Victorian Book Bash

On Wednesday morning, the very excited Years 2-4 classes and the teachers had the pleasure of listening/watching Andy Griffiths as part of the State Library of Victoria Book Bash. This was a free event provided by the State Library of Victoria.

Andy took us on an adventure tour of his famous treehouse stories, letting us know how he came up with the ideas for his stories, how the writing process goes as well as telling us what a fantastic illustrator Terry is. There were a few questions for Andy, and then he told us a fantastic story about a baby and dinosaur. We all came up with up parts of the story and had a few different endings.  Andy encouraged everyone to keep reading and writing!

Here is what the students had to say:

It was funny when he played with the toys and turned them in to a story. Eddie D

I liked when he said you can turn your own life and your own experiences in to stories. Chloe B

Point Lonsdale – Popular With Preps

A highlight in the Preps calendar this term has been their Discovery Learning excursions to Point Lonsdale beach. The children explored along the shore and discovered cuttlefish, crabs, and even a jellyfish! They all worked together as a team to build sandcastles and looked out for one another as they climbed rocks. It was great to see the children use their imagination to play games, spot pirates out to sea and to look for mermaids in the rock pools. The Preps enjoyed walking along the pier where they tried to spot any sea creatures from above. Each trip to the beach this term has given the children a new experience each time, and, as summed up perfectly by one Prep, “I can’t wait to do it again next term!”

Year 2 Ensemble – Healthy Brains!

Playing an instrument may be one of the best ways to help keep the brain healthy. “It engages every major part of the central nervous system,” says John Dani, PhD, chair of Neuroscience at Perelman School of Medicine, Pennsylvania.

How healthy the brains of our Year 2 cohort must be! It was a delight to hear them perform for friends, peers, and family in their Class Ensemble Concert on Wednesday. The string students made a fabulous sound, demonstrating arco bowing with confidence and following their director, Rebecca Bertoncello, perfectly through three pieces. Their progress, from complete beginners at the start of the year to the resonant, tight ensemble that performed this week has been amazing to see. The Marimba Ensemble also delivered a spirited performance, working together to create joyful melody and harmony lines.

Rounding out the performance session with our collaboration project ‘Minka’ was a highlight for all involved. Well done to all Year 2 musicians and thank you to parents and families for your ongoing encouragement and support. We are looking forward to sharing our next performance opportunity with you in Semester 2

Healthy Heroes

On Friday the June 9, Geelong superstars Jake Kolodjashnij and Annabel Johnson came in to present a Healthy Heroes program to our Year 3 and 4 students. This program has been designed by the Geelong Football Club to be engaging, interactive and teach students six key messages on how they can be a Healthy hero every day.

This program aims to teach children the importance of:

• Regular Physical activity – including getting at least 60 minutes each day
• Healthy eating – eating two fruits and five vegetables every day
• Hydration – drinking seven glasses of water per day
• Sleep – getting 9-11 hours each night
• Screen time – minimising screen time to less than two hours each day
• Wellbeing – looking after yourself emotionally, physically and spiritually

All students took a lot away from the session and will continue focusing on these topics in their Health classes. I also encourage families to continue these conversations at home. Further information can be found on the Healthy Heroes website.

Sustainville and Ecoville Come to Life!

This term in Year 5 we have had a broad focus in Humanities and English. We have studied Australian identity and culture, unique features of our amazing country, as well as our environmental and ecological footprint.

To wrap up our term’s learning, we have developed two imaginary sustainable communities ‘Sustainville’ in the 5S homeroom and ‘EcoVille’ in the 5D homeroom. Students had to find inspiration for an idea that would improve sustainability of their community. There was a lot of innovation, researching and fine tuning our ideas. They had to create detailed drawings of their concept as well as write a non-fiction style poster outlining how their idea works and the impact it would have on their community.

The photos here are examples of our wonderful work so far. The students have amazed us with their ingenuity and creativity. Some students have even started to develop some 3D models and we will 3D print next week. 

