Parent/Teacher/Student Learning Conferences
We have been delighted to see our students commence the new term approaching their learning with such enthusiasm and focus. It is our intention to provide feedback to both parents and students on a regular basis, as we know that this impacts the learning process in a positive way and allows us all to work together in supporting our students.
Our Parent/Teacher/Student Learning Conferences on Monday 1st August 4.00-6.00pm and Wednesday 3rd August 4.00-8.00pm are an opportunity for parents to discuss the learning progress of your son/daughter through Semester 1, and areas of learning focus as we progress through Semester 2. Conferences will be held ONLINE via Microsoft Teams video conference. Each conference is 10 minutes in duration. If additional conference time is required, an alternate time will be discussed with the relevant teacher.
Online Learning Conference bookings are available by going to www.schoolinterviews.com.au. Enter the school event code 7df2n and book the teachers and times requested. Please see further instructions in the attached flyer, for your convenience. Conference bookings open on Thursday 21st July and will close Friday 28th July at 12.00pm. Also attached is a ‘Joining Teams Meeting – Parent Guide’ to assist in accessing your online conferences.
Please note: Students in Years 3 to Year 9 are welcome to accompany their parents as part of our Learning Conference process. Research suggests that student learning can be impacted positively through the teacher providing direct feedback to individual students. It also provides opportunity for reflection, questions and discussion pertinent to goal setting. We feel that parents will also benefit from these opportunities for discussion and feedback.
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JoiningTeamsMeeting-ParentGuestGuide
Nicholas Watson, Head of Campus
Prep Discovery
This week we were blessed with a sunny day for our discovery learning trip to the Point Lonsdale Beach. The Prep students eagerly boarded the bus for our first discovery of the term, and it did not disappoint! We explored the rock pools, climbed the sand dunes and played chasey with the waves. A highlight was walking up to the lighthouse and having a look in the bunkers hiding in the cliffs. There were smiles all around, but some very tired eyes on the bus ride home.
Courtney Davey
Unplugged Explorations in Prep Digital Technologies
Prep students this term are exploring problem solving through a range of activities, many of which are “unplugged”. Through guided play experiences and tasks, Prep students are developing Systems Thinking by recognising and exploring how digital systems, such as tablets, laptops, and programmable toys (Beebots) can be used for different purposes, at school and at home.
Using the cardboard model of a digital system (laptop) they made in Semester 1, students role-play scenarios (with guidance) and describe key purposes of devices and our agreed Digital Device Agreement from a parent/teacher and Junior School student perspective. There are some promising future drama students!
Another “unplugged” hands-on problem-solving application being used this term are some activities involving the programming of a Beebot robot. Students build on some of their play-based learning skills by using a series of commands to reach a desired destination, complete a specific task or help tell a story. Students use arrow symbols to represent the direction and sequence they intend the robot to travel when executed. So far, they have collaborated in teams to estimate the number of forward motions they predict it will take to complete a set course. Following these introductory activities, they will go on to investigating simple algorithms with the Beebot robot.
Students are continuing to use their personal section of the Class OneNote, during rotations, to represent and organise data using pictures and symbols. Through repetition they are becoming confident at navigating around the software using key icons and improved keyboard skills. A key component is privacy and security, with all students having a unique username and password.
Tom Hartley
Light and Sound in Year 2
Year 2 students have enjoyed participating in a range of experiments to begin their learning about ‘Light and Sound’ in Integrated Studies. In Weeks 1 and 2 we have been exploring refraction, with a highlight being the opportunity to use glass prisms to refract the beautiful Winter sunshine and make rainbows. The children were able to identify the colours of the rainbow and built an understanding of how light refracts as it passes through different objects. We are looking forward to our excursion to Scienceworks next week, particularly the ‘Illuminate’ exhibition which will offer us an opportunity to broaden our understanding of light concepts.
Jessica Chakir
Sam Kennedy
Year 3s are Grateful for…
After a very wet start to Term 3, we were all disappointed about the rain and the fact we had to stay inside at both break times. We talked about our disappointment, as well as different perspectives on the rain – how happy the farmers would be and how great rain is for the garden.
We then took some inspiration from the book ‘Gratitude is my SuperPower – a book about giving thanks and positivity written by Alicia Ortigo. In the book, Betsy learns that happiness is made up of simple things in life, both small and big. With the help of a magic stone, she begins to feel gratitude for her parents, friends, and toys.
We carried a special stone around for five days and when we were feeling upset/ disappointed / or challenged, we touched our stone and tried to look at the other perspectives around the situation and named all the things in life that we could be grateful for. These are some of the things we came up with: We are hoping with time and more intent, we will be able to practise gratitude more easily and freely.
Renée Cunningham
State Cross Country
Congratulations to Thomas Stefanovski who participated in the State Cross Country on Thursday the 14th of July in Yarra Glen.
He ran 3km in a time of 12.06 finishing 61st in the state. This is an amazing achievement for Thomas and we wish him all the best with his future in running.
We look forward to recogniing his outstanding achievement with a special ‘Dove Medal’ from our College Sport Faculty.
Caitlin Hoiles
Middle School Library – Knitting and Crochet Club
Middle School students have been invited to join our Knitting & Crochet (and other crafts of interest!) Club which is being held in the Library on Tuesdays and Thursdays this term. They are encouraged to bring projects that they are working on, or to come along and learn a new skill. Materials are provided.
https://theconversation.com/how-craft-is-good-for-our-health-98755
Sustainability Workshop
Yesterday the Years 4-6 students participated in a recycling workshop. This initiative was developed through our community partnership with SOEL (Southern Ocean Environmental Link) through our campuses video entry which was created last year as part of the Sustainable Schools video competition. During the workshop students were taken through the process of converting bottle tops into usable items, for this session students made pens. Students were also educated about the consequences of plastic on our marine environment and reflected on small changes they could make. These workshops reflected our similar learning intentions of the upcoming Year 5/6 Market Day which will be held later this year. The market day has a focus on using sustainable materials for the items created and sold. Enjoy reading our students’ reflections of the workshops below.
During our workshop we learnt about recycling bottle tops and turned them into pens. We went through the process of sorting them out, to see if they were hard or soft. If they had a low recycling number, they were the ones we used to recycle.
Then we cleaned and dried them and cut them into micro-plastics. We learnt about how the fish suffer from micro-plastics. One fish could eat micro-plastics and then that goes through the food chain- due to a bigger fish eating it. We then took a cup of the micro-plastics, poured it in a machine that melted the plastic inside, we pulled the handle that pushed the melted plastic into a mold. Then we opened the mold, to see our own unique pen.
Eden McFarlane- Year 6S
I have learnt that microplastics can’t be recycled again when they are in nature. But today we were able to recycle them because we melted them down. I enjoyed learning the process of how you can make a pen out of bottle lids. My pen is colourful and highlighted the colour of the bottle tops I put in the machine.
Leonardo Wescott Year 5S
Sapphire Main
Year 6 Science – Reversible and Irreversible Changes to Materials
Year 6 students have immersed themselves into their studies of Chemistry, focusing on reversible and irreversible changes to materials. Students have started by investigating reversible changes, such as melting, freezing, and evaporating and the variables which can alter how quickly these occur.
Sophie Maye
Semester 2 Weekly Maths Challenge number 2
Welcome to the second edition of the weekly mathematics conundrums and logical questions that are already testing the grey cells of those who think they know maths. Do you think you got the answer from last week’s question? Check a variation of an answer below, there are more available. Did you get a different answer?
Magic square solution
Did you manage to make each row, column and diagonal equal to 15? See a solution below.
Year 8 Food Studies
The new semester brings another excited group of Year 8s into Food Studies. Our focus for the next 3 weeks is learning all about grains. On Thursday, students learnt how to cook rice on the stove top and had a great time perfecting the art of making and rolling Sushi – so much fun and delicious!
Julie Leo
Year 9 Japanese Excursion to Melbourne
On Friday July 15th, the Year 9 Japanese class went to Melbourne to attend a lecture about travel at the Japanese Consulate, eat at a Japanese Udon restaurant and visit shops just like those one would find in Japan.
The students did a great job of taking notes about each place they visited. In the next class at school, the experience will be written up as an essay task that simulates a day in Japan.
The class was very fortunate to have Nakayama Sensei from Senior School come and provide his knowledge about Japan and his advice about future Japanese study at Year 10 level.
Thank you to all parents for their cooperation with this valuable educational experience.
Adam Reidy
Scholarship Applications for 2024 Entry now Open!
Each year we offer Academic Excellence Scholarships for entry at Year 5 (Middle School-Highton, Bellarine and Surf Coast campuses); Year 7 (Middle School-Highton and Bellarine); and Year 10 (Senior School-Waurn Ponds).
These scholarships have been designed primarily to encourage and support new and current students who wish to attend Christian College and who demonstrate high levels of academic excellence.
We are now seeking scholarship applications for entry at any of those year levels in 2024.
For more information, and to apply, please see our website. Use the hotlink from our homepage or click here
Applications close on Thursday September 29. The examination date is Saturday October 8.
Come and Sample our Menu!
Over the next month, three of our campuses are opening their doors to anyone interested in enrolling their children at Christian College.
At Junior School-Belmont there is an Open Morning on August 2 between 9:30 and 11:00am
Middle School-Highton and Bellarine Campus are hosting their subject selection expos in August. Aside from the scheduled evening for current College parents, each campus will also present another evening dedicated to families who are considering Christian College as an option for their children. At Middle School-Highton, it’s on August 9 between 7:00 and 9:00 pm, and the date for Bellarine Campus is August 16, also between 7:00 and 9:00 pm.
These sessions provide interested families with the opportunity to take a deeper dive into the fantastic learning programs offered by our College. There will be opportunities to meet and speak with campus, year level and subject area leaders.
We would encourage anyone within our College community who may know friends, neighbours, work colleagues – anyone – that are considering Christian College as an option to spread the word and extend an invitation to any one or more of these sessions.
East Timor Trivia Night
National Collection of Data on Students With Disabilities
Every year, all schools in Australia participate in the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD). With data collected on the first Friday in August (this year, on the 5th), the NCCD process requires schools to identify information already available in the school about supports provided to students with disability. These relate to legislative requirements under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and the Disability Standards for Education 2005, in line with the NCCD Guidelines (2021).
Please see the attached NCCD Fact Sheet for more information.
Golf Tournament
The Foundation Golf Tournament is set for Thursday, 27 October 2022. Join us at 13th Beach Golf Links from 8:00am for a shotgun start. Tickets are $190 each ($150 for members) or $750 for a group of four. RSVPs close on Thursday, 6 October 2022 at 5:00pm.
Funds raised from this event will be allocated to our Foundation Scholarship Fund, supporting current students who are in need of financial assistance.
Book online at: The Foundation Golf Tournament
A MYTERN Thought for This Week
Taking control of your steering wheel means that you don't need to rely on anyone else for direction. How wonderful is that? Simply use your own in-built GPS to steer down YOUR road...be it rough or smooth... knowing that in this crazy world, control is the key 🔑 😊
Discover more about MYTERN here
