Surf Coast Term 2 Week 5

From the Acting Principal

Thirty years ago, in 1993, a diverse group of major faith communities in Australia initiated a Week of Prayer for Reconciliation, from May 27 to June 3. This weeklong event evolved into Reconciliation Week which is now under the guidance of Reconciliation Australia. The two dates, May 27 and June 3 are historically significant. May 27 marks the anniversary of the 1967 referendum when Australians overwhelmingly voted to include indigenous Australians in the national census. And, on June 3 1992, the High Court of Australia recognised native title – the land rights of the Meriam people in Torres Strait – also known as the Mabo decision.

Christian College is proud to promote Reconciliation Week as we join with other schools, workplaces and community groups throughout Australia in working towards a just and equitable and reconciled Australia. This year’s Reconciliation Week theme, “Be a Voice for Generations”, honours the work of previous generations who fought for justice and calls on the next generation to continue the work. We will be acknowledging Reconciliation Week in various ways including assemblies, homeroom devotions and other initiatives throughout the week.

From Little Things Big Things Grow

In 2018 our Surf Coast Campus opened its door to 12 of the most adorable Preps – our Foundation students, three full-time staff members and quite a few specialist teachers that travelled to the Surf Coast from other campuses. Fast forward five years to 2023 and those 12 little Prep students are now in Year 5 and have been joined by another 12 students. We now have two Prep classes with 39 Preps in total, 12 full-time staff and a group of amazing support and specialist staff. This year we have 168 students attending our campus across all levels from Prep to Year 5. We are very excited about the future growth of our campus both with the new families we welcome and the new buildings that are being erected to accommodate our present and future students. We do feel truly blessed.

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 2 2023 

Week 6

*National Reconciliation Week

Tuesday May 30                   Geelong Excursion – Yr 2 – More information to follow

Tuesday May 30                   Discovery and Learning – Prep

Thursday June 1                   Discovery and Learning – Yr 1

Thursday June 1                   Winter Sports – 12.30pm – 3.30pm – Yr 5    

Friday June 2                       BLP Clubs – 2.45pm – 3.30pm

Teamwork Makes the Dream Work!

This week our Preps ventured down the valley to the magnificent Doorangwar (Spring Creek) area of our beautiful school grounds.

We talked about helping one another through teamwork and realised how working together makes work easier, more fun and makes us feel a great sense of achievement.

As a team, and with the help of our wonderful parent helpers, the students built teepee houses and worked on creating our very own furniture pieces to be used inside. We also excavated areas and made dams using gum leaves. Some students made a pretend fire using gum leaves and sticks, including pretend marshmallows of course! Some created gorgeous posies of flowers and flower crowns. Other eagle-eyed students found a beautiful nest of slater beetles, which they observed and noticed there were many small ‘baby’ beetles within the colony.

We loved working together during our Bush Prep adventure!

Torquay Historical Walking Tour

This week we got to step back in time and see old historical sites located right in our backyard! Starting down at Cosy Corner, we had a nice lunch to fuel us for our big walk ahead. As partners, we carried clipboards and a map to make sure we crossed off any sites and landmarks that we saw.

Along the way, we saw some fabulous historical sites that have been looked after for many years.  Some of the stops we checked out included Nairn’s Dairy, the original Torquay post box and Taylor Park with the gate. Many of these have been looked after and cared for, while others had sadly been replaced, but are still remembered with a plaque and gorgeous images from their time. To give our tired legs a little break, we enjoyed our time at the park for some play.

Delving Into our Past

Having completed a fun and tasty Science unit, the Year 3 students are now delving into local and Australian history as the next focus for Integrated Studies. As we move into Reconciliation Week, the Year 3 students will explore some of the historical events which have led to the need for reconciliation in our country.

To complement the learning taking place in our history lessons, the students are also reading and writing about the book, ‘My Place’ by Nadia Wheatley and Donna Rawlins. Focusing on a small parcel of land, the pages tell the stories of the inhabitants of the property over two centuries, highlighting notable events and historical characters from each decade. As we travel through the years, the Year 3 students will explore the issues pertaining to each era. They will have the opportunity to read further, or take part in class discussions, about defining moments in Australia’s history including immigration, the World Wars, the Gold Rush, the arrival of the European settlers, and the significance of Indigenous connection to country.

Next semester our camp will consolidate the learning from this term’s history unit and we look forward to exploring the historical sites along the coast together.

Geelong North Division Cross Country

Well done to Mackenzie Fitzgerald, Year 4 on her efforts at the Division XCR held last Tuesday, at Eastern Gardens, Geelong.

Mackenzie finished a creditable 19th  out of 54 competitors representing schools in the North Geelong Division.

Mackenzie teamed up with other CCG students from our Bellarine Campus and proved to be a wonderful representative for both our College and the Surf Coast Campus.

Congratulations Mackenzie!

National Simultaneous Storytime

This week the whole school gathered together in the library to participate in National Simultaneous Storytime (NSS). Each year, children across Australia gather to read the same book at the same time in schools, libraries, book shops, childcare centres and many other places around the country. Last year over 2 million children participated in a NSS event. This year’s selected book was ‘The Speedy Sloth’ by Rebecca Young, illustrated by Heath McKenzie.

Prior to reading the book, the teachers were challenged to sloth trivia where they were faced with a range of questions about sloths. The students enjoyed helping the teachers answer their questions, with all of us learning that sloths not only move faster in water than on land and in trees, but a number of their internal organs are fused to their ribs so that they can breathe while hanging upside down!

We look forward to seeing what book will be selected for next year’s National Simultaneous Storytime.

Calling all CC Eagles Members and Families

We are pleased to present an opportunity for you to be a part of CC Eagles/ Geelong United Basketball Club Fundraiser, with NBL1 tickets available for the following game through the club:

Round 10 – Hoop City Geelong United Supercats v Dandenong Rangers – Saturday June 17, 2023. Tip off: Women – 5:00pm, Men – 7:00pm (Ticket gets you in to both games at The Geelong Arena)

All PRE-ORDERED tickets will cost $10.00 with $5.00 being retained by our club.

On the night we want to see our members show up at the game in our CLUB COLOURS.

We hope that everyone embraces this opportunity to get our CC Eagles family together and support Hoop City Geelong United Supercats on the night.

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 f.provan@ccg.vic.edu.au