2021 Term 4 Week 6 12 Nov 2021

Covid-19 School Vaccination Program

On Wednesday I wrote to parents of students in Years 7 to 12 about the Covid-19 School Vaccination Program. You can view my letter here. In addition to the current regular schedule of school vaccines (Year 7 and Year 10), the New South Wales Ministry of Health is offering Covid-19 (Pfizer) vaccination to all high school students (Years 7 to 12) for the remainder of this term. The Ministry of Health, Northern New South Wales Local Health District and Lindisfarne Anglican Grammar School would like to make it clear that it is an entirely voluntary program, in which parents have the choice to decide if their child receives the Pfizer vaccine. Please note: No student will be vaccinated without a signed consent form. If you do not want your child to receive these vaccinations, simply do not request or return the consent form. 

Remembrance Day

I wanted to thank all of our staff and students for the respectful observance of Remembrance Day at both campuses on Thursday. The Mahers Lane service was conducted solely by our students and live-streamed to classrooms. You can view the service below.

At the Junior School, Mrs Gallagher led a thoughtful and age-appropriate service. She has included some photographs in her newsletter article.

The Last Post and the Rouse were played by students, Callum McNicoll at Mahers Lane and Monty Lush at the Kingscliff RSL Sub Branch service, whilst Director of Performing Arts Todd Hardy played at the Junior School service. I’m proud of our students and staff who worked to respectfully commemorate the sacrifice of those who served, were injured or died in service to our country.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them

Lest we Forget.

End of Year Events

As a school, we are dealing with very difficult circumstances with the New South Wales Government’s recent changes to permissible events. Despite being an Independent School, Lindisfarne Anglican Grammar School has to follow the same New South Wales Government directives as all other schools in the State. This means that all visitors/guests aged over 16 years must provide proof of double COVID-19 vaccination or a medical contraindication certificate in order to attend school events including all of our end of year events as per the New South Wales Government Covid-19 response.  This includes school parents. Students currently enrolled at Lindisfarne Anglican Grammar School are exempt from this requirement when attending events on the school site.

It is certainly frustrating that New South Wales schools have effectively been backed into a corner - having to require double dose vaccination or a medical contraindication certificate for any school event with visitors over the age of 16 years including school parents. However, this is currently standard practice across all New South Wales schools for the immediate future - certainly up to 15 December or when 95% double dose vaccination is achieved, whichever comes first. I apologise for the distress this will likely cause for some families. It is my hope that we will soon emerge from the ongoing challenges of the Covid-19 global pandemic and we can return to a more normal life, albeit a new normal.

In the meantime, I am grateful that at least all of our students can be part of the end of year events.

I would like to thank you for your continued patience and understanding as we navigate the global Covid-19 pandemic and the many challenges of day to day life and work.

Rugby Program

Today I wrote to families about the Lindisfarne Rugby program commencing in 2022. You can read my letter to the School Community here and access the Rugby Program Handbook here. This is an exciting development as we continue to expand the sporting opportunities at Lindisfarne.

Stuart Marquardt
Principal

Dear Students, Staff, Parents and Guardians,

Making our hearts a manger where Christ can be born again

It’s exactly 43 days from today till Christmas. As we continue to learn and work towards a strong finish to Term 4, I would encourage each and everyone of you to join me in an Advent spiritual pilgrimage, similar to that of 40 days of Lent, to prepare our hearts so that Christ can be born again in our lives and in our world.

I’m aware that some of us belong to alternative or no faith traditions, but I hope you can find something in these pieces of advice that might help you with your spiritual growth.

Etty Hillesum, a young Dutch Jewish girl, who found God during the Holocaust, once wrote, ‘There is a really deep well inside me. And in it dwells God. Sometimes I am there, too. But more often stones and grit block the well, and God is buried beneath. Then He must be dug out again.’ (26 August 1941).

Given the crisis of the pandemic, our school, families and our communities need the love and joy of Christmas to lift our spirits again. Christmas reminds us that God became one of us to make us God-like. Let us endeavour to remove all the ‘stones and grit’ that cover this presence of God in us: sin, selfishness, meanness, fear, hatred, unbridled materialism and consumerism. Let us instead continue to become more fully the people God has created us to be: generous, kind, compassionate, tender-hearted, humane and more loving.

So, this week, please join me in the following spiritual exercises:

1. Create and protect time (10-15minutes at least) for daily prayer, silence and meditation.

2. Spend another 10-15 minutes daily reading your Bible or other spiritual or sacred text.

3. Begin a reverse Advent Calendar: get a box or basket and start putting away some non-perishable food stuff in it which you can donate to Agape Outreach Centre or Fred’s Place for the needs of the poor. Or you can put away a dollar a day or deny yourself a coffee a week and put the money away for BUY A PLATE fundraiser, organised by Agape Centre Outreach, to help give the homeless and needy a Christmas meal.

4. Forgive from your heart those who have hurt you this year.

5. Advent means ‘waiting’. Wait on the Lord and be patient in tribulation. All will be well.

6. Advent calls us to hope. Be a hope-bringer in your words and actions.

7. Perhaps you could start a spiritual journal to accompany you during this Christmas preparation, or write a Christmas poem, or do a kind deed for someone in need, expecting nothing in return.

Let us continue to encourage each other in the journey of faith, and in our spiritual development by growing deeper in our intimacy and relationship with the Lord and in the service of others, particularly those in need in our community.

I wish you a very relaxing weekend filled with God’s choicest blessings in every way.

Constantine Osuchukwu
Chaplain

Please support the businesses that support the Parents and Friends Association.

Ramesh Sivabalan
President
Lindisfarne Parents and Friends Association

With restrictions beginning to ease statewide, a positive improvement we were able to gain back this week has been our ability to hold assemblies and chapels in person again, rather than gathering electronically via Google Meet. This is due to the fact that our assembly space, in the junior school, is in the outdoor undercover area.

What a difference it makes seeing all the faces of the Junior School students and staff in one space, listening, learning and celebrating together which, in these times, is a rarity.

On Thursday, 11 November at 11 o’clock, we were lucky to be able to spend our Remembrance Day service together. We spoke about what the day means and when Mr Todd Hardy played the Last Post and Rouse, we discussed the meaning behind each part of the ceremony. 

As part of the service, the Year 4 leaders took in turns reading a picture book called, Lest We Forget; written by Kerry Brown and illustrated by Isobel Knowles and Benjamin Portas. It is a beautiful children's book that depicts those moments we all want to remember in life and those that sometimes we would prefer to forget, each time comparing it to images representing what events would have been like for those who served in the war. The main message taken was why it is important not to forget. Lest we forget. You can see some photos below.

I look forward to holding assemblies and continuing to be part of our Junior Chapel Services with The Reverend Constantine for the remainder of the year. It is a highlight of my week, especially now that it is our one opportunity to gather together.

House Captains Term 4

I will also take this opportunity to formally announce the house captains of this term.

• St Stephen House - Isabella Green and Ben Dickens
• St Cuthbert House - Max Larsen, Beatrice Broad and Zoe Hawkins
• St Barnabas House - Jackson Wright and Oliver Costello
• St Andrew House - Lavanya Jamieson Eymes and Milla Carpenter

Mrs Laura Gallagher
Acting Head of Junior School

This week was an important one for the Middle School with the election of House Leaders in 2022. From a strong field of candidates, we are very excited to announce the following students will represent their respective houses in 2022:

• St Andrew House - Timana Andrews and Eliza Fahy
• St Barnabas House - Oliver Watters and Emily Daniel
• St Cuthbert House - Kobe Frazer and Bethani Broad
• St Stephen House - Mia Gist and Sam Davies

A formal announcement and recognition of the leadership team will occur later in the term. In the meantime, please join me in congratulating the students on their appointment to these positions.

Next week we have two important events taking place.  

On Monday evening at 6.30pm an online information session will provide an update for parents and guardians of current and new students entering Year 7 in 2022. To connect to the meeting please use the following link: 

Year 7 2022 Parent Information Session.

A student orientation day will follow on Tuesday with a range of activities, fun and lessons planned. It will be a busy day with over 200 students on campus. We are looking forward to welcoming them and assisting with their transition into 2022.

On Tuesday evening at 6.00pm, an online information session is scheduled for parents and guardians of current and new students entering Year 5. To connect to the meeting please use the following link: 

Year 5 2021 Parent Information Session

On Wednesday the current Year 4 and new students will spend the morning at the Mahers Lane Campus for an orientation. A special part of this day will be a Liturgy where the current Year 5 students and staff will welcome the 2022 Year 5 students. The service will take place in Ngahriyah at 9.40am and with revised COVID-19 restrictions for transition events, we are now able to invite two family members per child to attend this important milestone. 

In line with the current NSW Government mandates and the current Public Health Order, where events are held at any external venue or any school in NSW, all adult visitors/guests must check-in using the QR code and if aged over 16 years, provide evidence of double COVID-19 vaccination or a COVID-19 medical contraindication certificate. Please note that this includes school parents.

Unfortunately, during assembly this week we needed to address the issue of wilful damage to school property. Students were reminded that RESPECT, one of our core values, extends to school assets and resources and is intrinsically linked to our culture. We have, unfortunately, had to spend considerable amounts of money repairing and replacing resources, money that could/should be used in a much more positive way. Students have been reminded that this type of behaviour cannot and will not be tolerated and there are potentially severe repercussions for any student damaging school property. Again, it is a shame that I have had to remind students of our School’s values in this way and at this time but I look forward to a more positive end to the school year. 

Jeremy Godden
Head of Middle School

Stage 3 Chapel

This week’s theme for the Stage 3 chapel was Living in Hope. 

Hope is not wishful thinking or naive optimism, but reminds us that our lives and everything that happens has meaning and purpose.

A reading from the first letter of Paul to the Romans Chapter 15 beginning at verse 13:

I pray that the God who gives hope will fill you with much joy and peace while you trust in him. Then your hope will overflow by the power of the Holy Spirit.

A reading from St Paul’s letter to the Romans chapter 5 beginning at verse 5:

And this hope will never disappoint us, because God has poured out his love to fill our hearts. God gave us his love through the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to us.

Quotes on hope: 

“Hope is like the Sun. When it’s behind the clouds, it’s not gone, you just have to find it.” ~Unknown

“Once you choose hope, anything is possible.” ~Christopher Reeve.

“Hope is the bird that sings while the dawn is still dark.” ~Leon Bloy.

Wherever you go, bring hope and joy into the different areas of your life. Hope is not just wishful thinking, hope is waiting for God to fulfil his promises. God always promises that he will make things well. Jesus came to fulfil God's promise. Our lives will be okay. When we see darkness in our world, don’t lose hope. Have hope that everything will be okay in the end. Don’t lose hope when you go through difficult times. Whatever happens, Jesus is with us in our hearts. When you are afraid, talk to Jesus in your heart. He will speak to you clearly in your heart. Ask the Holy Spirit to give us hope. After the darkness we will find the light.

Year 6 Big Write 

Here are two amazing pieces of writing by the talented Chloe Rosser and Alicia Brown from 6D. Their stories are based on the image below from our Big Write in Week 4. 

Amy Williamson and Kylie Thompson
Year 5 and Year 6 Coordinators

As our Year 12’s continue with their HSC exams they will begin receiving early offers to University from some of our local institutions. A reminder for students who have applied for University that they can still update their preferences in their application up until December so they are encouraged to check their preferences in the next few weeks to ensure they align with their most preferred Universities and courses. I am here to support students if they need assistance with this. Also for our graduating Year 12’s, Twin Towns Services Club is advertising the following opportunities:

For all other students who may be looking for work over the Christmas break, there are plenty of businesses now hiring. Searching on SEEK and filtering for your location and entering the search ‘casual’ or ‘christmas casual’ is a good place to start. All Year 10 students have completed a resume and cover letter in Careers class so should be well prepared to apply.

Lauren Ward
Director of Careers and VET

Club Netball

The Lindisfarne Lions Netball Club Presentations will now be held on Friday, 26 November. At this stage, will celebrate the 2021 season in stage groups in special gatherings during school hours. The Passing the Pride, when the 2022 captain is announced to work alongside Ebony Richards, and we thank Samantha Harvey for her outstanding contribution to netball at Lindisfarne, will also take place on this occasion. Netball Colours for Year 9 to Year 12 players will also be awarded. 

We are hoping that we will be able to invite Managers and Coaches into the School for their squads celebrations. However, alternatively, the Parent Support Group will organise a date and time where we can personally thank our volunteers for their dedicated time and efforts for the Lindisfarne Lions Netball Club this year.

Team photographs for the Cubs, Pink, Purple, Crimson and Orange Lions teams will be taken on November 18 at the Junior School. Please see the schedule linked here. 

Tweed Netball Association 

Tweed Netball Association have their Annual General Meeting on Wednesday next week. If there are any questions or clarifications you would like to raise, then please let me know.

TNA are hosting their Saturday Netball Presentation Day on Saturday, 4 December at Arkinstall Park from 8.30am to 10.30am. This is for ALL of our teams, our NETSETGO 5s and 6s and our 7s/8s Pink and Purple Lions. They will also be presenting the Meg Grace Award, Junior and Senior. Umpires of the Year and the Rep Winners. 

Please let your manager know that you are able to attend this morning - in your Lindisfarne dresses please!

Netball Coaching 2022

Thanks to those of you who attended the coaching sessions over the last two weekends. Please consider volunteering your time in 2022. The girls love having their parents involved!

Netball Centre of Excellence 

All players who wish to trial for the 2022 Centre of Excellence and the Rep squads, please see the scheduled sessions below for next week.

Please complete the Google Form (click the link here) if you wish to attend.

Players may attend all of their age appropriate sessions but this is not mandatory. 

Year 4 students must be turning 11 years old in 2022.

It has been great seeing the boys and girls back on the court playing netball!

The workshops have been run at Arkinstall Park by Club Ambassador - Nicole Cusack, Alumni Netball Captain - Georgia Maynard and Head Coach- Suzanne Evans.

The teams will be named before the end of the year.

Holiday Camps

NetSetGO 1 Day Camp

• When: Monday 13th December 2021
• Time: 9am - 4pm
• Price: $125.00
• Location: Nissan Arena

Focusing on:

• Netball Skill Activities
• Off Court Activities
• Modified Match Play
• Giveaway
• Chance to meet Role Model

11 - 15 Years Two Day Camp

When: Tuesday 14th & Wednesday 15th December 2021
Time: 9.00am - 4.00pm
Price: $240.00
Location: Nissan Arena

Focusing on:

• Netball Skill Development
• Holistic Sessions - Delivered by Guest Presenters
• Match Play
• Giveaway
• Team Building Activities
• Chance to meet Role Model

Click here to REGISTER NOW!

NCAS Netball Trials

Please see some information re: the NCAS 2022 Netball Trials. Applications are now open and can be submitted via the NCAS website - Link here 

The North Coast Academy of Sport 2022 Netball Program will commence in December 2021 and run to October 2022. The program will have an emphasis on athletes 15-16-years old and umpires 14-18-years old, providing greater skills development, strength and conditioning support and physical preparation leading to Academy tournament events and the U17 State Selection Trials.

Selection Process, Date and Venue 

• Prospective athletes and umpires must complete and submit a trial application form by Friday 26th November 2021. No late applications will be accepted. 
• Trials will be held on Sunday 5th December at Sportz Central, Coffs Harbour 
  1. 1st Round – 10:00am – 12:30pm (all trialists) 
  2. 2nd Round – 1:30pm – 4:00pm (possible & probable) 

Netball Elite Coaching Development Sessions 

Nicole Cusack and Tracey Robinson from Netball Elite Coaching will again be running development sessions for athletes on Saturday 4th December leading into the NCAS trials. There will be four different sessions to choose from covering shooting, attacking, court work/systems and defence. Should you wish to attend you will need to submit your application to Netball Elite via info@netballelite.com.au by 1st December 2021. Applications can be downloaded from the NCAS website. 

If you have any questions, please contact the Academy via programs@ncas.org.au.

Good Luck!

If you have any questions re: netball, please do not hesitate to email me.

“I’m here if you need!”

Gay Maynard 
Teacher in Charge of Netball

We are very excited to be running some actual sport excursions this week in light of the AISNSW restriction updates. For those parents that missed the permission slip deadline for this week's activities, you will be able to go back in early next week and rectify this.

NSWCIS Medallion Recipients 2021

As previously notified, unfortunately, the decision was made to cancel the 2021 NSWCIS Awards Evening due to the interruption of the NSWCIS Representative Sports Season by the COVID-19 Pandemic. 

For those sports in 2021 who were able to successfully name NSW Merit Teams, NSWCIS Medallions will be presented (issued) to these Students in honour and recognition of their achievement.

Click HERE for the Full List of 2021 NSWCIS Medallion Recipients - a massive congratulations to Harlan Oliver for achieving this prestigious award for AFL.

Duke Of Ed

The roll out for the Duke of Edinburgh Award was stalled this year due to numerous complications and impediments with COVID-19 restrictions. We are however moving ahead with this and will be holding the following introductory sessions:

• Year 8 meeting in Home Room - Wednesday, 17 November 
• Parent Information Evening - Wednesday, 24 November ONLINE (5.30pm)

An email will be sent to Year 8 and 9 students/parents next week with details of the program to read prior to these presentations. 

Athletics

The NSW All Schools Athletics is being held in Sydney on the 9-12th December (please see here for more details on registration and event times). Although parents and students will make their own travel arrangements if they are competing, Dr. Joseph Coyne will be supporting students going to the carnival with training sessions at the school and coaching at the event. If you would like more details, please contact Dr. Coyne here. Also if you have not already, please let the Sports Department know as soon as possible if you intend to compete, as you will need to borrow a Lindisfarne competition singlet prior to departure.

Basketball

We will be launching the Lindisfarne Lions Basketball program for 2022. This program will involve games for boys and girls  in 1st V, U17, U15 and U13 teams across the full school year. Please register your interest if you or your children would like to be involved in the program through please register through parent lounge or student cafe.

Parent Lounge:

> Extra Curricular

> Sign up now and “sign up” for

> Term 4 Sport weeks 6 to 9 - Years 7 to 10 

> Verify

> Sign up 

> SUBMIT TO SCHOOL

Student Cafe:  

Please see a short instructional video here for student cafe sign up.

If you would like more details, please contact Dr. Coyne here.

Rugby

We have launched the inaugural Lindisfarne Lions Rugby Union program for 2022 during senior and middle school assemblies this past week. This program will involve games in both XV and 7-a-side for 1st XV/7, under 15 and under 13 teams across the full school year. The program will also consist of three training sessions per week made up of a contact and individual skill session, a strength and conditioning session and a full team session.  We also had a wonderful message from our alumni and current Australian Rugby Union  7’s squad member, Lily Dick in support of the program. You can watch this message here. More information can be found here (Link to information pack) and if you or your children would like to be involved in the program, please register through parent lounge or student cafe.

Parent Lounge:

> Extra Curricular

> Sign up now and “sign up” for

> Term 4 Sport weeks 6 to 9 - Years 7 to 10 

> Verify

> Sign up 

> Submit to School

Student Cafe:  

Please see a short instructional video here for student cafe sign up.

If you would like more details, please contact Dr. Coyne here.

Tennis

Tennis registrations are now closed. All the registered players will be notified via email with further details in the very near future.

Spotlight on Koa Stotz

Koa entered the TSS Swim Meet at Southport last Saturday. As usual he is dominating the pool in his favoured Breastroke across the 11 Years Boys age group:

• Gold for 50 Breaststroke
• Bronze in 100m Breaststroke

Spotlight on Lyla Williams

Lyla was awarded Athlete of the Year at the Gold Coast Academy of Sport awards evening for their Track & Field Future Stars Program. Thankfully she was able to cross the border as it was part of a course/education. She is pictured here with psychologist Jackson Hill, who provided invaluable education to the students during the program. Awesome work Lyla, well done.

Spotlight on Sian & Eira-Grace McGilligan

Congratulations goes to Sian and Eira-Grace McGilligan for their outstanding results at the National Poomsae Competition in Taekwondo:

Sian and Eira Grace came 4th in the Family Pairs Division missing out on Bronze by 0.04 of a point. For their respective divisions, Eira Grace received a Bronze and Sian came 9th.

Well done girls!

Damien Clucas
Head of Sport and Activities

“Lions Youth of the Year Program was established more than 50 years ago with the objective of developing and honing participants' skills associated with interview technique, personal interaction, networking, public speaking and 'thinking-on-your-feet'.”

Entry Eligibility 

The Quest is open to high school students who are over the age of 15 and under 19 years of age at 30 June 2022.  Lindisfarne is encouraging eligible students currently in Year 10 and those just commencing Year 12 to consider entering this competition.

Competition Requirements

There are a number of steps involved if you decide to enter this worthwhile competition:

1. Application Form. A completed application form must be submitted to Mrs Walker no later than the FIRST day of Term One 2022. 
2. Panel Interview. Each contestant will have to attend a panel interview that will discuss the material noted in the application form. Additionally, they will have to answer four general knowledge questions. This usually lasts about 30-40 minutes.
3. Public Speaking.  At a separate occasion to the panel interview, applicants will need to complete the public speaking component of the challenge before an audience of Lions members, family and adjudicators.  This often occurs at a dinner.  There are two parts to this section:
   Prepared Speech. Applicants prepare a speech, on a topic of their own choice, that lasts for five minutes.
   Impromptu Speeches. Each applicant will also need to complete two spontaneous speeches that last for no longer than two minutes each.

Competition Levels

There are a number of levels to this competition, the first being the Club heat which will be held with the Lions Club of Coolangatta and Tweed Heads on Tuesday 15 February.  

Next Step

If you are interested in participating in this competition, you must email Mrs Walker before Friday, 27 November. Information will then be forwarded about the competition milestones. A firm commitment is needed from you by Monday 6 December, so that the local Lions Club Convenor can be advised.

Further information may also be obtained at: https://lionsclubs.org.au/our-programs/youth-opportunities/youth-of-the-year/how-to-enter/

Suellen Walker
English Coordinator 

Approximately 789 million people on Earth live in extreme energy poverty! This means that approximately 1 in 10 people after the sun sits are plunged into darkness or have to rely on unsafe fuel sources such as kerosene or diesel.  Mrs Dowkers Year 6 class took up the challenge this week to make a real impact in another student’s learning journey.

The Solar Buddy is a new global initiative that our Lindisfarne students engage with a very real world issue. Students have been looking at themes of inequity in previous weeks and how it feels when being part of the cycle of poverty. Energy poverty is based on 4 main pillars including health, education, environmental issues and economy. A surprising fact for our students was that families will spend up to 40% of their income on fuel for lighting at night.

To combat this issue, students were given junior solar buddies to construct. The units are a hard plastic device that has a solar cell, light and battery integrated within it. Students had to open up the device to connect the cables together and make sure that the unit was water tight inside of it. While building their devices they were surprised by Year 5 students who were excited and interested to see what they were building. As a teacher it was rewarding to hear such a rich discussion between our middle school students about how they could use STEAM to help with real world problems.

Once the students finished their devices, they were then given the opportunity to write a letter to the student that will receive the solar buddy. The letters were sincere and heartfelt and it was a privilege to read some of the messages that our Lindisfarne students wrote.

If you are interested in being part of this initiative more details can be found at the Solar Buddy website https://solarbuddy.org/ 

Stephen Henderson
Director of TAS

This year we had over 160 of our Middle School students participate in the Australasian Problem Solving - Maths Olympiad. The competition is open for students in Grades 5-8 from all over Australia and New Zealand. Students participate in 5 separate contests over the 12 months period. Each contest involves each student independently answering five very challenging questions in a 30 minute period. Well done to all of the students who participated this year and a special mention to the award winners pictured. 

A very special congratulations to the following students who were awarded trophies and patches for their excellent scores.

Year 5
Eva Taylor 

Year 6 
Rachel Robbie 
Marcus Fox 
Cooper Broxup 
Bradley Gilmour

Year 7
Lil Proart
Juliette Adlard (absent)

Year 8
Rachael Robbie
Lachlan Marshall
Marlow McDornan
Bradley Gilmour

Frank Malone                                 Jodie Duggan
Director of Mathematics               Director of Learning Enrichment 

To find out details on how you can audition, then use the QR code on the poster below.

November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month. It provides the opportunity to raise community awareness of lung cancer and the signs and symptoms of the disease.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of death in Australia with around 12,000 people diagnosed in Australia each year. The symptoms of lung cancer can often be vague and mimic those of other conditions, so it’s important to know what your cough is telling you.

If lung cancer is found at an earlier stage, there is more chance of a better outcome.

It’s important to know the symptoms of lung cancer as although lung cancer occurs mostly in people aged 60 and over, it can affect people of any age.

