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Senior School – Term 1 Week 7

by | Mar 17, 2023

Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Days!

All Christian College campuses will open their doors on May 2 in the first of our Open Days for 2023.

This is an opportunity for parents/guardians and families who are considering Christian College as an option for their young people to visit one or more of our campuses, meet students, teachers and campus leaders, tour facilities, visit classes in progress and have their questions answered. It provides an authentic insight to how our College operates on a day-to-day basis. For those considering either Junior School-Belmont or Surf Coast Campus, please note our Early Learning Centres - Williams House in Belmont and Butterfield House in Torquay - will also be open for visitation at the same time as the campuses.

No booking is required, with campuses open at the following times:

Junior School-Belmont: 9:30 – 11:00am

Bellarine Campus: 9:30 – 11:00am

Surf Coast Campus: 9:30 – 11:30am

Middle School-Highton: – 11:15am – 12:45pm

Senior School-Waurn Ponds: – 11:30am – 1:00pm

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From the Acting Head of Campus

Whilst we have only had two days in classes, Week 7 has had a real sense of purpose as staff, students and families have taken part in two key events that highlight how important moments outside the classroom are to supporting our young people.

Student Learning Conferences

On Tuesday we hosted our Student Learning Conferences online, which saw over 1300 conferences take place with more than 300 sets of parents and carers. These conferences are a great opportunity for teachers to share with parents around how their child is progressing, how they are being supported, and how we can partner with parents in the development of their child. Whilst we understand that online meetings can feel a little less personal than face-to-face, we also know that this style makes these conferences more accessible to many families. Teachers were able to connect with parents who were on their lunchbreak at work, looking after young children at home, watching their child at sport training, and a range of other activities that may have made it otherwise difficult for them to meet with teachers. It has been great to receive feedback from parents sharing how this style of conference has supported them to connect with teachers amidst the busyness of raising teenagers and, often, working full-time. And we also believe that this style supports our teachers to achieve better work-life balance, with the option to work from home; and this is something we are very keen to do in order to support our hard-working staff.  I want to thank the 300-plus sets of parents and carers who made appointments on Tuesday to discuss their child’s educational journey with our teachers. Of course, this is not the only opportunity for you to connect with your child’s teachers; we are available each school day if you feel a conversation can help us to better support your child. If you were unable to meet with teachers on Tuesday, or if anything arises over the course of this year, please reach out directly to your child’s teachers via email, or make contact with the student office so that we can support you to make arrangements.

 House Swimming Carnival

On Thursday we held our second major House event for the year, the Swimming Carnival, at Kardinia Aquatic Centre. It was great to see so many students getting into the spirit of the day by dressing up in their House colours and belting out their House chant to begin the day of competition and fun. Whilst the day is an opportunity to admire and celebrate our many talented swimmers, it is also an opportunity to recognise and praise those students who try their best, step beyond their comfort zone, and swim for their House, regardless of their place or their time. There is something courageous about trying your hardest on a public stage, especially when you know you will be competing against people more talented than you. And while we rightly pedestal our highly talented swimmers for the hard work and dedication they have put into getting themselves to such a lofty level, we should equally highlight those students who are willing to have a red-hot crack even when the odds are against them. We commend all students who took part in races on the day and each of them should be proud of their efforts. One of the most eagerly anticipated events of the day was the House Synchronised Swimming Competition. Students from all four Houses and all three year Levels had been spending lunchtimes in the Senior School pool choreographing, practicing and perfecting their routines in the lead up to the day – and the hard work was well worth it. All four routines were polished and entertaining and the judges had a hard job determining a winner. In the end it was Flynn who took out the title this year, as always, amidst controversy, with opinions divided in the crowd. This seems to be a tradition of the event! The Falcons also held the shield aloft at the end of the day for the main event, with Flynn staff and students over the moon about taking home both shields. For the other Houses, all eyes turn to next week’s House Cooking Tournament for a shot at redemption!

