Junior School Term 2 Week 4

From the Acting Principal

"Wow!" That's the first word I uttered, loudly, when the curtain came down on last Friday night's performance of our 2024 College Production of Roger and Hammerstein's Cinderella: The Musical. Our students, from the seasoned performers to the first-time-on-stage youngsters, ranging from Year 6 to Year 12, were incredible. Talented? Yes. Hardworking? Absolutely!

As we know at Christian College, ultimately, it's not about the performance or the end result, as impressive and amazing as it was. It was, indeed the journey to get there, the months of planning and preparation, supported throughout by wonderful teamwork, that truly made this production such a success for our community.

So many ingredients went into producing what packed audiences – more than 2000 across the performances – experienced at The Play House, Geelong Arts Centre, last weekend. In people terms, these ingredients included: the principal cast; the village and royal ensembles; the staff and student musicians in the orchestra; a production team made up of staff, students and parents responsible for costumes, choreography, props, the stage sets, lighting, audio, hair and makeup; backstage crew, front of house team and a bunch of staff in supervising roles through rehearsals and performances. It truly was a team effort.

The positive impact such experiences as these have on students cannot be underestimated. In the words of one parent: "we are thrilled at how much this has allowed [our daughter] to feel more confident, make new friends and feel like part of a wonderful community at CCG.” 

From the Chaplain

God’s Promises

As a whole College, we have been exploring a biblical theme each term within classroom and staff devotions – the theme for Term 2 being ‘Promises of God’. Here at Junior School, we have been exploring this theme and learning about the promises that God made to all people throughout the Bible.

Whilst things in this world come and go, and our lives take us up to the mountains and then plummeting down to the valleys, God’s promises remain through it all. God promises to love us always and promises to be our comfort. Through life’s storms and often unexpected turbulence, God promises to be with us always, never abandoning us along the road.

Psalm 121:1-2

 I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
    where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
    the Maker of heaven and earth.

Just as these promises have been encouraging us, we hope they remind you that you are not alone…you are seen, you are known, and you are loved.

What’s on at Junior School

This an up to date list of planned activities at Junior Campus that you can use for planning purposes.  Please be aware that these dates are set early in the term and occasionally items may need to be cancelled or dates/times altered.  This itinerary is altered each week to reflect any changes – please check this list of events EVERY WEEK carefully when you read the weekly VINE newsletter.

Week 5
Monday May 13 – Emergency and Lockdown Drills
Tuesday May 14 – Lunchtime Concert, 1:10pm
Tuesday May 14 – Year 4 Excursion ‘Our Local Community’
Wednesday May 15 – Prep Discovery Learning, 1:00pm
Friday May 17 – Staff Development Day, Student Free Day

Week 6
Monday May 20 – Timor Leste Independence Restoration Day. Casual Dress – red, white, yellow, black  
Tuesday May 21 – 4B Class to visit Sirovilla (details to come)
Tuesday May 21 – Year 1 Deakin Primary Program (please refer to Edsmart)
Wednesday May 22 – National Simultaneous Storytime, 12pm (details to come)
Friday May 24 – Assembly 9.00am, 4B Item 

Week 7 – Reconciliation Week
Monday May 27 – Lunchtime Concert – Vocal Students, 1:00pm
Tuesday May 28 – Arthur Reed Photos (details to come)
Tuesday May 28 – Lunchtime Concert
Wednesday May 29 – Prep Discovery Learning, 1:00pm
Friday May 31 – Year 4 Forces Incursion (details to come)
Friday May 31 – Prep – Year 2 Chapel Service, 9:00am-9:30am

Mothers’ Day Stall and Special Afternoon

A bit of a gloomy autumn day did not dampen the enthusiasm of our spectacular Mothers’ Day celebration today. From hair and nails to creative crafts, potting plants, fitness fun and a good ol’ disco dance, it was wonderful to welcome so many Mums, and those people who play an important role in the lives of our students into Junior School.

We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to all the parents who supported our Mothers’ Day stall this year. Without the support you provided in wrapping and being available in the morning to help our little people select their special gifts for mum, grandma and other special people in their lives we could not host this event. I would like to take this opportunity to give a special shout out to Mandy Chester and Kate O’Halloran once again for their oversight of this event in 2024 and their work in shaping it to be the wonderful opportunity it is for our students.  

