wearing a suit. We thought this M.J.R super hero day was a great chance to spread the M.J.R. way to the school and to teach everyone how to live M.J.R all the time. It was also a chance for the students to wear their underpants on the outside!
The Nerramen Welfare Committee.

May 17, 2012: NAPLAN Testing
Congratulations to all our Years 3, 5 & 7 students who completed the NAPLAN requirements with very little fuss this week. Thanks to the community for their support throughout the week in ensuring that the school environment was conducive to testing. NAPLAN results will be distributed to parents when we receive them from SALMAT later this year.

May 10, 2012: Mother's Day Stall
We had a fabulous Mother’s Day Market Stall on Tuesday with all classes from Years 1 – 7 visiting and choosing gifts for mum this Sunday. A big ‘thanks’ to our wonderful craft group who have been meeting every Tuesday morning in Toogoolawa to make lots of special nic-nacs for sale at various stalls throughout the year. All money raised goes back into the school!

May 10, 2012: Year 6 Camp
What a brilliant experience this was for our Year 6 students and indeed I feel very privileged to have had the opportunity to share two of the days with the staff and kids at Mapleton QCCC campsite. There were some challenging activities including abseiling, archery, orienteering, swimming, canoeing and rock wall climbing. While not all the students completed each activity it was great to see them all challenge themselves to move out of their comfort zones and into their 'Courage Zones'! The teamwork throughout the activities was inspiring and the encouragement and care that they showed when one of their team was struggling was beautiful. The staff were all very proud of their achievements. Check out some of the great photos here and stay tuned for camp highlights from the students themselves.

May 3, 2012: Woolworths Earn & Learn
The Woolworths Earn & Learn is back for 2012 and is easier than ever to participate and receive valuable resources for St Andrew’s.

From the 9th of May, our parents, staff and local community can shop at Woolworths (or Safeway) and collect stickers from the checkout operator and place them on sticker cards, which are to be distributed to all students on Tuesday May 8. There’ll be one sticker for every $10 spent. Once completed, they can place their sticker cards in the collection box, either at assembly in the OEC each morning before school, at the front office OR at a local Woolworths.

The program closes on the 1st of July so please encourage all your friends and family to support our school community in this simple program which will help raise valuable funds to go towards resourcing our school. If you need extra sticker cards these may be collected from the office or individual classrooms.

May 3, 2012: MJR Superhero Day
On Wednesday 2nd May the children were allowed to dress up as an MJR Super Hero (no coin donation). An MJR superhero is a superhero that makes Jesus Real by helping others.

On this day all St Andrew’s students were asked to make up their own MJR superhero name (ie. Bridget Build-A-bridge or Happy Chappy Chick) and come dressed as this character.

April 26, 2012: ANZAC Day Commenmorations
My thanks to the many parents who were able to join with us in remembering ANZAC Day with the staff and children on Tuesday. It was a lovely occasion, with great emphasis on ritual and reverence. Thanks to Denise Quinlan and Denise Roache for the great effort put into the preparation and delivery of the liturgy.

With approximately 10% of our students belonging to defence force families it is a particularly poignant time in our annual calendar.

On Monday morning seven Yr 7 students, Miss Maw and Mrs Quinlan went into the City to the Anzac Commemoration Ceremony for Students in Anzac Square. We joined 2,500 students from schools across South East Queensland to honour the Anzac Spirit. Caitlyn, Milly and Meredith were interviewed by Peter Doherty from Channel 7 News. They spoke to him about how they felt about their dads being deployed. They were very excited to see themselves on the news that night and are now signing autographs!!

» More ANZAC Day news

April 19, 2012: Holy Week Liturgies
On the last day of Term 1 and again this Tuesday we celebrated the events of Holy Week, which are so significant to us as Catholics. Various classes from Years one to seven presented the events from Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday and Good Friday, with our Yr 6’s presenting our Resurrection liturgy this week.

May the miracles of the first Easter continue to inspire us all to live out our lives as genuine Easter people.

March 29, 2012: Referendum on House Team Names
On Wednesday the 28th of March St Andrew’s held its first ‘school referendum.’ The brain child of the Year 6 students, who are currently studying a unit on government, the referendum invited the whole school community to vote yes or no to the topic ‘Should St Andrew’s change its house team names from the current colour names to more meaningful names?” The new names, if the referendum is passed, will reflect the rich history and heritage of St Andrew’s School.

