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 3 2023

Week 6

Monday 21 August                 Book Week – All Week – All Students- Please refer to information sent by Katherine Moore (Library Teacher)

Monday 21 August                 Gymnastics Begins – Selected Days – Please refer to note from Jo Richardson (PE Teacher)

Monday 21 August                 Werribee Zoo Excursion – Prep, Year 1 and Year 3

Tuesday 22 August                 Pupil Free Day – All Students

Wednesday 23 August           Book Week Parade – 09.30am – All Students

Thursday 24 August               District Athletics – All Day – Selected Students – Please refer to note from PE Department sent on Monday 14th August. Applicable to only those selected.

Friday 25 August                    District Athletics – Back Up Day – for those selected.

Friday 25 August                    Science Works Excursion – Year 2 and Year 4

Friday 25 August                    Assembly – 2.45pm – 3.30pm – All Students

 Preps and Their Buddies

During the week, the Surf Coast preppies had the most wonderful session with our buddies in Year 4.

The session started off by sharing and discussing the learning that has taken place so far this term in Integrated Studies. The Preppies shared their understanding of living and nonliving things and brainstormed many of the beautiful creatures that we have on land, in the sky and underwater.

Together with their Year 4 Buddy, the Preppies loved creating a wonderful underwater collage image of themselves! There were many steps to create their masterpieces, with a favourite being the blue water bubble blowing!

The conversations, collaboration and care that was shown throughout our Buddy session was just beautiful to watch.

We can’t wait for our next Buddy session!

Year 1 – Stuck!

This week during reading we have been looking at the book Stuck by Oliver Jeffers. This book has been a fabulous way to teach us some new vocabulary like “fetch”, “ridiculous” and “commotion”. You may have heard us use some of these words in a sentence as we challenged ourselves to include them in conversation. Stuck is a fun, silly book that got us thinking about some of the ways we would get something unstuck. It also provided us with great opportunities to discuss what happened in the book and practise our listening and speaking skills. Hopefully, we don’t get anything stuck in a tree anytime soon!

It’s all Happening in Year 3!

Can somebody please slow this year down!! Term 3, Week 5 and it’s all happening in Year 3! We started our first full week back in the classroom with a visit from Cam Guthrie from the Geelong Cats as part of the Healthy Heroes program. Cam spoke to the kids about what it’s like to be an AFL footballer and how health and nutrition are vital to success.

In Mathematics, the kids have been learning all about fractions of groups of objects and deciding which fraction of lollies we would rather. We have also been using beebots and other materials to learn about directions and spacial awareness.

In Literacy the kids have started an amazing unit about Ancient Rome. This is a rich learning experience which includes elements of History, Geography, Grammar and Syntax and even Christian Education.

We look forward to the next few weeks where we will swoop into our Biological Sciences unit about Australian birds (pardon the pun!) so keep an eye on The Vine!

Buddies and Science Week

The students of Year 4 had a wonderful time this week with our Prep buddies from both Prep T and Prep J. We chatted about our Integrated Studies topics and created some wonderful artwork together. The bubble blowing and printing was a huge hit even for those that ended up with blue lips!

As part of our Science Week activities we were very lucky to have a visit from Middle School Science teacher, Ms Blackburn. Once we were safely prepared with lab coats, safety goggles and gloves we dissected owl pellets.

Students used tweezers and skewers to carefully remove bones from the owl pellet to discover what the owl had been eating. There were many exclamations of, “Wow!” “Look at this!” and, “I think I found a skull!”

National Science Week

This week Christian College Geelong Surf Coast Campus celebrated National Science Week! The launch of stomp rockets proved to be an explosive hit with students designing and launching their own rockets using air pressure! Amidst the excitement, Year 5 students Lachlan and Blake emerged as joint winners, showcasing their engineering prowess as their rockets soared the farthest. The Year 4 students delved into the mysteries of food chains and ecosystems. Armed with curiosity, they embarked on the dissection of owl pellets to unravel the mysteries of their diet.

Students still have an opportunity to participate in the Science Week colouring competition, and to use the microscopes in the library to identify the mystery cell.  Make sure you get your entries in by Friday for your chance to win a prize!

