Middle School Term 2 week 8

At the beginning of the year, I introduced our campus theme, ‘we sustain each other’. I suggested that more than a theme, it is a claim, a big claim about our identity as a campus community. It is a claim of hope. It requires truth. It calls for grace. It takes faith, and it is a symbol of our love. It is often said that there is something very unique and special about our College. We’ve welcomed a few new staff and students lately, and I have commonly heard of their experience here being one of immediate comfort, friendship and a sense of belonging. Together, collectively, we are all sustaining each other, for the ultimate wellbeing of the kids, and for the glory of God. 

I pray that the holiday time ahead is one of great joy and rejuvenation for you and your family, and I look forward to welcoming everyone back for the second half of this wonderous, precious year. 

A note that school photos have been distributed to the students today. Students in 9H and 9M will have their class photo and individual portraits taken on July 25. 

Last week when the students looked at their list of goals for 2022, it was so rewarding for them to see all that they had achieved, nearly everything on their list for the year! This has included supporting Harmony Day and Reconcilation Week, a devotion for our staff, student led Chapel services, placing sanitary products in the female toilets, PSA’s, Vine articles, environmental awareness and sustainability, and setting respectful expectations.  

There is so much care, kindness and respect shown towards each other as new ideas are brought forward. Our Prefects may not always recognise their amazing leadership giftings, but every Thursday, I walk away, encouraged and amazed by the energy, enthusiasm and passion that a small group of 14 and 15 year olds share. It excites me to think about what their futures hold as they continue to lead with such confidence.  

Here is a message from Supreet Kaur, one of the amazing Year 9 MS Prefects: 

The Prefects have achieved many things throughout Semester 1 and will continue to strive for improvement throughout Semester 2. The Prefects have contributed a lot to events so far. Some have and will continue to have the wonderful experience of going to Back Creek Farm. I personally enjoyed the idea of organising events and helping within the College to make changes. Next term, Prefects will begin to organise assemblies and Chapel services led by us, dedicated to teaching younger grade levels and sharing experiences to assist them. I look forward to everything that the next semester will bring. We will continue to work together for our community within the school and will wish you a wonderful holiday.   

Soccer requires robots to be strong but quick, reacting to an infrared emitting ball. These robots compete in a 2 vs 2 setup on a playing table. Christian College saw great success on the day with Team Scorpion comprised of James Hayden, Brandon Firth, Jake Cooper, and John McClure taking second in the standard division. The Simple Simon division was hotly contested with Team Young Money Club comprised of Obakeng Sephepe, Aidan Santalucia, Jack Rivas, Jayden Chan, and Sam Leszko taking a much deserved first place in the grand final. 

Rescue robots are built to be as lightweight as possible, with a low centre of gravity, featuring advanced programming algorithms designed to allow the robot to react to an ever-changing course featuring terrain and obstacles. The secondary division was packed with great competition throughout the day. Team Fire Nation comprised of Samuel Duanmu, Kishore Samuel, Xavier Hanson, and Ethan Towle took the victory by being one of the only teams in Middle School history to complete a final rescue course from start to finish.  

With a record number of participants across all divisions, RoboCup Junior was a showcase for the hard work and dedication of over 40 Christian College students. They should all be proud of their accomplishments as they are setting a new standard for Systems Engineering at the Middle School level. 

Students also enjoyed investigating and interpreting Indigenous seasonal calendars from various First Nations groups around Australia. It was discovered that watching the lifecycle of key plants and animals interprets the change of Indigenous seasons – not just the months of the year. Exploring this First Nations knowledge also sparked students’ interest in local Wadwurrung bush tucker. Research was conducted on how to grow our local bush tucker plants – and then we planted and are caring for and hoping to produce tubers from Murrnong Daisy and Bulbine Daisy, Herbs from native lemongrass and bush mint, bower spinach AND most excitedly berries from the Midyim, Morr (prickly currant bush), Coast Heath and Boobialla. 

If anyone is interested in being part of our vegetable garden and bush tucker garden we will be running a weekly gardening club EVERY TUESDAY lunchtime from the start of Term 3.  

Then it was time to play the ‘Spaghetti and Marshmallow Tower’ game where students had to build the tallest tower using only spaghetti and marshmallows. There was a lot of discussions about the best way to build the tower and it was wonderful to see the students working together with the support of the mentors. Once again 5M came out with the win, with 5B taking 2nd and 3rd place.  

We would like to congratulate the Year 9 Mentors on a successful term of supporting and encouraging the younger students. 

This year, for the first time, we are also inviting parents, families and others from outside of the CCG community who may be interested in choosing Senior School – Waurn Ponds in 2023 and beyond for their students to complete their secondary schooling.

This is a wonderful opportunity to:

• Learn more about the transition program designed to help students settle into life and learning on the Senior Campus
• Meet and hear from key support staff including Heads of House, Chaplains and Careers Counsellors
• Learn about the Year 10 academic program and progression towards VCE and Vocational Pathways
• Discover the many benefits of the Senior School House system including House carnivals, House Music, Wearable Art and lunchtime House competitions

We would strongly encourage all members of the Christian College Community to spread the word about this event, and those planned for our other campuses, among friends, neighbours, colleagues – anyone who may be considering schooling options for their children. 

Please see next week’s Vine and watch our social media platforms for more details about the Senior School  information evening and the events scheduled at other campuses during Term 3.

