What’s Happening at Middle School
Week 5
- Mon 30 Oct – GISSA Gaelic Football Championships
- Tues 31 Oct – ‘Readiness for Middle School’ 2024 Year 5 Families
- Wed 1 Nov – Year 7 & 8 GISSA Sporting fixtures
- Thurs 2 Nov – House Cross Country
Week 6
- Tues 7 Nov – Orientation Day
- Wed 8 Nov – Year 7 & 8 GISSA Sporting fixtures
Parent Survey Reminder: Generative AI, Education, Society and Future
A reminder that all Christian College parents are invited to participate in a survey on generative artificial intelligence (AI), education, society and future to inform the College’s forward planning.
The parent survey is for all parents, regardless of their level of exposure to or confidence with generative AI. The survey closes this coming Monday, November 6 at 5.00pm.
Thank you to parents who have already completed the survey. Your participation is appreciated.
Parents who have not yet responded are encouraged to do so via the survey link above. The average response time for parents who have responded so far has been less than four minutes. We ask that you please contribute your perspective.
Brendan Vanderkley, Director of Digital Learning
Year 8 Update
As we draw to the end of Week 4, of Term 4, it dawns on me that as of next week there are only six weeks left of the school year. Seriously, where has that time gone! Before they know it, our current crop of Year 8s will be moving into Year 9 and formally being recognised as the most senior cohort at Middle School. Exciting times ahead! But until then, there’s still plenty of important work to be done and good times to be had in 2023!
Speaking of good times, one of the highlights on the Year 8 calendar is the GEOS Camp, which takes place at the start of the year for Years 8B, 8G and 8H and as recently as last week for Years 8M, 8R and 8Y. There are more details in Ms Brown’s article below, but from a personal point of view, as a Year 8 Homeroom teacher, I, along with the other Year 8 Homeroom teachers, have the privilege of participating in the camp. Every year I comment on how wonderful it is to see the students engaging in a variety of activities beyond the normal, everyday school setting. The power of substituting the classroom for real-life places such as the spectacular rainforests in Lorne (bushwalking), the rugged and dense heathlands in Anglesea (mountain bike riding), or the tranquil inner and outer surrounds of Painkalac Creek Estuary in Aireys Inlet (kayaking), all create environments that provide rich and authentic learning settings, not to mention, super fun activities to partake within! To think we have these amazing places in our backyard (so to speak) is quite incredible. Years 8M, 8R and 8Y were blessed with some very friendly weather conditions, which always goes a long way to lifting the spirits. To all the GEOS teachers, camp assistants and fellow Homeroom teachers who attended the four-day camp, a huge THANK YOU for all your efforts and support in providing an outstanding experience for our Year 8’s. Already looking forward to next year!
In my previous Year 8 Update article in the Vine last term, I made reference to Term 3 being like that of the premiership quarter (an expression often used in AFL talk), referring to the key time in a game where a team looks to best set themselves up for the fourth quarter, and a successful result. For some students this success might come in a variety of forms, whether it be based around academic outcomes or other specific achievements, or it might be solely centred around just getting to the finish line. Whatever their goal may be, students now find themselves in the ‘final quarter’ and our encouragement is for everyone to finish off strongly and be proud of their efforts and achievements this year, doing so ‘With Spirit’.
Below is some feedback from some our current Year 8 students in relation to their Year 8 experience throughout this year, along with some photos from the GEOS camp. Please also see the students’ feedback on the GEOS experience in Ms Brown’s article below.
My Year 8 Journey:
My Year 8 year has had many highlights. To list a few, I would say GEOS Camp, Medieval Day and playing Geelong College in a 2-day cricket match. I had some expectations for this year. I thought it would be more challenging and hard-working than Year 7, and I think it was, but having a challenge made things more interesting. Overall, 2023 has been a great year for me and I am excited to see what will happen in Year 9.
Parker Manning (8B)
For me, Year 8 has been an extremely memorable year. This year has given me a lot of great opportunities to expand my areas of learning and friendships. Highlights of this year include GEOS Camp and Medieval Day, both being educational and fun at the same time. Year 8 has taught me many new skills, helped me build my resilience and step out of my comfort zone, and has given me many unforgettable moments I will cherish in the years to come.
Alannah Watt (8G)
Year 8 has been a fun year for me, and it has been challenging at the right level. I have enjoyed all my subjects that I have had this year, especially the different subjects that I haven’t had the opportunity to do in previous years, like GEOS. Some of my highlights for this year have been sporting opportunities through the school, like the College tennis tournament and GISSA tennis tournament in Term 1, were very enjoyable for me. Also, Interschool Sport is one of my favourite school activities because it gives me the chance to play sport competitively, which is one of my favourite things to do in my personal time as well. The extra elective time a week has allowed me to get more work done in those subjects which is good, as the electives I choose are the most important subjects to me because I think they will help me in learning, and I will enjoy them. I had big expectations coming into Year 8. I thought the workload would be huge and almost unmanageable, but I feel I have been able to complete all my tasks, even when I have missed lessons. Overall Year 8 has been fun and a good challenge.
