Who’s on Your Team?
With the AFL football season upon us and the opportunity to focus on and support our favourite team I was prompted this week to share a reflection on the idea of ‘who’s on your team?’
Wally goes on to write “Basketball, baseball and football are team sports. You’re only as successful as the team is. Christianity, and life really, are team sports. The key to success is knowing how to work with others. Qualities such as pride and selfishness often serve to hinder a team from being successful and Jesus tells us to lay aside pride and live to serve others.” The encouragement of the old saying ‘there is no I in TEAM’, is one that helps us to shift our focus from selfishness to one of unselfishness.
A special energy comes from being part of a team that has a shared mission, whether that mission is to win a game or to bring heaven to earth. Jesus invites us to be on his team and to use our unique gifts and talents to love, to encourage, to build one another up, to cheer one another on and when the game gets too challenging, draw strength from Him and from one another.
God even put our bodies together in such a way that even the parts must work together as a team. His creation in us was to make all parts of the body work together smoothly, with each part caring about the others. In 1 Corinthians 12:19-22 we read “A body isn’t really a body, unless there is more than one part. It takes many parts to make a single body. That’s why the eyes cannot say they don’t need the hands. That’s also why the head cannot say it doesn’t need the feet. In fact, we cannot get along without the parts of the body that seem to be the weakest. Together we are the body of Christ.
Perhaps my encouragement as we continue to put in our football tips each week is to not only focus on who wins and by what margin but also to reflect on the elements of the game that show strength and character in teamwork. Perhaps also to consider in our own lives who’s on our team?
What’s On at Junior School
Week 9-
Monday 27 March – Prep AFL Coaching Incursion (Please refer to EdSmart notification)
Thursday 30 March – Year 2 Excursion, Geelong (Please refer to EdSmart notification)
Friday 31 March – Assembly, 3G Class Item
Friday 31 March – Prep Discovery Learning Excursion, Prep B, G, and R
Week 10-
Monday 3 April – Year 4 students to attend Concert Band performance, R. Gibson Centre for Music Performance, Senior School (Please refer to EdSmart notification)
Tuesday 4 April – Lunchtime Concert
Wednesday 5 April – Year 4 Students attend Middle School Athletics – Middle School Campus (Please refer to EdSmart notification)
Wednesday 5 April – Preps at school in lieu of Friday
Thursday 6 April – Easter Bonnet Parade – 9am, Junior School Roundabout Thursday 6 April – Easter Service – 11:30am
Thursday 6 April – Conclusion of Term 1 – 2:30pm Dismissal
Term 2 Week 1 –
Tuesday 25 April – ANZAC Day Public Holiday
Wednesday 26 April – First day Term 2
Wednesday 26 April – Junior School ANZAC Service, 9am, front roundabout. Families welcome!
Friday 28 April – Junior School Cross Country running event, (details to come!)
Week 2 –
Monday 2 May – Junior School Open Day. 9:30-11am
Thursday 4 May – Year 2 Camp (Please refer to EdSmart notification)
Friday 5 May – Year 2 Camp (Please refer to EdSmart notification)
Harmony Week!
This week, the students and staff at Junior School explored and celebrated the national week of Harmony, with the reminder that ‘Everyone Belongs’. Harmony Week is the celebration that recognises that we are all different and it brings together Australians from all different backgrounds. We believe that God created us all really great, with this week reminding us that everyone has a place, everyone deserves respect and everyone belongs. The students took part in many different activities and conversations throughout this week, recognising the different cultures we are blessed to have here at Christian College.
The Year 4 Project Care leaders ran an assembly for the students and staff to highlight why Harmony Week is important and shared some beautiful reflections as to why it is important to them. We also had students from a wide range of cultural backgrounds pray for the school and each other in their local language which was incredibly special. The sea of orange on Friday wrapped up the week perfectly, a visual representation that we all uniquely designed, and we all have a place to be valued and belong.
Year 2 Masterclass
Walk into any classroom throughout the day and you are likely to observe group work in action. Whether it is a Think/Pair/Share routine to explore and extend the students’ thoughts during discussions, or fluid ability-based groups to work on a particular skill in Mathematics or English, group work features prominently in the students’ learning.
Masterclass in Year 2 is a particularly wonderful time for group work. It provides the students with opportunities to either catch up with friends from classes in previous years, or to make new friends whilst building the capacity to work cooperatively, collaboratively, and respectfully with others.
Over the last couple of weeks in Masterclass, Year 2 Junior School students were given the challenge to engineer spiral marble runs. This was an activity linked to the Rich Text ‘Jorn’s Magnificent Imagination’ about the engineer Jorn Utzon who designed the Sydney Opera House. Experimenting, trialing, and modifying were the objectives of the lessons, with an emphasis on taking risks and accepting a level of frustration when initial attempts failed. Students found that success was usually not immediate, so determination and persistence proved to be important.
Although such activities can by noisy, chaotic, and messy, they are also rich in learning opportunities. Our little engineers certainly amazed their Year 2 teachers with their ingenuity and creativity, as you will see from the attached photos.
Gabby the Yabby!
This week 3R was surprised to arrive at school and find, not one, but two yabbies in our fish tank! Well, at least it looked that way. After some research we discovered that yabbies do, in fact, shed their outer shells as they grow bigger. We were very excited to be able to see what looked like a perfect copy of ‘Gabby’.
The students wanted to retrieve the shell for a closer inspection, but we decided to do some more research to find out what we should do. We then discovered that yabbies like to eat their shell! We initially thought this was disgusting but continued to research and find out why this is the case.
We found that the shell contains large amounts of calcium which is vital for the yabby to grow and stay healthy.
Other animals that ‘moult’ and then eat the remains are salamanders and frogs. The shedding or moulting process helps the animals to become stronger and bigger. We cannot wait to see when it happens again!
Preppies take on PE!
What a wonderful start our Prep students have had in PE. We’ve had lots of fun playing games together, learning fundamental motor skills and developing new friendships through games and sport-based skills. The Preps have also been working towards sharing equipment, communicating, and compromising in game situations. It has been great to see the children beginning to encourage one another, celebrate together and cheer on their teammates. They have also enjoyed using new pieces of equipment such as the wobble boards, climbing frames, ladders, and steppers.
Our focus in PE this term has been developing locomotor skills including running, jumping, and hopping. This week the Preps were given the task of working with a partner or small group to create a short jumping or hopping activity to share with the class. It was wonderful to see the Preps work together and apply their knowledge of jumping/hopping to develop a suitable activity to share. For this task the Preps needed to individually demonstrate the correct jumping and hopping techniques. They also needed to share ideas with their partner, compromise and work together to develop an activity that they were both happy with. This can certainly be a challenge for children (and adults!) and it was so lovely to see the Prep students trying hard to work together towards a common goal. PE is much more than playing sport and games. It’s a fantastic platform for children to develop their communication, leadership, and social skills. We are so proud of the progress the Preps have made so far.
Spotlight on Clubs – Knitting Club
One of the best parts of my week is being able to sit with students for our knitting club.
This year on Friday afternoons in the Library, students bounce in ready to do all things finger knitting and some students over the time actually are able to knit traditionally with needles! It is a joy to see Prep and Year 1 students teaching the Year 3 and 4 students who might be new to knitting club and vice versa.
As a group of students from a range of year levels we can sit and have a yarn (pardon the pun) about how we are all going as we navigate our knitting. I love seeing my regulars and also welcoming those who may pop in and out over the course of the year.
We have lots of fun at knitting club, so if your children are interested, knitting club runs on a Friday at lunchtime in the Library!
What’s New in the Library
This term in the library we have been enjoying a number of new books that have proved popular with the students.
1. ‘Hedgehog the Wonder Dog’ arrived at the perfect time as it coincided with the arrival of Winnie our well-being dog at Junior School. This story is beautiful both visually and figuratively, telling the story of the power of connection and the healing power of dogs.
2. ‘Epic Adventures: Explore the World in 12 Amazing Train Journeys’
I am always on the lookout for new books about trains. There is a group of students that adore train books, so I was delighted to add this book to our collection earlier this term. It invites the reader to travel across 6 continents and 34 countries and numerous cities on 12 of the world’s most amazing train journeys.
3. Speaking of popular, a few new Bluey Picture Books are on high rotation lasting only a few minutes on the shelf once returned before flying out the door with the next student who sees it. Interestingly all age groups borrow the Bluey books.
4. Finally, the graphic novel section continues to be a much-loved genre and as a result we have purchased some new books. Publishers are responding to the popularity of graphic novels. Much-loved classics such as Anne of Green Gables and the Famous Five are now on our shelves as graphic novels.
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
If you have friends or acquaintances who are considering schooling options at any level, from Prep through to Year 12, please encourage them to take this opportunity to visit our campuses on May 2.
Any interested families who are unable to attend on May 2 can book a tour at any campus at a time that suits them by visiting our website and clicking on ‘Book a Tour’.
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.