Term 1 Week 8

Football  Clinics

Last Friday, Years Prep, 1, 2 and 4 students were lucky enough to have AFLW and all Australian player Chloe Scheer, and Zach from AFL Victoria, come into the school and run a football clinic. It was great to see the students dressed in football colours, ahead of the opening round of the AFL season. All students displayed a high level of enthusiasm and were able to listen and take on feedback to improve their skills. It was great to see a fun and positive vibe throughout the day.

Preps Love Shapes!

The Preps have been working very hard learning all about shapes. They participated in many activities to construct different 2D shapes, making sure each one had the correct amount of sides and corners. They put on their detective hats and, with clipboards in hand, went on a shape hunt around the school. There were many circles, rectangles, squares and triangles to find! Our next adventure will be diving into the world of 3D shapes!

Year 3D Reflections on Camp

Last week the Year 3 students sailed over the sea to camp at Portsea, as you may have seen in last week’s Vine. On our return to school, we were reflecting on some of the amazing experiences that we had while we were away. We thought that we would share some of them with you.

My favourite part of camp was the High Ropes Course because it was fun and high. Also I had been waiting to do it for so long.  Axel

My favourite part of the Year 3 Camp was …..drumroll please! Spotlight! I loved playing Spotlight because I felt like a military spy!  Jethro

School camp was so much fun. To get there, we went on the ferry. We caught the bus to camp. My favourite was the High Ropes Course. It was so much fun!  Manuka

I was so excited. I was ready to go. We got to the ferry and eventually got to camp. We went to the High Ropes Course. Chloe and I went to the top of both poles. I want to go on it again. Elle

Making a Difference!

In Term 4 2022 as part of their Humanities learning, Year 7 students completed a Global Citizenship unit using the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs). Students selected a goal they resonated with and connected it to a local issue in the community.

As part of their learning, Maisie Kelly, Lucy Jovanovic and Erin Bowers selected the issue of hunger and food waste. In their 2022 Exhibition of Learning the girls raised awareness, as well as over $130 for Feed Me Geelong which was warmly received!

Year 7 – What’s the Story?

This term in English, Year 7 students are undertaking a unit ‘What’s the Story?’. As part of their learning students selected and read a biography / autobiography of their choice. This week they have delivered an oral presentation to the class about their selected text. Students acted as a fictional literary agent for the author, imagining they were holding the manuscript of the text and having to convince a roomful of potential publishers (their peers) on why their text needs to be published and shared with the world. Within their presentation, students have:

• Identified parts of the text that make it desirable to a potential reader.
• Selected specific details about how the text uses structure, language and imagery to tell a story.
• Selected appropriate content to share with the audience.
• Discussed the text by making interesting points and exploring ideas.
• Used persuasive language and features of voice to add interest.

It has been wonderful to see students embracing this opportunity and learning important oral presentation skills throughout the task. The students’ next challenge is to interview a person they know who has an interesting story to tell.  They will convert their interview into a creative response, choosing from two options: A Feature Article or a 3–4-page Graphic Novel. We look forward to seeing what they create.

Brekkie Time

For this term’s assessment the Year 7 Food Studies students had to design their own healthy breakfast. The students have been learning about the benefits of eggs and trialing a variety of different breakfasts, so they were very excited to create their own. The creations were incredible! Students made smoothies, brekkie bowls, omelettes, French toast and even a ‘Scottish’ breakfast. I am so proud of each group.

Serving the Community

This semester 10 of the Year 8 students have been going to their weekly placements for our Community Service elective. This elective has been an amazing opportunity to get involved and help people in our local community. It’s not only a learning curve and a great experience for us students, it has also immensely helped people in the community with the great work that they do.

Personally, I have loved this elective so far this year. I have a true passion for helping people and had been wanting to do volunteer work in the community similar to this for quite some time. When the opportunity arose, I was eager to get this elective and was delighted to find out that I had.

I have been volunteering at Drysdale Grove Aged Care for the past five weeks with Jess Phelan, who is also in the class. I chose to volunteer there because I knew that I would get to spend time with people and learn a lot from the elderly. So far, I have loved going to Drysdale Grove every Wednesday afternoon, and it is a highlight of my week! I have created many friendships with the residents and understand how much it means to some of them to have visitors come and spend time with them, especially schoolkids.

When leaving every Wednesday afternoon, I feel so amazing after spending time with such lovely, genuine people. Knowing that my volunteering impacts them just as much as spending time with them impacts me is really remarkable!

Community Service has been such an amazing elective so far, and I can’t wait to see what fun the rest of the semester will bring!

Molly Judge, Year 8 Student

Year 9 Street Cafe

As part of the Year 9 Business Food Studies class, the students chose to run a lunchtime ‘Street Café’ for the middle school students. Students created a business plan, selected a product to sell and then focused on trial bakes, advertising, ordering, calculating profit margins, customer preferences and customer service. The groups decorated their stalls and made eye-catching posters to promote the event. The day was a huge success with the groups selling cinnamon scrolls and spiders outside in the Barn then inside were nachos, tacos, gyozas and cake pops– yum! It was wonderful – so much fun and a great event enjoyed by the all. It was also a great experience for our Year 9s to learn about the work involved in getting a product ready for sale and communicating with customers.

Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Days!

All Christian College campuses will open their doors on May 2 in the first of our Open Days for 2023.

This is an opportunity for parents/guardians and families who are considering Christian College as an option for their young people to visit one or more of our campuses, meet students, teachers and campus leaders, tour facilities, visit classes in progress and have their questions answered. It provides an authentic insight to how our College operates on a day-to-day basis. For those considering either Junior School-Belmont or Surf Coast Campus, please note our Early Learning Centres - Williams House in Belmont and Butterfield House in Torquay - will also be open for visitation at the same time as the campuses.

No booking is required, with campuses open at the following times:

Junior School-Belmont: 9:30 – 11:00am

Bellarine Campus: 9:30 – 11:00am

Surf Coast Campus: 9:30 – 11:30am

Middle School-Highton: – 11:15am – 12:45pm

Senior School-Waurn Ponds: – 11:30am – 1:00pm

Big Science Competition!

We welcome all students in Years 7 - 10 to consider taking part in the Big Science Competition!

A 50-minute, multiple-choice competition, the Big Science Competition isn't like other tests. This test focuses on how students can use their science knowledge and critical thinking skills to solve problems. 

The Big Science Competition can also lead to BIG opportunities.

All students in Australian high schools who sit the Big Science Competition have a chance to win one of four great prizes*, up to the value of $1,498.

Here's everything you need to know. 

• The Big Science Competition is open to students in Year 7-10 who attend Australian and International schools.
• The Big Science Competition will run on a date to be determined between 15-26 May 2023.
• Expressions of interest will close at the end of Term 1.

Registering your interest

All students who would like to participate are asked to complete their details on the following form:

Expression of Interest Form

Please speak to your science teacher or email Mrs Huddart if you have any questions.

College Portal – Updating Family Details

As school camps and excursions have commenced, it is recommended parents and guardians please update their student/s and family details if any changes have occurred, including contact details, emergency contacts, medical details and dietary notes, etc.  This link will connect you to the College website parent portal. If you have misplaced your password please enter your mobile number to re-set.

The SEQTA homepage tiles below will lead you to separate areas to update your details.

Future Enrolments 

For Deputy Head Mr Andrew Platt, and myself, it is a real privilege as part of our roles to meet with prospective families and conduct tours around our Bellarine Campus, sharing with them the rich and authentic learning program that takes place in each classroom with your young person on a daily basis. 

A tour of the Bellarine Campus provides each prospective family with a genuine ‘feel’ of everyday life and learning at our campus, and that’s something that really has to be seen and experienced firsthand to gain a full understanding and appreciation. 

With Term 1 2023 well underway, it has been wonderful to have had the opportunity to meet and talk with many prospective families as to their educational aspirations for their children. We feel both excited and privileged that many families are seeking a Christian College education at all year levels. In particular, Years Prep, 5 and 7 are filling quickly for next  year. 

Canteen Service  

The Bellarine campus offers Christian College Bellarine students a fast and easy lunch service each Tuesday and Thursday.  

The Fresh Meal Fairy located in Drysdale, will be the provider of this lunch service to the Bellarine Campus. Servicing many schools across our region, The Fresh Meal Fairy offers a broad menu in line with Nutrition Australia Guidelines, made fresh daily in a local commercial kitchen that is then carefully packed and delivered to the school.   

Families with a Newly Enrolled Child This Year: Qustodio Parent App

Activate or add new students to your Qustodio parent account.

An important element of the College's Cyber Safe Schools Program is our commitment to supporting families and parents with managing their children’s digital devices in the home, especially the College laptop.

This week, families that have one or more children who are new to the College this year received an email invitation toactivate their Qustodio parent account or add newly enrolled students to their existing Qustodio account, as part of our school program.

Qustodio is a parental control and monitoring app that we offer our parents as part of our school program. This app provides parents monitoring on personal devices and the school laptop, as well as the ability to pause internet as desired outside of school hours. Use of Qustodio is optional, and parents can learn more information about Qustodio on our Online Safety Hub.

The Qustodio parent app is available to all College families, and families with existing students in 2022 were invited to activate their parent account in November of last year. Families that have not yet activated their account and wish to, can do so by using the College’s activate now link and entering the assigned primary email for the family (as detailed in the invitation sent last year).

More Information

• Parents can learn more about our broader Cyber Safe Schools Program that the Qustodio parent app is a part of, via this information brochure.
• Parents and guardians can access technical support for the use of Qustodio on personal devices at home, via Qustodio’s Help Center.
• For support with Qustodio and school devices at home, there is a useful help page on our Online Safety Hub.

Make a Vertical Garden at Back Creek Café! 

Back Creek Café in Meredith proudly presents the first of several planned craft workshops – come along and discover how to create your own vertical garden. Two workshops are running on Saturday May 6 – at 10:30am and 1:00pm, conducted by Kathy from Coburg nursery, TD2M. Build your own standing or hanging frame, create a vertical garden to take home and learn about soils and mosses used in the process along the way.  

Cost for the workshop is $90 per person with all you need provided. While you’re there, enjoy some of Back Creek Café’s delicious fare!   

To book for the workshop, contact the café on 5286 1166.