Throughout the start of the year, I have continued to articulate how important people and relationships are! What a wonderful Fair we had on Friday evening! It was an excellent turnout and I thank you for taking the time to come along. It was great to see members of our community connect with one another, as well as the responsibility the students demonstrated whilst volunteering time. Again, I thank our Parents, Teachers and Friends Association for making this evening a great success.

On Sunday, the Installation of our new staff, some members of senior leadership and myself took place at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church. In addition, we rededicated our existing faithful staff team. This was an uplifting time, and it was special to celebrate it with many visitors. Following the service, the church returned to the College for a barbecue and tours conducted by our student leaders in each sub-school. Our students are such great ambassadors!

The learning occurring throughout the College is pleasing to see. Our students are highly engaged and genuinely excited to learn. For many of our secondary students, they are working on assessment tasks, reflecting that they are well and truly settled into the school year. I was talking to one of our secondary students this week about his assessment schedule, and I asked about his use of his diary. When he said he didn’t use it, I suggested perhaps the use of a wall calendar or planner to write what is due when. One of the responsibilities we have as a College is for students to not only graduate with head knowledge, but skills for life, in this case organisation. In this instance, I was able to present many ways to be organised to help the student take responsibility for his own organisation, and this is true for many of us. I want to encourage you as parents with this, because when students are organised and can see the assessment schedule, it helps reduce unnecessary stress and anxiety.

As a College we highly value the opportunity for students to participate in extracurricular activities, fostering the development of the whole child. Next Week, the Human Powered Vehicle (HPV) trials start, and I look forward to seeing this unfold.

I pray God’s blessings over our entire College community as we enter into the second half of Term 1 together. May God bless your weekend.

Mr James Phillips, College Principal

by Dr Pauline Simonsen

I will recount the gracious deeds of the Lord … because of all that the Lord has done for us (Isaiah 63:7).

Have you ever taken time to look back over your life and trace the companionship and care of God with you over the years? It’s worth doing. It’s an exercise in faith to look back at the events of your life and see how God was present and how he acted for you in them. And also to look at the deeper undercurrents in your walk with God: the times of growth, when your faith deepened, or times of struggle or distance.

Each year, I ask my students to draw a ‘God’ timeline of their lives, including some of these times and seasons. The exercise inevitably reveals to each person again the wonderful faithfulness of our God and reminds them that their lives have purpose and direction under his Lordship.

Something like this is going on in our reading today. Isaiah looks back to ‘recount the gracious deeds of the Lord, the praiseworthy acts of the Lord, because of all that he has done for us’. The prophet looks for the loving action of God for Israel when God saved them and showed them mercy. Isaiah’s reflections are beautiful: the God he describes is tender and compassionate, even as the same God acts with might and power on his people’s behalf.

There are times when the people rebel and grieve the Holy Spirit; there are times when they wrestle with God, and it feels like he is fighting against them (verse 10). Sound familiar? Israel’s journey is our journey, too, and we share the same weaknesses. But we also share the same God! And the Holy One of Israel, who lifted his glorious arm and divided the waters of the Red Sea to lead his people to safety, is the same God who brings each one of us through the waters of baptism into a new life in Jesus. He breathes and seals his Spirit in us, carries us through the hard times and gives us rest.

What would it do for your mind and heart today to ‘recall the gracious deeds of the Lord for you’? How might that exercise of reflective faith encourage you through the day ahead? Maybe you could recount what the Lord has done for you to someone else today and share faith and hope with them. It might just be the best, most heartening thing they hear today.

It is good to give thanks to the Lord and sing praises to the Most High. God, it is good to proclaim your unfailing love in the morning and your faithfulness in the evening … You thrill me, Lord, with all you have done for me! I sing for joy because of what you have done. Thank you, Gracious One! Amen. (Psalm 92)

Strength Based Character Traits

This week I thought I would share with you the entire 24 character strengths with our school community as a ‘fridge copy’. Please place this on the fridge, so your family can start recognising these strengths in your family members, and start using these dispositions in your daily communication. This will assist your children in their learning at school and possibly give them a headstart for being noticed at school for their positive character traits! You can complete the character strength survey yourself at https://www.viacharacter.org/, and get a print-out of your results to join us in learning about ourselves and others! 

Oval maintenance and new playground

As a team, Mr Engert, some students and Tim and Adam from the Maintenance team removed the old play equipment. This coming week, the new equipment will be installed by a contractor.

Well done to Ross, Adam and Tim, the maintenance team, as they top-dressed our ovals in preparation for our athletics carnivals. They persevered over two days to complete the task. We also plan to spread fertiliser (which acts as a deterrent to the corellas) to prevent holes being dug in the oval!

Ride to School Day

On Friday, 24 March, we encourage Junior School students to ride to school for National Ride2School day. Parents are encouraged to ride with their children to support them to select a safe route and develop safe riding behaviours. All participants are encouraged to meet at the helipad at 8.20am and we will ride up the Trinity Drive bike path together.

