From the Acting Principal
As we bid farewell to another remarkable year at Christian College, it is a fitting moment to reflect on what a truly unique and special place to which we belong. We are a school made up of five distinct campuses yet bonded together with shared values, a collective call to “Seek First the Kingdom of God” and a philosophical aim to provide an education that not only excels academically but also nurtures the holistic development of each individual. I am proud to be part of this school.
Over the past two weeks, I have had the privilege of attending all five campus’ end-of-year celebration events, firstly Senior School’s Presentation Afternoon last Tuesday, followed by celebration evenings at Costa Hall for Belmont, Bellarine, Highton and Surf Coast campuses. They each recognised not only the efforts, achievements and contributions of students throughout 2023, but also celebrated the important role that community plays in shaping the hearts and minds of our young people. And each campus was able to do that in its own unique and powerful way. I am truly amazed how each campus was able to put together such a high-quality event at such a busy time of the year.
What was so striking about these celebration events was the sense of unity, a oneness between everyone involved. Psalm chapter 133 verse 1 says: “How wonderful it is, how pleasant, for God’s people to live together in harmony”. Unfortunately, there’s certainly a lot going on in the world that’s neither pleasant nor harmonious. And whilst it’s important that our young people, through their educational journey, learn about the challenges facing humanity, it is even more important that they are taught that there is hope, that people can live together in peace, that unity is not only desirable, but attainable.
As we look forward to Christmas, celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, we can be again encouraged by the message that it brings of peace and goodwill. And this message is not only one of families, friends and loved ones coming together at Christmas, but also one where God invites us also to connect with Him. Celebrating Christ’s birth is an opportunity to acknowledge God’s love for us, that He is with us. So, as we share in the joy of Christmas, let us carry this message of hope into the coming year, inspiring our students to believe in a world where people can live together in harmony. I am truly grateful to be part of a school that not only imparts knowledge but instils in its students the values of truth, grace, faith, hope and love.
In closing, I draw your attention to the document link below – it is a list of key calendar dates for 2024, which will be a useful reference as you plan for next year.
May you each have a blessed Christmas and a safe and happy new year. I look forward to seeing you all again when school returns in 2024.
Rick Geall, Acting Principal
From the Head of Campus
As we approach the end of our school year together, I would like to say, on behalf of all of the Junior School staff, a most sincere thank you to all of our Junior School families for a fabulous 2023. We are grateful to each one of you for the support and enthusiasm you have shown throughout the year in creating a vibrant and nurturing school community. Your commitment to fostering a positive and supportive environment has enabled many wonderful moments to occur throughout the year.
Together, we’ve witnessed the growth and achievements of our students in music, the Arts, languages, sport and academic areas along with the personal growth and development of students. It has been exciting to celebrate these milestones with you. Your involvement and dedication to your children’s education have played a crucial role in shaping their learning journey throughout 2023.
May the spirit of Christmas bring you peace and happiness as we venture into this summer break, and may the coming year be filled with hope, prosperity, and new opportunities. As the festive season unfolds and the magic of Christmas fills the air, we extend our warmest wishes to you and your loved ones. We hope that the break offers time to appreciate the blessings we have, to spread kindness and goodwill, and to embrace the company of those we hold dear.
In the spirit of hope, let us remember the true meaning of Christmas –
Luke 2:9-14 “An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone over them. They were terribly afraid, but the angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid! I am here with good news for you, which will bring great joy to all the people. This very day in David’s town your Saviour was born Christ the Lord! And this is what will prove it to you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. Suddenly a great army of heaven’s angels appeared with the angel, singing praises to God: “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom he is pleased!”
As this school year ends, we reflect on the memories we’ve shared, the challenges we’ve overcome, and the joy that permeates our school community. Thank you for being an integral part of our Junior School family and we look forward to welcoming you back for another exciting school year in 2024. Again, on behalf of all the staff at Junior School, I wish you all a blessed Christmas and we look forward to seeing you on the students’ first day in 2024 which is Wednesday January 31.
Merry Christmas.
God Bless.
Ann-Marree Weigl, Head of Campus
Christmas is Coming…
As we approach the bustling and joyous season of Christmas, how easy is it to get caught up in the whirlwind of activities, the hustle and bustle, and the long list of details that often demand our attention. Sometimes, life can feel like a “Where’s Wally” book—wildly chaotic, filled with so much on every page, making it a challenge to spot what we are looking for in the midst of it all.
But how is that joy when you finally spot Wally on that page…how is that joy that waits for us all as we look for Jesus amongst this world.
Just like Wally, Jesus is always there quietly amongst everything that our days bring. He is there right beside us, offering peace, joy, hope and love. In the midst of it all, may you experience the true essence of Christmas—the gift of Emmanuel, God with us. May you have a blessed and joy-filled Christmas season.
