From the Principal

Werte,

Welcome back to the school year. It has been wonderful to see so many happy smiling faces in and around the school over the past couple of weeks as our students dive deeper into the 2025 academic year. What I love about the new year at Living Waters is not just catching up with familiar faces but also getting to know the new people in our community. We have continued to welcome lots of new families at this year. I trust your family enjoyed some quality time together over the festive season. Particularly, we welcome the many new students and families to Living Waters. We are really looking forward to 2025 being another terrific year.

Our Values

Our values of Love, Service, Courage and Endeavour have had a refresh to align with Lutheran Educations Free To “Flourish document” Free to Flourish takes about our deeply held beliefs about learners and learning. This year we will be talking about learners who are Relational, Adventurous, Purposeful and Compassionate. We will be talking a lot about who we are and who we are becoming. Look out for some opportunities to contribute to our draft document that describes what a Living Waters student looks like, sounds like and feels like. 

Photos of students/other children/social media

I respectfully remind parents and friends in our community to be social media aware and conscious. As a school we often post information to our school Facebook page. We go to great lengths to cross-check whether or not each child is allowed to be photographed and subsequently published. Can I please commend to all, that you only take photographs of your own child/ren and not other children (unless you have direct permission from that child’s parents). Please do not photograph any child other than your own or share photos or videos taken at school of other children to social media. Please only share school images from our Facebook page as these are the children whose families are happy for their image to be shared. 

Welcome BBQ and Open night  

Thanks you to those parents who were able to attend our Parent Information Evening  on Wednesday 5 February 2025. Please contact your child’s teacher should you require any further information or would like to request a meeting. It was great to see so many of our partner organisations here with stalls advertising their activities.

Assembly and Worship

Our assembly, held weekly on Friday morning at 8:30am, and whole school worship, held weekly on Wednesday morning at 8:30am, are hosted mostly by our students. We’d love to see you there. 

Some Tips for a Successful start to the School Year

Help your child get organised: Instead of doing everything for your child, encourage them to be active in the organisation process. Let your child experience the ease of being able to find things, the joy of being on time, and the sense of control that organisation will bring. 

Plan ahead: So mornings go smoothly. There is an old saying, ‘well begun is half done,’ and it certainly is true about getting off to school. Start your planning the night before by making sure your child gets enough rest. A slightly earlier bedtime may make a big difference to your child’s ability to function in the morning. Have your child lay out clothes before bed and put everything else needed for school in the backpack. It is a good idea to have your child put the backpack right on top of his/her shoes, so he/she can’t leave the house without it. 

Keep track of important notes from school: Here’s an easy way; the minute your child gets home, stick the note on the refrigerator or magnetic bulletin board. It won’t get lost in a pile of papers, and it won’t succumb to the “out-of-sight, out-of-mind” syndrome either.

Try some offbeat ways to entice your child to read: Use a current film as a starting point to encourage your child to dip into the book it is based on. Or help your child to write a letter to the author of a favourite book. (Send it to the publisher – most authors are good about replying to letters from children.) Do all you can to foster your child’s love of reading.

Remember the power of praise: Let it work its magic to motivate your child. Displaying a child’s best work is a form of praise. Add a special touch to an especially good paper by having it laminated. (You can do it yourself with clear contact paper.)

Celebrate your child’s successes, no matter how small: Learning is not always easy for children, and sometimes their progress may be measured in very small steps. When your child does master a new skill, rejoice together.

Blessings to all for the week ahead.

Grace and Peace,

Lisa 

Devotion

There is something special about the beginning of a new school year. There are new classrooms, new schedules, new staff, students and families, who we welcome to Living Waters. There is also new energy and new opportunities. For us as a Christian school, we thank God for each new year and the blessings it brings. 

At our recent staff installation service at the Lutheran Church, we reflected on the story of Jeremiah. He was called to be a prophet to Israel, long before he knew God or was aware of how he was working in his life (see Jeremiah 1:4-10). 