Early this week the Year 6 children educated all students about what a referendum is and why having a say is an important democratic right. Voting was compulsory for all students. Year 6 extended the invitation to parents and friends as important members of our school community to take part in our referendum. A polling booth was set up at assembly and then outside the office for parents to have their say. We look forward to the results of the referendum which will be announced in our newsletter next term

March 29, 2012: Opening OHSC Facility
Last Thursday evening Jane and her crew celebrated the Opening and Blessing of the new Outside School Hours Care facility which is located in the old Year 7 classrooms. Father Frank presided over the blessing ceremony and many of our students were there to participate in the celebrations. Congratulations to all involved on the wonderful facilities now available to support our families throughout the school year.

March 22, 2012: Purple Day: Supporting Epilepsy
On March 26 the children will be encouraged to wear an item on their clothing which is purple in colour. The purple coloured item/t-shirt/shorts/etc is meant to be a physical reminder to us to be aware of the fact that quite a number of people, children and adults alike, suffer from the terrible affliction known as epilepsy. In fact there are adults and children in our own school family who suffer from epilepsy and I am sure that there would be many more that I don’t know about who would appreciate the fact that we are being made aware. Below is a web site that further information can be gained from in order to have a much clearer picture of what epilepsy is and how it affects those who suffer from it.

» More Purple Day information

March 22, 2012: MJR Hobart Conference
My experience in Hobart last week was a joy filled one as I got to know fellow travellers better and had the opportunity to listen and view Peter Mitchell (MITCH) in action over two days. There were many wonderful moments, from meeting up with teachers from other Queensland, NSW, Tasmanian and Victorian Catholic Schools, to our visit to one of the local schools where we worked with Yr 5 & 6 students with Making Jesus Real Challenges. The lucky staff who were fortunate to venture south last week were Christine O’Driscoll, Anita McEwan, Anne Fry, Anne-Marie Maw and myself. We are all truly grateful for the opportunity to enrich our own personal spirituality and be a part of the Good News spread throughout our catholic schools and beyond through our Making Jesus Real way of life.
Denise Roache

March 15, 2012: Intra-school Swimming Carnival
last Friday was a great day for all concerned who attended the years 3-7 swimming carnival. Everything was in our favour on the day. We had great weather, great competitors, great parent support, great staff who ran the carnival and great Parent Liaison parents who attended to toilet duty and also assisted the year seven school leaders with crowd control in the colour tents. In all competitions there has to be a winner and I am pleased to announce and congratulate the YELLOW team, because, as a result of their efforts, they were announced the champion team for 2012. Well done to the Yellow team.

» More news & photos

March 8, 2012: Henry Harris at the Cricket!
Last Sunday Henry Harris from Yr 1 attended the One Day International Cricket Final at the Gabba, where he was part of the National Anthem ceremony. Henry had won a competition last year through Cricket Australia which meant he could stand alongside the players kitted out in a special cricket shirt and cap. Henry also won 4 tickets to the game, so his family got to stay and watch the match after the opening ceremony was over. Congratulations to Henry on this huge honour!

March 1, 2012: Jesus is Real at St Andrew’s
As a new member to the St Andrew’s Community I feel compelled to comment on the WESTIE environment that is actively promoted and lived out every day here at our school. I’m not talking about Mr Leyden’s MJR sessions at assembly or Miss Maw’s weekly reflections or indeed the classroom teaching and learning. What I refer to are the myriad of smiles and addresses I receive from students, parents and staff every day as I move around our campus. There is a genuine welcoming approach from the staff who greet me at the office when I arrive in the morning; to the encouragement from students who hail me by name and ask me about my day; to the parents who stop and take the time to query how I am settling into life at Ferny Grove. We can ‘talk’ about Living Jesus in our Hearts and Making Jesus Real in the life of others, however, the lived examples that abound at St Andrew’s reveal that the Holy Spirit is a dynamic presence among us! How privileged we are to be part of such a caring, nurturing environment!
Denise Roache

March 1, 2012: Opening of the Student Parliament
On Tuesday evening the Year 7’s launched their Opening of Parliament for 2012. We were introduced to the Committees that the Yr 7’s are involved in this year and they are focused around Welfare, Sport, Social and the Environment. A number of bills were presented which indicate it is going to be a busy but creative year ahead with a variety of whole school events organised. The students certainly demonstrated an appropriate level of respect for the opening ceremony and all enjoyed the refreshments that followed the formalities. Thanks to Gayle, Russell and Katie for their assistance in preparing our leaders for this evening.

