Middle School Term 3 week 2

Having previously taught in Melbourne, London and Warrnambool, my wife and I were excited to be relocating to Geelong for family reasons. And with the arrival of our third child in April, it certainly has been a big year both personally and professionally. 

Not knowing much about Christian College prior to arriving in January, I was a little nervous at having to once again start out in a new school setting. Those nerves were quickly allayed once I met my homegroup 9R who I can honestly say have been my favourite HG in my 12 years of teaching as we have been able to successfully co-create a calm and caring learning environment. 

In 9R we have both the Middle School captains in Micah Boseley and Gemma Nwanze, who are exemplary leaders and who both serve the school with distinction. Also, I have been overwhelmed with the positivity and participation levels from all members of the homegroup, and a special mention must go to Ellie Morgan, Emma Daley, Lucy McKeegan, Jamie Pocklington and Lachlan Challenger who are all excelling in so many different ways.  

The academic standard at Christian College is extremely good and not only would I recommend CCG to prospective parents, but I also hope to enrol my own children when the time comes.  

Both staff and students have high expectations when it comes to lifting the academic standards. My English and History class in 9H are incredibly motivated and I have been most impressed with how they challenge one another to consistently improve.  

Also the staff are collectively committed to establishing an open and inclusive environment and they have been exceptionally welcoming to me personally. I am very thankful to be working alongside such a professional teaching staff who work extremely hard in trying to ensure that each student thrives socially, academically and spiritually.  

My favourite moment outside of the classroom was the midyear staff retreat where we were gifted a 3-day workshop by one of the most talented orators I have heard live, our very own Chaplain Mia Kafieris who spoke on the Hero’s Journey, and what a remarkably rewarding historical and intellectual journey it was for all involved.  

And lastly, I must give a special mention to Mr Sharp, Mr Nichols and Mr MacKay for their fancy footwork on the hackey sack court, they are a shining light for all us ‘oldies’ that it is not only the kids who can have fun at recess and lunch. 

I give thanks at having arrived at a very welcoming school where I can positively make a difference in the lives of our wonderful students. 

We heard amazing stories from the Heads of House about the opportunities available at Senior School and as the timeline for subject selection was shown on the screen, I think it became a little bit real!  

All the feelings our Year 9s are experiencing are all well known to us here at Middle School. We have been supporting students with this transition for a long time and the process really is seamless for families and students.  

Please spend some time with your young person reading the booklet and make sure you bring all your questions to the Subject Information Evening on Wednesday 3rd August at Senior School. More information to come on the details for this event.  

Let’s hear what some of our students thought about the evening;  

Before the information session, I was a bit worried, and had a lot of questions about the transition to Senior School. The information evening was very informative and helpful, and I am looking forward to the upcoming events to aid me in my understanding and decisions about my upcoming Senior School journey. I am looking forward to experiencing new classes, a different style of teaching/learning, the new campus, and having classes with different people. The subject information booklet is very helpful whilst considering all my options for next year and provides in-depth details about each class and elective. These resources have provided greater insight and more clarity about Senior School, lessening my worries and making me more excited about what the future holds for me at Christian College.  

– Bella Lynch 

The Year 10 transition evening was really insightful into what life is going to be like at Senior School. We were given a more detailed view on how classes and homerooms are going to work next year. A really interesting part of the evening was hearing about how the homeroom or house groups work at Senior School, I am looking forward to participating in multiple House events ranging from sport to cooking. The night also highlighted the teachers that will be helping us through the transition such as the House Mentors and Career Counsellors. I also found the accelerating subjects’ section a little daunting as well as exciting. The Year 10 booklet which we were given on the night went into detail about all classes and electives which has really helped bring next year into focus for me. It was also great to see some people from Bellarine Campus who will become classmates next year. Overall, the evening was really helpful and has made super excited for next year and the years to come.  

– Meg Conheady 

Last Thursday I participated in the Senior School information session, and it really helped me to know how to navigate around the school. We were also given an information booklet and this helped me understand the process for picking electives in Year 10.  

– Ellie Morgan 

If you require any further information, please email careers@ccg.vic.edu.au or n.riddle@ccg.vic.edu.au  

Aside from his assistant job at Naga High School, Jack loves travelling around the region with his host family visiting temples and shrines and is looking forward to seeing more of the country before his time is finished. 

