From the Acting Head of Campus 

Week 6 at Senior School has been full of learning experiences inside and outside of the classroom. Our house football competition has captured our attention on the bottom oval, Year 12 Ski and Year 12 VM camps and our Educate Girls Day have provided real life learning experiences for our students. They also continue to embed themselves in the academic rigour of the classrooms and focus on finalising their Term 3 tasks and assessments. As they do this it is important to remain focused on, and engaged in, learning practices that will continue to make them successful learners. Students are encouraged to spend time at home revising their notes – not just reading them but studying them. To do this they can rewrite them, ask a family member to quiz them or create mind maps. There are many great tools our students can use to further develop their learning.

We are celebrating our students’ dedication to their work during year level assemblies and promoting their great work. Well done to all students who have shared their achievements.

Students parking on site

Student were reminded this week that parking on site at Middle or Senior School is not permitted as our priority is the safety and wellbeing of all members of our school community. It is also an opportune time to mention that Council has altered the parking signage in Pigdons road and students are required to adhere to all road signage. If there are any concerns or queries regarding alternatives to parking on school premises, please feel free to contact your House Mentor, House Leader, or myself. We are here to support you in finding suitable solutions that align with our regulations.

National Day of Action Against Bullying and Violence

Last Friday, Penman House staff and students supported the National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence. This year’s theme was “Growing Connections”, with each other, with our school, and with our communities. The concept was to create positive action on our campus and to be part of Australia’s key bullying prevention initiative. The NDA is an important day in our school calendar as we joined schools right across Australia to say ‘Bullying. No Way!’ 

Everyone has a role to play in bullying prevention. The NDA promoted the importance of school, parent, and community connections to build safe and supportive learning environments. The NDA was an opportunity for schools to deliver the message that bullying was never ok. At our school, we encourage students and our whole school community to join the conversation to find evidence-informed solutions to proactively address bullying. Growing connections helps students feel accepted, respected, included, and supported. 

The 2023 NDA theme offered an opportunity to increase student connectedness and a sense of belonging. Research had shown that a sense of connection to school supported the development of positive social behaviours and decreased the likelihood and negative impacts of bullying. 

As part of that day, the students from Penman House raised funds for various charities and organisations working towards preventing bullying and violence in our community. To raise these funds, students had a casual dress day (gold coin donation), along with the opportunity to purchase sausages and drinks during lunch. There was also live music performed by the school’s rock band and some of our Penman students who sang. It was a great opportunity for students to connect with each other during lunch. In total, we raised $824.90 – a great day in support of great causes.

Where do you go When you Want the Snow?

Increasingly for Australians, the answer is: overseas. For families wanting certainty around their ski holidays, New Zealand in winter and Japan or another northern destination in summer are becoming more and more popular. In Outdoor and Environmental Studies though, it has to be the Victorian Alps, because we aren’t really chasing the skiing, but the Victorian alpine environment.

Here’s the sales pitch for the Victorian Alps:

• They are our Covered in gum trees, these are our very own Australian Alps. The snowgum trees are beautiful and sparse enough to be able to ski and walk amongst.
• You can experience our mountains from the summits. Due to the shape, height and accessibility of our mountains, it is relatively easy to get to the top of them. For mountain ranges on other continents, they are mostly experienced from the valleys, looking up.
• The climate is not too challenging. Of course we feel the cold in our Alps, but with temperatures around zero degrees, it is a much easier environment to be in than most alpine areas of the world. (of course, that’s a double-edged sword!)

Celebrating Book Week!!

Each year since 1945 the Children’s Book Council of Australia has brought children and books together across Australia through Children’s Book Week.  Book Week is one of the biggest events in any school library calendar.  It gives librarians an excuse to celebrate reading, Australian literature and of course our library. This year the theme was Read, Grow, Inspire. Students are like plants and literature is the sun, the soil and the water.  With good literature, students can grow and flourish. This week at Senior School we celebrated Book Week by running a poetry competition, (winner will be announced in next week’s Vine), quizzes, and guess the reader. Staff and students were encouraged to join our tree and pin a leaf, telling us which book has inspired them.