As a campus, what we celebrate on days like this is the community spirit that is clear to see. Schools are not just about what happens inside the four walls of the classroom, and are certainly not just about developing ‘book-smarts’. It is important for our young people to spend time together in community, to experience winning and losing and learn how to do both graciously, to encourage their peers, to involve themselves in something bigger than just themselves (even something as simple as being a part of a House Synchro team). And whilst these things can be found outside of school in sporting clubs, theatre groups and the like, there is something significant about doing these things alongside the people you send five days a week with for 40 weeks of the year.

These two key events from this week highlight the importance of partnerships and community, which are part of the foundation on which our students’ educational journey is built. We know that whatever successes our students have ‘in the classroom’ are dependent on them having strong support networks and a sense of belonging – partnerships and community. There may have only been two days of classes in Week 7, but it was an important week for our Senior School community and we thank you for your involvement and support.

Damian Stephenson, Acting Head of Campus

Ma and Pa Vegetables in Year 11

In Year 11 Biology last week students have been learning how genes are passed down from one generation to another. Students have been predicting the chance that specific traits will be passed to individuals in the next generation. To model this process, the classes have created Ma and Pa vegetable people. These vegetable people pass their characteristics on via variations of genes selected by students. The student then builds the vegetable babies. Please see the photo for the vegetable family created from one class. 

Sam Visser

Kylie O’Brien

Senior Product Design and Technology – Textiles

Senior PDT Textiles students have been completing research and developmental work in preparation to design their main production items.

The Year 11 Unit 1 students are tasked with analysing an existing shirt/dress and redesigning it into a more sustainable version. They have been completing mini projects to develop the necessary skills to successfully carry out the task.

The Year 12 Unit 3 students have individually identified a need for a product and come up with some innovative ideas for a chosen end user group. Examples of products within the class are: a surfboard cover that can also be slept in, interactive, distractive medical scrubs for professionals working with 1- 10 year olds, a beach bag that protects valuables from the elements and thieves, innovative sun protective clothing for women susceptible to skin cancer, dual purpose sleeping and daywear item for homeless people and a travel bag that keeps valuables safe and appeals to and suits the needs of young travellers.

Kerryn Fearnsides

House Swimming Championships Report 2023

Is it a Bear? Is it a Tiger? No it’s a Falcon!!!!!

Wow…What a sensational day Thursday 16th March was at Kardinia Aquatic Centre where our students once again lived up to our expectations of being a wonderfully supportive community who are committed to sportsmanship, house spirit, sport and physical activity.

The carnival was officially opened by our College captains; Seth and Molly with a Prayer and Acknowledgement of Country. The National Anthem performed by Trinity Cronkwright and the house chants was an electrifying way to kick off the 2023 swimming championships.

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Drew Oliver

A Day filled with Art and Inspiration!

Last Thursday the Unit 3 Art Making and Exhibiting students were treated to a trip to view artworks in the galleries of Melbourne.

Our first port of call was to visit The Australian Centre for Contemporary Art in Southbank. At this gallery we were treated to an exhibition of thought-provoking works from the exhibition titled “ Data Relations”. Data Relations brings together artist-led projects that lyrically wrestle with some of the key issues and challenges of our contemporary data driven society.

The students then walked to the Fiona and Sidney Myer Gallery in the Victoria College of the Arts complex, where they viewed the exhibition titled It’s not you, it’s me, an exhibition of self-portraiture by the staff of VCA ART. It includes painting, drawing, sculpture, video, photography presents diverse approaches to the idea of self-imaging.

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Jane Bailey

Introduction to the new VCE Vocational Major (VM).

Our 2023 Year 11 and 12 VCE VM students will be the first to be awarded the new VCE VM as it is phased in over the next 3 years.

This certificate is a recognised, two-year senior secondary certificate equivalent to traditional VCE without an ATAR score for university ranking. Students have the flexibility to select an applied learning program that suits their individual vocational pathway from a blend of VCE (traditional) and VCE VM subjects, VET or School Based Apprenticeship/Traineeship (SBAT) and gain VCE unit recognition for work placement (Structured Workplace Learning).

