From the Junior School Chaplain
Wow! What a wonderful Friday we enjoyed here at Junior School last week celebrating Fathers’ Day. There were breakfast rolls, footballs and smiles as we spent time together as a community. It was so special to spend time honouring the important fathers, grandfathers, uncles, brothers and significant people who love, encourage, support and care.
As we celebrate these people, we can be reminded that God, our Heavenly Father, is our ever-present help and comforter. He cares for us deeply, holds His word and is boundless in grace and love. God is our refuge in times of trouble and is right there with us through all of life’s twists and turns.
1 John 3:1 (NIV) – “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!”
I really hope that during Friday with us here at Junior School, in combination with Fathers’ Day on Sunday, you were able to celebrate and honour the fatherly figures in your life and in turn, reflect on God’s unwavering love and care for us all as His children.
Darcee Braun, Chaplain
What’s on at Junior School
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 (Refer to EdSmart)
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)
Week 2
Monday October 9 – Year 5 teachers visit to Junior School (Refer to Year 4 Transition EdSmart)
Thursday October 12 – Annual Music Evening, Junior Choir and Strings (EdSmart to follow)
Friday October 13 – Assembly; Prep G Class Item
Friday October 13 – Year 1 commences Swimming
Week 3
Monday October 16 – Year 4 Transition Session 2 (Refer to Year 4 Transition EdSmart)
Tuesday October 17 – Geelong Schools’ Music Festival, Junior Choir and Strings (EdSmart to follow)
Wednesday October 18 – Year 4 Sideshow Alley (EdSmart to follow)
Thursday October 19 – Year 3 Fizzics Incursion
Friday October 20 – Geelong Show Day, Student Free Day
Lost Property
As we head into our final weeks of school for the term, please take a moment to come and look at the lost property table in Reception. It is filled with unnamed jumpers, sports uniforms, and drink bottles that are waiting to be reunited with their owners!
Sophie Olden
Health and Physical Education Day
On Wednesday, Junior School participated in a short and sharp fitness session on the front roundabout to acknowledge HPE Day.
House leaders led students through a series of eight exercises with students participating with enthusiasm and energy. Many thanks to the House leaders and teachers for their support. It was a great way to start the day!
Nick Rice
Year 1’s Camp Adventure
On Thursday September 7, the Year 1 students set off for Araluen ready to have the ultimate camp experience. First stop was mini golf at Anglesea where lots of fun was had hitting the golf balls around and endeavouring to get the most holes in one!
Next stop was camp where the children eagerly set up their rooms and settled in to complete the many fun activities planned. These included low ropes course, bush craft, outdoor ball sports, trampolines and camp booklets.
Lots of fresh air and fun set us up for a big night of sleep! Well sort of… It was such a great time for all the children, and we are all proud of how they took on the many challenges they faced.
Here are some student reflections:
Camp is fabulous because it has trampolines. Carter
Camp is a great time because you get to sleep over. Alex
I think camp is special because you get to sleep in rooms with friends. Hendrick
I love camp because you get to have a sleep over with your friends. Thomas
Camp is amazing because we have fun playing on the activities. Zahil
Camp is fun because we get to go somewhere new. Juno
Camp is good because we get to stay overnight in a cabin. Ayra
I am most excited about the activities. Molly
Camp is special because we get our own activity booklet. Mikayla
I am most excited about going on the trampolines at camp. Lola
I love camp because I get to sleep with my friends. Darko
Camp is fun because you get to spend more time with the teachers and our friends. Buster
I love camp because it is good to be in lots of nature. Tayla
Camp is great because you get to play. Octavia
Rea Pantadis
Year 2 Scientists!
Last week, the Year 2 students participated in an engaging and interactive presentation from Professor Bunsen as part of their studies in Integrated Studies this term.
Professor Bunsen, who is a passionate scientist and educator, demonstrated many surprising chemical changes including explosions, colour changes and burning reactions by using common materials found from around the home. Each experiment was accompanied by a simple explanation and the students were encouraged to make connections between the knowledge gained from their studies and the experiments they saw first-hand during the show.
For approximately an hour the children sat mesmerised, returning to class armed with new ideas to ponder and discuss. We are hopeful that today’s presentation will spark increased interest in chemical reactions and from the children’s positive involvement it appears that we may very well have some budding scientists.
Following the incursion, the children made the following comments about the presentation:
Professor Bunsen was very confident, and I learnt a lot of things from watching him. Jesse
He was interesting and I liked the elephant toothpaste experiment the best. Lewis
I noticed when the elephant toothpaste was coming out it looked like it was coming out from a real toothpaste tube! Leah
I learnt that the elephant toothpaste would be dangerous for us to do at home, but it was fun to watch! Tripa
I thought that Professor Bunsen was very scientific. There were loud explosions and he was mixing and testing things. Sterling
What I liked the most were the things that involved fire or flames because it was fun to hear them go ‘bang’. Toby
I liked seeing some of the experiments live today that I have seen before on my IPad. Ewan
There was lots of soap pouring, and cold and hot water was involved. Finley
I learnt that nappies and mandarin skins have chemicals in them that do different things. Maicy
I thought it was interesting that when you put flame on some cotton it instantly turned into gas. Jaeger
I think it was amazing that he wasn’t scared when things exploded. It was really cool when the cabbage juice changed colour when it was added to vinegar and soap. Evie
Anne Spence
Raindrops Keep Falling on Year 4’s Head!
Throughout the past few weeks, our Year 4 students have enjoyed learning all about the cyclic manner of water and the significance that this extends to both natural ecosystems and human civilisations.
The students have demonstrated many key reasons why water is important and the need to conserve it by identifying its use for climate adaption, biodiversity, agriculture, human survival, recreation and energy production. Our Year 4 students created water conservation posters to show the paramount importance for both human well-being and the health of the planet’s ecosystems.
As populations grow and climate change continues, the responsible use and conservation of water becomes even more crucial to ensure a sustainable future.
Tash Cooper
Spring Into Strings!
Last night, the Junior String ensembles from Bellarine, Surf Coast and Junior School campuses gathered together at the RW Gibson Centre to celebrate the beginning of Spring with our annual performance event-'Spring into Strings'.
The evening was an excellent showcase of the String playing taking place in our Junior Schools, and a wonderful opportunity for the ensembles to perform for each other and their families. We were also graced with an enchanting performance from the Bellarine Ceilidh Band, before all students combined to form a massed String Ensemble which presented two pieces and an encore for their captive audience.
There were many excited and nervous young musicians at the start of the night, but it was amazing to see these young people focus and perform with such aplomb-well done to all!
Thanks to our accompanists Tammy Treloar and Stephanie Lawrence, as well as the string teaching staff- Cecilia Bell, Rebecca Bertoncello, Catie Martin and Miriam Bell.
Martin DeMarte
Christian College Snowsport
In Week 6 of this term Christian College Geelong competed in the Victorian Interschool Snowsport Competition. Twenty-six students, ranging from Year 1 through to Year 12, competed in both snowboarding and skiing competitions. Whilst the snow conditions this year weren’t as good as past competitions, both competitors and families had a fantastic time enjoying the opportunity to spend time together whilst refining their skiing and snowboarding prowess.
If you have not been a part of this competition before and would like to register your interest for the 2024 Victorian Interschool Snowsport Competition, please contact the Senior Campus.
Paul Breguet
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