But Jeremiah was resistant. He felt too young and inexperienced to be a spokesman for God. He wished God had chosen someone else for this challenging task. God told Jeremiah not to be afraid, to carry out the work he had been called to do, without fear, because God would be with him.

Parents and teachers and all who work with young people also take on a challenging task. No matter how good the start of a new year is, it doesn’t take long for our human nature to kick in, our resistance to rise, our fears to creep in and our energy levels to drop. This is only natural. But God’s encouragement to Jeremiah is also for us. 

God reminds us that we are part of a team, a family, a community. We each have work to do but we do not do it alone. We can look to God for help and guidance. It is his work after all. God reminds St Paul, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ I pray that God gives us the grace and strength we need to serve him and be a blessing to each other at Living Waters. 

Pastor Ben

Prayers to Families

Aaron, Mihira, Shivank, Bianca, Moyaz, Joshua, Ethal.

School Spotlight 

Student Leaders 2025

This year we have captains for the following roles School Captain, SRC, Albrecht Captain, Flynn Captain, Larapinta Captain, Library, Dance, Media, Culture, Tech, Eco and Yearbook and would like to take this time to wish our new leaders the best of luck for 2025.

Look out for more information and photos in our next newsletter. 

New Staff

Emma Schuberg - Art Teacher / Media

Harry Armstrong - PE / Music Teacher

Nicola Venske - Year 3/4 Teacher

Sherry Lowah - Administration

Alicia Morick - Educator

Student Recognition

Awards

Student of the Week

Week 2

For a great start of the term, congratulations to Jyden Murray, Carly Derr, Ju-Merie Hattingh, Jayden Losee, Izabella Wuol, Chase Brooks, Tyler Johnny, Michael Gahani, Alina Lawton, Tanina Furber-Bathern, Katherine Pfeiffer.

Birthdays

Happy Birthday to the following students for the coming weeks:

Aisling Meagher, Namura Bureau, Gabriela Fenim, Mia Edelman, Jorge Quin, Alina Lawton, Tela Palmer, Blaize Jones, Evangeline Boby.

Photos

General News

School Times

School Start and Finish Times (8.20 am – 2:50 pm)

As has been the case for many years, it is an expectation that children arrive at school by 8.15am at which time teachers collect and take children to class in readiness for roll marking. It is vitally important that children arrive at school on time, please. Every minute of learning/classroom organisation is important for each learner. Your assistance in helping us by having your child at school by 8.20 am will be most graciously appreciated. To that end, school commences at 8.20 am sharp, each day. Should your child arrive at school late, then they should present for a late pass, at the office.

Uniforms

Uniform Standards

Parents are reminded of the need to ensure that the wearing of uniforms are in line with the school expectations.

Particularly, we would draw your attention to the following areas:

• Students' hair is to be kept clean, neat and tidy, off the face; of natural appearance, not dyed, tinted or bleached. Hair below the shoulders needs to be tied up at all times.
• Black  shoes should be plain, conventional and well-maintained
• Students may not wear any makeup at any time
• Girls may wear plain gold or silver studs or sleepers only

Our students have a responsibility to uphold the ethos of the school, and to show pride in their school by wearing the uniform correctly – both at the school and when in the community. Your support in this regard is greatly appreciated.

Term Dates

Book Club

Friendly reminder to all that all orders are due on Monday 17th February.

Church News

Facebook Page  

The congregation's Facebook page is now up and running. 

You can check it out by using the QR code or following this link 

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61557831308251

The purpose of this page is mainly to advertise our services 

and events and share devotional content. 

Please contact Pastor Ben or Liz for more information.  

Community Calendar

Living Waters Lutheran School

Corner Albrecht Drive & Kramer Street, Larapinta, 0870

P: 08 8950 0700 E: living.waters@ntschools.net

Alice Springs Lutheran Church

49 Gap Road, P: 8953 2432

Sunday Service 9.30am

Follow Us on Facebook 

Our Facebook page is regularly updated with information and photos from events at Living Waters. You can follow the page at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100024059916012 to see what has been happening around the school.