Senior School – Term 1 Week 5

Life in Abundance – Lenten Celebrations

Around the dinner table this week the question was asked “how’s your Easter going?”. This may seem a strange question if our experience of Easter is the long weekend at the end of March, however when Easter becomes the whole Lenten Season it’s a very good question indeed. A wonderful conversation ensued with talk of Easter bonnet building, fresh insights from Bible readings, a new hot cross bun recipe to try, Grandma’s Easter daisies are coming out and looking good, someone lamented their choice to give up caffeine and the youngest gleefully shared their countdown to Easter Sunday morning.

The season of Lent has traditionally been associated with a spirit of repentance, prayer, fasting, charitable giving and focusing on Jesus’s great sacrifice through his death and resurrection. In addition, this season of preparing to celebrate Easter is also characterised by the intentional appreciation and celebration of new life, unyielding hope, the miracle of a life transformed through faith, hope and love and the promise of life and life in abundance.

From the Head of Campus

This week marks another step in our journey of preparation for the Easter season. In her insightful message, our Dean of Christian Culture, Mia Kafieris, emphasises the significance of Lent as a period of anticipation and important preparation, ensuring that Easter holds deep meaning and isn’t overlooked. As a community, we eagerly anticipate supporting our senior students as they ready themselves for this meaningful time, mirroring our commitment to preparing them for the significant moments and events that lie ahead throughout the year.

Senior School students continued to be immersed in opportunities this week. On Monday our Senior Girls contested the GISSA Cricket tournament. They were victorious in their match against Geelong Lutheran College, but Sacred Heart College proved too strong and took the win in the end.  Wednesday Evening saw our musicians celebrating with an instrumental performance. Finally, yesterday the House Swimming Carnival was a huge splash at Kardinia Pool. The Flynn Falcons, led by Caitlin Deretic, Oli Yarnall, Emily Lawrie, took the shield for Senior School. The event was inclusive of students from our Bellarine and Surf Coast Campuses and the atmosphere was electric.

At our Welcome to Senior School evening earlier this month, we invited parents to join us in the journey this year, it has been so wonderful to see many of you at our events and carnivals to date, such as the Swimming Carnival and we sincerely look forward to your involvement and presence throughout the year.

Student Learning Conferences – March 19

All Senior School parents/guardians will receive an email this week in regard to our upcoming Student Learning Conferences, to be held on Tuesday, March 19 from 10.00am to 8.00pm.  Classes will not be running on this day and students are therefore not required on campus. Booking details can be found in the email.

The objectives of the Senior School student learning conferences are to:

• Involve parents and guardians in the educational process
• Hear from students about their views on their progress in each subject
• Add value to feedback and results that are already available to parents on SEQTA
• Promote ongoing communication between the teacher, parent, and student
• Give teachers, parents and students the opportunity to ask questions and discuss any concerns

We encourage you to make bookings at a time when students are available to attend with their parent. As a Senior School we are looking for students to take responsibility for their own learning, hence feedback and discussion will be most valuable if the student is a participant. Students will have had the opportunity to complete a self-assessment for each subject prior to the conferences, which they will be encouraged to bring to their appointment.

We look forward to these opportunities to partner with you in supporting your child’s academic and pastoral development throughout 2024.

What’s Happening at Senior School

Monday March 4 – CCG Surfing Championships – Cancelled

Tuesday March 5 – College-wide Open Day

Wednesday March 6 – Year 12 English SAC – 3:45 – 4:55pm

Friday March 8 – International Women’s Day

Monday March 11 – Labour Day Holiday

Tuesday March 19 – Student Learning Conferences All Day online (No students on campus)

Thursday March 28 – Senior School Easter Service – Period 1

Thursday March 28- Term 1 concludes 2:30 pm

Senior School Swimming Carnival – Flynn 3-Peat!

The Flynn Falcons took out the 2024 Senior House Swimming Championships, making it the third consecutive year of winning the title.  The tightly contested Year 12 Water Polo event was a huge success, with every game coming down to the wire. But in the end, the Taylor Tigers defeated the Burrow Bears to take this out.

It was a great atmosphere at the event, which saw Preps all the way through to Year 12 students from our campus and both Bellarine and Surf Coast campuses joining together to compete.

Thanks to all the parents who came out to support the event and cheer on the swimmers.

A summary of the results can be found below.

Year 10 Science:  Bodies and Motion

Who won the tug of war?

