From the Head of Campus

Growing Connections 

This year the theme for the National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence (NDA) is ‘Growing Connections’ and this theme very much resonates and aligns with our broader College context and our specific context at Junior School.  

A frequent question I am asked in meeting new families is ‘How do you manage bullying?’ My response always begins the same way (you may have already heard it!) and that is to say that in the first instance we proactively create a sense of connectedness as a Junior School community. As one community we are responsible for, and accountable to, one another in respecting and responding to our community norms. The deliberate work in creating a culture of community and connectedness places relationship, kindness, service and positive behaviours as the expectation. Research findings support the fact that strong school community connections and social skills are protective factors in the prevention of bullying and help enable positive, help-seeking behaviours in students. https://bullyingnoway.gov.au 

Car Park Safety

With the increased pressure on parking as a result of the City of Greater Geelong works in Homewood Lane and Dumphries Court, we would ask that you are extra vigilant with regards to safety when bringing the children to school and collecting them at the end of the day. In particular if you are using the larger carpark outside of Williams House.

Unfortunately, we have had several reports of cars either not parking within designated car spaces or using excessive speed. Children have difficulties in judging how fast a vehicle may be travelling and how long it takes to walk from one side of the road to another therefore they are at a significant disadvantage in the carpark environment. We trust that you will assist us in keeping the children safe by adhering to parking in designated spaces and not using excessive speed in the parking areas around our Junior School.

What’s on at Junior School 

Week 6 – Book Week   
Monday August 21 – Annual Book Week Parade 9:10am, Rear basketball courts 
Tuesday August 22 – Staff Development Day, Pupil Free Day  
Thursday August 24 – Prep Excursion to the Farm (Refer to EdSmart)  
Thursday August 24 – Deakin District Athletics, selected Year 4 Students (Refer to EdSmart)   
Friday August 25 – Year 4 Healthy Relationships Session  
 

Week 7   
Monday August 28 – Year 4 Excursion to IMAX & Melbourne Museum (Refer to EdSmart)  
Monday August 28 – Year 1 Excursion to Aldi Supermarket (Refer to EdSmart)  
Wednesday August 30 – Prep Discovery Learning Session  
Wednesday August 30 – Year 2 Science Incursion, Professor Bunsen 
Friday September 1 – Assembly, 1R Class Item  
Friday September 1 – Fathers’ Day Stall  
Friday September 1 – Fathers’ Day ‘Big Brekky’, 7:30am- 8:30am  
Friday September 1 – Footy Colours Day  

Science Week Inspires Young Minds 

Junior School has been a creative and inspiring place to be in Week 5 as students in Years Prep – 4 have invented all sorts of machines and contraptions to make our lives easier at school and at home. The theme or National Science Week in 2023 has been ‘Innovation – Powering Future Industries’ linking to the Science content areas within the Australian Curriculum and the cross-curriculum priority of Sustainability.  

Prep designs included a machine to turn a human into a praying mantis and a toothbrushing machine to check on the quality of our brushing. A speech giver, home builder, new planet maker and claw rubbish picker were among a range of designs from Year 4 and 3. Ideas around topics of deforestation and homelessness were also being developed in Year 4. Year 2 went one step further to build their designs including a range of robots such as a body vacuum and Year 1’s inventions included a ‘plate car’ (to replace a broken plate if the need arises), the Filler Ferrari which automatically visits our houses to refuel our cars and the automatic garden waterer.  

A whole school challenge included the tower-building activity. Classes enjoyed a visit to the staffroom to attempt to build the highest tower using cups and icy pole sticks. The competition was tight and a playoff was held at assembly today to determine the top class.  

What a buzz to see our young minds at work, ideas freely flowing on paper. Perhaps in years to come some of these creative ideas might end up in our very own living rooms!! 

Library – Book Week Reminder 

This is a friendly reminder that our much-anticipated annual Book Parade will take place on Monday August 21, 9:10am on the Basketball Courts. 

Your child should come to school in their book week character costume. Parents and friends are welcome to stay and enjoy the fun and frivolity of our annual parade. 

Looking forward to seeing our families on Monday!

Reminder – Fathers’ Day Stall

Our annual Fathers’ Day Stall will be held on Friday September 1,  (please refer to EdSmart). Items to sell and small cash donations would be gratefully accepted. Please remember to send along $5 with your child to purchase a gift on the day.

Prep Discovery Learning Sessions 

The Prep Students’ visits to the Surf Coast Campus for Discovery Learning have become a cherished and eagerly awaited adventure. Every second week, these young explorers step into the realm of nature, immersing themselves in a world of wonder and discovery.  

The campus provides them with a canvas of vibrant greens and blues, where they are free to play, laugh, and learn amidst the natural beauty that surrounds them. Climbing trees becomes an exhilarating feat of courage, offering a sense of accomplishment and fostering a deeper connection with the environment around us. As they explore, the students are greeted by the presence of kangaroos, a living reminder of the unique wildlife that thrives around our coastal campus. 

But Discovery Learning doesn’t just involve students  – it’s a community affair. Parents are enthusiastically welcomed to join in these outings, witnessing firsthand the uncontainable joy that lights up the children’s faces as they engage with nature. These shared moments create a bridge between the classroom and the outdoors, reinforcing the importance of experiential learning and the invaluable lessons that can only be learned from the natural world.  

The Surf Coast Campus for Discovery Learning stands as a sanctuary of growth, curiosity, and connection, where students, parents, and kangaroos alike come together in the spirit of exploration and care for our planet. We are already looking forward to our next adventure! 