Jack Salajan (8H)
Tim Collins
Our Iconic Coastline – Up Close
With a somewhat wet and windy start to the week, our second cohort of Year 8 students experienced their GEOS camp this year. Thankfully, they were met with delightfully summer-like conditions to round out their week of kayaking, mountain biking, and bushwalking.
So, what makes our coastline, “iconic”? This was the question every day as students engaged with some of the most unique and pristine environments our state has to offer. As students rolled through the single tracks in the Anglesea Heathlands, they learnt about the vast biodiversity this area supports, as well as how the introduction of the cinnamon fungus has affected the vegetation. Down on the river in Airey’s Inlet, students saw firsthand how our inland and coastal landscapes interact and got up close and personal with the sandstone cliffs. Some students even spotted crystals, and evidence of boiling-hot, liquid rock spewing out over this area millions of years ago! The Otways provided spectacular waterfalls, where some students took the opportunity to cool off in the freezing water. Here, students were exposed to an ancient ecosystem comprising of fern gullies and the tallest flowering tree in the world, the Mountain Ash. They were transported back to a time when continental plates were colliding, and huge amounts of solid rock were being thrust from the Earth’s crust to create this hilly and rocky terrain we see today.
Additionally, students were encouraged to focus on their interpersonal skills and their connection to themselves, others, environment, and faith. Here are some of their reflections:
Year 8 GEOS camp was so much fun, I enjoyed spending lots of time outside in nature and we connected so well as a class by the end of the camp. On the second day, I especially enjoyed swimming in the waterfall at Phantom Falls and the unforgettable walk through the ferny Otway Forest, enjoying the best of the outdoors. I also really loved our long bike ride around parts of Anglesea, riding on bike tracks, bike parks and seeing amazing views to go along with it. Surely the highlight of my trip! We also played night games like Sardines in the dark, where we all looked for two people hiding in the bushes, trying not to laugh our heads off! We had lots of fun in our third activity, kayaking. Playing games on the water and going for a quick dip afterwards was a blast! GEOS camp gave us many new experiences from planning and cooking our own food, to seeing and doing things we have never done before. This was easily the best camp I’ve ever been on!
Ella Pullen (Year 8M)
I just want to say how much I enjoyed GEOS Camp! Everything felt so different each day, from the heathlands, the beach and the Otways. Every day I remember waking up thinking, “What new and cool place are we going to today?” I’m willing to bet that I, and many others, were going into this camp with a mindset of, “It’s not going to be all that good” and, “I can’t wait for this all to be over.” But something I know, is everyone in our class came out enjoying multiple parts of the experience.
My personal highlights include:
The Otways Walk: Tamas, Toby, Lil C. and I all swam in the waterfall, I even had the guts to go underneath it as well!
Kayaking: Being all together as a group was really relaxing and nice.
Playing gang up every night on the dark (The teachers even joined in on one round!).
Cooking on the trangias: Not the healthiest meals were being made, but they were still tasty!
“It’s crazy to just compare all these environments to just our normal life only around half an hour away. After being in the wild for almost five days, I feel a lot more calm and relaxed about everything.”
In summary, GEOS camp has reminded me and many of my peers how awesome and amazing the wildlife is and I’m sure we’ll be visiting around that area a bit more often. Thank you Ms Brown, Ms Broad, Darcy and others. This has truly been an experience of a lifetime!
Charlie Baldwin (8R)
Year 8 camp (GEOS) was a fun and surreal experience. During the camp we had the opportunity to do some fun and engaging activities such as: a hike down at Phantom Falls, a 3-hour bike ride, a relaxing kayak along a creek, and a bush walk at night. During the camp we were required to sleep in tents, pack and cook our own food, and we were mostly in charge of what we did, which was both fun and confronting. Going into the GEOS camp I thought there would be some horrible experiences, with boring and exhausting activities, bad food, and I thought that everything would just be bad. But after doing it, I’m so glad that I did because it was the complete opposite, the activities, as mentioned were fun, engaging and enjoyable, the food was so fun to cook and delicious too, and the camp was great overall. My highlights from the trip were going to the beach on the third and fourth day, cooking marshmallows by the campfire and having hot chips on the last day! Overall, I found Year 8 camp (GEOS) really enjoyable, and it brought on new experiences and gave us a chance to understand what it would be like to be out in the wild. I enjoyed every bit of it, and I would say that it’s one of my favourite camps that I’ve done and would definitely do it again!
