Reserve Your Place! 

Wellbeing Evening and Cyber Safe Schools Program Launch

We enjoyed a fantastic night with the parents, families, students and staff attending the first Digital Wellbeing Evening held at our Senior School Campus last night, Thursday 1st September. If you have not yet taken the opportunity to reserve your place at the second and final of our two nights, please save the date and reserve your place now! We would love to see you there. We encourage you to take a few minutes to view the video below to find out more about this important event. The evening will be presented at our Bellarine Campus next Thursday 8th September starting at 7pm. We expect to run for about 45 minutes, finishing with time for questions and a cuppa together.   

We ask all Parents and Families to share their attending intentions with us via our online RSVP Response Form. Please access the form by clicking the image or link below. 

https://forms.office.com/r/QwN6TXBE41

Bellarine Concert Band Takes Gold! 

The amazing musicians in our Concert Band fronted up to Senior School with anticipation and excitement for the Victorian School’s Music Festival on the 5th of August.  

The band played 3 pieces of music they have been working hard to develop and they did us proud with their passionate performance. With CCG parents, staff and the other schools in the festival supporting in the audience, the students had the chance perform their works and then work with the adjudicator and guest conductor Dr Jemima Bun and learn some more about how they can make their music even better.  

A great day was had at the R.W. Gibson Center at Senior School and some celebrations back at school in rehearsal this week honoured their work and also the amazing accolade of a ‘Gold’ award from the festival. We are always proud of them, but the Gold makes it just a little bit sweeter.  

National Tree Day 

Our Prep, Year 6 and Year 8 students were involved in practical gardening at our College on National Tree Day, officially celebrated on the 29th of July. Together our community planted 70 native species of trees and plants around the Junior School and Middle School oval as well as complete a rubbish collection. It was great to see the students’ enthusiasm and their willingness to get their hands dirty, as well as their passion to care for our environment. The cross-year level collaboration between our Preps and Year 6 students was beneficial to their learning and engagement of the activity. The students learnt about the importance of planting native trees for our community and for sustaining us as they release oxygen and absorbing carbon dioxide. Students also enjoyed some solo, sketching and reflection time during a sunny afternoon. Trees are also valuable to us, as ‘green time’ has many benefits including enhanced learning, concentration, healing, relaxation and recovery. Enjoy your time amongst the trees!  

Marty’s Moments  

Thankfully this week Marty has been up and about and feeling like himself again after being a little unwell. He’s on a yummy new diet that he seems to be enjoying. Remember in the last issue of Marty’s Moments I said Marty was booked in with his Groomer, well he did have a haircut and I’m happy to say he really enjoyed it and came back to school basking in his new ‘fluffy’ look.  

In 6D the students couldn’t stop talking about Marty’s haircut and how cute he looked, of course he loved all the attention. As you can see from the photo Marty wasn’t up for Mathematical thinking this week, he preferred to bask in the beautiful sunlight that shines into the 6D classroom, he was a bit lazy you could say!  

When not in the classrooms snuggling or out at one of his training sessions with the students, Marty spent some rest time in his office trying out his new bed, he was very comfortable snoozing, surrounded by his toy collection.  

Problem-Solving Using Ozobots at Years 1 and 2 

 Students in Years 1 and 2 are exploring problem-solving and giving clear instructions. A key focus for students is learning how to carefully sequence their instructions for a robot, to solve a predefined problem. The Year 1 students are using markers to set a course for the bots to follow. The light sensors can pick up different colour combinations that represent different instructions, such as go fast or go slow. The Year 2 students are building on these skills by using block code that is uploaded to the bot before testing and running. They are all exploring algorithms involving a sequence of steps. Some more complicated programs involve branching (decisions) and iteration (repetition). 

Junior School Library 

Loans 

In response to recent conversations with parents and staff, we have made some alterations to the number of books able to be borrowed by Junior School students.  

• Students in Prep and Year 1 can borrow two books each week in their Library session. They will keep these for the week, and not be able to borrow additional titles at lunchtimes. 
• Students in Year 2 can borrow two books at a time, total of two items on loan 
• Students in Year 3 can borrow two books at a time, up to a total of three items on loan 
• Students in Year 4 can borrow two books at a time, up to a total of four items on loan 

Lunchtime Stars 

A great lunchtime concert was had this week with a wide selection of instruments and age groups represented. It was exciting to hear from some of our younger students with piano and guitar performances as well as our more senior students sharing their work on violin and clarinet. These concerts give students a chance to track their progress, set goals and share their gifts and hard work with others. Stay tuned for another concert in Week 7 where we will enjoy some more great performances.  

Semester 2 Weekly Maths Challenge Number 5 

Welcome to the fifth edition of the weekly mathematics conundrums and logical questions. Each week a different fun question is posed to share the fun of mathematical trivia. Share the joy with your family and friends and amaze them with your maths skills! Did you get last week’s answer? Check out the solution below! 

Middle School Assembly 

On Monday, we had our second Middle School Assembly in Term 3. It is such a blessing that our Middle School students can gather in one space and share meaningful messages with one another. In addition, it allows an opportunity for our student leaders to play a bigger role amongst their peers. Prefects Cohen Hall, Suzanna Mavromihalis, Amelia Hopper, and Brodie O’Donohue put together an inspiring assembly around the idea of kindness.  

