Devotion: Jesus – freedom

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom (2 Corinthians 3:17).

Nowadays we are living in the world that is full of sin. As we are Christians, we live in the way that is led by the Holy Spirit, but every day we always do something – big or small – that is opposite to God’s will. But the question is, does God take the salvation away from us? Does God take the true love from us? The answer is no. In the book of John, we are told, ‘for God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him’ (John 3:16,17).

In the traditional faith of Cambodian people, we believe in souls. For example, we believe that the soul of our parent is still in the world – they stay around to help us and sometimes we pray for help from those souls. Another example is that if our siblings say some bad words to each other (quarrel with each other), something bad may appear in the family such as sickness or accident, something like that. (There are many other examples that are difficult to explain.) I observe so many non-Christians trying to do many things to protect themselves. So many people live in fear because they have a spirit of fear, they have no freedom.

But for us, as Christians, we are free. We are not afraid. I believe that the Holy Spirit leads me through his way. ‘For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control’ (2 Timothy 1:7). So, I encourage all of you. Our Lord of Lords, King of Kings – everything is from him, every moment is in his hands, and he knows our steps. Trust him, give your life, your soul to him, please let him lead. A father never gives a stone when his child asks for bread. If you do fear, pray to God; if you are unhappy, pray to God; if you feel alone, pray to God. He hears your voice, and he always helps. He is with us every moment, everywhere we go, Amen.

Spirit of God, bless the Lutheran Church in Cambodia’s ministry through agricultural projects, as they build deeper relationships with people in the community and provide ways for financially supporting families. Amen.

Prayer Points

We pray that the Prep and Year 3 students who received their new bibles recently may use them to God’s glory.

We give thanks for the Office staff who use their God given gifts to make the school a wonderful place.

We pray for the Dunning, Galea-Dexter and Gaurano families.

Micah Award

Deborah for showing courage through adversity

Sarah for showing courage during swimming

NAPLAN Testing 2023

During the next few weeks the Year 3 and Year 5 students will be undertaking the annual NAPLAN tests. Students in both year levels undertake assessments in numeracy, reading, writing and language conventions (spelling, vocabulary and grammar). As in previous years, Sunshine Christian School students will be completing the NAPLAN tests online, except for the Year 3 Writing test.

While NAPLAN is an important means for the government to assess the students and is a valuable resource for the teachers, we need to remember that it is only a snapshot of what the students know and understand in specific tested areas at a specific time. The teachers at our school work diligently throughout the year to support the students, not only academically, but socially and emotionally and they know each student’s gifts and abilities far more intimately than the representation of a single test result. The NAPLAN test does not understand each student or the particular needs of each student; nor does it highlight the many diverse, God-given gifts and skills which each of the students possess. Therefore, it should in no way be used to assess the value of our students. We are proud of every student that is a part of our community and we wish them God’s blessings and success in everything they do.

Harmony (Multicultural) Day 2023

We are celebrating Harmony (Multicultural) Day on Tuesday 21 March. This day is a highlight of the school calendar and we love to see everyone be involved in this event. The SRC and staff are working hard to organize special activities during the day for the students. Please take the time to help your child prepare traditional dress from your home countries.

Student Safety – Road Use

The school works very hard to provide a safe environment for the students, not only during the school day but also before and after school.

The ‘kiss and drop’ zone was created to allow parents to drop their children at the school gate in a safe environment. We have also created the two pick up zones to help reduce congestion at pick up times.

As parents and caregivers, you can also help to keep our students safe by following the following guidelines:

Stay below the 40km/h speed limit around the school

Stay below the 50km/h speed limit in surrounding streets

When dropping children off in the ‘kiss and drop’ zone, please pull your vehicle as far forward as possible

DO NOT park or stop in front of neighbours driveways

DO NOT make U turns in front of the school

Please show patience and consideration to other road users

Prep/ 1

In the Prep/1 classroom we are writing sentences using a capital letter, finger spaces and a full stop.

You could help us write a simple sentence in our Kookaburra book at home.

Year 1/ 2

In the Year 1/2 classroom we are learning about the days of the week and ordering the months and seasons of the year. You could ask us the date every day and help us with reading a calendar.

Year 3/4

In the Year 3/4 classroom, we are learning and researching about diversity and our families’ origins. Please help your child by sharing your family tree stories of your native country.

Year 5/6

In the Year 5/6 classroom we have been learning to follow procedures to create flowers for the garden show.

Ask us to tell you about how we made these giant flowers.