Keira Minett (8Y)
“I really enjoyed being in nature, reconnecting with Mother Nature, and even talking to God and strengthening my faith.”
Lily Costa (8R)
The conclusion of this camp sees the end of our camps program for Outdoor Education at the Highton Campus, but we are already excited to kick things off again in Term 1 next year. Our greatest thanks are extended to the wider College community for your support of our programs over the year.
Georgie Brown
Cross-Country Carnival
Next week on Thursday November 2 the Middle School Campus will have our third major House Carnival of the year. Our Cross-Country event is held annually as a community event that focuses on participation, fun and health.
The day is held throughout a normal school day, and it is expected that all students will attend. We encourage all students (and maybe some teachers) to participate on the day. Students do not have to run the entire distance, but it would be great to see everyone trying their best! If your young person is feeling worried about the event or has an injury, please be in touch with Brittany Dietrich or the homeroom teacher. There will be a winning house and awards presented to year level champions.
Some more details are provided below.
Date: Thursday November 2
Location: Middle School Campus
Uniform: Full PE uniform with house polo
Distance: 2km
Schedule:
Session 1B – Year 8 Students
Session 2A – Year 7 students
Session 2B – Year 9 Students
Session 3 – Year 5/6 students during Sport Elective.
Parents and Guardians please know that due to varying time schedules this is not an open event. Thank-you for your understanding.
Brittany Dietrich
Equestrian Girls Shine at Geelong Show
Congratulations to Bellarine students Erin Bowers (Y8) and Maddison Borthwick (Year 4), and Highton students Molly Spry (Year 9) and Sian Hayes (Year 7) – all members of the CCG Equestrian Team – who competed in showing and jumping at the Royal Geelong Show. They had a great day representing the College with their horses, performing impressively and coming home with many wins and placings to show for it!
Allie Jacobi
World Teachers Day
In classrooms across Australia today, a dedicated, passionate and well-trained group of people, around 450,000 in fact, went about their work, teaching and guiding our nation’s four million young learners. These incredible humans perhaps chose their profession for a multitude of reasons, but I suspect one of the primary motivations was a love of learning and discovery that they wish to pass on to the next generation of young people.
Today, Friday, October 27th, is World Teachers Day. It’s an opportunity to celebrate the contributions and achievements of our teachers, and the positive impact they have on the education, character development and future pathways of young lives.
Christian College Geelong is blessed to have an amazing group of teachers – from Kinder all the way through to Year 12. As you immerse yourself in this week’s Vine, can I encourage you to do two things. Firstly, as you read each article, give thanks for the teacher or teachers who wrote it. If the article is written by a student, give thanks for the teacher behind the story. And secondly, be encouraged to branch out beyond the campus your young person attends, and take in the incredible depth and breadth of learning experiences and opportunities for students across all our campuses. Articles made possible because of the wonderful work of our teachers. Articles that celebrate the learning that takes place daily, led by our teachers, in the hundred or so classrooms across our College. And articles that bear witness to the rich, diverse experiences that students gain outside the classroom – the camps, the excursions, the incursions, the music events, sports activities and so on – all thanks to the teachers who plan, organise and supervise them.
I’m so grateful the teachers we have at Christian College.
So, hats off to our teachers.
Rick Geall, Acting Principal
The Importance of CPR Training and AEDs
You may have read a media report recently where CPR was administered to a cyclist in Highton, following a cardiac arrest. The incident took place just outside the Middle School Highton campus.
The first person on the scene was Associate Professor at Deakin University – and Senior School parent – Lara Fuller, who had just dropped her son off at school and was driving on Thornhill Road when she saw the cyclist fall from his bike. Whilst Lara administered CPR, a Middle School maintenance team member quickly accessed one of the campus’ strategically placed AEDs – automated external defibrillators – and brought it to the scene. According to Lara, the AED played a vital role in saving the man’s life.
The incident was a timely reminder of the importance for schools and other community organisations to be prepared in the event of a life-threatening emergency. It is a requirement of our school’s registration that all staff undergo Basic First Aid training every three years, with CPR refresher courses required annually. And each of our campuses are fitted out with one or more defibrillators (AEDs) depending on the size of the campus, as per government requirements. For the one located in the Sports and Aquatic Centre at Highton campus, it proved to be a lifesaver.
Ambulance Victoria is currently running a month-long awareness campaign, called “Shocktober”, which highlights the importance of learning CPR and how to use an AED. They have included this story on their website, which you can read here.
To quote Lara: “I really encourage people to do CPR training because it’s actually not hard and it’s such an important skill.”
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
We’re Hiring – Canteen Assistants
Are you looking for a fun and fulfilling casual job within a vibrant school environment? Join our team as a School Canteen Assistant and make a positive impact on the daily lives of our students.
