Surf Coast Term 1 Week 4

From the Principal

It only seems like yesterday I was writing here to welcome families to the new school year. Yet, here we are, at the end of Week 4, and so much has been packed in to Term 1 already – commencement assemblies, parent welcome events, student leaders’ inductions, Year 7 camps for Bellarine and Highton and Year 12 Outdoor Education alpine crossings. And, of course, plenty of learning taking place in classrooms from Prep to VCE.

Over the past week, I have had the privilege of participating in the services dedicated to inducting our student leaders at Belmont, Highton, and Senior campuses, and I look forward to next week's event at the Bellarine campus. The students who step up for these roles understand that genuine leadership stems from prioritising the needs of others over oneself. The core of servant leadership, akin to Christ's example, isn't about wielding authority or power, but about selflessly serving and empowering others. In that sense, every student, whether they carry a leader’s badge or not, possesses the capacity to lead by demonstrating selflessness. An approach centred on caring for others significantly enhances the dynamics in our classrooms, playgrounds, and indeed, our communities. As Philippians 2:3-4 says, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others." This verse beautifully underscores the importance of prioritising the needs of others in leadership and in life.

What’s Happening at Surf Coast?

This 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 2024

WEEK 5

Monday 26 February             Discovery and Learning Program – Prep

Wednesday 28 February        No Preps at school

Thursday 29 February            Year 4, 5 and 6 Surf Coast Campus students to attend Bellarine Campus House Swimming Carnival. Please refer to Edsmart

Thursday 29 February            William Buckley Excursion – Year 2 – Please refer to EdSmart

Friday 01 March                     Assembly – World Day of Prayer – Multipurpose Room – All families welcome

Saturday 02 March                 Surf Coast Campus – Working Bee – 08.30am – 11.00am

Prep – Budding Friendships With our Buddies

Our Preps have had some wonderful experiences so far with their Year 4 buddies! They were lucky enough to receive a special card from their buddies when they first met, and they found out all about each other while spending a special afternoon together. They played together in the playground, as well as creating some gorgeous artwork together too! Our Preps just love having a Year 4 friend to help them learn all about school life at our Surf Coast campus.

Our Preps were also fortunate to spend some very special time with the biggest kids at our campus earlier this week – the Year 6s! They interviewed our Preps to find out some important information for an upcoming project that the Year 6s are working on that we’ll find out more about later in the year!

Year 1 – What an Incredible Week it’s Been!

Week 4 has been an incredible week so far. In our Christian Education sessions, we’ve been delving into the significance of Lent, offering our incredible Year 1 learners a deeper understanding of this important period in the Christian calendar. We have also taken the time to explore the miracles attributed to Jesus, fostering a sense of wonder and faith in our classrooms.

Within Mathematics, our focus has been on building confidence in recognising and ordering numbers up to 20, representing them in various ways. Through engaging activities, games and other learning opportunities, we have been building on our number understanding.

Year 2 Writers and Mathematicians

Year 2s have been writing compound sentences in English, using the conjunctions BECAUSE, BUT and SO. ‘BECAUSE’ tells us why; ‘BUT’ changes the direction of the sentence; and ‘SO’ shows us a cause/effect relationship. We have also been thinking about the things we love and things we know a lot about, so that we can write them in our recounts and narratives. We’ve made a ‘Things I Love’ poster in our writing books.

In Maths, we have been learning about place value, building, expanding and partitioning numbers with 1000s, 100s, 10s and ones. We love to play numeracy games to reinforce our understanding and have lots of fun.

Year 3 – So Much Happening, so Much to Look Forward to

It’s been a hot one! The poor kids have been stuck inside at recess and lunch time due the hot weather. To their credit they have found productive ways to use their time. With NAPLAN fast approaching we haven’t wasted any time learning how to log into devices and practising the types of questions that will appear during the tests.

In Maths they have been using manipulatives to develop place value skills. While in Literacy we have been working hard at convincing our readers through persuasive writing.

Even though our family picnic was cancelled we have a lot to look forward to in the coming weeks with our working bee, NAPLAN, our Easter Bonnet Parade and much more, so stay tuned and keep an eye on The Vine!

