From the Acting Principal
Thirty years ago, in 1993, a diverse group of major faith communities in Australia initiated a Week of Prayer for Reconciliation, from May 27 to June 3. This weeklong event evolved into Reconciliation Week which is now under the guidance of Reconciliation Australia. The two dates, May 27 and June 3 are historically significant. May 27 marks the anniversary of the 1967 referendum when Australians overwhelmingly voted to include indigenous Australians in the national census. And, on June 3 1992, the High Court of Australia recognised native title – the land rights of the Meriam people in Torres Strait – also known as the Mabo decision.
Christian College is proud to promote Reconciliation Week as we join with other schools, workplaces and community groups throughout Australia in working towards a just and equitable and reconciled Australia. This year’s Reconciliation Week theme, “Be a Voice for Generations”, honours the work of previous generations who fought for justice and calls on the next generation to continue the work. We will be acknowledging Reconciliation Week in various ways including assemblies, homeroom devotions and other initiatives throughout the week.
If you happen to be attending the AFL Men’s Geelong vs. Greater Western Sydney tomorrow (Saturday) afternoon, look out for the 10 Christian College students who will be forming part of a 50-strong choir singing in a pre-game performance as part of the Sir Doug Nicholls Indigenous Round. Another initiative has involved singers on each of our campuses recording a version of the song, “From Little Things Big Things Grow”, to be shared on social media next week, joined by hundreds of other schools across Australia doing likewise. The song tells the story of the Gurindji people’s fight to keep their land, which culminated in the symbolic gesture in 1975 of then Prime Minister Gough Whitlam pouring soil into the hand of Gurindji spokesperson Vincent Lingiari. In response, Lingiari spoke these words: “Let us live happily together as mates, let us not make it hard for each other”.
Whilst it is important that we specifically acknowledge National Reconciliation Week at this time each year, Christian College has an ongoing commitment to educate our young people about issues affecting Indigenous Australians and the importance of reconciliation. Our academic program includes, in all subjects, the Australian Curriculum requirement to engage students in reconciliation, respect and recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures. Our assemblies and services commence with an Acknowledgement of Country to recognise the traditional owners of the land on which our campuses are built. Year 10 students have an opportunity to participate in an immersive cultural experience in Central Australia, with two groups recently returning from visits to indigenous communities in Finke and Alcoota. And we recently established a Reconciliation Action Plan working group, with representation from our student body, teachers, board members and parents. The group, chaired by Year 12 student Isaac Boseley, meets each term and continues to make excellent progress as we move toward formalising our own Christian College Reconciliation Action Plan.
God encourages reconciliation as a means of healing and restoring relationships. The week ahead will give all of us the opportunity to bring reconciliation closer to reality for our First Nations people.
Rick Geall, Acting Principal
What’s Happening at Middle School
Week 6
- Sun 28 May – Tues 30 May – Year 9 GEOS Camp (Group 1 & 2)
- Mon 29 May – Fri 2 Jun – National Reconciliation Week
- Mon 29 May – Welcome to Country Assembly
- Tues 30 May – GISSA Intermediate Girls (Year 9 & 10) AFL Championships
- Tues 30 May – Victorian College Basketball Championship – Junior Boys and Girls
- Wed 31 May – Fri 2 Jun – Year 9 GEOS Camp (Group 3 & 4)
- Wed 31 May – GISSA Cross-Country Championships
- Thurs 1 Jun – String Ensembles Performance Evening
Week 7
- Wed 7 Jun – Year 7 & 8 GISSA Sport
- Thurs 8 Jun – GISSA Junior Girls (Year 7 & 8 ) AFL Championships
Character Creators
This term in Year 5 Art, students have been learning about character design and have looked at our favourite characters from a range of books, movies, and TV. We have learnt about ways a character’s design can influence audiences’ perception of the character and their story. Students have been designing their own characters and will be creating them out of clay using various modelling techniques. Looking forward to seeing their fabulous characters come to life!
Felicity van Kan
Geelong North and Bellarine Cross Country Championships
The Geelong North and Bellarine Cross Country Championships were held on Tuesday May 23.