Year 7/8 GISSA Competition Wraps Up

Congratulations to our Year 7 and 8 Sport students on their enthusiastic involvement in the GISSA Interschool competition this semester. The students represented the College in Boys AFL, Girls AFL, Netball Div 1 & 2, and Mixed Soccer.

All teams experienced pleasing results throughout the competition, with some exciting wins and nail-biting defeats! The students should be commended on their positive teamwork and sportsmanship that they displayed during all our matches.

We are looking forward to another busy semester ahead and welcoming some new Year 7 and 8 Sport students to our elective. The students have already selected their sports – Basketball, Badminton, Table Tennis, Gaelic Football or Judo. The GISSA competition kicks off in Week 3 of next term.

Year 7 Textiles

The Year 7 Textiles are currently busily completing their Apron Design Briefs. Students chose any theme such as baking, gardening, slogans and so on. The class have one more week to complete their product, so lunchtimes have been busy in the Textiles room! I have been so impressed with the amazing sewing skills the students have acquired as they learn and use real life and very handy skills, like repairing their own clothes. Finished products can be viewed at the ATD Festival in November at Villa Paloma.

Bellarine Music Ensembles

As we start to draw to a close with our first semester of school under our belt, it is wonderful to see our College ensembles thriving and in full swing. Along with celebrating some performances this term, the groups are looking forward to some upcoming performances in Term 3. With many ensembles working on repertoires to present at different events, assemblies and festivals.

We are fortunate to have 11 wonderful ensembles at our campus; The Piano Ensemble, The Ceilidh Band, JS Strings, MS Strings, Stage Band, JS Choir, MS Choir, Percussion Ensemble, Guitar Ensemble, Novice Concert Band and our Intermediate Concert Band.

These ensembles are led by our devoted Instrumental Music staff who have a plethora of experience in their fields. Our ensembles are a place to belong, blend across year levels and share in some rich experiences together. We thank all families who actively support their young person in the early drop offs, late pick-ups, practice time and the evening concerts, they are truly moments for us all to celebrate together.

If you wish to inquire about any of our campus ensembles, please don’t hesitate to contact me at [email protected] for further information.

Seaweed Matters

Quite often, our encounters with seaweed are ‘slimy and stinky’. Usually, the only time most people come across seaweed is when it washes up on the beach. In our class, Year 8 students gained an appreciation of the diversity of seaweeds that live in our local areas and created their very own seaweed art masterpieces. Australia is home to 3000 different types of seaweeds with southern Australia being a hot spot for this diversity.  Most of the world’s oxygen comes from seaweed! Researchers say roughly 70% of the worlds oxygen is produced by sea species including kelp, phytoplankton and algal plankton.

Discussions surrounding our seaweed art session even included its role in combating climate change through agricultural farming practices. Following this session, students developed a greater understanding of its varied importance.

Seaweed is not only weird, smelly and life supporting, it is so incredibly unique and beautiful.

Year 8 Drama: Angry Crayons, a Very Noisy Bear, and a Gruffalo

This term students have taken their learning from page to stage by bringing picture story books of their choosing to life. And, this week, the Year 8s performed their adaptations to classes from Prep and Years 1, 2 and 3.

Using vocal and physical conventions including tableau (freeze frame), narration, chorus and distortion, students worked to put their own personal ‘spins’ on favourites like The Day the Crayons Quit, The Very Noisy Bear and The Gruffalo.

It has been an absolute pleasure working with these students this semester and I very much look forward to being able to work with them again in the future. They should all take a well-deserved bow.

Senior School Subject Selection – Learning Pathways Night and More

To empower our students and their families to make well-informed decisions regarding their learning pathways, subject choices, and accredited courses of study, we have organised a series of valuable opportunities. These initiatives aim to familiarise students and families with the available options, processes, and potential outcomes available to them. We are excited to commence these events with a Learning Pathways Information Session, taking place online on Tuesday, June 20th at 6:30 PM.

