From the Acting Principal
As we bid farewell to another remarkable year at Christian College, it is a fitting moment to reflect on what a truly unique and special place to which we belong. We are a school made up of five distinct campuses yet bonded together with shared values, a collective call to “Seek First the Kingdom of God” and a philosophical aim to provide an education that not only excels academically but also nurtures the holistic development of each individual. I am proud to be part of this school.
Over the past two weeks, I have had the privilege of attending all five campus’ end-of-year celebration events, firstly Senior School’s Presentation Afternoon last Tuesday, followed by celebration evenings at Costa Hall for Belmont, Bellarine, Highton and Surf Coast campuses. They each recognised not only the efforts, achievements and contributions of students throughout 2023, but also celebrated the important role that community plays in shaping the hearts and minds of our young people. And each campus was able to do that in its own unique and powerful way. I am truly amazed how each campus was able to put together such a high-quality event at such a busy time of the year.
What was so striking about these celebration events was the sense of unity, a oneness between everyone involved. Psalm chapter 133 verse 1 says: “How wonderful it is, how pleasant, for God’s people to live together in harmony”. Unfortunately, there’s certainly a lot going on in the world that’s neither pleasant nor harmonious. And whilst it’s important that our young people, through their educational journey, learn about the challenges facing humanity, it is even more important that they are taught that there is hope, that people can live together in peace, that unity is not only desirable, but attainable.
As we look forward to Christmas, celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, we can be again encouraged by the message that it brings of peace and goodwill. And this message is not only one of families, friends and loved ones coming together at Christmas, but also one where God invites us also to connect with Him. Celebrating Christ’s birth is an opportunity to acknowledge God’s love for us, that He is with us. So, as we share in the joy of Christmas, let us carry this message of hope into the coming year, inspiring our students to believe in a world where people can live together in harmony. I am truly grateful to be part of a school that not only imparts knowledge but instils in its students the values of truth, grace, faith, hope and love.
In closing, I draw your attention to the document link below – it is a list of key calendar dates for 2024, which will be a useful reference as you plan for next year.
May you each have a blessed Christmas and a safe and happy new year. I look forward to seeing you all again when school returns in 2024.
Rick Geall, Acting Principal
From the Acting Head of Campus
An End-of-Year Letter
Dear Parents and Guardians,
As we draw the curtain on the year that has been, I am left with a genuine sense of gratitude for all of the hard work, planning, thought and efforts by our community – students, parents and staff, that have enabled us to collectively achieve so much. I have found myself looking back at the Term 1 calendar of 2023 in preparation for Term 1 2024. So much of that calendar seems like just yesterday, the year has passed so quickly.
I would like to publicly thank my staff for their continual support of our campus and of me professionally, both in my Deputy Head role as well as this term as Acting Head. I truly appreciate all of them.
Specifically, I would like to thank both Mia and Roselyn for the passion with which they have attacked their Acting Deputy Head roles this term. I would not have survived without their assistance.
I am very much looking forward to continuing to work with Roselyn next year, there is much to do. Mia will not be a stranger to us either as she resumes her Dean of Christian Culture role. Both are outstanding professionals and wonderful caring, loving people.
We sadly say goodbye to some wonderful staff, Miss Hayley Castle, Mrs Renee Cunningham and Mr Terry Moynahan, I wish them all the very best. To our staff that are moving on to other campuses, I also wish you well. On the flip side I look forward to the new staff to our community and am excited by what they will bring to us.
Moving forward, for our students you have all thoroughly deserved the break and I look forward to re connecting with you all on Wednesday January 31.
I wish all a very merry Christmas, full of family joy and rest. May God’s love embrace you all.
Please stay safe, refresh and we will attack 2024 with everything we have.
