We also recognise that students come to school with a variety of capacities for self-regulation, awareness of their social responsibilities, abilities to see things from a variety of perspectives and understanding of intent in their behaviour. In this diversity of awareness and understanding, staff work with our students and families to proactively build collaborative relationships that create a shared understanding of student learning, safety and wellbeing.   

Students come together in our school environment where they will encounter a variety of situations that may be challenging, just as you may experience challenges in your workplace. As adults you have had a life of experience in navigating things such as self-regulation, understanding and developing socially appropriate behaviours and have learned to take responsibility for your actions. However, as our young students come together, especially following two years of COVID disruption, they are learning and relearning how to manage this social landscape. We therefore ask you to partner us in growing the understanding of our young people and building their social capacity.   

One of the terms often used when social interactions are challenging is ‘Bullying’. This term is often misused and is well described by the ‘Bullying No Way’ Government website which states:  

‘Bullying is an ongoing and deliberate misuse of power in relationships through repeated verbal, physical and/or social behaviour that intends to cause physical, social and/or psychological harm. It can involve an individual or a group misusing their power, or perceived power, over one or more persons who feel unable to stop it from happening.’  

Bullying of any form or for any reason can have immediate, medium and long-term effects on those involved, including bystanders. Single incidents and conflict or fights between equals, whether in person or online, are not defined as bullying.  

Behaviours that do not constitute bullying include:  

• mutual arguments and disagreements (where there is no power imbalance)  
• not liking someone or a single act of social rejection  

• one-off acts of meanness or spite  
• Isolated incidents of aggression, intimidation or violence.  

However, these conflicts still need to be addressed and resolved in partnership with students, staff and families. Promoting accountability towards one another and developing understanding is fundamental to the work we do with our students.   

In a culture of respect bullying is a stark contrast to acceptable student behaviour and it is our policy that bullying be managed through a ‘whole-of-College community’ approach involving students, staff and parents/guardians. The College works proactively through its Wellbeing and Management Framework to empower students to navigate their social landscape.   

Christian College Geelong recognises its duty to students to provide a safe and positive learning environment where individual differences and diversity within the College is respected and accepted and we look forward to our continued partnership with you in the nurture and care of our precious children. 

The Prep children have been reading information texts about chickens, creating chickens using various craft and hands on materials and writing about them as well. This is a really wonderful way to bring in the hands-on experience into the classroom.   

We even have a chicken cam! Thank you to Sascha, our amazing IT expert we can watch the chicks and eggs live. We even sent the live stream access home for families so they can check in on the chicks after hours. There of course is the added bonus of cuddles with these fluffy little ones.  

Some thoughts from Prep R   

Chicks have fluffy wings but that doesn’t mean they don’t have webbed feet – Lola  

The chicks are cute – Hamish  

Chicks can be different colours – Buster  

Chicks have wings but they can’t fly yet – Mikayla  

Chicks are fluffy but it doesn’t mean that their mouths can be fluffy – Eadie  

Chicks have fluffy wings so they don’t get wet – Frankie  

Chickens need food to survive – Zahil  

Chickens need water to survive – Willow  

Chicks have to come out of the eggs because their mum’s would be sad if they have a baby and it doesn’t come out – Tayla  

Chicks need water and food to survive so they don’t die – Xander  

Chicks can be warm from their Mum – Rocky  

A chick is fluffy and their wings are fluffy as well – Isla  

When the mother is not there and they died they get seen by a trained professional and they take the chicks to the school and put a camera so we could always see how they are doing – Celeste  

The children participated with great excitement and although some of the students were initially a little bit nervous with a few of the creatures and creeping insects, they are to be congratulated and encouraged for their willingness to ‘have a go’, in terms of patting or handling the different animals.  

As Year 1 scientists, we are looking forward to using all of this new learning as we continue to investigate the different habitats of animals and write our information reports.   