We are currently in search of enthusiastic canteen assistants to join our team at our Middle School-Highton canteen.
Applicants are required to hold a valid Working With Children Check. Previous experience working in a canteen setting or Level 1 Food Safety Certificate would be advantageous but not essential. Responsibilities will encompass a range of tasks, including food preparation, customer service, cleaning, and stock control.
Shifts are available throughout Monday to Friday, aligned with the school calendar which constitutes 38 weeks per year. Hours are generally 9-2pm.
For a Position Description and how to apply, visit this page on our website.
Qustodio Parent App Resources
Supervise and Support Your Children on School and Personal Digital Devices
A reminder to parents that the Qustodio Parent App is available to all parents to help them supervise and support their children with their online and digital interactions at home, on both school laptops and on personal devices.
In addition to information available on the College’s Online Safety Hub, parents also have access to some helpful ‘bite-size learning’ video tutorials to help them navigate and user the Qustodio Parent App as part of our school program. There are lots of short videos to help parents get the most out of the app and use it confidently.
Some recent additions to these tutorial videos for parents include:
I hope that these resources empower parents to continue to supervise and support their young people at home and engage in supportive and positive dialogue about digital wellbeing.
Brendan Vanderkley, Director of Digital Learning
Jam for Refugees
Tomorrow, Saturday October 28, at St Paul’s Church in Latrobe Tce Geelong, two Christian College ensembles are part of the lineup at Jam for Refugees, a fundraiser to support the work of Geelong’s Combined Refugee Action Group. It’s a full day of diverse music featuring our’s and other school ensembles, various choirs and performers, and sharing by local people who are active in refugee advocacy in Geelong and the region. It runs from 11am to 9pm – entry is by donation – come when you can, leave when you must…enjoy some great music, thought-provoking messages and support an important local cause.
VET Information
Students who have applied for a VET course for 2024 should now know if they have been offered a position or have been put on to a waitlist. Students who have been waitlisted will be put into one of their reserved CCG subjects until a position becomes available.
Students and parents should regularly check emails as the training organisations will be in touch directly with course specific information this term. The Gordon will be inviting new first year students and parents to an information session and tour at the City Campus on November 22 from 5.30 – 6.45pm and at East Campus on November 27 from 5.30 – 6.45pm.
The training organisations prefer that all VET correspondence comes through the school. If you have any questions or require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me, k.fearnsides@ccg.vic.edu.au or Cathy Brew c.brew@ccg.vic.edu.au in the student office.
Kerryn Fearnsides, Vocational Pathways Coordinator
College Production 2024 – Update
As published in The Vine at the end of Term 3, the College will be staging Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella (Broadway Version) at the Geelong Arts Centre from May 2 – 4, 2004.
Audition Registration
All students from Years 5 – 11 (in 2023) across the College will receive an email early next week, with information and a link to an online registration form. Auditions will commence across the College on designated days from Sunday October 22. To register for an audition, students must complete the online form on/by Friday October 13.
There will be an information session held at each campus for students to have an opportunity to ask questions and learn more about the show. These will be held at:
Highton MS Campus Chapel Monday October 9 12.40
Senior Campus Music Department Tuesday October 10 1.20pm
Bellarine Campus Auditorium Tuesday October 10 at Lunchtime
Surf Coast Campus – Ms Notini will visit the Year 5 classroom next week.
Rehearsal Schedule
All rehearsals will take place at the RW Gibson Centre – Senior Campus with regular weekly rehearsals during Term 1 on Thursdays, 4.00 – 6.30pm and Sundays, 2.30 – 5.00pm. There will also be nominated full days and extended rehearsals, with more detailed information included in the email to be sent to students next week.
To be allocated a part, successful auditionees must be available for the full rehearsal period. We aim to cast approx. 70 students, with over 200 expected to audition. We request families to please consider the implications of their child’s involvement and that a total commitment to the show is required prior to auditioning/accepting a place in the cast. Please do not audition if you are unable to commit to the full rehearsal period.
There will also be opportunities for students to be involved in the production orchestra and a range of backstage tasks. More information about these opportunities will be shared with students as the project progresses.
There will be a large group of staff and visiting tutors working with the students throughout the staging of the production. The initial production staff includes Kelly Clifford – Director, Taylah Broad - Assistant Director, Fiona Gardner - Musical Director, Kate Notini - Vocal Director, Andrew Dunlop, Victoria Kent, Sharon Huber, and Brian Alexander. Students with specific questions are invited to approach the teachers at their campus.
We are looking forward to meeting students from across the campuses at auditions, casting and staging this production for our community.
Fiona Gardner, Musical Director on behalf of the creative team
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 f.provan@ccg.vic.edu.au
Uniform Shop Clearance Sale!