Chapel

Thank you to 4R who led our Chapel based on the fruit of the Spirit, Kindness. Kindness is a great example of a character strength that is better when served as a fruit salad with other fruits like love and hope and patience. Without the other fruits (dispositions), being kind to someone can seem so hollow! At HTLC, we are thankful for the rich wisdom that the bible provides us with to base our day-to-day relationships on.   

Next week chapel will be on the Fruit of the Spirit Faithfulness. At this Chapel we invite you to witness the gifting of faith bags to our foundation students.

God bless,

Mr Adam Borgas, Head of Junior School

HTLC Staff Induction and Affirmation Day

On Sunday, new and existing Holy Trinity Lutheran College staff were formally Installed and Reaffirmed as part of a special service at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church. Following this Installation Service, members of the congregation were invited back to the College for an opportunity to tour the school’s facilities and then share a barbecue lunch with staff and students. The Middle School Captains and Ambassadors were on hand for the day and did a remarkable job of taking small groups of people around the Middle School buildings and facilities, sharing information about learning spaces, room design, furniture and special programs. A huge thank you to Chloe Altmann, Abbey O’Connor, Evan Hahn, Jarhyn McGrath, Charlotte Matuschka, Jesse Jolley and Bailey Dridan for acting as outstanding ambassadors for HTLC.

Middle School Assemblies

The first Middle School assembly for 2023 was on Monday in the Multi-Purpose Centre. This was the first opportunity for Middle School staff and students to come together for the year. Some of the features of Middle School assemblies this year will include presentations of the SOL (Spirit of Luther) Awards, acknowledgement of those students having birthdays, student interviews, Middle School news (please send through information about any special achievements so we can recognise this), sports reports, the National Anthem, Welcome to Country and special announcements. The Middle School Captains will be responsible for leading these assemblies each fortnight on Monday mornings.

Young Mayor Program

At assembly this week, the secondary students were briefed by the Horsham Youth Council on an exciting initiative called the Young Mayor Program. There are eight positions available on the Horsham Youth Council and once these positions are filled, this group will nominate one member to act as mayor. The chosen mayor will act as the spokesperson for the council but all eight council members will have equal input and opportunities.

30 January-12 March: Nominations

27 March-14 May: Campaigning

16-17 May: Election Week

June: Induction

Year 9 Rite Journey Parent Information Evening and Calling/Departure Ceremony

A reminder that the Rite Journey Calling/Departure Ceremony and Parent Information night will take place next Thursday and Friday, 9 and 10 March, at HTLC. Parents are asked to provide five items of significance that represent childhood for their son/daughter. This night is always one of the more special nights of the Middle School calendar and I look forward to officially launching the Rite Journey Program next week. The Information Evening will begin at 7.30pm and all parents are invited to come along to hear about the year-long program and the philosophies behind its implementation. At 8.30pm, parents and students will gather together to take part in the Departure Ceremony, a short service which signifies a ‘letting go’ by the parents, as their children embark on this journey. As the parents leave, the students will remain and prepare to wake up early to set off to their mystery destination where they will participate in the Calling Ceremony. A service which calls and invites the students to take steps towards manhood or womanhood. I encourage all parents to ensure medical consent and code of conduct forms are returned by the beginning of next week.

Mr Jason Przibilla, Head of Middle School

Growth Mindset

As students undertake their senior years of schooling, they face many new challenges which can force them to think and act in different ways. These responses can have a considerable impact on resilience and attitude to learning.

Fostering positive accomplishment begins with tuning into the beliefs we hold about learning.

It is important to be aware of the different mindsets we can all fall into when confronted with new challenges. In a nutshell, we may not achieve what we want the first time we try, but it is always possible to get better.

Senior Assessment

A number of VCE classes have already completed their first formal assessments for the year. This is an important time for students to be developing effective study routines. All senior students are encouraged to take advantage of the after school sessions when provided by staff from Monday to Thursday evenings from 3.30pm to 4.30pm. Private study time is also available for students at these times.

VCE and Vocational Major information evening

An information evening for parents and students will be on Wednesday, 15 March in the Senior Centre agora. During the evening our VCE Coordinator, Mrs Elsbeth Schneider, will outline important policies and procedures that accompany the undertaking of a VCE course for any students in Years 10-12.

Mr Wayne Bandel, our Applied Learning Coordinator, will provide information for our current Vocational Major students and their parents regarding the year ahead, completion of tasks, work placements and management of workload.

All families with students involved in either of these courses of study are strongly encouraged to attend. Further information will be provided early next week.

