Middle Senior School Communications, 01 June 2023
Term 2 - Week 7
OUTLINE OF NEXT WEEK
Tuesday: MSS Athletics Carnival
Friday: Jnr Musical Performance
Saturday: Jnr Musical Performance
KEY EVENTS THIS TERM
6 June - MSS Athletics Carnival
9/10 June - Jnr Musical Performance
15/16 June - Y8 CEO Sleepout
17/24 June - Y12 Snow Tour
Dear Parents and Carers
This week it is my pleasure to hand over this section of our communications to Rahnia Collins our teacher/librarian in the MSS. Rahnia has a deep passion for engendering a love of reading, writing and literature in our students and has some suggestions about how parents prompt this in students over the coming holiday break.
Yours sincerely
Josh Wilson
Head of Middle and Senior School and Innovative Learning Design
READING FOR PLEASURE by Rhania Collins
As we draw closer to the holidays, parents begin to face the quarterly challenge of how to keep our children from spending the entire three weeks glued to a screen, living a nocturnal existence of Tik Tok videos and insert name of your child's video game here ___________. Well, have I got a solution for you, and it is potentially free! Reading a book!
Now obviously, I have a vested interest here as a teacher-librarian, but according to the research, reading for pleasure is a more powerful indicator of success in life than a parent’s socioeconomic status or a child’s own educational attainment. So you can give that PhD a miss and break out the latest Taylor Jenkins Reed instead. But on a more serious note, we do know that the more a student reads the better their outcomes academically, but also the better off they are emotionally. Reading fosters empathy and we could all do with more empathy in today’s society.
Unfortunately, the research also tells us that reading for pleasure drops off sharply as students enter high school. There are a number of factors at play here including: home learning workloads, longer set texts, extra-curricular activities and students having their own phones. Now, you are not to go around beating yourself up if your children are not avid readers and prefer (as my own daughter does) to spend hours glued to the screen of their phone. But there are things that we can do as parents to combat this decline in reading for pleasure.
Just having books around in your house has an effect; bonus points if your children see you reading them in your spare time. Modelling it ourselves is actually one of the best ways to encourage our children to read, and there’s even a chance we might enjoy it. I know, I know, what spare time! But we do have it, we just generally choose to binge Succession instead. And of course you don’t have to read in ALL your spare time, just here and there, maybe for fifteen minutes on an occasional evening after dinner. I have had some success with this, it took my fourteen-year-old a number of years, but she has become interested in reading on her own in the last few years, and I put it down to her being surrounded by books and having me reading away, like a literary guerilla, in comfy corners of the house in any spare minute that I get. All that subliminal reading finally got to her. Interestingly, she is very keen on graphic novels and trust me, she didn’t see me reading them, which brings me to my next tip, choice.
One of the reasons that teens become less enamoured of reading is because we tend to want to mold them in our own image. They must read the things that we deem suitable and that we like. I remember my own mother insisting that I read John Wyndham’s novels when I was about 13. I read several and hated them all. Turns out I do not like sci fi, unlike my parents who are both avid, sci fi readers. Likewise, my daughter loves her graphic novels and I find them difficult to read. Our children are their own people with their own opinions (don’t we know it) and their own tastes in reading as in so many other things. While we need to keep them safe, we also need to let them develop their own tastes. And please, please don’t tell them that graphic novels and audio books don’t count as real reading! They do! I promise! Especially for our neurodivergent students.
Where are you going to get these books? What if your child has no idea what they like? Taking them for a browse in a well-stocked independent bookshop is a really good idea. I’d highly recommend Mad Hatter’s Book Shop in Manly, Where the Wild Things Are in West End and Riverbend Books in Bulimba. The staff in each of these book shops are knowledgeable and passionate about young adult fiction and can make excellent recommendations. Closer to home, and so very convenient is our own LIC. They can come in and visit me and I am happy to recommend existing books or order in new ones if we don’t have what they want. But most of all, there is your local Council library. So many books, and all for free. If you want more ideas, especially for boys, this is an excellent article from The Conversation (https://theconversation.com/10-ways-to-help-the-boys-in-your-life-read-for-enjoyment-not-just-for-school-205997) or there is Raising Readers by rockstar teacher-librarian Megan Daley.