A big part of Book Week is celebrating the CBCA Book of the Year. This year the winning book for an older reader was: Neverlanders by Tom Taylor and Jon Sommariva. Entries in this category may be fiction, drama or poetry and should be appropriate in style and content for readers in their secondary years of schooling – (ages 13-18 years).

Chasing the Beat

Year 11 student Nicholas Wilde has just produced and directed a documentary called, ‘Chasing the Beat’. Nicholas completed both a design folio and a short film for his Media studies. The documentary reflects the life of a local young drummer, Kempton Maloney, who starred in The School of Rock.

I had the pleasure of Interviewing Nicholas this week, where he discussed the challenges, he faced during the five stages of production: development, pre-production, production, post-production and distribution.

Nicholas mentioned that getting access to his star subject was a challenge. Given that Kempton had a busy schedule and Nicholas was on a deadline to capture and edit the footage.

Nicholas took inspiration from the film, ‘Whiplash’. This can be seen and heard in his opening credits. Alongside his final product Nicholas created his storyboards where he detailed each scene. He also submitted a DVD cover to compliment his final product.

This isn’t the first time Nicholas’s work has been represented by Christian College. Nicholas has a passion and natural gift in the media arena.  

The full documentary alongside his design folio will be showcased at the Art, Technology and Design Festival at the end of the year.

Back Creek Café Closes

After nine years, we have made the difficult decision to close Back Creek Café, which has been an important part of the Back Creek Farm residential experience for our Year 9 students. As well as providing an outlet for farm produce and opportunities for student workgroups to gain hospitality skills, the café became a popular place within the Meredith community for locals and passers-by alike.

Since the COVID lockdown years, staffing at the café has proved to be a challenge and we have reached a point where we are not able to employ staff who can both support the students and operate the café effectively, which makes its continued operation unviable.

Christian College Year 9 students will continue to enjoy their rural residential experience at Back Creek Farm in Scotsburn, but working at the café will no longer be part of that experience. Another work group rotation will now be included as part of the farm experience.

We are so grateful for the friendships we made with both regular and occasional customers over nine years, and for the support and patronage of many Christian College families who visited the café in that time.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to making this café a great place to work and visit – we will miss you.

LEAD Parent Survey - Now Closing September 1

Each year, Christian College participates in the LEAD School Effectiveness Surveys conducted by Independent Schools Victoria (ISV). These surveys provide valuable insights into a school’s performance from the perspectives of students, staff and parents and are therefore an essential school improvement tool.

LEAD – Listen, Evaluate, Act, Deliver – succinctly describes the way in which this process enables our College community to grow and flourish through consultation with our valued stakeholders.

You will have received an email from ‘ISV Research Programs [email protected]’ inviting you to participate in the ISV LEAD Parent Survey. It includes a unique survey link that can only be used once and therefore cannot be shared or forwarded to others. Thank you to all parents who have completed the Parent Satisfaction Survey - we have received more than 300 responses to date. ISV has extended the deadline for survey responses - closing date is September 1. We invite any parents who have not yet participated to contribute your feedback via this year's survey. You are an integral part of our school community and your voice matters.

Scholarship Applications are Now Open!

Each year Christian College offers Academic Excellence Scholarships for entry at Year 5, 7 and 10 levels. Applications are now open for this year’s scholarships, which apply to entry in 2025, at three campuses – Middle School-Highton, Bellarine Campus and Surf Coast Campus.

Year 10 entry applies to Senior School-Waurn Ponds only.

To find out more, and to apply, visit our website and look for the homepage hotlink, or click here.

Scholarship applications are open to students who do not currently attend Christian College, as well as those who are currently enrolled here. Scholarship examinations will be held at Christian College on Saturday October 7. Closing date for applications is Thursday, September 28.

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 [email protected]