February 23, 2012: Opening School Mass
Last Wednesday we celebrated our Opening School Mass led by Fr Nigel, where our current Year 7 school leaders were commissioned and team captains were announced. Our Year 7 students have pledged to “accept this privilege of leadership and promise with God’s help to do our best to step up and shine as student leaders of St Andrew’s school. We will try our best to Make Jesus Real every day and always attend with a listening heart.” It was lovely to have so many of our parents attending our first whole school mass for 2012.

February 23, 2012: Skate Night
What a fabulous roll-up (excuse the pun) we had to our first Skate evening on Saturday. It was delightful to see so many of our students (almost 200) whizzing around the rink! There were obviously a range of abilities, with some of our little preps demonstrating some amazing skills alongside those that had to keep close to the barrier for support as they circled the floor. We also had some very talented adults take to the rink, alongside those who played it safe and assisted their children without putting skates on their feet. On behalf of the public I extend a big “thank-you” to our hard working Parent Liaison co-ordinators who were responsible for organising this successful event. Stay tuned for the next one in June!
» View the school newsletter for more skate night photos

February 16, 2012: School Leaders
As part of our opening school liturgy, we took the opportunity to acknowledge and congratulate the Colour Captains for 2012. Congratulations to these school leaders on their appointment and endorsement by their peers.

• BLUE: Grace W. and Corey S.
• YELLOW: Sophie P. and Ben M.
• RED: Chelsea W. and Sean C.
• GREEN: Daniel W. and Talia V.

As well as the colour captains for 2012 we also recognise and congratulate the following year 7 leaders on their appointment to Parliament positions for this year. Well done and congratulations to:

• SPEAKERS: Nick K. and Aimee O.
• CLERK OF THE COURT: Megan J. and Marcus T.
• SERGEANT AT ARMS: Connor S. and Carly K.

February 16, 2012: St Andrew's Class Friendship Trees
The Class Friendship Tree is a St Andrew’s tradition as a way of helping parents and children contact each other, and for important information to be distributed via email. Completion of the Friendship Tree information is, however, optional. A note was sent home this week with regards to adding your contact details to your class Friendship Tree. If you require another copy of this note, please click here.

February 9, 2012: One-to-One Laptop Launch
Over the last twelve months Mr Beacroft and Mr Macaione have been researching and planning a one-to-one laptop program. Last Monday our year 5 students finally received their new laptops following extensive instructions, cyber safety sessions and maintenance strategies. There was a great deal of excitement as the students booked their individualised laptops out through the library, before being led through the steps to log on and register their individual passwords. The proud faces were evident on the students as they worked on their own laptops for the first time.

February 9, 2012: Brett Lee Cybersafety Radio Talkback
Brett Lee will be guest co-host of a two hour radio talkback segment that will be around the subject of everything cyber. The details are listed below.

If you are not aware of Brett or what he is all about click here.

Radio Station - Brisbane - 96five (96.5 on the dial)
Date - Sunday 12th February 2012 (this Sunday)
Time - 8pm through 10pm (2 hour segment)

February 2, 2012: Step Up and Shine: 2012 School Theme
The theme for 2012 is very simply “STEP UP AND SHINE”. This theme is at first glance, very self-explanatory. However if we stop and think a for a little while we can see reminders associated with the theme that should play a big part in our life and how to develop right relationships with those that we come in contact with each and every day of our life, both inside the school parameters and also in the wider community. There will be more dissection and discussion in relation to this theme in forthcoming newsletters.

February 2, 2012: 2013 Prep Enrolments
Believe it or not we are now looking towards some organisation with school enrolments for the 2013 school year. It is a well-known fact that siblings of children already enrolled and attending St Andrew’s do get automatic acceptance into the Prep class. However we still need to know that these children exist!! We are made aware of their existence when parents fill out and submit a St Andrew’s enrolment application form to the school office.

IF YOU HAVE A CHILD COMMENCING PREP IN 2013, IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT YOU OBTAIN AN APPLICATION FORM FROM THE OFFICE OR DOWNLOAD HERE AND SUBMIT THE FORM TO THE OFFICE BY THE END OF FEBRUARY.

January 16, 2012: Welcome to the 2012 School Year
The St Andrew's school community would like to welcome new and existing families to the 2012 school year. We are looking forward to a fantastic year!

Our school website is updatedly weekly throughout the school terms, so please check back regularly for news and details regarding school events and achievements.

Applications for new enrolments in all year levels are warmly welcomed. Please call us on 3351 6366, drop into the office to pick up an enrolment form or download the enrolment form.