Andrew Platt, Acting Head of Campus
What is Happening at Bellarine
2024
- Monday 29 January Prep Get Together
- Tuesday 30 January Year 7 Community Afternoon
- Wednesday 31 January Students commence Term 1 studies
Year 6 Market Day
Looking at the weather reports last week, we decided to pivot and hold Market Day in the Music Foyer, rather than the barn area. It was a nice change, and you could feel a buzz of activity as soon as you walked inside. There was a sense of cohesiveness, with all the stalls together. It was a busy and tiring day, but all the Year 6 students were happy and felt a sense of accomplishment. They had made unique and original products as well as fun games that participants played. Through the lively pop music blasting away, I heard lovely manners being used, and excited, happy chatter. This was a fabulous cumulation of the incredible learning happening in Year 6. Students made sustainable wares, which tied into their Sustainability unit, and they did a finance unit in Maths, to learn about budgeting, profit and loss, and making change. It was a fantastic day, and we are extremely proud of our students. With help from Project Care’s sausage sizzle, a generous family donation, and the proceeds from Market Day, our school raised $4,127.45 for the Drysdale Foodbank. A big thank you to all the parents, friends, and families that supported us in this endeavour, we will get to feed a lot of families in our community!
Theresa Drewer
Samantha McKenzie
Focusing on Sustainability in 2024
In preparation for 2024, two of our key sustainability representatives, Lachlan Mavromihalis and Jack Taylor, spent time this week training up our keen team of current sustainability representatives looking for additional responsibilities next year in the Barn and the Worm Farm areas.
Lachlan and Jack have been instrumental in ensuring the sustainability of the compost initiative and are to be commended for their commitment in this space. For students who may be interested in joining our Sustainability and Environment Team for 2024, there are lots of activities and initiatives that require helping hands including: World Oceans Day, National Tree Day, assisting in the school paper recycling program, supporting our composting and worm farm program and working towards our goal of minimising waste as much as possible. We look forward to hearing from anyone who would like to be involved in 2024.
Tom Hartley
2024 Prefects: Leadership Camp
We are Anika Sharma, Eve Hicks and Lucy Rogers, and we are three of the Bellarine Prefects for 2024. Earlier this week, we had the amazing opportunity to join with next year’s student leaders from Highton at a cross-campus leadership camp held at the College’s Back Creek farm.
During this time, we engaged in many teambuilding and thought-provoking activities. We also had the privilege to listen to our Dean of Christian Culture and current Bellarine Acting Deputy Head of Campus, Mia Kafieris, as she talked to us about spiritual leadership, and what that could look like for us as we move forward in this role.
While we were there, other learning we were a part of included a walk where we stepped out of our comfort zones (literally) by jumping across hay bales. We also looked deeper into how we think about ourselves and how others perceive us. This gave us a better understanding of the kinds of leaders we desire to be. Together we also grew our leadership skills and overcame challenges – like preparing a morning tea in short time rotations and even shorter handovers to the next group.
This camp was not only about learning how to be a leader, but it was also about interacting and having fun with those who we wouldn’t usually do that with – and being able to develop bonds with the Highton leaders was amazing.
This was such a valuable opportunity, and we are so excited to start to develop some of the ideas we came up with for our campus community in the New Year.
Anika Sharma, Eve Hicks, Lucy Rogers, 2024 Prefects
Year 5/6 All-Day Bike Ride
On Thursday November 30, the Year 5 and 6 students participated in an all-day bike ride. Students and staff headed off in small groups along the rail trail towards Point Lonsdale via Queenscliff. All students rode between 20-30km throughout the day, appreciating the scenic views and spending time with their friends.
Although we didn’t have ideal weather conditions for bike riding, it was great to see students display resilience and persistence when riding into strong winds.
Students also enjoyed time playing and resting at our final destination at Gains Reserve.
It was great to see the students applying the skills they had learnt during the term throughout the day and I would encourage them to continue practising their riding and road safety skills in the future.
A huge thank-you to all staff for their support on the day.
Caitlin Hoiles
Junior School Kickball Competition
The annual Junior School Kickball competition was held again this year in Weeks 8 and 9. There was great skill, teamwork, house spirit and a lot of fun on display throughout the competition. It was also pleasing to see the number of students who came to support their house and help with different duties to allow the competition to happen. This year’s competition was won by Burrows House, who showed exceptional teamwork and skill. We look forward to continuing the competition again next year.