Year 5 Making Their Mark in Maths

Last Friday eight of our Year 5 students headed up the highway to Penleigh Essendon Grammar School. They were met by over 100 budding mathematicians from all over Melbourne to take part in the State Maths Games Day. Our students were split into two teams of four to compete in the first round of problems-solving questions. This was a session that required complete concentration while the students tried to work out many tricky mathematical problems in only 60 minutes. Following a break, the next round was quick mental maths. Our students went head-to-head with students from other schools, and they competed exceptionally well during this session. The last session for the day was all about probability and this was a time for the students to have fun and compete in games of chance with the other students. Overall, our students had a day full of learning and lots of fun and were great ambassadors of our Surf Coast Campus.

Year 5 Pen Pals

Getting letters in the mail seems to be a thing of the past. Most of our ‘letters’ now happen via email, text messages or social media. In Year 5 we are going ‘old school’ – the students in 5T at Surfcoast have buddied up with the students from 5M at Middle School Highton. Each student has a buddy in the other class, and we have been exchanging letters. The letters are hand-delivered by the teachers, and the excitement in the room when the letters arrive is something to behold. The letters are all handwritten, not a computer in sight. The students have the opportunity to get to know each other through questions and stories about their weekends, the sports they play and how they spend their free time.  When we go to camp in Term 4, all Year 5 students will be going together, so our Pen Pals will be a connection we already have with the Highton students.

Matildas’ Magic Motivates PE Soccer

What an exciting time we are all experiencing this week!

The incredible performances and results by our Matildas have spurred on all our students during PE classes.

Everyone, from Prep to Year 5, has been focusing on soccer skills and drills and participation in minor games. We enjoyed some ‘penalty shootout’ fun with competitiveness between classmates and House groups. This has given the students a small idea of the enormous pressure our Matildas are under as they step up to take their kick.

Enjoy the following photos of Year 1T students enjoying all things soccer during PE this week.

Good luck to the Matilda’s for their final game tomorrow night!

The Library Lego Exhibition

There has been an excitement bubbling away at school this week, with the delivery of many exciting Lego builds to the Library in preparation for our inaugural Lego Exhibition. Each morning there have been many new creations dropped off to the Library, usually with a few observers and excited admirers in tow. We have been busily labelling and cataloguing the many pieces of work as they arrive to ensure their safe keeping.

It has been wonderful to see many old hands and first timers get involved, with creations varying in size and type; from small freestyle creations to large set builds with over 3,500 pieces!

The Lego Exhibition has been a wonderful way to celebrate our students and their gifts and talents in a different way, with many interesting and creative builds on display, often with intriguing stories behind them.

A wonderful side effect of the Lego Exhibition has been the many new faces in the Library at lunch time and the excitement the students have expressed in sharing and celebrating their creations together. The presence of the Lego builds has captivated every class that has come each day to the Library.

We look forward to opening the Lego gallery officially next week, with a celebration of student works and the opportunity for students to demonstrate and share with their peers about their wonderful creations.

At the closure of the exhibit in two weeks time, students will be encouraged to bring a box (if not left in the Library) to transport their Lego home. If a suitable time needs to be arranged with families for the collection of larger Lego pieces, please feel free to email [email protected].

Book Week and the Great Book Swap

Next Wednesday August 23, we will hold our annual Book Week celebration day when students are encouraged to dress up as a favourite book character. Families are welcome to join us for the event, with festivities starting from 9am in the Multipurpose Room, with our annual parade following on the basketball court shortly after.

On our Book Week celebration day, we will also be holding a Great Book Swap as a fundraiser for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF). The ILF are a charity that work to promote literacy in remote communities across Australia by providing culturally relevant books and learning resources to children and families. For a gold coin, students may choose a book to take home from our book stall after the parade.

We are still accepting donations of great books in excellent condition until Monday August 21. In particular, we are in need of chapter books for our upper primary levels. A huge thank you to all students and families that have made book donations for the fundraiser, in particular Year 4T who have managed to collect over 230 book donations!

Prepaid Tuition Fee Discount

The College is offering a 4 per cent discount to families who elect to prepay their 2024 tuition fees in full by September 8, 2023. Taking up this offer means you will receive a 4 percent discount on the 2024 tuition fees less sibling discount.

For further details please refer to the email sent to you earlier this week.

Please contact the fees team via [email protected] or (03) 5241 1899 if you have any queries - our team will happily explain the details and arrange a quotation for 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]

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