During the Learning Pathways Information Session, we will provide essential information to students and families, shedding light on the revised VCE (ATAR), VCE VM (Vocational Major), Victorian Pathways Certificate (VPC), VET courses, and School-Based Apprenticeship & Traineeships (SBATs). Our aim is to offer clear and concise explanations of how each of these pathways presents unique opportunities for students in their pursuit of future ambitions.

This session will prove immensely beneficial for families joining our Senior School community in 2024, serving as a comprehensive guide for our current Year 10 and 11 students and families as they consider their options while progressing into the next year level.

CCG Equestrian Team

Congratulations to all members of the CCG Equestrian team who competed at the Interschools Geelong Grammar School Dressage and Show Jumping VEIS round for 2023. Show jumping riders included Molly Spry, Sian Hayes, Leonora Turner and Liberty Armitage while Zoe Sambucco competed in the Dressage. Well done to Liberty and Nora who were placed second and fourth respectively in the Intermediate Class, with Liberty finishing fourth overall. Thank you to all competitors, parents and staff for your participation and support! 

The STEM Education and Industry Conference

Recently hosted by Wyndham Tech High School, the aim of the conference was to bring educators, businesses and community partners together to hear about future trends in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths).  We had the chance to listen to teachers present case studies on how they are embedding STEM initiatives at their schools, hear from students, and interact with an industry panel as they discuss business challenges and career opportunities.

The day was packed full of inspirational people doing great things in our community. The keynote speaker, Steve Sammartino, had many personal stories and experiences to share about how technology is shaping society and the economy. He is one example of a futurist who is challenging traditional norms in exciting ways. You can read more about Steve and some of the innovative projects he is working on by visiting https://stevesammartino.com/

The industry panel emphasised the current need for employees to be proficient in design thinking and encouraged educators to embed design thinking as much as they can within their school programs. Teachers were asked to help clear the misconception that students must excel in mathematics to be successful in STEM. It was communicated that having the skill of adaptability is advantageous. In fact, it is a skill that many employers are currently seeking given the constantly changing nature of the modern workplace. The emphasis on having students develop their capabilities, especially resilience and collaboration, in readiness for future employment, featured strongly by the industry panel.

Would you Like to go to Space…Camp?

The Astronaut Al Worden Endeavour Scholarship is an international education program which aims to reward aspiring STEM enthusiasts and future leaders with a hands-on astronaut training experience at the U.S. Space and Rocket Centre’s renowned Space Camp, located in Huntsville, Alabama, USA.

Four students from Australia will be awarded a scholarship to the International Space Camp program taking place in Huntsville, Alabama in July 2024. The winning group of students (and one teacher) will make up ‘Mission Crew #13 - Team Australia’, and will join fellow groups from the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Chile, Singapore, United States and Poland to become ‘Team Endeavour’.

Successful applicants will receive an all-expenses paid enrolment and airfare to Space Camp, where for one-week students are immersed in the ultimate educational experience to illuminate real-world applications of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

All covered expenses include tuition, dormitory accommodation, meals throughout the week, and economy class round trip from Australia to Huntsville, Alabama. Travel will also include all transportation on the ground, as well as a day trip to Washington DC ahead of Space Camp commencement.

Foundation Golf Day 2023

Following the success of last year’s inaugural event, we are delighted to announce the Christian College Foundation Golf Day tournament for 2023.

Save the date: Thursday November 9.

We are seeking prizes for this event – if you own a local business and are interested in creating partnership opportunities with Christian College, please contact Fiona Provan on 0400 477 467, or email [email protected]

A MYTERN Thought for This Week

It’s easy to rush through a cup of tea or coffee and forget to stop and appreciate the moment. 

Take time out now to simply appreciate being able to breathe in fresh air. Take a long slow breath and feel it rejuvenate every cell. 

Make that your intention and watch your body smile from the inside 👍❤️

Discover more about MYTERN here