Head of Campus – Happy Fathers’ Day
Today we had the great privilege of being able to honour and say thank you to all of our dads, grandad’s, uncles, brothers, role models and mentors through the celebrations of Fathers’ Day at Junior School. Beginning with breakfast and footy fun, we then headed into assembly where students in 1R shared their devotion to their dads. This was followed by the fabulousness of our Fathers’ Day stall where many happy smiles were seen as students eagerly made their purchases for their special people. A HUGE thank you and shout out to all of the volunteers who assisted in the purchase of items, preparation of gifts and sales to students. The joy shown by students was priceless.
We want to continue our message of thanks to all on this upcoming Fathers’ Day for the unconditional love, support, caring, patience, guidance, protection, wisdom and grace that you share in the lives of others. Dad, daddy, old man, pa, papa, pappy or pop, thank you for the joy, the fun, the special events you share with family and friends and thank you for the blessing that you are.
In the grapple of trying to understand the unconditional love that our Father in heaven has for us we often compare this to the human form of love from a father. In trying to understand just how much God loves us we can look to those who are in our lives or who have touched our lives.
A father offers nurture and protection, caring and watching over those he loves. A father offers guidance and support through life’s challenges and life’s journey. A father offers the sacrifice of himself for the well-being and happiness of his children and others. A father offers love which may be felt and experienced even when he is not physically present. It is a love that transcends time and circumstance.
Whether you are blessed to have your people with you on Fathers’ Day or whether they are the souls that you carry forever in your hearts, on behalf of all of us at Junior School we wish you all a fabulous Fathers’ Day this coming Sunday.
God took the strength of a mountain,
The majesty of a tree,
The warmth of a summer sun,
The calm of a quiet sea,
The generous soul of nature,
The comforting arm of night,
The wisdom of the ages,
The power of the eagle’s flight,
The joy of a morning in spring,
The faith of a mustard seed,
The patience of eternity,
The depth of a family need,
Then God combined these qualities,
When there was nothing more to add,
He knew his masterpiece was complete,
And so, he called it Dad
– Unknown
Ann-Marree Weigl, Head of Campus
What’s on at Junior School
Week 8
Thursday September 7 – Year 1 Camp (Refer to EdSmart)
Thursday September 7 – Spring into Strings (Refer to Edsmart from the Music Department)
Friday September 8 – Year 1 Camp (Refer to EdSmart)
Friday September 8 – Year 4 Healthy Relationships Session
Week 9
Tuesday September 12 – Selected Year 4 String Students attending Middle School Music Camp
Wednesday September 13 – Prep Discovery Learning Session
Wednesday September 13 – Year 3 Camp (Refer to EdSmart)
Thursday September 14 – Year 3 Camp (Refer to EdSmart)
Thursday September 14 – R U Ok Day: I’m here to hear
Friday September 15 – Year 4 to attend Middle School Talent Quest (Edsmart to follow!)
Friday September 15 – Year 3 Camp (Refer to EdSmart)
Friday September 15 – Conclusion of Term 3; 2:30pm Finish.
Term 4 Week 1
Tuesday October 3 – Term 4 Commences, Commencement and Welcome to Country Ceremony; 10:30am
Wednesday October 4 – Year 4 Camp (Refer to EdSmart)
Thursday October 5 – Year 4 Camp (Refer to EdSmart)
Friday October 6 – Year 4 Camp (Refer to EdSmart)
Friday October 6 – Year 1 Commences Swimming
Fathers’ Day Big Brekky!
This morning, Friday September 1, we celebrated our first Fathers’ Day Big Brekky!
We had nearly 300 dads, friends and children turn up to celebrate a wonderful morning of fellowship and fun. We thank families for coming along and making such a special morning for all.
The Annual Fathers’ Day Stall was a buzz of excitement and smiling faces as students carefully selected a present for their Dad or a special person. Thank you to Kate O’Halloran and Mandy Chester for their incredible work in organising the stall. Thank you also to our wonderful volunteers for bringing such a sense of joy to Junior School.
Happy Fathers’ Day!
Carla Dunlop, Deputy Head of Campus
Lost Property
As we head into our final weeks of school for the term, I strongly encourage you to come look at the lost property table in Reception. It is filled with unnamed jumpers, sports uniforms, and drink bottles!
Sophie Olden
Year 1 – Shopping at Aldi!
On Monday, our Year 1 children set off for our shopping adventure to Aldi at Waurn Ponds. Although the weather was cold, the sun shone through as we walked to the supermarket, and the children chatted and shared with each other about what they were looking forward to purchasing with their $5.
During this term, we have been learning all about money, in terms of recognising coins and notes, reading prices, calculating the total cost of items, and learning about providing change. We have had a ‘Year 1G Shop’ in our classroom where the children have been able to ‘purchase’ items as a customer and check money as a shopkeeper. Visiting Aldi this week, provided the children with the opportunity to apply their skills in a real world situation.