Darcee Braun, Chaplain
What’s on at Junior School
2024 Term 1
Wednesday January 31 – Commencement of Term 1; Service 10:30am
Thursday February 1 – New Student ID Photos, 9:00am
Junior School Canteen 2024
Our current arrangement for Canteen at Junior School will be changing in 2024. Recently we have had Fresh Meal Fairies provide a canteen service at Junior School, however they will conclude this service on Friday December 8. In 2024 our Christian College Canteen Manager will be providing a service to our families at Junior School. This will continue as an online ordering system and menus, once finalized in 2024, will be shared with families along with a ‘how to’ guide. As our Canteen Manager is already providing canteen services to our other campuses there may be a change of day, however this is yet to be confirmed.
Ann-Marree Weigl, Head of Campus
Reverse Advent Calendar
What a wonderful three weeks of our Reverse Advent Calendar we have witnessed here at Junior School. Our tree has been overflowing with non-perishable food items and back-to-school supplies and on Thursday, Clint Castly from the Salvation Army arrived to collect the donations ready to be of help in the coming weeks.
Thank you so very much for your kindness and generosity in giving. What a special way for the students to have the opportunity to meet another’s need and witness a tangible example of caring for others practically. John 13:34 encourages us to love one another just as Jesus loves us and this time of seeing a need and seeking ways to help and practically provide support has been such an evident and meaningful way for our students to put this command to action.
Thank you for your support in this initiative as without your generosity and encouragement, none of this would have been possible. Please know that these items are so needed and appreciated during this Christmas season.
Darcee Braun, Chaplain
Year 4 Boys – Hooptime All Stars State Champions!
The Year 4 boys Christian College Eagles are the 2023 Hooptime All Stars State Boys Champions after playing undefeated in all their matches on Monday December 4.
The journey began back in July when the team from Christian College Geelong defeated Montpellier in the Geelong region final to then progress through to the Regional Final in Werribee. They worked hard to go undefeated and overcome some quality opposition from many Western Metropolitan Schools to qualify for the state final that took place on Monday December 4, in Dandenong.
Most of the team travelled up the day prior, enjoying an NBL match at John Cain Arena and staying locally to best prepare for what lay ahead. There was a level of confidence amongst the team as they prepared to take on the best schools in the state.
In the qualifying rounds, CCG Eagles had a hard first up win against Glen Katherine school with a controversial blood rule ending the game early with CCG winning by 6 points. This would be the closest any team would get all day as the momentum really started to build for the following qualifying games. The Eagles defeated teams from Hamilton, Hawthorn West and Woori Yallock to qualify top of their pool and advance straight to the qualifying final.
The starting five comprising of Jude Ellis, Ned Simon, Jack Normington, Mitch Ward and Jagger Medved were well supported off the bench by Zander Cox, Patrick Minnie, Morrissey Costa and Alex Upham. Coach Mark Ellis was able to support and encourage the boys and as the games went on, the offence and defense strategies came into full effect.
Prior to the finals, the team participated in a parade with the other 40 teams in front of a packed grandstand on the show court. The boys received one of the largest cheers, with many parents and grandparents making the trip up to support the team.
In the first final the team came up against Billanook and the Eagles got off to their customary fast start, leading 8 to 0 early. Although Billanook came back slightly, the boys held strong to advance to the semi finals.
The team really hit their straps in the semifinal against Mt Eliza blitzing the first half and continuing strong to win by 18 points to advance them into the grand final.
There was no waiting around, as the final was held straight away with the Eagles coming up against the other undefeated team, Camberwell South. Having a large supporter base, homework had been done on the opposition and coach Ellis (with the help of George and Jamie Medved) devised a plan to contain their more damaging players that freed up scoring options. The boys saved their best to last, blowing out the score in the first half to lead 17 to 2, before piling on another 21 points to win 38 – 11 and claiming the state title. Jude Ellis led all scorers in the finals, accumulating 48 points.
One of the most pleasing aspects of the day, was to see how the team played as a unit and they all knew their roles. The boys played a hard and ruthless game that was well coached, with the parents supporting and cheering loudly.
A huge congratulations to the team, they are worthy State Champions. I would like to thank all the parents that came and supported the three days the boys competed. It was fun to be part of something very special that these boys will remember for a long time.
Some of the reflections from the parents.
“What an amazing day and finale to a great comp. So fantastic they won and so many little superstars today.”
“What a great couple of days… well done to the stars of the show!”
“A weekend the boys won’t forget.”
“An awesome team effort and the kids, well they are just incredible, and we feel so lucky to be amongst it all! The future is very bright with these young fellas in it!”
“We feel so privileged to have been on this journey with the boys.”