Thank you for all you do for our students and wishing you a special day with your families on Sunday.

Caring for our Environment

This week, the Preps embarked on an enchanting journey into the world of words and nature with our Rich Text ‘Tree’ written by Danny Parker. They explored the meanings of words like “frail” and “broad,” learning and understanding the meanings within the story.

In the story, Tree faces trials in stormy weather. The Preps learned about resilience and strength. They discovered that just like them, trees require water, nutrients, and sunlight to grow.

The Preps were captivated by Matt Ottley’s illustrations, and enjoyed watching what was once a little tree, overcome the storm and grow into a broad and strong tree with lots of leaves.

The Preps have asked every day this week to read our story again, taking out a new piece of information or noticing a different aspect of an illustration in every read. We loved discussing how to take care of the tree, writing sentences about it, and even attempting to make our own!

Continents of the World

The Year 2 students at Junior School have been enjoying the Interdisciplinary unit we have commenced this term ‘Continents of the World’.

The unit began with an inquiry into the names and locations of the continents, whilst little songs and videos have helped cement this knowledge. We enjoyed looking at the connections we have to the different continents, either through family, or through places we have visited or heard about. We have discovered why Australia is called ‘The Land Down Under’ and have compared the northern and southern hemispheres. Last week, the students created ‘Me on the Map’ booklets which led to some surprising conversations about those 4-digit postcodes at the end of their personal addresses which they were fascinated by.

Alongside our Interdisciplinary Learning, we have also studied various texts, including this week’s picture story book ‘Are We There Yet?’ by well-known children’s author/illustrator, Alison Lester. The students followed Grace and her family as they travelled around the coast of Australia in a pop-up caravan. They mapped the family’s journey, identified some of the tourist destinations, and developed an appreciation of the changing landscapes of our vast and beautiful country. This was a wonderful scaffold to help the students label the states, territories, and capital cities of Australia.

Mum’s the Word in Year 3!

This week we have been focusing on our mums in devotion time. The students have created some special gifts to share with their mums on Sunday and have completed a writing task expressing how special their mum is.

Some of the lovely things that the students shared about their mums are:

– “I love to do science experiments with her.” – Hugh

– “I like to go to the You Yangs with my Mum.”- Callen

– “My Mum is the best because she gives the best hugs and she loves to read with me.” – Charlotte

– “My Mum is the best because she taught me how to draw.” – Tara

– “I love my Mum more than the entire universe.” – Jiaai

– “I love my Mum as much as to the Moon and back to Earth.” – Paige

– “I love my Mum because she makes the best dinners in the world!” – Elijah

We want to wish all the mums and special women in the lives of our children, a very happy Mothers’ Day on Sunday. Thank you for all that you do in your child’s life.

“She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. Honour her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.” Proverbs 31: 25 – 26 and 31

Communicating Through Dance and Movement

This term in Music and Performing Arts Year 3 students have been exploring dance and movement. There are many ways to use body shape, tempo and space to communicate feelings and ideas through dance/movement and students have been practising these skills across a range of different games and activities. Students have been experimenting with how different body parts can be moved independently and in combinations, reminding themselves that there is a large range of movements available.

The speed of movement and awareness of space are also powerful tools when it comes to communicating to an audience and students have thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of utilising these techniques. A small example of some of the activities/ games have included: running a race in slow motion, dancing while your hands are glued to the ground, pretending your ear has been caught on the end of a fishing line and you are being reeled in, listening to and responding to the tempo of different pieces of music and pretending you are on a rollercoaster ride. These sorts of activities encourage students to think critically and creatively as well as providing lots of fun and laughter.

Exploring the Possibilities…. a Digital Journey

Prep students at Junior School have been exploring hardware and software this term in Digital Technologies classes. We have examined common computer components like the keyboard, mouse, and monitor, as well as mobile phones, headphones and speakers and determined that if we can hold these in our hands, they must be computer hardware components. It therefore did not take long for these clever preppies to deduce that the games, apps and programs we use on the computers, must be software.

Digital Technologies classes this term have been power-packed with digital literacy, building up our digital skills and using computers to represent and show our learning. Students are tackling the arduous task of interpreting the keyboard to sign into the computers, with their own usernames and passwords, as well as navigate the mouse touch pad to left click and right click their way through the digital realm.