And finally, having food involved is always an incentive. My daughter (absolutely her mother’s child in this) loves a cup of tea and a spot on the sofa with a blanket when she reads. This is the perfect time of year to set up a comfy reading spot and add your child’s favourite hot beverage or some choc-chip cookies. So I’m passing the mantle of literary guerilla to you and together we will work our stealthy way to get our children reading more often for pleasure and setting themselves up for lives of success and purpose, one book at a time!
Middle & Senior School Athletics Carnival
On Tuesday 6 June (Week 8) the Middle and Senior School Athletics Carnival will be held at Calvary Christian College. This day will involve all students from the Middle and Senior Schools. Please see the attached athletics carnival Parent information letter and program of the events for the day.
Y8 CEO Sleepout
On Thursday the 15 June the Y8 cohort are taking on the challenge of experiencing what it is like to be homeless by sleeping in or outside the CCC with only a sleeping bag and a cardboard box for comfort. Not only will they be experiencing what is to be homeless, but they are busy collecting hygiene products for Fisher's of Men, a charity organisation that works with homeless individuals in the Logan area. The students will then create care packs for this organisation on the night of their sleepover and donate this to them once they have had a presentation from a representative of the organisation. We hope that this event helps the students to empathise with the many individuals across the globe who face homelessness and raises further awareness amongst our community of this social challenge.
Middle School Fundraising
As part of our mission to teach our students the art and practice of giving to those less fortunate the Middle School are fundraising for Fishers of Men and Drought Angels to provide hygiene care packs for the communities that they support.
Reggie Dabbs Presentation
Our Year 10 - 12 students were entertained and spoken to by the international motivational speaker Reggie Dabbs. Reggie's blend of entertainment with a heartfelt message that "They are Loved" and that we should "love one another" gripped our student's attention and focus for the entire 45 minutes he presented for. If you have a student in Years 10 - 12 please help them reflect on:
• What they loved most about the presentation today?
• What is one thing they took away from the message that they can apply to their lives?
• Did they take anything way to share with someone else?
Calvary Eisteddfod 12-16 June 2023
Win Points for your house
As part of the annual MSS Eisteddfod we are hosting a week of celebrating the arts at Calvary with house points awarded for participation and enjoyment in each of the activities offered (please see the list of events below).
The Eisteddfod will culminate in the final event consisting of several competitions including the Battle of Bands and the first-ever inter-house choir on the last day of term. The overall winning house will be presented with the Calvary Eisteddfod Plaque and bragging rights for the next year!
Week 8
Purchase tickets & Attend JS Musical
Week 9
Monday: Music Busking
Tuesday: Mass Participation Dance Competition at second break
Wednesday: Mass Participation Theatre Sports in the Drama room
Thursday: Mass Participation Art event
Friday: Interhouse Choirs, Battle of the Bands, Theatre Sports, Dance performances (between choirs)
Mango CAFE Specials for Week 8
Events
Want to know what's going on at Calvary?
Information can be found on our section flyers or at our website:
CAPA Update
Dr Gary Holley, Head of Calvary Academy of Performing Arts
Arts Week
Arts Week is happening in Week 9 of this Term. A timetable can be found below. Parents are welcome to come to the afternoon session to watch the performances. We are looking for students who are keen to Busk on the Monday at Second Break. This could be a Musical item or duo, Dance or Comedy. Please use the below link to sign up:
Sign Up for Battle of the Bands
Music Recital
The end of Semester Musical Recital for private Instrumental Students is this Sunday, 4 June. Times for your child's performances have been emailed out and can also be found here:
Carbrook Student Recital Timetable
Junior School Musical
Our Junior School students are in the final days of their preparations for their performance of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Jnr.
Everyone is welcome to come along. Tickets can be purchased via the link below.
All Middle and Senior School students who attend a performance will earn additional points, for their House, towards the end of Term Eisteddfod competition.
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Tickets
Date Savers
Showcase 2023
This year's Showcase will be held in Term 3, Saturday 9 September.
All correspondence regarding CAPA, including questions, please send to Emma at: