dear parents & friends of kuyper, thursday 14 september...

294 Redbank Rd Kurrajong NSW 2758

T 02 4573 2999 E [email protected] W www.kuyper.nsw.edu.au

Thursday 14 September 2017 Dear Parents & Friends of Kuyper,

Last week I had the immense privilege of attending a CEN conference in tropical Darwin. The weather was hot, the

fellowship was warm, and the talks and conversations were stimulating and encouraging.

One of the keynote speakers argued quite strongly that, as a society, our sense of being located or planted somewhere geographically is increasingly being eroded. The millennial generation is largely a group without a sense of place. In fact, a

growing sense of non-place is becoming the norm. We can be physically in one location, while taking part in real time in

things that are happening on the other side of the planet. We can even be in several places at once. There is the ‘real’ world, and there is the virtual (online/cyber) world. Sometimes there is not much common ground between them. It is changing the

way that we see, speak and think about reality. Plugging into screens that instantly transport us ‘elsewhere’ is taken for granted as a normal part of life. And that is unlikely to change. Children are becoming increasingly short sighted – they are literally losing their long-distance vision – due to the vastly disproportionate amount of time they spend looking at screens. Optometrists in affluent countries have been talking about this striking trend for a number of years now. I’m not about to

preach an alternative lifestyle to you. I’m as up-to-my-neck in it as anyone. My 16-year-old son recently had glasses

prescribed for exactly the reason just mentioned. But it’s interesting, isn’t it? At the same time as our vision of the world becomes ever broader, bigger, wider, further, and multi-platform, our ability to actually focus on something further away

than our fingertips is disintegrating. We are simultaneously everywhere, and nowhere.

How do we teach and train children in this kind of disconnected atmosphere? How do we help them make sense of the

strong theme of place in the Bible? At one level, Christians recognise that we ARE passing through this world, on our way to a redeemed and permanent New Creation. (If you’re over the age of 40 you might remember Larry Norman singing “This

world is not my home. I’m just passing through”) But at the same time, God calls us to care for the world that He’s put us in. We need to be responsible stewards of His creation. And this suggests we need to be people of place, rather than non-place.

God meets us in the particulars of life, not the generalities. He meets us in our places, not our non-places. He meets us in the real world, not the virtual world. God is the ultimate reality – there is nothing virtual about Him! While we shouldn’t find

our ultimate meaning in physical locations, God puts us in our places for a reason. Of course, He often asks people to leave

their current place and go to somewhere new. We are free to move around for a whole variety of reasons. But wherever we are, and for however long we are there, we need to be present. We need to actually be there – rather than being continually

distracted and ‘elsewhere’.

So where is your place at the moment? Where does your mind go when someone asks, “where do you live?” Do you have a

sense of belonging to a place, or are you always “just passing through”?

After reading and talking with many people, I still believe that there is an innate longing for place that is part and parcel of what it is to be a human being, and I can’t help wondering what it would mean for a whole generation to grow up without

any (or very little) sense of connectedness to place? How will they make sense of a biblical narrative so firmly embedded in

place? How will their understanding of being part of the unfolding story of God be affected? Will they respond differently to previous generations to the stories of homecoming, and the spiritual trajectory of home, that is such a deep and prevailing

theme in the history of God’s people? Will they resonate with stories of homecoming, like the Prodigal Son for example? Is there a longing deep enough within our created nature, to still be felt beneath the non-place air they are breathing?

Thursday 14 September 2017

One of my favourite authors, Frederick Buechner, says this in his book, “Longing for Home”:

To be homeless the way people like you and me are homeless is to have homes all over the place but not to be really at home in any of them. To be really at home is to be really at peace. No matter how much the world shatters us to pieces, we carry inside us a vision of wholeness that we sense is our true home and that beckons to us.

Consider Ephesians 2:19-22:

Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow-citizens with God’s people and members of God’s house-hold, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become the dwelling in which God lives by his spirit.

Home is where Christ dwells by His spirit. Our true place is with Him. He

is our place. And He works in us and through us in the places that He

puts us. I think this is something that we can communicate to our kids, and I think it can bring a sense of wholeness and connectedness to a

place that is good, true and lasting. I remain hopeful that we can still teach them the meaning and value of place.

Lyndal Mitchell Teacher, Year 1/2

Mobile Phones and Technology

Increasingly, students now have mobile phones in secondary schools. Kuyper allows secondary students to bring them to school if they use them responsibly and within our School guidelines outlined in their diary. This means that phones are not visible during the day, and silent. Year 7-10 Students may use them only on the way to and from School. Parents are not to contact students on mobile phones during the school day. If you need to communicate with your child, please do this via the School Office. Likewise, if students wish to communicate with Parents during the day, they must do this via the School Office only and not via their mobile phone. We encourage parents to closely monitor their child’s use of all devices. We have been made aware of a number of inappropriate-use events recently. Words of wisdom when dealing with technology: 1. Seek to know rather than just be informed; allow knowing to then lead you to wisdom. 2. Be careful with informational consensus; a large number of people can collectively agree on folly. 3. Realise that even though technology suggests it, the world doesn’t revolve around you. 4. Embrace authentic community; don't settle for networked individualism. 5. Seek to engage with God’s real world rather than mediated versions of it. Ian Shaw Principal