By introducing students to the fundamentals of hardware and software, they gain a foundational understanding of the tools that drive our digital world through practical hands-on learning, while fostering creativity and problem-solving skills.

Garden Club Stall Coming Soon!

Once again, led by our Year 4 leader Millie, we have been getting into the garden this term. We have cleaned up some garden beds and removed the tomato and pumpkin plants to make way for some more vegetable seedlings. We now have broccoli and beetroot in the planter boxes and have added a lemon verbena plant to our herb area. We are planning to add some more plants that produce flowers to attract bees for pollination. Thank you to all the students for coming along to help plant and water seedlings, fertilise and mulch plants and of course, do lots of weeding!

We are planning to harvest some lettuce leaves and spinach leaves and hold a market stall after school at the front steps on Wednesday May 15. Parents are invited to come along and purchase items with cash from the stall to help us to keep replenishing the market garden. If anyone has produce from their own gardens that they would be happy to donate for sale, please email me to let me know and then drop off items on the Wednesday morning  so that they can be put together with our items for sale.

Athletics Medals

At assembly today, it was great to acknowledge the achievements of some Year 4 students who participated in the House Athletics Carnival at Middle School in Term 1. Medals are awarded to the top three students for each year level.

Students had the opportunity to participate in seven events – 100m, 200m, 600m, discus, shot put, high jump and long jump. 10 points are awarded for first, 6 for second, 4 for third and 2 for fourth.

Congratulations to the students below who received medals for their outstanding performance on the day.

Year 4 Girls

1  – Winnie McKeag
2  – Bella Liao
3  – Nellie Gray

Year 4 Boys

1 – Oscar Wang
2 – Daniel Hobbs
3  – Sam Zampatti

Reminder:  Generative AI Parent Webinar

A reminder to parents and members of our community that we will be offering an online parent webinar, delivered via Microsoft Teams, next Wednesday. It has been wonderful to see such strong parent interest via RSVP responses and questions submitted so far.

There is still time to register for this event. Further details about the event are listed below.

Event: Generative AI and School Parent Webinar
Format: Microsoft Teams online webinar
Date: Wednesday, June 12, 2024
Time: 6.30pm – 7.15pm

Topics likely to be explored in the webinar include:

• What is generative AI?
• What are the benefits, risks, and limitations of these tools?
• What is the College’s response to generative AI?
• What AI tools do students have access to at school?
• What are the College’s rules and guidelines for use of generative AI?
• How can I support my child with navigating this space ethically and safely?

Interested parents are encouraged to register for the event via the form link below, to help with planning. Parents can also indicate what information they feel would be most relevant to them as they complete this form.

Register for the parent webinar

Foundation Gathering Hope Appeal Luncheon

The Foundation Gathering Hope Appeal Luncheon is back on and has been scheduled for Friday, 24 May 2024.

You are invited to join us for lunch at the stunning Provenance Wines in Fyansford.

This is a fundraising event for the Foundation and an opportunity to hear about the success and progress of the College.

Our guest speaker is Jossy Chacko, Founder and President of Empart, a global ministry that exists to ignite holistic community transformation among needy communities.

Giving leadership to a team of over 13,000 people and offices in nine countries, Jossy travels around the world inspiring and challenging leaders to capture a larger God-size vision and not to waste gifts and opportunities. He is also the author of Madness! and Dare to Partner.

Don't miss out on this incredible opportunity to come together. 

Secure your seat and book online today! 

https://ccgfoundation.org.au/gh

Golf Tournament 

Join the Christian College Foundation for an exciting four-person Ambrose Golf Day, including a $30,000 hole in one prize on Thursday, 24th of October at 13th Beach Golf Links, Barwon Heads.

Set on the stunning Bellarine Peninsula, the day provides an opportunity to enjoy the award-winning creek course, known for its undulating couch fairways, deep bunkers and interesting swales and hollows.

You will be treated to a scrumptious breakfast on arrival and an opportunity to participate in several fun activities including the longest drive, nearest to the pin etc.

There is plenty of prizes up for grabs, including a cash prize of $30,000. Score a Hole in One on the 12th Hole and you can win. *

You will also be treated to a delicious buffet lunch and learn more about the incredible work of the foundation. Every dollar raised will be dollar matched!