Whilst Penman claimed the title at the recent Senior School Athletics carnival, the Y10 Bodies and Motion students are keen to point out that Penman did not pull the rope with the biggest force. Actually, no house did. They all pulled as hard as each other because “for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.”

That law (Newton’s third) doesn’t explain movement. Students use his first law for that. The winner in a tug of war turns out to be the team that can push the ground more: so that the ground pushes back just as much. Three cheers, then, to the winner of this year’s tug of war: the Earth!

CCG Digital Wellbeing and Cybersafety Parent Forum

Thank you to the parents and guardians who have responded and registered for this upcoming event next Wednesday evening. Based on your responses to date, here are the top 5 topics parents are most interested in exploring on the night:

• Protecting my child from harmful or inappropriate content
• Screen time - finding a healthy balance
• Parental controls
• Cyber bullying
• Making informed parental decisions about specific apps and games

We’re especially excited about the opportunity on this evening for some rich sharing and discussion amongst parents attending and will also share information on how the school can support you and your children in this space, at school and at home.

As this event is intended for interactive participation by attendees in a forum-style format, there will not be a recording available.

This event will be suitable and relevant for parents of students of all ages, from Prep through to Year 12. This one-hour forum will involve a combination of information and support from the College, as well as an opportunity to share and discuss challenges and strategies with fellow parents.

Cross-Campus Vocal Evening

The Christian College Music Faculty held their first Cross-Campus Vocal Evening for 2024 on Wednesday, February 28 in the RW Gibson Music Performance Centre.

Vocal students from years 2-12 and from all five campuses performed solos accompanied by Regina Thomae, Tammy Treloar and Brad Treloar.

Our voice teachers Jacinta Burns, Brad Treloar, Tania Grant and me are all very proud of the students who performed and look forward to our next vocal evening.

Following on from this performance opportunity the music faculty will also be holding string, brass, woodwind and piano cross-campus evenings throughout the remainder of Term 1.

International Women’s Day Celebration at Senior Campus

All members of the CCG community are invited to join us at the Senior School campus for International Women’s Day on Friday March 8, as we continue the long-held tradition of the IWD breakfast. This year the event will be held in the RW Gibson music centre on Senior Campus, commencing at 7.20am and with formalities concluding by 8.30am. A light breakfast is provided, and we will hear from two inspiring women with links to our community who are making an impact in the wider world.

About our speakers - Former CCG student Ms Georgie Purcell MP was elected to the Legislative Council of the Victorian Parliament in November 2022, representing the Animal Justice Party. Georgie is a passionate animal protection advocate. After entering a political role at just 26 years old – she has noticed the way young people, particularly young women, are not represented in our halls of power. Georgie wants to change that.

Former teacher at CCG, Ms Gabrielle Blythe was an Olympic athlete, representing Australia in race walking events at the 1992 Olympic Games. Gaby now works with young women in her teaching and mentoring role at Clonard College, as well as inspiring a new generation of female athletes through her coaching. Gaby’s story is an amazing story about strong, resilient women who helped her to achieve her goals, despite significant difficulties along the way.

To join us on the day, please complete the booking form at https://www.trybooking.com/CPMKT.

In order to keep the day accessible to all, we are not charging participants for entry/breakfast. If, however, you are able to make a small contribution (gold coin or similar) on the day to help cover costs, it would be greatly appreciated.

Cinderella – Be Quick - Tickets are Disappearing Fast!

There are still tickets available for our major College production this year, but they are going fast, so to ensure you don't miss out - book now! Join us as we present three very special performances of this delightful story featuring students from Years 6 – 12 with exceptional talent throughout the cast, and an orchestra brimming with outstanding student musicians, all backed up by a wonderful community of staff, students and families backstage.

Performances are at Geelong Arts Centre Play House Theatre on May 3 and 4.

To purchase tickets, visit our website and click on the hotlink on our homepage, or go straight to ticket sales by clicking here. 

Camps, Sports and Excursion Fund

Financial Assistance for Eligible Parents

School camps provide children with inspiring experiences in the great outdoors, excursions encourage a deeper understanding of how the world works and sports teach teamwork, discipline and leadership. All are part of a healthy curriculum.