Jack encouraged all the Year 9 students to continue their Japanese study up to year 12 by highlighting some of the benefits, such as a boosted ATAR score.  

Special thank you to Jack for his time today, Nakayama Sensei and the Naga High School international staff for organising and facilitating the meeting and to the current year 9 Japanese students for listening attentively.  

Determining validity and credibility of a source, looking for bias and fact checking are useful tools to help to students steer their way through the digital information highway. 

This week students in Year 9 Marine Studies and Year 8 GEOS were taught handy digital tools to help with their research tasks. They practised using Boolean search commands (AND and “parenthesis”), compiled lists of key words to narrow down searches and utilised the Control F function to skim through documents to locate information quickly. Opinions were also challenged in discussions around the use and reliability of controversial site, Wikipedia! 

“There’s a danger in the internet and social media. The notion that information is enough, that more and more information is enough, that you don’t have to think, you just have to get more information – gets very dangerous.” 

― Edward De Bono 

Our students have been preparing these past two weeks to compete in the following sports this term: basketball, badminton, table tennis, Gaelic football, and judo. The weekly fixtures provide our students with a sporting competition that focuses on skill development and game understanding, where the result is secondary to the opportunity to play alongside their peers and enjoy some friendly competition. Term 4 will give these students a chance to participate in either water polo, volleyball, cricket, tennis, and softball.  

As students progress through Yr9 to Yr12 they will get the chance to trial and gain selection in several College teams that compete in the various GISSA competitions. For an increasing number of GISSA competitions, the winning school can follow the pathway to a state level competition against winning schools from other School Sporting Associations (e.g. Associated Catholic Colleges). Examples of this is our college Senior Boys AFL team, who will be competing next Wednesday in the Herald Sun Shield Div.1 semi-final against Whitefriars College, and in 2019 our Senior Boys Soccer team enjoyed playing in the FFV ‘Premiers Cup’ competition after winning the GISSA Title.  

Our College has been proactive in developing GISSA into the Association that it is today. From a three school Association at the turn of the century to 12 member schools today, we are very grateful for the valuable support provided by the College over the past 27 years. This valuable support extends to the many staff who have kindly provided quality coaching for our College teams across the years, allowing our students to enjoy interschool sporting opportunities as part of their journey through the College. 

All students are to wear full College uniform on the day, including blazer. If students are wearing the ‘original/old’ uniform, they are to wear full winter uniform. We appreciate that for this year, and in the coming year, there will be a variety of uniforms in the class photos.  

Students who have a Physical Education class on the day are asked to bring their PE gear in a separate bag. 

Students are asked to present themselves in line with our College uniform policy. Some key reminders include shoulder length hair being tied back, hair cut neatly, boys to be clean shaven, blue or maroon ribbons only, no make-up, small gold or silver, sleeper/stud single or double piercings…and big smiles!  

A note on glasses – All students who wear glasses will receive individual portraits with glasses on. Like you, we know that all of our students look perfect just the way they are. However, to enable the photographers to provide the best possible quality shot, your young person may be asked to briefly remove their glasses. 

Thank you in anticipation for your support in helping your young person present themselves brilliantly on this, and every day. 

• Candid interviews with kids and teens, who discuss their anxiety, its impacts on their lives and relationships, as well as how they’ve found solutions and hope

• Expert perspectives, (from institutions such as Stanford University, Child Mind Institute), who talk about the causes of anxiety and its sociological effects and resources to help 

• Tips, tricks and strategies to help reset thinking patterns, push back against anxiety and support others

• Awareness that anyone can be touched by – and overcome – anxiety, via a unique and revealing interview with mental health advocate Michael Phelps, the most decorated athlete in Olympic history

This event will book out quickly so please register here for this FREE event.

These sessions provide interested families with the opportunity to take a deeper dive into the fantastic learning programs offered by our College. There will be opportunities to meet and speak with campus, year level and subject area leaders.  

We would encourage anyone within our College community who may know friends, neighbours, work colleagues – anyone – that are considering Christian College as an option to spread the word and extend an invitation to any one or more of these sessions.