What’s Happening at Surf Coast?
Is an up to date list of planned activities at Surf Coast Campus that you can use for planning purposes. Please be aware that these dates are set early in the term and occasionally items may need to be cancelled or dates/times altered. This itinerary is altered each week to reflect any changes – please check this list of events EVERY WEEK carefully when you read the weekly VINE newsletter.
TERM 1 2023
Week 3
Tuesday 14th Feb Discovery and Learning – Cosy Corner – Prep and Year 1 Prep
Thursday 16th Feb Parent Helper Training Session – parents
Friday 17th Feb Assembly – Year 4 Leaders Induction
Week 4
Tuesday 21st Feb Shrove Tuesday – Pancake Day
Wednesday 22nd Feb Year 5 Music Excursion – more information to follow
Thursday 23rd Feb Family Picnic – All staff and families – refer to invite sent
Friday 24th Feb BLP Clubs – Prep to Year 4
Friday 24th Feb Bunnings Excursion – Year 4 – refer to EdSmart sent
Week 5
Tuesday 28th Feb Discovery and Learning – Prep and Year 4 and 5 – refer to EdSmart
Wednesday 1st Mar Indonesian Students Visit our Surf Coast Campus – 9.30am– 12.30pm
Thursday 2nd Mar District Summer Sport Carnival Year 5 – more information to come
Friday 3rd Mar Assembly – Bible Presentation Year 2 & Year 5 – all welcome
Week 6
Thursday 9th Mar Meet and Greet Sessions (10mins) 2.30pm – 5.30pm– all staff and families – more information to follow
Friday 10th Mar BLP Clubs – All Students
Week 7
Monday 13th Mar Labour Day Public Holiday – College Closed
Tuesday 14th Mar Discovery and Learning -Prep and Year 3 Students – more information to come
Tuesday 14th Mar Division Swim Championship – selected students only – more information to come
Wednesday 15th Mar Preps at school
Wednesday 15th Mar Naplan – Year 3 and Year 5 Students
Friday 17th Mar Assembly
Week 8
Tuesday 21st Mar Beach Excursion – Year 1 and Year 2 – more information to come
Tuesday 21st Mar Prep Excursion to MOPA – more information to come
Wednesday 22nd Mar Willy Wonka Excursion – Year 3 students – more information to come
Friday 24th Mar BLP Clubs – all students
Friday 24th Mar End of Naplan
Week 9
Tuesday 28th Mar Regional Swimming Championship – selected students only – more information to come
Wednesday 29th Mar Sand and Surf Carnival – Year 1 to Year 5 – more information to come
Friday 31st Mar Assembly
Week 10
Wednesday 5th April Preps at school
Wednesday 5th April House Athletics – Year 4 and Year 5 – more information to come
Thursday 6th April Easter Service and Bonnet Parade – all students – more information to come
Thursday 6th April End of term 2 – 2.30pm dismissal – all students
Wellbeing at Christian College
Our philosophical statement reiterates that Christian College is always seeking to develop “an atmosphere of care and concern for each student’s character growth and wellbeing, within a value system and set of priorities derived from the Christian faith”. For many years our Chaplains have led the College in this important area of wellbeing. More recently we have taken additional proactive measures to build and cultivate student wellbeing in addition to enhancing our pastoral care and Chaplaincy support. We are taking meaningful and purposeful steps in this direction, and it is a real privilege to be working with and for you in the development of these areas as the Director of Wellbeing.
It goes without saying that concerns for the wellbeing of children and adolescents is not a new phenomenon given student wellbeing has featured prominently in educational policy development alongside national directives for schools to prioritise wellbeing primarily through well-developed programs. Wellbeing programs in schools not only enhance the overall academic performance of students, but also equip them with the skills and resilience needed to navigate life's challenges and lead fulfilling lives. Furthermore, they also help us to create a safer and more inclusive school culture, where students feel valued and respected. This week all students across the College spent time engaging with activities and lessons in designated wellbeing sessions. Our new Preps were connected with new Year 4 and 5 buddy as a means of providing peer social and emotional support and to promote a sense of community and our Junior School are taking steps to connect our students with MYTERN as a tool to teach our students the importance of self-regulation and how to take responsibility for all the complexities associated with our emotions. The Year 5 and 6 students at the Bellarine Campus came together during one of their Wellbeing sessions to discuss various ways to be kind and students listened to a book about the importance of filling one’s kindness bucket. Our Year 9s at Middle school are being encouraged to nurture their Christian faith through student-led devotions and our Year 10s had a chance to spend some time with our Senior school Chaplains. For our Year 11s and 12s the focus was on building connections and relationships with time also spent focusing on identifying character strengths that can be drawn on to help manage the challenges experienced in the VCE years. Finally, this week across the College we also acknowledged ‘Safer Internet Day’ and we were reminded to all connect safely with purpose, reflect before we act and protect ourselves and others by taking action. More information on this day is available here.