Nick Rice
Bravehearts
Late last week, the Year 1 and Year 2 students met “Ditto” the life-sized bear as part of the Bravehearts show that presented an incursion here at Junior School. This program offered students with age-appropriate principles of personal safety and provided them with the tools to know what to do to ensure they feel safe. Students learnt about how their bodies respond when feeling ‘unsafe’ or ‘unsure’ and gained their own tools to say “no” and how to seek the help of a trusted adult.
This program has been running since 2006 and our students got the opportunity to participate in their new show for 2023, aligning with the Australian curriculum. This was a wonderful session filled with the students singing songs, learning new dances and hearing from Ditto the life-sized bear as they learnt about personal safety.
Darcee Braun, Chaplain
Building Community Connections
During Week 7, the Year 3s travelled by bus to Vinnies Op Shop and the Waurn Ponds Creek to learn about ways they can be involved in our local communities.
At Vinnies, the students were able to make a purchase to the value of $5 and heard from the manager, Simone, about the ways in which Vinnies support disadvantaged families. The students were invited to see the workshop area and learn about the correct items to donate as well as how the volunteers sort and price the items. Students loved picking out their items knowing that their money was going to a great cause.
After visiting the op shop, the children then walked to the Waurn Ponds Reserve to meet up with Colin from ‘Friends of Waurn Ponds Creek’ to learn about how we can care for our local waterways. Colin explained the importance of the organisation and how they look after the area by planting and picking up rubbish. The students learnt about how litter can eventually make its way to the creek and the importance of recycling and not littering. Colin also shared with the students how the creek and Barwon River has changed over time, highlighting the importance of the waterways for the Wadawurrung people.
After our excursion, the students were able to continue this discussion in our History unit in Integrated Studies.
Lisa Johnson
What we Have Loved in Library in 2023!
What a fabulous year we have shared together in the library. It has been full of reading, borrowing, exciting discussions, exploring our favourite authors, new titles and so much more.
This year we reviewed our borrowing statistics and are pleased to report that 2B borrowed the most books for the year…1263! followed by 3B and 3G. Congratulations to these classes.
The most borrowed books of the year….
- The Wild Life series by Laura and Philip Bunting. There are now 3 in this series.
- Smarty Pup by Anh Do
- Bluey picture books were hard to keep on the shelf!
- Brain is Not Always Right was another favourite Picture Book.
- Meet Ella finished off the top 5 for this year. A popular series with the emerging independent reader.
I am very excited as we look toward all that 2024 holds. Over the holiday break I would encourage parents to make use of the wonderful resource we are so fortunate to have in Geelong; our Geelong Regional Libraries. They are running a fabulous program called Big Summer Read, this program aims to keep Victorian school children reading over the summer break. Check it out at your local library.
Finally, I would like to thank you all for your ongoing support of our beautiful Junior School Library and wish you a wonderful Summer of reading.
Deanne Elliss
Year 4 Bike Ride
The Year 4 students completed the annual Jason Mahoney Bike Ride around the Barwon River on Wednesday. We were blessed with a beautiful sunny day. Students had completed numerous sessions at school during the Bike Ed program and were able to put their bike skills into practice. The focus of the program was to develop confidence and awareness.
Many students were able to achieve lots of success and demonstrate great perseverance and resilience to complete the day-long activity. We were able to reach Barwon Valley Park in good time which allowed us to offer an extension of the ride, with around 30 students completing another section up to Fyansford. In total students rode almost 24 km, with the extension group clocking up 32km.
The students were exceptional and cooperated well by supporting each other throughout the day. A big thank you to all the teachers and parents who contributed to the success of the day. A special thanks to Matt Murnane and Brad Morris for their transport and logistics for the day, our wonderful parent helpers, Coco, Megan, Brett, Fiona, Nyssa, Damien and Michael. I would also like to thank the Junior School staff for their continued support of the Bike Ed program. Thank you to Tash Cooper, Mark Foran, Jessie Stap, Liza Lambert and Darcee Braun.
Well done to everyone who was involved. I hope this provides students with the motivation and skills to continue enjoying riding.
Nick Rice
Run Club!
It was great to have so many staff, students and parents join us for the final ‘Run Club’ of the year at Junior School Belmont. For some of our Year 4 students it was their final opportunity to cut laps and hone their running technique here at Junior School. Mr Rice and I have been so grateful to all the students who have regularly attended, it has been a very successful year!
We have certainly noticed many students have shown a huge improvement in their running technique with regular attendance. It is hoped this will help prevent students from injury and in future athletics and cross-country events.