• Madison Cooper (Yr12), Nicole Briscoe (Yr11), Hayley Mackinder (Yr9) and Matilda Byrnes (Yr9) qualified and swam at the Australian Swimming Championships in May, which were the selection trials for our Commonwealth Games team. This opportunity and their subsequent performances will stand them in good stead for future National team selection opportunities. As a result of their performances at the ‘Age Championships’ in April, Madison, Nicole, Hayley and Brooke Briscoe (Yr9) have been selected in School Sport Victoria’s ‘Team Vic’ swimming team to compete later this year at the Australian School Sport Championships. Matilda and her family are moving to the Gold Coast where she will swim the competitive Bond University swim club. We wish Matilda all the very best for her future career in the sport of swimming.   

• Harrison (Yr12) and Kade Leigh (Yr11), along with Ashton Schram (Yr8) competed for the State at the National Hockey championships. Harrison and Kade played in the U18 team, which finished 4th after a penalty shoot-out for the bronze medal. Ashton played in the U15 team, which provided him with some great playing and learning experiences over the week.  
• After winning the gold medal at the State Championships, Ali Cronk (Yr11) competed at the Australian Gymnastics Championships (Aerobic gymnastics) in May where she claimed the silver medal and a personal best at these championships. Ali has worked hard over the past few years, with COVID not stopping her training regime in the garage at home!  
• Charli Cox (Yr7) took all before her, winning gold at the Victorian Gymnastics Championships (level 8), which were held earlier this term at the Arena. Charli earned 1st place overall, and placed 2ndon bars and 3rd with her floor routine.  
• Jacob McKie (Yr11) was again selected in School Sport Victoria’s ‘Team Vic’ triathlon team to compete in September at the Australian School Sport Championships. His selection followed some outstanding performances at the National level, which included a top 10 finish at the Australian Super Sprint Championships. Jacob followed this result with strong performances at the Oceania Sprint Cup (State U20 team member), which included a bronze medal as part of the Victorian A team in the mixed relay format (a new Olympic event in Paris 2024).  
• Guy Williams (Yr8) was selected in the National U16 track & field team that competed at the recent Oceania Athletics Championships in Mackay. Guy jumped to the bronze medal spot in the high jump, 6th in the long jump and 10th place in the triple jump at these championships. This followed a fantastic athletic season for Guy, where he medaled at the State and National Championships, earning him selection in the Oceania team.   

• Aidan (Yr8) and Callum Simmons (Yr6) are heading to Turkey and Europe to represent Australia at various sailing events. Aidan will be competing at the World Junior Championships in Turkey as a member of the Australian team. He will join his younger brother and travel to Italy and other destinations to compete at numerous European sailing championships where they will be representing the country and gaining some valuable racing experiences.  
• Charlotte Brereton (Yr9) and Xavier Kay (Yr9) earned selection in the State water polo team that competed last weekend at the National Tournament in Melbourne. Charlotte and the Vic girls competed very well over the 3-day event, securing several wins that earned them a spot in the bronze medal match. After a tremendous tussle, the Vics went down by 1 point! We congratulate Charlotte and Xavier on making this State team, where unfortunately injury kept Xavier out of the water.   
• Finally, Brodie Gawith (Yr11) is currently competing in the Australian Superbike Championships (‘Supersport 300’ and ‘Yamaha R3 Cup’ classes), which is a series of races across the year, that takes Brodie and his father to various racing locations across the country. This is the breeding ground for future Superbike and Grand Prix Superbike riders, with Brodie earning a top 8 finish at the last race in the series.  

We congratulate these students on their recent fantastic performances and wish them well in their future pursuits in their chosen sport.   

So, it was very encouraging to see that the two-year interruption has done nothing to curb the enthusiasm for competitive football among the Year 7 to Year 10 students from our Bellarine, Middle School Highton and Senior School campuses. 

There were huge numbers to choose from for both our Inter Female Team (made up of Year 9 and 10 students) and our Junior Female Team (made up of students Year 7 and 8 students). 

Our CCG Eagles Inter Team journeyed to Queens Park last week for the single-day GISSA Championships against five other Schools. 

The day started out well with a strong win against Geelong Lutheran College and our girls then ran eventual Champions Clonard College to maybe their most competitive match-up in the second of our qualifying games. 

Our Eagles team eventually finished fourth overall, which probably exceeded the Sport Faculty’s pre-Championships expectations considering the relative infancy of our Female AFL Program. 

 Year 10 Flynn Falcon Gabi Hayward was named our Team MVP on the back of her high-level play through the midfield and off half back, as well as her leadership off field as captain. 

But there were plenty of names of the coaching staff’s short list for that award, which is a great sign for our Senior team in 2023.  

Speaking of the future, ours was on display a couple of days later when the Junior team ventured to South Barwon Recreation Reserve for their GISSA Championships. 

The competition was very tough, but our College did well to finish middle of the pack and, more importantly, it was encouraging to see what might be possible next year when the current Year 8 cohort steps up into the Inter Female Division next year to join our current Year 9 group. 

One of our Year 8 stars is Flynn Falcon midfielder Greea McKeegan, who underlined her status as one of the best young female players in Geelong by winning our Team MVP. 

On behalf of our Sport Faculty, we would like to thank every student who competed in these GISSA Championships for the heart and talent they showed in sometimes cold and wet conditions. 

We sincerely hope they enjoyed this experience, and we look forward to seeing the same names (and more) on the sign-up sheet for next year as we build on the momentum created in 2022. 

We would also like to thank our coaching staff for these matches, led by former Geelong Falcons player Lucy Were, as well Lauren Davis, Sapphire Main and Kelly O’Neil. 

We now look forward to our Senior Female AFL Team taking centre stage next for their GISSA Championships in Term 3.