Year 4 Students Taking the Lead

It has been an exciting start to the year for our Year 4 students with a focus on leadership taking place both in class and in the wider school community. Being the oldest level of our Junior School set-up, our Year 4 students will this year have many opportunities to grow and develop their skills as leaders with a focus on leading by serving. In class we have discussed how being a leader is more than just wearing a badge, but rather that it is looking for ways to quietly come alongside younger students and guide them in the right direction. We focused on how excellent leaders lead by example and often are the ones who work the hardest, care the most and make sacrifices for those who they lead.

In just two weeks, our Year 4 students have begun building on this discussion in many practical ways; meeting and showing care for their new prep buddies, setting up and managing our recycling and compost program, attending lunchtime club activities where they positively interact with younger students and serving pancakes to the whole school community on Shrove Tuesday. If this is just the beginning, we are very excited to see the growth that will take place across the whole year!

Literacy Information Sessions

Over the past two weeks many of you have attended either the Prep or Years 1-4 Literacy Information Sessions. We were able to unpack some of the exciting changes in literacy practice that are occurring in classrooms at Surf Coast in 2024 and beyond. This year we are delivering our literacy learning using a Structured Literacy Framework with an Explicit Direct Instruction (Hollingsworth and Ybarra, 2017) model. During these information sessions we were able to delve into the reasons we, as a College, have decided to make this shift in our Junior Schools.

You may have heard the term ‘Science of Learning’ or ‘Science of Reading’ in the media recently following a damning report published by the Gratton Institute about literacy education in Australia. There is a wide body of evidence from a range of academic fields that informs us that, in order to provide each student with the best opportunity to acquire essential literacy skills, we need to be using a Structured Literacy approach.

Structured Literacy is an evidence-based, scientifically proven approach to reading instruction. The primary principles of Structured Literacy include the systematic, cumulative, explicit, sequential development of skills. Structured Literacy is not one particular program or method; instead, it guides how the critical components of literacy are taught. These components are sometimes referred to as the Six Pillars of Reading and include oral language development, phonemic awareness, systematic and synthetic phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. We also value the significance of background knowledge in the development of comprehension skills and have designed a rigorous scope and sequence that supports students to engage with a broad range of text types and topics.

The First Week With our Easter Artwork

Hi everyone,

I trust you’ve had a lovely week, and that everyone is enjoying the warm weather!

Just a short one from me this week, to give you a quick update on our Easter painting progress.

This week I ran morning devotions with Prep J and Prep T, and told them about the Passover night, specifically when Jesus washed His disciples’ feet. Then, each of the students contributed their fingerprint to our painting, which over the coming weeks, will become more and more blue!

I look forward to sharing the story of Jesus’ humble servant leadership with the Year 1s and some of the Year 2s next week and seeing our painting glow.

Blessings

Deakin District Tennis Tournament

On Thursday February 22, three Bellarine students, five Highton students and three Surf Coast students from Years 5 and 6 headed to Geelong College to compete in the Deakin District Tennis Tournament against four other schools.

Ava Fitzclarence, Emmi Sekine, Oliver Brockman, Caleb Davies, Xander Watkins, Verushka Digwa, Darcee Dunoon, Maggie Tindale, Patrick Clark, Mason Kent and Kalan Ratnachandra represented the college with a great level of skill and superb sportsmanship in very hot and humid conditions.

Although we didn’t have any students make it through to the finals it was a valuable experience for all. We would like to congratulate all our CCG Eagles for their effort and enthusiasm over the day and for displaying our Sport Faculty mindset and values at this event.

News from the Library 

It has been wonderful to welcome students back to the Library this term, with the addition of many new faces. We are lucky enough to have each student from Kindergarten to Year 6 visit the Library each week. Library sessions give students time explore the Library to browse and borrow books, where they are often sharing favourite books and recommendations with a friend and sampling a range of text types at their own leisure. Offering children the opportunity to visit the Library each week allows the children to not only choose what they read and borrow but encourages a sense of responsibility and accountability by taking care of and returning the resources they take home.  

It may not be a surprise to some families that our most borrowed Library resources over the last year have been graphic novels, with six of the top ten borrowed resources in 2023 being graphic novels. We are trying to keep up with students’ appetites for all things graphic novels, from Dog Man and Bad Guys to Babysitters Club and anything by Raina Telgemeier. Graphic Novels have been hot property in the Library each and every lesson. See below for our Top 3 books for the last year.  

Our Library is open 3 lunchtimes a week and all students are welcome to come and enjoy the Library space, whether it be quiet reading, borrowing, Lego, quiet play or creating. We look forward to our many visitors Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday lunchtimes. 

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.

Reconciliation Action Plan Working Party

In late 2022, Christian College Geelong formed a Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) Working Party in a commitment to addressing, supporting and implementing our journey towards Reconciliation.

Late last year, due to this College priority, our Reconciliation Plan was ratified by Reconciliation Australia and published on their website. It will soon be appearing on our College website.

Our RAP Committee meet as one body once per term and comprises Acting Principal Rick Geall, a Chairperson, a College Board member, College staff, First Nations students and other interested students, and parents of First Nations students.

While we meet as one group, we incorporate two specific areas: Curriculum and Resources; and Community and Events. Each plays a role in planning, creating and sharing opportunities for Reconciliation in the classroom, around our campuses and across the broader community.

Students Progressing Through Their Learning

Starting a new school year and returning to the classroom, forming or maintaining friendships, preparing a school bag and school lunches reforming habits and routines can be an exciting time for parents, carers and students alike.

No matter if you are joining us in Prep, or reconnecting at our Middle Schools or Senior Campus, the collaborations between home and school have shown that children learn best when the important adults in their lives (parents, carers, teachers), are able to cooperate and support them.

At Christian College, feedback on student involvement and advancement in learning is a key element of strengthening the Home / School Partnership. It gives parents, carers, students and teachers information about learning opportunities and sets a direction to guide future teaching and learning activities, both inside and outside of the classroom.

At Christian College, such feedback is shared with parents through various methods. In-time reporting through the SEQTA Engage platform, Parent Portal, SEQTA Notifications, sometimes via email, the assessment task itself, or verbally via a learning conference and finally on a student report distributed at the end of each semester.

You may be able to access your child’s progress with their learning through the SEQTA Engage platform, but also for students with a College device, we would encourage you to sit with your child and their device to see the work that they are doing in their digital learning platforms, such as the Microsoft Teams app, where summaries of the learning may be visible in the upcoming Assignments feature of Teams.

Qustodio Parent App

Supervise and Support Your Children on Digital Devices

This week we have communicated with all families who have a child who has enrolled with us as a new student in 2024. These parents have received an invitation and guide to activate their Qustodio parent account as part of our school program via email.

A reminder to parents that the Qustodio Parent App is available to all our parents to help them supervise and support their children with their online and digital interactions at home, on the school device and on personal devices.

While parents of new students to the College have received an email invitation to activate their Qustodio parent account, any parents in our community who have not yet done so can activate their account at any time if they wish. This help document will guide you in getting started.

In addition, these short video guides will help you:

• Creating a Qustodio parent account to connect to a child’s school account

• How to invite an additional parent/carer to join your Qustodio family account

• How parents can get help with Qustodio

• Getting started with your Qustodio parent account

I hope that parents will value and benefit from this tool available through our school program. I’d also like to remind parents that we have a Digital Wellbeing and Cybersafety Parent Forum coming up on March 20, with more information to come shortly.

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. 

ENVISAGE – a Helpful Support Service

We would like to bring to the attention of all parents/guardians and families a program that exists as a possible support for families in the Geelong region called ENVISAGE.

ENVISAGE is a program co-created by Australian and Canadian researchers, clinicians, and parents of children with developmental concerns and disabilities. Their mission is to “empower caregivers to feel confident and competent to navigate the experience of parenting a child or children with developmental concerns by embracing contemporary strengths-based ideas about health, wellbeing, and development”.

We have included this link to the ENVISAGE website should you wish to discover further information as to whether this service could be of benefit to your child and your family.

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!

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!