Year 7 Humanities – Videos for Change  

On Wednesday 10 August, Year 7 students participated in an introductory session exploring how they can have a voice for change in their community, through the Videos for Change 2022 competition. This will form students’ final assessment in Humanities for Term 3. Videos for Change seeks to provide students with an opportunity to raise awareness of a social issue and encourage a call to action. This year, students will participate in the national competition as well as a CCG only competition, whereby the CCG community will have a chance to vote for the video that has the strongest impact. Over the coming weeks, students will be asked to consider an issue they feel strongly about, in their local community. They will work through a detailed process to home in on the issue and, after much planning, will finally create their one-minute video for change. We are looking forward to seeing the creativity of our students as they work through this process.  

Law and Order – Year 9 Elective  

The Law and Order class have begun immersing themselves in the world of the courts and found themselves playing the role of Magistrate, Defendant and Prosecutor this week. After unpacking democracy, the change makers of the world and the Australian Parliament in the subject, we are now embarking on what it’s like to be in the court. Starting with the Magistrate’s court, students are learning about which types of cases go to which type of court.  

The execution of the role play was excellent with some great Court Officers and Magistrates leading the way. Please enjoy a few snaps from our time together in class, oh, I mean in ‘court’ this week.  

The CyberTaipan Competition 

Five Christian College Bellarine students recently met virtually with a cyber security mentor as part of their involvement in the CyberTaipan competition.  

CyberTaipan is an Australian cyber security competition that is modelled on the US Air Force Association’s CyberPatriot program. This program has been running successfully for 11 years and has already expanded into Canada, the UK and Saudi Arabia. The competition puts teams of high school aged students in the position of newly hired IT professionals, tasked with managing the network of a small company. 

12A Reach Project 

Last week, Flossie Chua from Harvard University and Kieren Noonan from ISV made a visit to CCG to see our 12A Reach teachers in action.  

For the last three years, selected staff have been piloting a program designed by Flossie with her colleague David Perkins. Over that time, the staff have implemented the 12A Reach cards which focus on being an explorer, investigator and innovator. The teaching staff from Prep to Year 12 have trialled the program and fed back to both Harvard and ISV, what works and what doesn’t work. From this feedback, the cards have been redesigned applying what the teachers have said.  

On Friday, Flossie was able to see the cards being used in a variety of ways in Prep, Year 1, Year 9 and Year 12. There was learning about the caring for animals, to designing a new playground and from issues of the world to unpacking of a VCE study design. In each situation the students were encouraged to dig deep into their learning and through the art of conversation really think about possibilities.  

Flossie was able to gather firsthand evidence through observation, interviews of students and staff and video recording that will be used to develop this project further. The 12A Reach teachers will be attending a session with Flossie, Kieren and the other pilot school in Melbourne to share their discoveries as well as network with the other teachers.  

Purpose, Passion and Pathways

The education journey for Senior students in 2023.

With the subject preferences window open for Senior School students between August 15 and 19, I would encourage you as a family to explore our Senior School Hub especially our subject selection pages that contain detailed information regarding each subject on offer from our Year 10 program, through to the VCE, the VCE Vocational Major, Victorian Pathways Certificate, VET and much, much more.

Our senior staff are dedicated to support each student’s journey, please reach out if you have any questions. Contact information can be found on our Hub home page by clicking below.  

Important VET Information for Subject Selection 2023

Vocational Education Training (VET) is offered as a subject in Year 10, 11 and 12 at CCG Senior Campus. Students travel off campus to either The Gordon or a government or catholic school (non-Gordon) who offer the courses one afternoon a week. Year 10 students study VET as well as VCE Unit 1 Industry and Enterprise over the whole year which includes a week of work experience. VET is mandatory for students studying the new VCE Vocational Major (VM) and optional for VCE students. More information can be found in the subject selection booklets and on the Senior School Hub – VET for 2023 on SEQTA.

Are you a Creative Scientist or Scientifically Creative?

As part of National Science Week 2022, the CCG science faculty is offering our Years 5 – 12 students an opportunity to enter a CCG Science Photography competition and/or a CCG Science Creative Writing competition. 

The theme for this years’ Science Week is Glass: More than meets the eye, so naturally, the theme of each competition is also glass. We’ve got some small prizes and it’s a bit of fun, so put your creative hats on and have a go! 

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! 

Next Tuesday evening, Bellarine Campus is opening its doors to anyone interested in this Christian College campus as an option for their young person. This includes students who would enrol at either Junior or Middle levels. The subject selection information and expo evening is an excellent opportunity for families 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 who can provide information about the diverse specialty areas of learning that are offered to students at all levels at Bellarine Campus. 

We would encourage anyone within our College community who may know friends, neighbours, work colleagues – anyone – who might be considering Christian College Bellarine as an option to spread the word and extend an invitation to any one or more of these sessions.

Mrs Tutty Joins the Teaching Excellence Program 

Christian College’s Director of Teaching and Learning – Humanities, Mrs Angela Tutty, is one of 250 teachers statewide to be selected to participate in the elite Teaching Excellence Program (TEP).  

This program, created by State Education Minister, James Merlino, is designed to immerse the participants in professional development by having a range of educational experts share their knowledge through varying presentation models. Whether face to face or webinars, they are all interactive presentations. 

East Timor Trivia Night

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

Although anger, resentment, jealousy, shame and the feeling of inadequacy can eat you up, they can also be a wise teacher. Without judgement, try to recognise the discomfort early. Stop and breathe. Only when you have regained control can you transform it into an opportunity....to build your resilience  😊

Discover more about MYTERN here