In the previous newsletter I wrote about the values we as a Lutheran School believe are important lifelong qualities for all our community members. Can you recall the 10 values? If not, here is a reminder: love, justice, compassion, forgiveness, service, courage, humility, hope, quality and appreciation.

This week and in subsequent newsletters, I would like to delve deeper into each value so that we can have a richer understanding of what each value means and what it may look like at Sunshine Christian School. The first quality I would like to address is hope.

Hope: some synonyms of hope include expectation, confidence, trust in, faith in, anticipation, look forward to, expect, desire, aspire and optimism.

Hope enables us to look forward with expectation and confidence. Hope places our trust and faith in God to provide for all of the things we need to handle every kind of situation and event. Hope is open to all possibilities and not limited by what we might wish for. Hope allows God to define our lives. Therefore we appreciate that all interactions are opportunities for the Holy Spirit to work and we actively seek to develop our personal resilience.

‘Jesus called out to them, “Don’t be afraid. I am here!”’ (John 6:20)

Recently we have introduced a prayer table which is located between the Prep/1 and 3/4 classrooms. The prayer table gives students the opportunity to write prayers on the paper provided. The prayers are collected weekly, and the staff then pray for the students at our Friday staff devotion. The prayers are also collated so that the student leaders can pray the student prayers during Whole School Worship on Monday morning.

Parents and friends are also invited and encouraged to use the prayer box. Please feel free to fill in any prayer requests and post them in the box. The staff and students look forward to supporting you through prayer.

Mr Damian Pietsch

Principal