 6 Tips for Surviving Year 12

1. Balance is important

2. Don’t compare yourself to others

3. Find your own best way to study

4. Actually try in the GAT (no really – try)

5. SACs are intended to prepare you for exams

6. Don’t stress too much

https://www.youthcentral.vic.gov.au/study-and-training/high-school/6-tips-for-surviving-year-12

Careers Newsletter

Our Careers newsletter for 2023 has commenced. All students are encouraged to check it regularly as it contains valuable information regarding future careers options, gap year and work experience.

Mrs Sally Kuchel, Head of Senior School

Hockey Roadshow

Students were lucky enough to have Hockey Victoria come and do a Roadshow on another hot day on Friday. All students enjoyed the day and many thanks to our parent helpers Meriden Knoop and Emily Eagle who assisted David Arnold during the day. 

High Jump Trials 

We have completed the sports trials for our athletics day. We will be having make-up trials in the coming days for those who could not attend. Many thanks to Mrs McDonald who completed these in her PE Lesson time. 

Athletics Carnival

Please email jessie.ferguson@htlc.vic.edu.au if you would like to assist on the day. 

Foundation-Year 2: Tuesday, 21 March 

Years 3-6: Thursday, 23 March 

Little Desert Swimming Carnival 

What a wonderful day the super swimming team had at the pool on Thursday. Well done to all in attendance. Thanks to all parents and friends who came out to support on the day. A notification will go home shortly regarding the next stage of events. Thanks to Rebecca Roy for assisting on the day and big thanks to all who organised the event. 

Tennis

Next week we have our tennis team heading out for battle at the Horsham Lawn Tennis Club. Good luck to Nixon Beatie, Lincoln Fischer, Yasassari Sumanapala and Lydika Boyd, Sienna Nitschke and Tayla Streeter. Well done to all students who tried out for the team. It was a hard job for the selection panel! Thanks to Miss Davis who will be accompanying this team next Thursday, 9 March.

Mrs Jessie Ferguson, Junior School Teacher

Holy Trinity Lutheran College enjoyed plenty of success at the Black Ranges Swimming on Monday.

The "Champion of the Meet" is awarded to one boy and one girl from each division, based on the overall number of points they could earn from all of the events they competed in.

In the girls, Ellita Scollary (Year 8) finished 4th, with 76 points out of a possible 80, and Ellua Boyd (Year 7) finished 5th with 73 points.

In the boys, Jacob Matuschka (Year 11) and Edward Jones (Year 8) tied for first, with a perfect score of 80 points. Chase Briggs (Year 10) finished immediately behind them in third with 77 points, and Wil Tippet (Year 12) finished fourth with 74 points. An amazing achievement from our swimmers!

Overall, HTLC finished third out of the eight schools that sent athletes to the event, behind Marian College Ararat and Stawell Secondary College.

Mr Matthew McLoughlin, Secondary Health and PE Teacher

The Resilient Parent

Resilience. When it comes to your kids, you’ve probably heard this word many times. From teachers, on social media posts, even from other parents on the playground – it seems that resilience is the watch word of the day. And as parents, we want our kids to be strong and good, so they can weather the storms of life.

But resilience isn’t just for kids. 

As parents we’re faced with challenges every day. We have a seemingly unending list of little tasks, like making lunches and getting our kids to after school commitments on time, soothing the daily hurts – both physical and emotional – in our children.

We need to meet homework demands, push music practice, make dinners, kick footballs, and much more. 

And we do all this while trying to manage our own physical and mental health and responsibilities at work and home.

It's no surprise that research shows that parents are more burnt out than ever.

But research also tells us that being resilient helps us bounce back from adversity and frustrations, and return quickly to a state of healthy functioning.

So now all we have to do is figure out how to become a resilient parent so we can teach those skills to our own kids. Introducing...

The Resilient Parent is a FREE webinar for parents who sometimes feel overwhelmed with the challenges of the parenting gig. (And I’ve never met a parent who doesn’t!) 

In the webinar I’ll share:

• the research behind parental burn out, and how this could be hurting you and your family
• the five solutions you can take to boost your resilience and make you and your family happier, and
• the tools and techniques you can use to build your own reserves of parenting resilience and help you model resilience for your kids too.

This 30-minute FREE webinar is designed for parents who are ready to leave burnt out parenting behind for good, and bring more resilience and strength to their own children.

I hope you'll join me,

Subscriptions to Happy Families are free and can be accessed at:

The HTLC Wellbeing Team are always available to help with support or further resources as may be helpful for your family.

wellbeing@htlc.vic.edu.au

Please note: Year 7 students will receive their immunisations on Thursday, 9 March. 

Thanks to everyone who has volunteered so far. The Holy Trinity Lutheran College PTFA still needs volunteers for:

Tuesday
- 8.30am-11am
- 11am-1pm
- 1pm-3pm

Wednesday
- 7am-9am

Thursday
- 7am-9am
- 8.30am-11am
-11am-1pm 

Sign up here: