Junior School News T3 W6 2022
Community is what we are all about at Faith but a few years ago when we were hit with the pandemic it became hard to keep the continuity of what we knew as community. Now we find ourselves coming out the other side to what is known by many as, the ‘new normal’. We are learning to live with COVID, new directives and find a ‘new normal’ as a community. For us in the Junior School, we are slowly gaining this sense of community togetherness back and we will keep moving forward until we are back to what we used to have in a new kind of way. This raises the question of why community is an important part of our school.
Imagine that you are a new student entering our school for the first time. Picture the scene... What would be on your mind? You might be wondering, “Will I make friends here? Will I be popular?” Or, “Will my teachers like me? Will they care about me?” Or, “Will I be able to do the work here? Will I be smart enough?” These questions reveal something about our human nature, our need to connect. Going further, this sense of connection or belonging, impacts our students wellbeing and allows for the development of lifelong skills that will be used well beyond their years in the classroom. We want our students to feel like their classroom has a sense of family, where they can help each other learn and talk to their teachers about what support they need or how they are feeling or ask that big question that they might be bursting to know the answer to. Schools with this strong sense of community are rare, but not rare at Faith, it is what we know, who we are and what we are all about. This is something unique to not just our Junior Campus but our College as a whole. We have shared values, shared visions and shared goals as we partner with students, teachers and parents.
So how can you help us continue building our Faith community? Check in regularly with your child’s teacher to keep the relationships strong, volunteer to come into the classroom for learning stations or reading time, arrange to meet a friend or a new parent at Café Flourish for a coffee so that you can connect. Parents are welcomed into our daily school life and we are all wanting to foster that special sense of community that we share. We may have to follow a few more procedures and guidelines to get you started as you volunteer but this doesn’t change our want for parents to be part of their child’s learning journey. We care and connect with our students each and every day but sometimes teachers tell me that they want to care and connect with parents more regularly. We will keep creating opportunities for this to happen formally, but we are asking you as our parent body to create opportunities for this to happen informally with each other and with our staff members. Make that appointment with a teacher to say hi and check in, smile and chat with them when they are on duty, grab a visitor’s lanyard and head to sport training and chat with other families. Together we can continue to build partnerships, create memories and support your child as they continue their journey.
Faith presents High School Musical – Tickets are selling fast so don’t miss out on being part of this 40th Anniversary event. It is high energy with a few surprises in store. You can book tickets here by clicking on this link: https://www.trybooking.com/CBHMB
40th Anniversary Cocktail Party – Are you looking for an evening out, overlooking the water in the heart of Brisbane city? Enjoying a few drinks, some dancing and great company? Don’t miss out on securing your ticket to our 40th Anniversary Cocktail party – it is an event not to be missed. Tickets on sale now via Try Booking: https://www.trybooking.com/CBQVQ
Looking for volunteers? Have you always wanted to work in a coffee shop or know how to make an almond latte? We would love some parents to volunteer to open Café Flourish for parents at various times throughout the week. If you are able to volunteer some time and are interested in serving our community please email gwildman@flcr.qld.edu.au to let her know of your availability. Training is provided and free coffee each time you are our Barista for the day!
Funfest – Be sure to come along and be part of our upcoming Funfest event. Armbands on sale now and students have been rehearsing and are ready to share their performance with you. This event is set to be our best Funfest yet so be sure not to miss out on this high energy community event.
This week we had a wonderful visit from Musica Viva who shared a “Rhythm Works” concert with our students. Our students had a great time seeing different percussion instruments up close and hearing the songs live that we have been learning in class. Be sure to ask your child what they enjoyed about this experience as you spend some time together over the weekend.
Further Junior School information can be found in our upcoming weekly information sent out each Friday via our Junior School Communication Hub page. Thank you for your continued support of Junior School, it is our partnership with families that make Faith such an energised place to be.
Jodi Blackwell
Head of Junior School