As part of the final session of the year, parents/grandparents/guardians were invited to come along to have a walk or run with their child/ren and enjoy the opportunity to get moving early in the day. At the end of the session, we acknowledged some of our most regular Year 4 students as part of their last ‘Run Club’ at Junior School and encouraged them to continue to be involved at Middle School. Ten students were presented with vouchers and certificates by Mr Murnane, Director of Sport at Christian College Geelong.
We are extremely grateful to The Running Company Geelong who donated 10 x $20 vouchers for our most consistent Year 4 students to be redeemed in store. It would be great if you or your families could support this local business over the summer.
Todd Brown
From the Director of Wellbeing
As we near the end of 2023, I wanted to take this opportunity to wish you a safe and Merry Christmas and a wonderful holiday break. Holidays provide us all with the chance to take a much need rest, connect with family and friends or to engage in many of the life pursuits and hobbies that ‘fill our bucket’. It is important to acknowledge however, that holidays can bring about unique challenges and some unexpected stressors for some members of our school community and so with this in mind it is important to remember that support is always available to you and your family.
In the spirit of promoting a mentally healthy community and to encourage help seeking behaviours, I would like to share with you some information about support agencies available to you and your child during the holiday break.
Geelong Regional Library services have some great activities for young people during the holiday break.
Summer by the Sea offer a wide range of activities, giving everyone the chance to learn whilst having fun at the same time. Summer By the Sea will be running between 6 January and 25 January 2024, during the school holiday period. The 2024 program is being designed to be inclusive of all ages, and abilities.
Parks Victoria offer a Junior Ranger program and whilst their 2024 program is yet to released, you can subscribe for updates via this website.
Geelong Youth also have a number of opportunities to connect.
Kids Helpline will continue to be available during the holiday break, 24 hours, 7 days per week. They are there to help you with anything!
Headspace Geelong supports young people, from 12-25, who are going through a tough time. They can assist young people in four key areas; Physical Health (incl. sexual health), Mental Health, Alcohol and Other Drugs and Work and Study Support - They will be closed during the holiday period from Friday 22nd @ 3:00pm but reopening on Tuesday 2nd Jan @ 9:00am.
Beyond Blue is available to support you with your mental health journey, specifically with anxiety or depression.
ReachOut provides the opportunity for young people to get a deeper understanding and perspective on what’s happening in their lives, connect with people who will provide judgement-free support, and build the resilience to manage their challenges now and in the future. They also provide information and advice to getting and using a mental health plan.
Lifeline provide 24 hour crisis support to individuals experiencing significant emotional distress and provide access to suicide prevention.
Parentline is a statewide telephone counselling and support service for all Victorian parents and carers of children from 0-18 years. Experienced social workers, psychologists and family therapists can give you counselling and information around a wide range of parenting issues.
Finally, Headspace have also provided some recommended actions to stay healthy during the holidays that I thought could be of benefit to you and your child:
- Exercise boosts mood and mental health – make it fun!
- Nourish your brain by eating healthily – it will also improve your mood
- Prioritise sleep to support mental and emotional wellbeing
- Explore relaxation techniques and coping strategies
- Stay in touch and catch up with friends and loved ones
- Make time to do things you enjoy
- Practise positive self-talk – and remember you are not alone
- Seek professional help if needed.
For our Year 12s, whilst I would like to encourage them to make the most of your well-deserved break, could I also suggest that they keep in mind the importance of balancing rest and relaxation with academic preparation. It goes without saying that the holidays are an excellent time to unwind and recharge, but dedicating some time to holiday homework can significantly contribute to their readiness for the upcoming school year in 2024. Completing assigned tasks over the break not only ensures that they stay on top of your coursework but also allows them to start the new term with confidence and a sense of accomplishment. I have suggested that they aim for this holiday break to be a harmonious blend of productivity and rejuvenation!
Please note, that as we encourage growth and autonomy at our Senior Campus, an email of a similar nature has been sent directly to our Senior school students.
I do wish you all a wonderful break and I look forward to supporting the wellbeing of our school community in 2024.
Kim Doherty, Director of Wellbeing
Get Some Unique Christmas Cards and Support Williams House
This year Williams House is selling packets of Christmas cards designed by our own little artists!
We are selling our Angel/Shepherd cards for $5 for a pkt of 6 and our Nativity cards are $7 for a pkt of 10. Each packet contains either 6 or 10 different designs.
If you would like to support the kinder and share our creations with the community this Christmas, the cards are available at all CCG campus receptions and of course at Williams House. Payment can be made with cash or card.
We also take over-the-phone orders with direct deposit. Phone 5241 3556
All money raised will go towards making some new additions to our outdoor yards!
We hope you love these gorgeous creations and enjoy sharing them with your family and the community this Christmas!
With thanks from all the children and the team at WH!
Stephanie Butler, Director Williams House Kindergarten
Uniform Shop Clearance Sale!
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