Sam Kennedy
2023: House Challenge
Hi everyone, we are Sarah Malouf (Taylor), Lulu Doughty (Flynn), Annelise Draper (Burrows) and Lucinda Barker (Penman) and we are some of the 2024 House Captains.
On Tuesday this week we had our annual House Challenge. This event sees Middle School students in their Houses, then split into smaller groups which rotate around a range of competition-based activities across the day, accumulating points for their House.
Before the day, we reached out to those teachers running activities to ask what support they needed in setting up for the day. We were split across the events in the following way:
Flynn worked with Music (making elf mascots) and Science (paper chains able to hold the heaviest weight).
Burrows worked with Food Tech (making chocolate mudcake reindeers) and IT (creating sustainable houses or classrooms).
Penman worked with Sport (Tuck Ball) and LOTE (mini activities).
Taylor worked with Art (decorating doves) and Trivia (general knowledge questions).
We also organised some short ‘ice breaker’ games to engage our Middle School audience and get them excited. This included Burrows running a Heads and Tails game and Flynn running Rock, Paper, Scissors, before we got started in our first rotations.
After four rounds of rotations, it was time to count the scores. We were very impressed with how some of the younger students in Year 5 stepped up to show off their mathematical skills in helping add up the final scores. Whilst this was happening, Penman ran an arm wrestle between the houses before Taylor led a Hula Hoop chain game.
In the end, it was Penman who was victorious, followed by Burrows, Flynn and then Taylor.
Whilst we were a bit nervous before the day, we had an absolute blast and are so very thankful for both teacher and student support. It was such a great opportunity to meet, learn and grow from each other across year levels. We were also appreciative of the adaptability of people and how students were engaged and enthusiastic, despite some being outside their comfort zone with who they were with or what they were doing.
We can’t wait to continue to spread House Spirit in new ways in the New Year – watch this space.
Sarah Malouf, Lulu Doughty, Annelise Draper, Lucinda Barker – 2024 House Captains
From the Director of Wellbeing
As we near the end of 2023, I wanted to take this opportunity to wish you a safe and Merry Christmas and a wonderful holiday break. Holidays provide us all with the chance to take a much need rest, connect with family and friends or to engage in many of the life pursuits and hobbies that ‘fill our bucket’. It is important to acknowledge however, that holidays can bring about unique challenges and some unexpected stressors for some members of our school community and so with this in mind it is important to remember that support is always available to you and your family.
In the spirit of promoting a mentally healthy community and to encourage help seeking behaviours, I would like to share with you some information about support agencies available to you and your child during the holiday break.
Geelong Regional Library services have some great activities for young people during the holiday break.
Summer by the Sea offer a wide range of activities, giving everyone the chance to learn whilst having fun at the same time. Summer By the Sea will be running between 6 January and 25 January 2024, during the school holiday period. The 2024 program is being designed to be inclusive of all ages, and abilities.
Parks Victoria offer a Junior Ranger program and whilst their 2024 program is yet to released, you can subscribe for updates via this website.
Geelong Youth also have a number of opportunities to connect.
Kids Helpline will continue to be available during the holiday break, 24 hours, 7 days per week. They are there to help you with anything!
Headspace Geelong supports young people, from 12-25, who are going through a tough time. They can assist young people in four key areas; Physical Health (incl. sexual health), Mental Health, Alcohol and Other Drugs and Work and Study Support - They will be closed during the holiday period from Friday 22nd @ 3:00pm but reopening on Tuesday 2nd Jan @ 9:00am.
Beyond Blue is available to support you with your mental health journey, specifically with anxiety or depression.
ReachOut provides the opportunity for young people to get a deeper understanding and perspective on what’s happening in their lives, connect with people who will provide judgement-free support, and build the resilience to manage their challenges now and in the future. They also provide information and advice to getting and using a mental health plan.
Lifeline provide 24 hour crisis support to individuals experiencing significant emotional distress and provide access to suicide prevention.
Parentline is a statewide telephone counselling and support service for all Victorian parents and carers of children from 0-18 years. Experienced social workers, psychologists and family therapists can give you counselling and information around a wide range of parenting issues.
Finally, Headspace have also provided some recommended actions to stay healthy during the holidays that I thought could be of benefit to you and your child:
- Exercise boosts mood and mental health – make it fun!
- Nourish your brain by eating healthily – it will also improve your mood
- Prioritise sleep to support mental and emotional wellbeing
- Explore relaxation techniques and coping strategies
- Stay in touch and catch up with friends and loved ones
- Make time to do things you enjoy
- Practise positive self-talk – and remember you are not alone
- Seek professional help if needed.
For our Year 12s, whilst I would like to encourage them to make the most of your well-deserved break, could I also suggest that they keep in mind the importance of balancing rest and relaxation with academic preparation. It goes without saying that the holidays are an excellent time to unwind and recharge, but dedicating some time to holiday homework can significantly contribute to their readiness for the upcoming school year in 2024. Completing assigned tasks over the break not only ensures that they stay on top of your coursework but also allows them to start the new term with confidence and a sense of accomplishment. I have suggested that they aim for this holiday break to be a harmonious blend of productivity and rejuvenation!
Please note, that as we encourage growth and autonomy at our Senior Campus, an email of a similar nature has been sent directly to our Senior school students.
I do wish you all a wonderful break and I look forward to supporting the wellbeing of our school community in 2024.
Kim Doherty, Director of Wellbeing
New Christian College Drama Club coming in 2024!
I regard the theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being.
Oscar Wilde
The Christian College Drama Department is pleased to announce a new initiative in partnership with the Geelong Arts Centre, which will give our students in year 7 to 12 and their families, greater access to a range of professional theatre experiences. The Drama Club will run outside of the school week, on a Saturday or Sunday matinee, with parents and students being able to buy discounted tickets directly from the Arts Centre to allocated performances.
The Drama Club aims to bring together students from across campuses and year levels, to share in a range of theatrical experiences that will challenge, inspire, delight and amaze, as students discover new ways of thinking about the world. It is also an opportunity to support drama students passionate about their studies, who what to learn more and grow as artists.
Co-ordinated by Ms Broad at Highton and Ms Clifford at Senior school, the students and parents involved will have an opportunity to discuss and reflect on each play through pre and post discussions.
Below are the list of plays currently being considered for inclusion in the Drama Club with links to the Arts Centre Website where you can read more about them. - please note that this play contains adult themes and is not suitable to anyone under the age of 16 years of age. If you are interested in coming along, look out for more information in The Vine next year. Any questions please email Ms Kelly Clifford, Senior Drama Teacher - k.clifford@ccg.vic.edu.au “Theatre opens us up to experiencing different perspectives that we may not be aware of or contemplated. Theatre's way of examining dialogue, monologue and character allows us to flex our empathy muscles. In other words- understanding theatre helps us understand what it means to be human.” - Luminato, Toronto Festival of Arts, Culture and Creativity.
Get Some Unique Christmas Cards and Support Williams House
This year Williams House is selling packets of Christmas cards designed by our own little artists!
We are selling our Angel/Shepherd cards for $5 for a pkt of 6 and our Nativity cards are $7 for a pkt of 10. Each packet contains either 6 or 10 different designs.
If you would like to support the kinder and share our creations with the community this Christmas, the cards are available at all CCG campus receptions and of course at Williams House. Payment can be made with cash or card.
We also take over-the-phone orders with direct deposit. Phone 5241 3556
All money raised will go towards making some new additions to our outdoor yards!
We hope you love these gorgeous creations and enjoy sharing them with your family and the community this Christmas!
With thanks from all the children and the team at WH!
Stephanie Butler, Director Williams House Kindergarten
Uniform Shop Clearance Sale!
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