On Friday 7 February a group of 35 French Exchange Students arrived from our sister school, Jean XXIII Metz. The students have been on a whirlwind adventure around the College and Brisbane so far and, this week, they even spent two days at Ironbark!

Last Friday 7 February, we honoured our OP 1, 2 and IB 39 recipients at the annual Scholars Assembly. These students were part of the 2019 graduating Year 12 cohort—a cohort who should all be extremely proud of their results.

At St Peters, we’re immensely proud of Ironbark. For years, our Outdoor Education program, based at Crows Nest in the Darling Downs, has been challenging and shaping our students—encouraging them to grow in their self-confidence and work closely with their peers away from the distractions of modern technology. Ironbark was profiled in the January 2020 edition of Country Style magazine, bringing to light the pioneering aspects of the program. Click through to read the full article.

Five Year 11 St Peters students participated in the highly competitive annual Wesley Healthcare day, accompanied by Careers Counsellor, Jacqui Estevao. Our students participated in rounds of practical activities with healthcare professionals at Wesley Hospital during the Wesley Healthcare Day. During the day students were shown specialist equipment and learned some techniques for everyday patient checkups. Students have provided their insights from an invaluable day of learning about the healthcare industry and where this career could potentially take them.

Year 5 students, Josh and Steven, took up the challenge from their teacher Ms Hannan to unbox and teach themselves the KANO Pixel Kit—to code a digital animation for their recent Solar System project.

Approximately fifty Year 8 students volunteered to attend the ‘Leadershift Day’ last term, along with the Year 9 Student Leadership team who attended as peer mentors.

The incredibly popular Visual Arts and Performing Arts review (VAPAr) is a culmination of student fashion, design, art, film, media, music, performances and drama. VAPAr is a huge event and a credit to staff, supporters and students (Year 7 to 12) who creatively collaborate and connect with the St Peters community through this annual event.

Last week a new tradition at St Peters was welcomed — the presentation of Ironbark Badges to formally recognise the completion of an extraordinary outdoor education program seen as a significant Rite of Passage for Year 9 students. Students from 9A, B, C & D were the first groups presented with their Ironbark badges by representatives from the 2018 9A–D groups.

The Multicultural Committee have been part of the St Peters Community for well over ten years celebrating cultural diversity. Part of that cultural celebration is the St Peters Multicultural Week 2019 (29 July to 2 August – Term 3 week 3). The Multicultural Week was a huge success with the Whole of College International Parade of Nations, the Multicultural Gala and International Food Festival/fair. The week-long festival has grown considerably in the last eight years and it is a testament to the dedication of students, teachers and volunteers behind the scenes contributing to its success.

We are all different; individual gifts and talents, diverse backgrounds. We represent different countries, languages, faiths and spiritualties, traditions and customs. Community is a gift. Without the uniqueness in individuals, the community would miss out on your special gifts and talents and on your unique personality.

St Peters Year 6 students are working on an extraordinary project in which they’re investigating the story of a migrant who has come to Australia. In its second year, this project will lead on to the creation of beautiful Virtual Museums to be completed in the following weeks. With help from student leaders, teachers and children’s author Deborah Abela, their research and investigation will bring their migrant story to life. The project also has the potential to further explore and connect with their family’s history.

At St Peters Lutheran College we prepare students for an innovative world—as achievers and leaders. Our staff and teachers collaborate across subjects and disciplines to achieve these objectives. An integral part of that collaboration is our eLearning team, they support students and teachers, from Prep to Year 12, by helping them use technology in effective and meaningful ways in the classroom.

Established at St Peters in 2018, The Rite Journey creates a self development journey for Year 10 students over the course of the year. Using a framework incorporating ceremonies and celebrations, these events help transform teens into self-aware, responsible and resourceful adults. Events are crafted for individual, unique experiences to best suit the resources and geography of the school. The program was developed over a decade ago by Andrew Lines—Teacher, Educational Consultant and co-developer of The Rite Journey.

St Peters Lutheran College has hosted the first face-to-face Australian Ethics Olympiad in a full day of navigating challenging moral issues. The purpose of the Ethics Olympiad is to promote respectful, creative and rigorous discussion of ethics among students within and across school communities. 

St Peters Lutheran College Year 5 students raised $8,000 in donations for the ongoing flood relief effort in Townsville. The Lutheran Church of Australia Queensland Division (LCAQD) will help distribute the money through the Australia DisasterRelief Fund. Donations will go towards targeted funding areas such as playground equipment for an Early Learning Centre, clothing and household goods.

Choosing a University is not something you want to rush into—you need to find the right “fit”. At St Peters Indooroopilly campus, qualified Careers Counsellor Jacqui Estevao, organises sessions to guide students through the process of applying to Universities, both within Australia and overseas. Each year an increasing number of students apply to study in the US, Canada and the UK, along with other smaller countries in Europe and Asia.

The St Peters Career Centre is an incredible asset to the College exploring post-school options including work experience. During the holidays the Career Centre helped Year 11 students develop their work experience in the engineering field. With many pathways laid out before them, and more opportunities than ever before, having an experienced Career Counsellor on hand for advice is invaluable to help guide students.

Australian Adventurer and Mountaineer, Alyssa Azar, was our inspirational guest this week for the St Peters Father Daughter breakfast. Crossing the Kokoda Track at 8-years-old was just the beginning, she has also climbed the highest mountains in Australia, South America, Africa, Russia and Nepal. At 19-years-old, Alyssa was the youngest Australian, and youngest woman, to summit Mount Everest. During breakfast the adventurer discussed her incredible journey to Mount Everest, including the planning and goals she had to make for herself to keep mentally and physically prepared.

A long time ago, in a school far, far away, teachers used to stand and deliver the ‘chalk and talk’ method of teaching. Today immersive, next-generation teaching styles are used to connect with different learning styles. Our blog last week, unpacking the Units of Inquiry via Primary Years Program, is an example of that.

St Peters provides an immersive and exciting learning experience for students beginning with Primary Years. The IB Primary Years Programme (PYP) for children nurtures and develops young students as caring, active participants in a lifelong journey of learning.