We drew some beautiful Welcome to Country pictures this week and have written what our drawings mean:  

My Welcome to Country picture has a campfire with three people surrounding it and on top of the people is Bunjil the eagle protecting them all. My picture also has a river with three fish that are orange and blue. If you want to eat, you take what you can bring back to the island. Sophie  

My Welcome to Country picture has a firm bridge, brown stick huts, Bunjil the eagle, hot campfires, wobbly trees, big and small hills and lots of different things. People are holding hands and that represents togetherness and loving each other. Bunjil is watching everyone in Australia. Andrea  

My Welcome to Country picture has people dressed in lots of colours and people in different shapes and sizes. It also has Bunjil the eagle in the air protecting us. Dara  

My Welcome to Country picture has a night sky and Uluru. Stars were really important because the Aboriginals knew which type of weather would come just by looking at the stars. Tara  

My Welcome to Country picture has rocks and water. The water has come in the rain and the people and animals in country use the water. Louis  

 My Welcome to Country picture has a big pretty white moon and there is a shooting star. The shooting star means Bunjil the eagle is coming to protect everyone. Coco  

My Welcome to Country picture shows that the Aboriginals use stars to see what the weather is going to be the next day. The river means that the Aboriginal people could get food and water from Country and so could the plants and animals. Daniel  

My Welcome to Country picture has a love heart to represent how much the Wadawurrung people love each other and we love them and we treat them with kindness. The hut is something the Wadawurrung people make to live in and stay safe. The Wadawurrung people can tell what the weather is just by looking at the stars. The river helps the Wadawurrung people get food everyday like fish and some things. Macy  

My Welcome to Country picture represents how hard the Aboriginal people worked to make this country beautiful. I have stars on my drawing, stars are important to the indigenous Australians because they could see the weather by gazing at them. Aria  

My Welcome to Country picture represents the way the Aboriginal people can tell the weather by looking at the bright stars so it can help them know if they need to take cover. Asher  

My Welcome to Country picture has a pink, yellow, red and orange sunset. My artwork also has a lake. There are three rock pools that the Wadawurrung people drank out of. Bunjil the eagle is watching over them. Nellie  

My Welcome to Country picture means love, help, kindness and helping each other. Hamish  

This is welcome to the Wadawurrung country. I like the tree but there are not many leaves on it. I like the pond and the stick fort. Billy  

My Welcome to Country picture has a cave, river, huts, trees and Bunjil the eagle. Bunjil is watching over Australia and the river keeps rushing all day. Lachlan  

My Welcome to Country picture has Bunjil the eagle who watches over all of us. My Welcome to Country has people living in harmony together. Bodhi  

My Welcome to Country picture has Bunjil the eagle, stars, trees, a pond and some grass. They are all part of country and part of us. Angie  

My Welcome to Country means helping the Country to survive as one. Jack   

May you always stand tall as a tree   

Be as strong as the rock Uluru   

As gentle and still as the morning mist   

Hold the warmth of the campfire in your heart   

And may the Creator Spirit always walk with you.     
Amen

When recording their understandings of God and the Apostle Paul, students made references to Paul’s books of the Bible, the letters he wrote and his past life before he became a Christian.  

The students were highly engaged when reading about some of the major events that took place in his life such as being thrown into prison several times as well as being shipwrecked.  

The Year 3 students were also able to compare Paul’s relationship with Jesus and God from when he was Saul to when he became Paul.  

This exercise allowed the students to explore further their own relationship with God, recognising the gifts and abilities given to each of us by God.  

Students were encouraged to ask questions, participate in some physical activity and watched clips on a variety of topics around health and wellbeing. The areas covered were;  

• Hydration  
• Screen Time  

• Physical Activity  
• Healthy Eating  
• Wellbeing   
• Sleep  

We would like to thank the Geelong Football Club for allowing Kate and Zali to visit the school and present on the importance of being healthy and active. All students received a booklet with ideas and activities related to the presentation.  

We have enjoyed some deep learning this week, beginning with National Sorry Day on the 26th May. Each year, National Sorry Day falls on the day prior to the beginning of National Reconciliation Week and, marks the anniversary of an historic apology in 2008, which was given to the Stolen Generations on behalf of all Australians, by then Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd. We have supported our students to develop age-appropriate understandings around the Stolen Generations and, the impact this policy has had on subsequent generations, through text specifically created for young children sharing Indigenous perspectives and voices.  

 Students have participated in daily Devotions focused on the importance of being in ‘right relationships’ with people and that the process of reconciliation is an important part of the journey that we all walk as Christian people of faith.  We have acknowledged the significance of understanding what the term ‘reconciliation’ means in terms of healing for our nation and that the concepts of truth telling and listening to First Nations people is a vital part of this process. Our students have shown a level of maturity and sensitivity throughout this week that they will take with them as they grow and, their level of understanding about the importance of their role in relation to the reconciliation process within our society is something to be commended.  

Throughout the week students engaged with a range of educational opportunities designed specifically to help them build on their understandings about our First Nations people and our shared histories.   

We have enjoyed celebrating the rich cultures, languages and stories and are proud to live in a country that has the oldest living cultures in the world. I encourage you to talk with your children about their learning this week, I am sure that they will have lots to share with your family.   

However, it can be difficult for parents to be across every platform or app and to know what’s age-appropriate and what’s not. Where a young person sets up an account on their own without parent involvement, it can make it difficult for parents to ensure safety and be confident that the content being sent and received is suitable and safe. 

For all the potential value and benefit these tools provide, they also often pose the risk of cyberbullying, exposure to inappropriate content or unwanted contact from strangers. It is an unfortunate but true reality that there are some people online who seek to connect with young people for the wrong reasons. 

Discord, Tik Tok, Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook… Are they right for my child? Should I allow this app’s use? What are the safety and privacy features? How can I support my child in using this app? 

Parents, be reassured that there is support and guidance for navigating the full range of apps and platforms that are popular with young people on both our own Online Safety Hub and from eSafety. 

• Messaging and online chat (from eSafety 
• Discord – parent advice (CCG Online Safety Hub) 
• Snapchat – parent advice (CCG Online Safety Hub) 

• Tik Tok – parent advice (CCG Online Sagety Hub)

Parents are encouraged to be aware of the minimum age for any platform and understand that many of these platforms are intended for adults and older teens. For many apps, the age recommended by cyber safety experts is older than the listed minimum age because of the potential risks. 

At school, we prevent access to messaging and chat apps on our network. Access to messaging and chat is also prevented on College devices during school days for all students to support them with their learning and wellbeing. 

Undertaking a career as a new teacher can be both exhilarating and overwhelming. The excitement of working in a dynamic and hugely rewarding profession is often complicated by administrative demands, professional development responsibilities, and the intricacies of a classroom. Further to this, a graduate teacher is developing their craft, building relationships with colleagues and families for the first time, learning new processes, the Australian curriculum, navigating the 37 professional teacher standards and undertaking a teacher inquiry for registration as a proficient teacher. Victorian Institute of Education’s Linda Blakis likens learning to teach with learning to drive, ‘When you get behind the wheel for the first time, it is daunting. Everything is new, you must consciously check everything before turning on the engine and there is so much multitasking required, but with practice, good coaching and time, these things become intuitive.’ 

At Christian College we are privileged to have a selection of graduate teachers on each campus, each are supported fortnightly by an experienced mentor teacher. Our mentors are intensively trained to assist these graduates through one of the most critical phases of their teaching career.  

 To complement this ongoing mentoring, we were fortunate to have the expertise of Jackie Macreadie – Principal Consultant from ISV and Linda Blakis – Professional Practice Manager from VIT run a full day seminar for all graduates and mentors this week. This is a new initiative, one that few other schools offer, and we were immensely grateful for the time and expertise of our guest speakers. There was much engagement in the sessions, with collaboration and a buzz of ideas for their inquiry projects. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive for the value of this day for all who attended. We hope that it can become an ongoing opportunity for our staff development. A huge thank you to our leadership for supporting such a pivotal opportunity for our staff.