Devotion – The year ahead

‘And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God’ (Micah 6:8).

At the beginning of the 2020 academic school year, our Executive Leadership Team gathered for a day of reflection and planning before staff and students commenced Term 1. We had to choose a Bible verse to be our focus for the year, to help guide and inspire us through the year’s inevitable ups and downs. Today’s Scripture is the Bible verse that I chose. I sourced a graphic presentation of each member’s verse and had these laminated to display in our office, so we could always have these in sight and top of mind for the year ahead. Little did any of us know what lay ahead in 2020.

As with any major challenge in our lives, there is the inevitable uncomfortable feeling of undergoing a trial and difficult times. Interestingly, there are also many silver linings to this cloud. During 2020 it was extremely challenging to be the leader of our two Lutheran schools in Geelong. Having the responsibility to keep our 1050 students and 130 staff safe during this pandemic was very difficult at times. There were many times when the Executive Leadership Team made a week’s worth of decisions every day. Each day I would read this Bible verse from Micah 6:8 and feel grounded, encouraged and supported. I thank God for the outstanding team of staff that he surrounded us with.

What does the Lord require of us? Micah 6:8 links our faith with our actions. We are to care for those in need during our walk with God. It’s only through God’s grace that we can have a relationship with him. Salvation is God’s greatest gift to us. In response to all that God has done for us, this is what he wants us to do: to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

Dear Father God, we constantly fall short of what you want from us. Thank you for your undeserved grace, mercy and love. As we navigate the year ahead, please help us to walk humbly with you. Amen.

Prayer Points

We give thanks for a positive start to the new school year, especially for the Preps and the new families joining our community

We pray for the 2021 student leaders who will be installed at Whole School Worship on Monday

We thank God for all the people who work diligently to keep us safe from COVID-19

We pray for the Akec, Aung and Barker families

Micah Award

To Sarah for showing courage and striving for quality in her work

From the Principal

We welcome back all our families and extend a very warm welcome to our new families: the Luthyng, Nguyen, Tingpaw, Roberts, Tiehi and Phan families. We wish San Khaw Than, Lanchi, Shwesiami, George, Van That, Za Uk Lia, Samuel and Harry every blessing as they begin their journey at Sunshine Christian School.

This week thirteen new Preps began their school journey. It has been very pleasing to see how the Preps have settled in to school and how the other students have cared for them in such a genuine way. We are looking forward to watching them grow and learn over the years ahead. Blessings to Adit, Edward, Ni Suipar, Rebekah, Graham, Esther, Bei Ch Huasa, Jason, Arielle, Abraham, David, Reinhart and Jade.

Prep / Year 1

In the Prep/1 classroom we are learning about how to be organised for school.

You can help by reminding your child to put their Communication Pocket in their bag each day.

Year 2/ 3

In the Year 2/3 classroom we are learning about Place Value in Maths. We count, order and model 2-3- and 4-digit numbers. Ask your child how we do this in class.

Year 3/ 4

In the Year 3/4 classroom we have started our Humanities unit. We have read a story called ‘Mirror’ by Jeannie Baker and are writing a letter to a pen pal. It tells them all about us and asks questions to find out about them. Ask us to tell you our interpretation of the story.

Year 5/6

In the Year 5/6 classroom, we have written an application for different classroom jobs outlining why we would be suited to our first preference. Ask us about the job that we received for this semester and what it entails.