Sept

Fri 15 PASS Campers return

Mon 18 Year 7 PDHPE Gymnastics

Mon 18 Year 9/10 Food Tech Excursion

Tues 19 Yr 8—10 Art Gallery excursion

Wed 20 CIS Secondary Athletics Carnival

Wed 20 Year 8 PDHPE Gymnastics

Wed 20 Year 12 Reports go home

Wed 20 Prayer & Board Meetings, 7pm

Thurs 21 Year 7 Egyptian Day

Thurs 21 9/10 PASS ice skating

Fri 22 Yr 12 Farewell Celebrations 2:30

Fri 22 Super DDDD Day

Fri 22 Last Day Term 3

Oct

Mon 9 First Day Term 4

Tues 10 HSC prayer morning

Fri 13 Year 7/8 Vaccinations


Fri 20 Pushing the Boundaries, Year 9

Mon 23 K/1 Sealife Aquarium excursion

Tues 24 Polo Excursion, Primary

Wed 25 Polo Excursion, Secondary

Fri 27 Celebrations, Year 3, 2:30pm

Sat 28 Working Bee & School Tours

Nov

Tues 2 Year 4 CARES Excursion

Sat 4 Lads & Dads and Girls’ Morning T

Mon 13 Year 12 Graduation Dinner


Thurs 16 Year 11 Reports go home

Fri 17 Yr 12 Farewell Celebrations, Yr 4

Thurs 30 K-10 Reports go home

Dec

Tues 5 Limelight!

Reminders:

Our 2016 Annual Report is now available from the Office. Whole School Celebration Assembly on Friday 22

at 2:30pm in the Hall. This will be a wonderful way to

end the term together. Parents, grandparents and

special friends are welcome!

U15 Boys’ Touch Football will be fielding a team next

term to play with other schools in our zone. Contact the

Office if you are interested or can help out.

Parliament and Civics Education Rebate (PACER)

Year 5 & 6 students from our school have recently undertaken an education tour of the national capital. Students will be given the opportunity to participate in a variety of educational programs with a focus on Australia’s history, culture, heritage and democracy. The Australian Government recognises the importance of all young Australians being able to visit the national capital as part of their Civics and Citizenship education. To assist schools in meeting the cost of the excursion, the Australian Government is contributing funding of $20 per student under the Parliament and Civics Education Rebate program towards those costs. The rebate is paid directly to the school upon completion of the excursion.

Prayer & Praise Praise God for our beautiful natural environment and

all the wonders of His creation. Give thanks for our sister school, Mountains Christian

College. Pray for the staff and students that they would grow in their relationship with Christ.

Give thanks to God for providing for our needs so generously this year.

Pray for upcoming needs and ongoing provision. Pray for our PASS campers as they hike, canoe and

sleep outdoors. Pray for fun, safety, fellowship and Learning in God’s World.

Pray for upcoming staff interviews as we seek staff for 2018.


CLASS Week 3 & 4 Week 5 & 6 Week 7 & 8

K/1 Something to love Something for School Something Special

1/2 Something to wear Something to play with Something Special

3 Something to love Something for School Something Special

4 Something to wear Something to play with Something Special

5/6 Something to love Something for School Something Special

Year 7 Something to wear Something to play with Something Special

Year 8 Something to love Something for School Something Special


Year 10 Something to love Something for School Something Special


Year 12

Join us in Supporting Operation Christmas Child

This year, Kuyper Christian School will be supporting Operation Christmas Child. We will be collecting items and packing

shoeboxes. Please join us by donating items to your class as per the roster below. If you have any questions, contact the Office or speak with Gareth

Thompson (Secondary Maths Teacher)

lollies; chocolate; food; drink mixes; seeds; medications; vitamins; toothpaste; liquids or lotions of any kind; used or damaged items; war related items such as toy guns, knives

or military figures; breakable items such as snow globes; anything in a glass container or aerosol can

Some Suggestions—see your class box for what to bring in... Something to wear: t-shirt, shorts, skirt, cap, beanie, sandals etc… Something to love: teddy bear, soft toy, doll etc… Something for school: pencil case, pens, colour pencils, sharpener, eraser, exercise book, chalk etc... Something to play with: ball, yoyo, skipping rope, toy car/truck/plane, blocks, puppets, Frisbee etc…


Mr Josh Wilson has been our faithful School Chaplain serving students of our school and making great church/school connections; pointing students to Jesus as the ultimate source of hope and security. Having grown up at Kuyper as a student, Josh was in a special place to understand life at Kuyper from a student’s perspective. Sadly, we report that Josh will be leaving us at the end of this year to pursue new challenges at Quakers Hill Anglican Church as a Youth Pastor. We have been blessed by his ministry among us and pray that the new chapter opening will also provide opportunity for further blessings to the people in Quakers Hill and surrounding suburbs. Ian Shaw Principal

S.D.D.D.D.D. Super Duper Dinkum Dinky Derby Day

Date: Friday 22 September 2017 What: Downhill Derby on the oval for Billycarts Terror Trikes on the hard court for tricycles, dinkies or pedal cars Where: Kuyper Christian School When: Lunchtime Who: All Kuyper students Bring: Gold coin to participate and wear non-uniform. Drinks are available for $2 each at lunch-time. Wear (or have with you): Helmet, gloves, elbow and knee pads, closed shoes or boots, long sleeved shirt and long pants, dinky, tricycle or billycart—your vehicle must have more than 2 wheels! All money raised will go to Operation Christmas Child.

dear parents & friends of kuyper, thursday 14 september...

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