Around the School

Assembly Awards

Assembly and Chapel 

Roster - Term 3

Assemblies will take place each Monday, commencing at 2.30pm in the Worship Centre. 

Classes presenting at assembly this term are: 

Book Week

There's a buzz around the library as we move closer to Book Week (Week 5 -17/8 –23/8). We have a full week of ‘all things books’ planned.

Monday 19th - Book Week Dress up day & Read-a-round.

Embracing all the magic of reading, students can dress up as a book character, a specific book, or a combination of anything that makes reading magic. 

When thinking about what costume the students would like to wear, we encourage the students to use items that they already have at home rather than purchasing specific costumes that can become very expensive. As always, we recommend that the costumes are weather and play appropriate. 

We will hold a Parade at 12pm followed by the Read-a-round, where students can hear up to 3 of the short-listed story books for 2024.

Tuesday 20th – Lunchtime activities will be offered in the Sunnybrook library.

Wednesday 21st – GGLPS Community library activities – Our Community Library is situated in the fenced area near the mural in the courtyard. A community library is a place where anyone can take a book off the shelf to read and replace it with another one for others to share. This is a great opportunity to build our community library by bringing a book from home that is no longer required and is in good condition and swap it with one that is already on our shelves. 

Thursday 22nd - Lunchtime activities will be offered in the Sunnybrook library.

Friday 23rd – Golden Time - Reading is magic activities, including open library for students to let the magic take them away in a good book. 

During class visits in Book Week, students will have the opportunity to ‘taste’ the short-listed books and discuss how to browse for books they like. 

Looking forward to celebrating Book Week with our community! 

Ruth 

Librarian

Ping-Pong-A-Thon

Our school and church community are once again partnering together for the event to raise funds to combat modern day slavery. Everyone in the Golden Grove Lutheran Community and beyond can get involved.

What is the Pong? 

All the funds raised will help combat modern day slavery through the work of the eight Pong partners (head to https://pingpongathon.com/cause for more info).

How do we raise funds? 

By people choosing to step forward and play ping pong at the event, and encouraging their friends/family to sponsor them.

How long does the event run for and when is it?

It will start at 11 am on Friday, August 16 and finish at 11 am on Saturday, August 17 (Week 4). The students will be kicking us off from 11am-3 pm on Friday and after that anyone else from the wider community can join in. Dinner will be provided at 5:45pm on Friday afternoon, and for brunch at 10:30am on Saturday morning. 

Making Donations and Registering

All donations count - it doesn't matter how large or small it may be.

Parents and friends can make donations to the cause through the cash tins at the front office (donations are tax deductible), or online through https://www.pingpongathon.com/goldengrovepong and heading to the 'GGLPS Houses Battle' tab to find each house colour. The house with the most money raised will win a prize.

All are encouraged to participate; so if yourself, or any family friends would like to be involved you can create a fundraising page by heading to https://www.pingpongathon.com/goldengrovepong and selecting 'Join Team' and follow the prompts. From there you can share your fundraising page with your friends/family network and ask for donations.

We can’t wait to join together as a community to raise funds to combat modern day slavery!!!

Friday 16 August will be casual clothes day where students can dress up as a sporting person or just casual clothes and bring a gold coin donation.

Impact Story - how is the money raised spent

Your support in the Ping Pong A Thon makes a life changing impact in people's lives. Here is one example… A WARM EMBRACE

Throughout the fight for freedom, The Pong has been fortunate enough to partner with IJM (International Justice Mission) in their quest to help the vulnerable throughout the Asia-Pacific region. IJM has consistently played a big part in getting people back on their feet and today we wanted to highlight one such story.

Murni* grew up in a farming family in Indonesia. After finishing school she was compelled to seek a higher income in order to support her family, leading her to accept a domestic worker job in Malaysia. Unfortunately, Murni’s labour was exploited, leaving her without pay, proper food or even a place to sleep. Her employers even abused her physically and verbally to such a horrific point that she lost her eyesight. Fortunately, Murni was eventually rescued and migrated to a shelter for trafficking victims run by Tenaganita, a partner organisation of IJM. Since the rescue, IJM has been actively working to support partners like Tenaganita to build their capacity in trauma-informed care and case management. Tenaganita ensures that Murni and survivors like her receive imperative support as they embark on their journey of physical and emotional healing in addition to legal proceedings. Through their help and several years of convalescence, in December 2023, Murni was able to finally return to Indonesia and reunite with her family in safety.

You can only begin to imagine the pain Murni must have endured throughout her journey. Human trafficking is simply one of the greatest evils on the planet, so for her to reunite with her family in safety is an amazing privilege we as Pongers get to contribute to. Unfortunately, the warm embrace of a parent or a laugh with a sibling is still something unimaginable for many still trapped in exploitation around the world. As people who Pong however, we have the amazing opportunity to fight for these people, ensuring that every single one of them is given the opportunity to live in freedom! So next time you pick up the paddle, think back to the last time you shared a hug with a friend or family member, because here at the Pong, we think that’s a freedom worth fighting for.

Ignite

Arise