We had a strong team of primary runners representing all four Campuses on the day with exceptional results.
Our Middle School runners included Izaac Spicer who finished ninth, thereby progressing to the Western Metropolitan Region Event on June 15. Notable mentions on the day were Remi Habel, Xavier Hellier, Byron Morgan and Stella Jane who all finished high up in the field and just missed out on representation at the next level.
Sally Bishop
Year 8 Update
When someone mentioned to me the other day that we were halfway through Term 2, I had to question them as to whether they were correct. It seems they were! It only feels like yesterday that the students were embarking on their Year 8 journey and settling into their new learning environment. How time flies!
Once again, throughout Term 2, it has been fantastic to see the students engaging in a variety of activities that come with the diverse range of subjects offered.
Here’s a snapshot of what’s been happening. Students have been busy: taking a journey back in time to the Medieval days in History; displaying a range of sporting skills and competitive spirit against local schools in the GISSA competition as part of the Sport Elective; devising a piece of children’s theatre from page (picture story book) to stage in Drama; impersonating their favourite chef and developing their culinary skills in Food Studies; discovering a deeper link into Indigenous culture through a sporting lens in HPE; investigating the various types of energy and how they relate to the real world through both theory and prac. in Science; exploring other religions and comparing them with Christianity in Christian Ed; participating in class debates in reference to key content from the novel ‘Footprints on the Moon’ in English; listening to guest presenters from The City of Greater Geelong Strategic Planners educate on urban planning for Geelong’s predicted future population growth and urban development, as part of GEOS; and so much more!
It’s wonderful to think that any of the key themes covered throughout this vast array of subjects may just plant that seed that encourages students to want to explore further. Who knows, maybe we have the next Shannon Bennett, Cate Blanchett, Tim Winton, or Cathy Freeman amongst our cohort?
Outside of the core and specialist subject areas, homerooms have continued to engage in daily Wellbeing sessions. Throughout these classes students have undertaken in a range of activities that have included: presenting their Positive Impact Project that they worked on in Term 1 to their respective classes; participating in year level assemblies and chapel services where students have been presented with a deeper understanding into the College values, with the focus now turning to The Parables; and competing in some friendly and at times, very competitive Homeroom challenges. Without doubt, one of the major highlights so far during Term 2 was the visit by Leading Senior Constable Robbie Noggler, who presented the Year 8 students with a powerful and explicit message around cyber safety and safe practices in general. Robbie will be returning to Christian College on the evening of June 14 to run a parent information session around these key themes.
As we head into the second half of Term 2, we look forward to seeing and hearing of many more wonderful outcomes and achievements from our Year 8 students. Below are images illustrating some of these key learning areas that the Year 8 students have had access to this term.
Tim Collins
VCE Drama Ensemble Performances
Calling all CC Eagles Members and Families
We are pleased to present an opportunity for you to be a part of CC Eagles/ Geelong United Basketball Club Fundraiser, with NBL1 tickets available for the following game through the club:
Round 10 – Hoop City Geelong United Supercats v Dandenong Rangers – Saturday June 17, 2023. Tip off: Women – 5:00pm, Men – 7:00pm (Ticket gets you in to both games at The Geelong Arena)
All PRE-ORDERED tickets will cost $10.00 with $5.00 being retained by our club.
On the night we want to see our members show up at the game in our CLUB COLOURS.
We hope that everyone embraces this opportunity to get our CC Eagles family together and support Hoop City Geelong United Supercats on the night.
How to purchase tickets:
For Christian College families: you can purchase 1- 8 tickets ($10 to $80) on credit card via the College portal.
- Log into Parent Portal – My Details – Payments Tab – Click on the NBL1 Game Day Tickets icon.
- Then click on the drop down to select how many tickets you want to purchase. The amount will automatically fill.
Important – Please include your email address in the Additional Information box.
For non-Christian College families: you can purchase tickets by calling our Middle School-Highton reception on 5241 1899 and purchasing over the phone.
Tickets can be purchased up until 11.59pm on June 13, or until SOLD OUT and will be distributed prior to the game.
If there are any queries, please email [email protected]
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