Whilst we are committed to the ongoing development of our student wellbeing program as highlighted by our College Wellbeing Framework, we also recognise the importance of fostering strong and positive relationships with our wider college community. The continuous involvement and engagement with our families allows for the strengthening of partnerships and working together helps to protect and promote wellbeing and likewise reduce those risk-taking or harmful behaviours that can potentially undermine wellbeing. This recent article Top of Form offers valuable advice to parents on talking to their teens. Whist in this instance the focus is on vaping the straightforward, yet highly effective strategies provided by professional experts can also be applied to address other harmful and risky teen behaviours. We are reminded of the need to enhance our awareness and education around such concerning behaviours, listen more than speak, and promote and encourage help-seeking behaviour. Continuing to foster a culture of care and support and prioritising strong and positive partnerships with our College families will place us in the best position to allow our students to thrive and flourish in a very complex and everchanging world.
Kim Doherty, Director of Wellbeing
Week 2 at Surf Coast Campus
Welcome back and welcome to 2023!
I hope you all have had a wonderful break and that it has been refreshing, restful and full of great memories!
One of the things we do as a staff each week is have Wellbeing Wednesday and this a really refreshing, morale boosting time.
So I thought it would be a great idea to start the year by taking inspiration from the classic cassette player. On a cassette player (as I’m sure many of you will remember), you have the play, pause, stop, rewind and fast forward buttons. So this was the premise for our activity, and I invite you to participate as well.
We got a piece of paper each and divided it into 5 (or 6) sections and drew the symbols in each box. We then proceed to fill out each question associated with the symbol
- Pause: Take this moment to pause and be present. What are you feeling and thinking at this moment?
- Rewind: Looking back on last year, what were some great things that happened? What were some special moments? What were some wins? What were some hard or challenging things? This leads into the next button.
- Stop: What are some things you’d like to change, that you want to see stop?
- Fast Forward: Now looking forward to this year unfolding, what are some goals you have? What would you like to see take place? How do you want your life to look?
- Play: This is a pretty important step. What steps/actions do you need to take to hit play on these?
This time together was a rich and connecting time for us all and something we will revisit towards the end of the year again.
I would love to encourage you to set some time aside for yourself, or even with your partner or kids and give these a go. It could be a really special time together!
I pray that all the goals and dreams inyour heart will come to pass and this year will be a wonderful one for you and your family!
Nathan Pratt
Another Fabulous Week in Prep!
This week in Prep, we had a super tremendously amazing time learning about the letters Ss, Tt and Aa, including how to form these letters in our writing, as well as the sounds that these letters make.
We commenced our reading rotation groups this week, focusing on what a good reader looks like and sounds like. The Preps loved working with letter recognition and formation in small groups. The Preps blew us away with how independently they worked and how well focused they were. We also started our take home readers and learnt our first spelling word of the week, which was cat.
In maths, we have been learning to recognise and name the number of objects within a collection using subitising. We have also been working on the formation of numerals from 0 – 10, as well as focusing on naming 2D shapes and describing their properties.
In Integrated Studies, we have been experimenting with objects and how they move, including pushes and pulls, while hypothesising about whether all rounded objects move and whether flat-sided objects are able to move with a gentle push.
In Christian Ed, we created our very special “I am a child of God” portraits on miniature canvases. These have taken pride of place in our classrooms.
And finally, one of the most anticipated moments of the week was meeting our Year 4 and Year 5 buddies for 2023! Our wonderful older students are already proving to be such great role models for our Preps and we can’t wait to see these relationships flourish as the year continues.
Caitlin Maher
Year 1 Jump Into Maths
We have kickstarted our learning in Year 1 jumping straight into mathematics! Throughout the week we focused on different mathematical concepts to build our number and place value understanding. We have been learning all about the nine problem-solving strategies that we can use when solving tricky problems… our favourites so far have been to have a go and draw it out! These strategies have allowed us to be critical thinkers in challenging situations. We cannot wait to build on these throughout the year and use them in other fun activities.
Nick Hogan
Wow – Two Weeks Done Already!
With the ease with which we have settled in, we are beginning to see all the wonderful individual personalities come out in Year 3. While we’re still adjusting to a new schedule and all the new learning opportunities that Year 3 brings us, it’s fantastic to see that the cohort is seamlessly working together. From Year 3 Sport to Christian Ed to Science to Civics and Citizenship, the year 3s have been able to work together and collaborate in all of these learning environments with gusto. It has been a pleasure to watch the new students integrate as if they had been here for year and we are laying a very solid foundation to a big year ahead! We are about to shift gears again as we move swiftly into the second quarter of the term. Buckle up!
Adam Stewart
Leanne Crole
New Digs!
Classroom Music has moved into a new building this year, and students have wasted no time adjusting to the space!
Our programs kicked off with students from Year 3 and 4 creating holiday-themed compositions and improvisations, using marimbas and xylophones. The 2023 Yr 2 String orchestra has begun – fancy having the opportunity to play in your very first orchestra at the tender age of only 7 or 8! And the Year 5s have shown great delight in becoming the very first cohort to begin building the foundations of a Surf Coast concert band, featuring flute, clarinet, trumpet and trombone! … Watch this space…
Our campus ensembles, the Surf Coast Strings and Surf Coast Choir, commenced their before-school rehearsals this week – and it feels as though no momentum has been lost over the Summer break.
I’ve personally enjoyed getting to chat with parents and new families this week, and am truly appreciative of the strong love of music shared by so many at this campus. (We just might have to start a parent band somewhere down the line!)
If you have a child who may be interested in learning an instrument privately through our instrumental program and you’re not sure where to start, please feel most welcome to e-mail me anytime: [email protected]. I would love to assist you in exploring the opportunities we have available.
Kate Notini
Year 5s Broadening Their horizons!!
One of the exciting things about starting Middle School at Christian College is the new subjects that the Year 5 students are now able to do. Each semester, the students will have the opportunity to experience new subjects that they haven’t done as part of the Junior School.
These subjects are called ‘selectives’. This is so that each student has the opportunity to try each subject that will be offered to them in Year 7 when they will select their own ‘electives’. This is a fantastic way of giving the students a bit of a ‘taste test’ to see which subjects they enjoy and would like to do again.
This year the subjects the Year 5s will get to experience include Stemming the Tide, Drama and Indonesian.
Part of the Year 5 Music curriculum is also the opportunity to learn an instrument for the year and become a Year 5 band. Each student has been given the opportunity to select an instrument to learn for the year. The growth that we see from the students over the year is amazing.
Claire Deretic
CCG Tennis Championships 2023
Last Friday evening, Year 5 student Darcee Dunoon represented our campus, competing in the ‘Jonathan Ryan, CCG Tennis Championships at the Geelong Lawn Tennis Club.
Darcee played against girls and boys representing our other campuses in both singles and doubles matches, and is to be congratulated on her involvement and efforts during the tournament.
Darcee has progressed to the next round of tennis competitions and will represent CCG at the District Tennis Championships on the 16th February.
We wish Darcee ‘good luck’ for her upcoming competition.
Joanne Richardson
Christian College 2023 Snowsports Team
Did you know that Jakara Anthony, the 2022 Winter Olympic Gold Medallist in the Women’s Moguls is an ex-CCG student?
Jakara continues to perform exceptionally well having been on the podium 16 out of the last 18 World Cups and is now the most decorated Australian Winter Olympian in history!
The Victorian Interschool Snowsports Championships are held this year in Mt Buller from the 21st – 27th August with the XC Championships being held on the 6th August.
If your child(ren) have not been involved previously and you would like to find out more about this opportunity, please email me at [email protected]
You can also find out more event details at https://www.interschools.com.au/home/
Paul Breguet, CCG Snowsport Team Manager
Notice to All Parents Regarding CSEF Funding
The Victorian State Government runs a program called the Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF). As the name suggests, the fund is designed to assist families meet costs associated with school camps, sport and excursions and requires families to apply in each year they have a child who is eligible. Families who have an eligible child will receive $125 per year for a primary aged student and $225 per year for a secondary aged student.
If you hold a valid means-tested concession card or are a temporary foster parent, you may be eligible for CSEF. Please complete a 2023 Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF) Application Form and return to your campus administration office by the end of Term 1 please.
Please read the attached document for further information.
Jonathan Ryan, Operations Manager
A MYTERN Thought for This Week
It’s easy to rush through a cup of tea or coffee and forget to stop and appreciate the moment.
Take time out now to simply appreciate being able to breathe in fresh air. Take a long slow breath and feel it rejuvenate every cell.
Make that your intention and watch your body smile from the inside 👍❤️
Discover more about MYTERN here