Every Victorian child should have access to the world of learning opportunities that exist beyond the classroom. The Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF) helps ensure that no student will miss out on the opportunity to join their classmates for important, educational and fun activities. Support from CSEF is provided by the Victorian Government to assist eligible families to cover the costs of school trips, camps and sporting activities and forms part of the State Government’s commitment to breaking the link between a student’s background and their outcomes.

If you hold a valid means-tested concession card (HCC) or are a temporary foster parent, you may be eligible for CSEF. A special consideration category also exists for asylum seeker and refugee families. The allowance is paid to the school to use towards expenses relating to camps, excursions or sporting activities for the benefit of your child.

The annual CSEF amount per student is: • $150 for primary school students • $250 for secondary school students

How to Apply

Application Forms are available online through the Parent Portal (Go to ‘Student Information’ > ‘Important Forms for Parents’) these forms can be downloaded, completed then uploaded according to the instructions. Hard copy forms are also available from reception at each campus or by emailing enquire@ccg.vic.edu.au

More Information

For the CSEF application closing dates and more information about the fund please visit this webpage

CSEF_Application_Form_2024

Find Yourself at our Open Day!

On March 5, all five Christian College campuses and two kindergartens are holding Open Days. Our Open Days provide the opportunity for parents and others interested in enrolling their children at Christian College to have a firsthand look at our College campuses, speak with campus leaders, participate in student-led tours of the facilities, visit classrooms in real time and have their questions answered.

We would encourage everyone in our Christian College community to spread the word and tell anyone you might know who is considering schooling options for their children about our Open Day and the opportunity to come and visit one or more campuses and/or our kinders, with no tour booking required.

Details are on our website – follow the hotlink on our homepage or click Homepage > Join > Open Days.

Opening times for March 5 are as follows:

Junior School-Belmont and Williams House Kindergarten – 9:15 – 10:45am

Bellarine Campus – 9:30 – 11:00am

Surf Coast Campus and Butterfield House Kindergarten – 11:30am – 1:00pm

Middle School-Highton – 10:30am – 12:00 noon

Senior School – 11:30am – 1:00pm

We would love to see as many interested families as possible finding themselves at our Open Day!

Class of 2014 10 Year Reunion

The Class of 2014 10 Year Reunion is set for Saturday, April 13, 2024. Join us at Blackman's Brewery Geelong from 5:30pm-8:00pm. Tickets are $15 each and RSVPs close on Thursday, 28th March 2024 at 5:00pm. 

This will be a great opportunity for you to reconnect with your peers, catch up with past teachers, and reminisce about your school days. 

Tours of the College Clocktower at Middle School - Highton will also be optional on the day of the reunion, if you would like to climb the Clocktower and find your brick, simply book in when you register. 

For those who would like to have a tour of the College grounds, please head to our website to arrange a tour. 

We look forward to catching up with the Class of 2014. If this is your year group, spread the word and register for your 10 Year Reunion today!  

https://ccgfoundation.org.au/2014

Foundation Gathering Hope Appeal Luncheon

The Foundation Gathering Hope Appeal Luncheon is back on and has been scheduled for Friday, 24 May 2024.

You are invited to join us for lunch at the stunning Provenance Wines in Fyansford.

This is a fundraising event for the Foundation and an opportunity to hear about the success and progress of the College.

Our guest speaker is Jossy Chacko, Founder and President of Empart, a global ministry that exists to ignite holistic community transformation among needy communities.

Giving leadership to a team of over 13,000 people and offices in nine countries, Jossy travels around the world inspiring and challenging leaders to capture a larger God-size vision and not to waste gifts and opportunities. He is also the author of Madness! and Dare to Partner.

Don't miss out on this incredible opportunity to come together. 

Secure your seat and book online today! 

https://ccgfoundation.org.au/gh

Golf Tournament 

Join the Christian College Foundation for an exciting four-person Ambrose Golf Day, including a $30,000 hole in one prize on Thursday, 24th of October at 13th Beach Golf Links, Barwon Heads.

Set on the stunning Bellarine Peninsula, the day provides an opportunity to enjoy the award-winning creek course, known for its undulating couch fairways, deep bunkers and interesting swales and hollows.

You will be treated to a scrumptious breakfast on arrival and an opportunity to participate in several fun activities including the longest drive, nearest to the pin etc.

There is plenty of prizes up for grabs, including a cash prize of $30,000. Score a Hole in One on the 12th Hole and you can win. *

You will also be treated to a delicious buffet lunch and learn more about the incredible work of the foundation. Every dollar raised will be dollar matched!