Once at Aldi, the children were set the task of purchasing one item or several items depending on the total cost. Some of the children’s purchases included books, word searches, biscuits, lollies, and chips.
Upon returning to school, the students were encouraged to write about their special adventure and here are some reflections about their favourite parts of our Aldi visit:
My favourite part was walking around Aldi and choosing my items and they were ‘Cookies and Cream’ biscuits and ‘Hundreds and Thousands’ biscuits.
Celeste
My favourite part was when we walked to Aldi because we saw beautiful houses and gardens.
Sasha
My favourite part of our Aldi visit was spending time with my friends, and we went past the same aisle like four times!
Buster
My favourite part was walking around Aldi with my group, and it was a very hard decision, but I got a lolly pop, a packet of marshmallows and a packet of ‘Cookies and Cream’.
Lexie
My favourite part was deciding what I was going to buy, and I bought Chazoos noodle snacks and ‘Cookies and Cream’ for my sister because she loves biscuits, and she wasn’t feeling well last night.
Helios
My favourite part was walking around Aldi with my group who were: Buster, Helios and Celeste. It was so hard deciding what to buy but in the end, I got Arnott’s mint slice biscuits and chocolate flavoured wafers.
Molly
My favourite part was when I picked a Kit Kat and then Kyrie picked one too and we both thought that we could each share them with our families after dinner.
George
The children are to be congratulated for their great efforts as they applied their learning and navigated the world of shopping during our visit to Aldi.
Violet Novacevski
Year 3 – Data Collecting
This week in Year 3 we have been revisiting the collection and graphing of survey data. Students were provided with some “berry-picking” data that we graphed together on the whiteboard. We practiced using tally marks to collect the data using six different options as responses.
The students were able to survey each other using a question of their own with the sentence stem: What is your favourite…? Some of the data collected in Year 3 revealed our favourite dessert, favourite animal, favourite sport to play, favourite subject at school, favourite footy team, and favourite video game.
We have talked about the different types of graphs to display our data. We all displayed the data using bar graphs and then some were able to create a pictograph of the data they collected.
Todd Brown
Deakin District Athletics Championships
We had 21 Year 4 students represent Christian College at the recent Deakin District Athletics Championships at Goldsworthy Reserve in Corio. We were blessed with a lovely sunny day with students participating in a variety of track and field events.
A special mention needs to go to Xavier O’Brien, Lisa You, Remi Welsford, Jagger Medved and Jack Normington for competing in the triple jump and hurdles events for the first time. All students competed well in their events, with a few students completing up to five events on the day including Mitch Ward, Jude Ellis, Michaela Desai, Pieper Riddle, Jack Normington and Jake Owen.
Six students have progressed through to the next stage, which is the North Geelong Division Championships next Tuesday 5th September.
- Jake Owen – 100m and Long Jump
- Ned Simon – Discus
- Jude Elliss – High Jump
- Michaela Desai – High Jump and Long Jump
- Mitch Ward – 1500m
- Brydie Johnson – Shot Put
Well done to all of the students that competed and we hope the students can keep enjoying the opportunity to participate in future events.
Nick Rice
Junior School is Tech Savvy!
Digital Technologies classes this term, has focussed on computer coding, where students in Year 1 to Year 4 have been working their way through sequential learning modules on the devices. These computer programs and unplugged coding activities are designed to encourage students to improve their problem solving and critical thinking skills, as well as promote collaboration and peer learning.
Year 3’s have worked steadfastly this term with the MIT coding program ‘Scratch’, exploring how to program characters using blockly coding, enabling students to create virtual animations and games. While Year 4’s have continued their Scratch journey, building on their coding knowledge, to produce a two-player game for their Prep buddies to experience in our Week 9 Expo.
Prep students have exceeded themselves in their DigiTech classes this term, working persistently and consistently, to sign themselves into the computers and create information booklets all about personal data.
Well done to all students for your wonderful efforts this term!
Emma Anderson
Dreamtime Compositions
Year 3 students at Junior School have been exploring music composition through story telling. This term students have been learning about how the many different elements of music including pitch, rhythm, instrumentation, timbre, texture, dynamics and tempo can be used to create and reflect mood. Students are exploring a range of Indigenous stories including Tiddalik the thirsty frog, Gregg Dreise’s ‘Mad Magpie’ and Parrwang lifts the sky and using these stories as the inspiration to create accompanying music and soundscapes.
It has been a joy to watch students collaborate and experiment with the elements of music to create multi sensory storytelling experiences as well as seeing students discover the power that music can have on projecting emotions.
Jacqui Anderson
Camp Australia Newsletter
Chess Club
One for All and All for One!
“This world is an uncertain realm, filled with danger. Honor undermined by the pursuit of power, freedom sacrificed when the weak are oppressed by the strong. But there are those who oppose these powerful forces, who dedicate their lives to truth, honour, and freedom. These men are known as Musketeers. Rise, D'Artagnan, and join them.”
Alexandrea Durmas – The Three Musketeers, 1844
For many there’s nothing better than a dress up, for others they can think of nothing worse! Last week’s Book Week celebrations saw literary characters of every kind arrive at school across our Junior and Middle School campuses in a flurry of colour, face paint, excitement and joy.
It was my pleasure to be one of ‘The Three Musketeers’ alongside our Acting Principal Mr Rick Geall and our Head of Wellbeing Mrs Kim Doherty for Book Week and to deliver a devotions together about the significance of teamwork.
We live in an incredibly entitled individualistic society. Individuality can often be very healthy, it allows for good differentiation and boundaries in relationships and ensures that each person can be who God has made them to be without being squished, manipulated or conformed into being someone else. Individualism however is often very unhealthy. Cultures marked by individualism often organise themselves according to hierarchies of dominance – people compete to be better than others rather than be better than themselves, resources are stockpiled by the few rather than amongst the many. So often in these cultures people demand that the needs, rights and expressions of each individual must be met by the greater collective of other individuals at the expense of the community’s wellbeing, growth, healing, safety or wholeness. In these cultures you’re likely to hear phrases like “You can’t tell me, you can’t make me, it’s my right to, I’m entitled to, I don’t care what you think or feel etc” In these communities people are enculturated to think only for and about themselves. As you can imagine, individualism in a community often results in people experiencing greater stress, less social support and relationships of convenience. People in communities that perpetuate individualism are less likely to help others or engage in charity/community service, the irony is they are also less likely to seek help for themselves when they need it. What begins as individualism often results in a lack of resilience, self-esteem, self-awareness as well as competition and isolation. Individualism is more of an “the world owes me something and I deserve it” epitaph rather than the Musketeer’s cry of “All for One and One for All”. The bible’s response is quite clear in asserting that a community, like a body, is made of many individual parts that are distinct in purpose, function and appearance but ultimately useless without the other parts that come together to form the whole. You can read more about this in the book of 1 Corinthians chapter 12. It is a powerful passage of scripture that validates each and every person for the fearfully and wonderfully made human they are while dignifying them and their unique differences as an essential part of the whole. Thankfully our community at Christian College is modelled upon scriptures like this and is much more akin to the biblical and Musketeer perspective rather than the “me first” world of individualism.
Our community safeguards a person’s individuality without damaging the whole by elevating or idolising one individual over another. We advocate for community. For shared unity. For the help, wholeness, health and life in abundance we can bring to each other through the practice of our College values; Faith, Hope, Love, Grace and Truth. We are Musketeers, we are parts of the body of Christ, we are teammates; Staff, Students, Parents and Families working together with the sustaining presence and power of a loving God.
One for All and All for One!
Mia Kafieris, Dean of Christian Culture
The Christian College Sport Hall of Honour
We are proud to announce a new initiative, which will become an important tradition in the life of our College – the Sport Hall of Honour – to recognise and celebrate the outstanding achievements of our past students who have reached national or international status in their chosen sports.
On October 5, we welcome our inaugural inductees to the Sport Hall of Honour – ex-students, Gary Ablett Jr and Tegan Philip. Both are universally recognised as champions at the highest level in their respective sports – AFL football and netball.
You are invited to join us for this gala dinner event at Mt Duneed Estate. On the night, we will also honour a cohort of current students as ‘Rising Eagles’ for their outstanding achievements in their chosen sports, putting them on a pathway to perhaps achieve the type of success required to enter our Sport Hall of Honour in future years.
The night also presents the perfect opportunity to award, for the first time ever, the ‘Gary Ablett Jr’ and ‘Tegan Philip’ medals to the students named as MVP of our Senior Male Football team and Senior Female Netball team from this year’s GISSA Championships.
For more information and to purchase tickets to the October 5 event, please visit our website.
The Hall of Honour will be a permanent display within our school, displaying the names, images and achievements of our extraordinary sports stars. This will not only inspire our current students but also serve as a testament to the values and dedication instilled within them during their time at Christian College.
We encourage our College community to join us in celebrating those who have pursued their gifts and passions to an extraordinary level of success. While one of the criteria for induction to the Sport Hall of Honour is that individuals have retired from their sport professionally or at the very highest level, if you are aware of any past students who have achieved, or are achieving, national or international recognition in sport, please reach out to our Sports Administrator Matthew Murnane [email protected] with any relevant information.
Daryl Riddle OAM, CEO of Christian College
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]
Uniform Shop Clearance Sale!
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