What are the symptoms?

• coughing up blood
• a new or changed cough that doesn’t go away
• chest pain and/or shoulder pain or discomfort – the pain may be worse with coughing or deep breathing
• trouble breathing or shortness of breath
• hoarse voice
• weight loss
• loss of appetite
• chest infection that doesn’t go away
• tiredness or weakness

Many conditions can cause these symptoms, not just lung cancer.

New and constantly evolving treatments such as immunotherapy are likely to continue to improve outcomes for people affected by lung cancer.

Anyone can get lung cancer, even if they have never smoked. If you have any of these symptoms and they are persistent, please talk to your doctor.

The PDHPE Faculty

Climate Change and Me

Do you know what the acronym “COP26” stands for? Do you have any idea at all? Don’t worry if you don’t because most people wouldn’t have a clue. The fact is that the acronym alone describes perfectly the slow motion train wreck which is our collective response to climate change. 

COP26 stands for the “26th Conference of the Parties” and it refers to the countries (parties) who signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change treaty in, wait for it……..1994.

What has happened since then? Well, around the world there have been some advancements in power generation with renewable energy sources but, basically, it has been business as usual in the cement industry, power generation, steel making, aluminium refining and transport except that now we make more of everything than we did in 1994 and fly in aeroplanes to more places more often than we ever did before (current restrictions not withstanding).

The dominant demographic around the world is the “Baby Boomer” generation and we have a great deal to answer for with our intentional inaction on climate change. If anything is to be done, it will have to be by the emerging generation of scientists, engineers, educators and politicians some of whom could well be here at Lindisfarne right now.

Owen Browne (Year 8) has been involved for the past three years with a student group assisting researchers at Southern Cross University who were developing a climate change app for upper primary and middle school students. As the project evolved, the Southern Cross staff made the insightful decision to step back and allow the students, some only in Year 5, to take control of the design of the app, called “Climate Change + Me” or “CC+Me”, as well as the sort of information available on it.

It is unusual to have current climate research available to primary age children in an engaging and accessible format. Here at Science Matters we took an introductory stroll through the app and found it easy to use, informative and accurate. The app invites users to visit different parts of the world and find out about the specific climate change impacts that are occurring there. There is also an interactive aspect where young people are encouraged to take part in activities or inform their friends about what they have learned. The format seemed engaging and appropriate for the target 11 to 13 year old age group. It is currently only available on the internet via a laptop but will be released as a smartphone app early in 2022.

Anyone will find it informative but if you have primary aged children in the household it should be particularly interesting and well worth exploring with them. 

You can access the CC+Me app here: https://ccme.app/

Owen has featured in our column previously when he was a finalist in the Australian Museum science video competition. This is obviously a medium in which his creativity flourishes and he has been involved in all aspects of the CC+Me project from design concept and area-specific research to some of the narration you will hear when you visit the site. He is the sort of person who just might break the cycle of inaction which has come to characterise climate change policy. Well done to Owen and all of the team at Southern Cross University for this unique initiative.

You can find out more about the development process behind the app, the rationale that drove the decision making and the background of some of the people involved by visiting the SCU website here: https://www.scu.edu.au/engage/news/latest-news/2021/new-game-app-takes-kids-on-a-climate-action-learning-adventure.php

Have a wonderful week in Science and work hard because the rest of us are counting on you to get us out of this mess!

Hamish Inksetter
Science Coordinator

Sav & Maddy Fitzpatrick return from Tokyo after their campaign with the Hockeyroos and are doing clinics at Hockey Tweed & Casuarina. 

Hockey Tweed Clinic

Date: 20th & 21st November

Time: 9-11am

Location: Hockey Tweed, Murwillumbah

Basic skills to Penalty corner specialist skills, signings and photos, prizes to be won!

Day 1: Slapping, Sliding and Goal shooting

Day 2: Elimination skills, tackling and games

Price: $40/day

2 Day Package: $70 

Click HERE to register 

NOT FREE

As most proceeds will go to beloved friend and teacher Matt Fydler, and his fight against Sarcoma. Please see his GoFundMe page for more information and donate today! Also bid at our silent auction and a chance to receive some official olympic uniform, signed playing uniform and more!