Year 1 – May the Force be With you

On Tuesday morning, a group of Year 10 students visited our campus to work with our lovely Year 1s. They organised and ran seven interactive activities, aiming to develop the children’s understanding of different forces. The Year 1 students worked in small groups and participated in activities which explored; applied force, drag force, push and pull, gravity, spring force, tension force and magnetic force. These activities were very well planned and executed by the Year 10 students and linked beautifully to our Integrated Studied unit, ‘Simple Machines’.

The morning was a huge success, and the room was buzzing with excitement! The Year 1 cohort had a lovely time and enjoyed each activity. We are very grateful to the Senior School students (and teachers) for their efforts in making the morning so enjoyable for our Year 1 children! We are so lucky to be a part of the Christian College community, where our students support each other with their learning. Well done! 😊

Year 2 – Delving Into Materials 

In our Inquiry Unit during Integrated Studies lessons this term the Year 2 students have been investigating everyday materials and how they can physically change in a variety of ways when manipulated.  

Throughout various experiments we have explored the concept that materials can change through bending, stretching and twisting motions. Students have been able to clearly identify, and record changes made to materials when they are heated and cooled.   

The Year 2 students also explored further the concept that materials have different uses that suit different purposes. This scientific analysis began by learning new vocabulary associated with materials and then conducting scientific experiments to test their theories about absorbency, buoyancy and elasticity.  

The students delved further by making mixtures; combining different household substances and observing and recording the results of these combinations. There was further exploration of the concepts of solubility – discussing the terms soluble and insoluble and the students then assessing the dissolvability of various substances. 

From World Rivers to Poetry 

In Year 3 we have been learning all about world rivers as part of our content knowledge unit. The students have gathered so many wonderings about this very important part of our ecosystem. 

Discussions began with our own rivers here in Australia such as the Murray River and the Darling River. Students learned their geographical locations as well as how each river must have a source and a mouth. Students began to use new vocabulary such as ‘irrigation’ and ‘drainage basin’ to describe the importance of rivers to our survival. This created connections with our previous studies of ancient civilisations as the students learned that rivers are essential to the settlement of groups of people and provide for wildlife as well. The Nile, the Amazon, the Orinoco, the Yangtze and the Danube were just a few of the rivers mentioned and the students learned of the importance of rivers for trade and transport. 

The Year 3 students then used their research skills to gather information and write a report about a river of their choice. It was terrific to see the connections made about our part of the world and those overseas. 

We’ve now started the next part of our English focus for Term 3 – Poetry. We began this week with a Roald Dahl retelling of the story of Little Red Riding Hood. The students have discovered the meaning of the word ‘stanza’ and have begun to apply this in writing their own poems using a rhyme scheme (a pattern of rhyming words). We look forward to some creative text construction during the coming weeks. 

Scholastic Book Club  

Issue 6 of Scholastic Book Club has been distributed to students and orders should be placed online or returned to school no later than Friday, 25-8-2023. 

Our preferred payment method is via LOOP either via the mobile app or the desktop site which can be found at https://mybookclubs.scholastic.com.au/Parent/Login.aspx 

Please do not send cash as we are unable to process cash payments. 

Thank you for your assistance and ongoing support of Book Club. 

Camp Australia Newsletter

Prepaid Tuition Fee Discount

The College is offering a 4 per cent discount to families who elect to prepay their 2024 tuition fees in full by September 8, 2023. Taking up this offer means you will receive a 4 percent discount on the 2024 tuition fees less sibling discount.

For further details please refer to the email sent to you earlier this week.

Please contact the fees team via [email protected] or (03) 5241 1899 if you have any queries - our team will happily explain the details and arrange a quotation for you.

LEAD Parent Survey - Now Closing September 1

Each year, Christian College participates in the LEAD School Effectiveness Surveys conducted by Independent Schools Victoria (ISV). These surveys provide valuable insights into a school’s performance from the perspectives of students, staff and parents and are therefore an essential school improvement tool.

LEAD – Listen, Evaluate, Act, Deliver – succinctly describes the way in which this process enables our College community to grow and flourish through consultation with our valued stakeholders.

You will have received an email from ‘ISV Research Programs [email protected]’ inviting you to participate in the ISV LEAD Parent Survey. It includes a unique survey link that can only be used once and therefore cannot be shared or forwarded to others. Thank you to all parents who have completed the Parent Satisfaction Survey - we have received more than 300 responses to date. ISV has extended the deadline for survey responses - closing date is September 1. We invite any parents who have not yet participated to contribute your feedback via this year's survey. You are an integral part of our school community and your voice matters.

Scholarship Applications are Now Open!

Each year Christian College offers Academic Excellence Scholarships for entry at Year 5, 7 and 10 levels. Applications are now open for this year’s scholarships, which apply to entry in 2025, at three campuses – Middle School-Highton, Bellarine Campus and Surf Coast Campus.

Year 10 entry applies to Senior School-Waurn Ponds only.

To find out more, and to apply, visit our website and look for the homepage hotlink, or click here.

Scholarship applications are open to students who do not currently attend Christian College, as well as those who are currently enrolled here. Scholarship examinations will be held at Christian College on Saturday October 7. Closing date for applications is Thursday, September 28.

Foundation Golf Day 2023

Following the success of last year’s inaugural event, we are delighted to announce the Christian College Foundation Golf Day tournament for 2023.

Save the date: Thursday November 9.

We are seeking prizes for this event – if you own a local business and are interested in creating partnership opportunities with Christian College, please contact Fiona Provan on 0400 477 467, or email [email protected]

A MYTERN Thought for This Week

It’s easy to rush through a cup of tea or coffee and forget to stop and appreciate the moment. 

Take time out now to simply appreciate being able to breathe in fresh air. Take a long slow breath and feel it rejuvenate every cell. 

Make that your intention and watch your body smile from the inside 👍❤️

Discover more about MYTERN here