In addition to the core VCE VM subjects of Personal Development Skills, Work Related Skills and Literacy, students this year have chosen to study a range of VCE (traditional) subjects such as VCE English, VCE Foundation and General Maths, Outdoor Education, Religion and Society, Product Design, PE, Media, Drama, Visual Communication, History Revolutions, Accounting and Business Management. Year 12 students studying Unit 3&4 VCE (traditional) subjects or scored VET certificates can choose to go scored or unscored.

Students have settled in well to embrace the exciting, real life and meaningful learning experiences that this certificate offers.

Kerryn Fearnsides, Vocational Pathways Coordinator.

Sorting DNA in Biology

In Year 12 Biology last week, students had access to equipment that Biolab had kindly made available to us for two weeks. This includes DNA samples, Gel electrophoresis machines, Micropipettes and microtubes.  Students were able to sort DNA fragments according to size and observe the results in a very short amount of time. We were all very grateful for the opportunity to do this on site. Please see some of our results in the photos above.

Sam Visser

Meaghan Clark

Career Spot

The Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching (QILT) are a suite of government endorsed surveys for higher education, across the student life cycle from commencement to employment.

One of the latest QILT surveys is the 2022 Graduate Outcome Survey (GOS 2022).

The GOS is completed by graduates approximately four months after completion of their studies. It provides information on the labour market outcomes and further study activities of graduates. Employment data collected includes information on salaries, occupation and skills utilisation. The GOS has been administered annually since 2016.

For your interest, the link below is to the 2022 GOS Survey :

https://www.qilt.edu.au

2022 GOS National Report

Robyn Smith

Magnificent Marslands Dominate Mt Buller

Over 150 students from 20 different schools made their way to Mt Buller Alpine resort on Friday the 10th of March to compete in the Rocky Trail Academy Enduro Mountain bike competition.

The event comprised three timed segments, with tracks designed to test a variety of skills, including endurance, speed and technical ability. The times for the three segments were combined to determine the overall results for the individuals and schools.

A total of 10 Christian College students took part in the event and had a fantastic day improving their times with each run. The event was well organised and ran smoothly with all students giving their best efforts on the demanding terrain.

It was the Marsland siblings who were our top performers on the day, with Yannick in Year 7 showing speed and skill across the three stages and Isabella (Year 11) riding smooth and fast to secure her podium spot in a tight battle.

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Steven Sullivan

Families with a Newly Enrolled Child This Year: Qustodio Parent App

Activate or add new students to your Qustodio parent account.

An important element of the College's Cyber Safe Schools Program is our commitment to supporting families and parents with managing their children’s digital devices in the home, especially the College laptop.

This week, families that have one or more children who are new to the College this year received an email invitation toactivate their Qustodio parent account or add newly enrolled students to their existing Qustodio account, as part of our school program.

Qustodio is a parental control and monitoring app that we offer our parents as part of our school program. This app provides parents monitoring on personal devices and the school laptop, as well as the ability to pause internet as desired outside of school hours. Use of Qustodio is optional, and parents can learn more information about Qustodio on our Online Safety Hub.

The Qustodio parent app is available to all College families, and families with existing students in 2022 were invited to activate their parent account in November of last year. Families that have not yet activated their account and wish to, can do so by using the College’s activate now link and entering the assigned primary email for the family (as detailed in the invitation sent last year).

More Information

Brendan Vanderkley, Director of Digital Learning

Make a Vertical Garden at Back Creek Café! 

Back Creek Café in Meredith proudly presents the first of several planned craft workshops – come along and discover how to create your own vertical garden. Two workshops are running on Saturday May 6 – at 10:30am and 1:00pm, conducted by Kathy from Coburg nursery, TD2M. Build your own standing or hanging frame, create a vertical garden to take home and learn about soils and mosses used in the process along the way.  

Cost for the workshop is $90 per person with all you need provided. While you’re there, enjoy some of Back Creek Café’s delicious fare!   

To book for the workshop, contact the café on 5286 1166.