Surf Coast Term 4 Week 8

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 4 2023

Week 9

Thursday 30 November       Coastal Bike Ride – Years 4 & 5

Friday 1 December                Disabled Surfers Association- Sausage Sizzle Fundraiser – Hawaiian Shirt Day – order forms sent home. Please check student diaries

Friday 1 December                BLP Clubs – All Students

Week 10

Wednesday 06 December    Carnival Day – Prep – Year 4 – More information to come  

Wednesday 06 December    Adventure Park – Year 5 – More information to come

Thursday 07 December         Celebration Evening Rehearsals – More information to come – All Students

Thursday 07 December         Celebration Evening Costa Hall – More information to come – All Students and Families

Friday 08 December              Christmas Service – Multipurpose Room – 09.30am
All Welcome

Friday 08 December              End of Term – Dismissal Time of 2.30pm

Prep Day Camp

After much anticipation, the day was finally here… yesterday we experienced the BIGGEST day of the year in Prep – Prep Day Camp!

We started the day by loading onto the bus, all aboard for the Ballarat Wildlife Park. We spent our snack time with “Crunch” the Super Croc (luckily, he wasn’t as hungry as we were, and he didn’t even notice we were there…) Then we headed into kangaroo paradise and got to know a mob of kangaroos, some of them even had their babies with them! We were lucky enough to have the entire kangaroo area to ourselves and were able to feed and spend some wonderful time with our new marsupial friends. We then travelled via the tiger sanctuary and past some gorgeous koalas to see the majestic little penguins. We learnt many interesting facts about these furry little friends and the penguin keeper was more than willing to answer ALL of our penguin related questions… of which there were many!

After lunch, we went round and round the reptile house. The size of some of the snakes was remarkable! We finished our wonderful excursion via the tortoises and meerkats, then it was onto the bus again to travel back to school.

We managed to get back to Christian College just in time for the end of the school day… for all the other students that is, but not for us! We turned on the Christmas tunes, opened up the decorations and rocked around the Christmas tree. Next time you’re in the multipurpose room, be sure to have a look at our handy decorating work. It was a genuine team effort from all of our Preppies. Our special day culminated in a pizza party and a special Christmas movie, as well as remarks from many of our Preppies that Day Camp was the “best day ever!”

It’s Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas!

In a classroom buzzing with festive cheer, the air was filled with the delightful sound of pencils scratching paper as Year 1 embarked on a heartwarming adventure—writing their first letters to Santa and his bustling team of elves.

For these little ones, it is more than a mere letter; it is a direct line to the North Pole, a chance to share their hopes and wishes with the jolly man in red and his industrious helpers. The room was echoing with giggles and exclamations as they penned down not just requests for toys and treats but also endearing questions about life in Santa’s workshop.

The magic of the moment was evident in each carefully crafted word and colourful illustration, reflecting the genuine joy of reaching out to Santa and his elves for the first time. As the letters were sealed with excitement and dropped into the mailbox, the Year 1 class eagerly awaited the enchanting response from the snowy realms of the North Pole.

Year 1 will eagerly be awaiting the arrival of their new class friend – The Elf on the Shelf!

Prep – Year 2 Tabloid Sports

Last Tuesday, our Prep-Year 2 students, under the instruction of our Year 3 students, enjoyed a fun and active session of Tabloid Sports. The sun shone over our beautiful campus and students enjoyed being a part of their mixed age groups.

The afternoon involved undertaking 12 activities, focusing on a variety of fundamental motor skills while participating in a non-competitive field. Our Year 3 students were incredible in leading and instructing our young students at each event.

Congratulations to all students for being great sports and cooperating. House points were awarded for being a ‘good sport’ and displaying kindness, cooperation and encouragement towards others.

House point totals for the event were as follows:

Penman – 455, Burrows – 650, Flynn – 670, Taylor – 735.

Congratulations to Taylor House on your victory!

Thank you to the parents and family members who came along to encourage the students, and to teachers and staff for supporting another Tabloid Sports Carnival.

William Buckley Excursion

Last Friday, Year 2s explored the region, visiting sites where the convict William Buckley lived with the Wathaurong tribe, between 1803 and 1835. Their day started on the beach at Breamlea, where William Buckley spent time living, perfecting his fishing techniques. The students sketched the beach and imagined William Buckley living there.

The next stop was alongside the river at Barwon Heads. This was a favourite spot for the Wathaurong tribe as it had so many of the resources they needed. Our students enjoyed playing on the playground and eating their recess snack, while imagining how the world was so different then.

The third stop was Buckley’s Cave in Point Lonsdale. It was amazing to see the cave where he sheltered and to scramble around the rocks looking for treasures. We could also see across the rip to Sullivan’s Bay where Buckley could view the convict settlement he had escaped from.

The last stop for the day was the peaceful, shady Buckley’s Falls. We enjoyed our lunch and a short walk upstream to see the base of the falls, to try fishing with bush fishing rods and bait from our lunchboxes. The day was such an amazing chance to imagine William Buckley living in our area. We are so thankful that many of the sites have been preserved and protected for all to enjoy. Our young historians certainly enjoyed their day exploring.

Japanese Extension Class

We are starting a Japanese extension class at lunch time on 木(moku)よう(you)日(bi)(Thursdays). Some wonderful students have signed up for it, including Melina Lee Zago, Mia Sticca and Claire Colella from 3J; and Hope Sticca and Lilly Kennedy from 3T.

We are playing a Hiragana card game, together with Origami and some other fun Japanese activities. If you like Japanese and would like to join us for the first half of lunchtime on Thursdays, please let Suzuki Sensei know. Sensei will only speak to you in Japanese during the extension class, so please be ready to use as much as Japanese as you can.  がんばってGambette ! (Try your best!)

Lots on in Year 4

The vegetable garden continues to be a favourite spot for the Year 4 students to visit and it’s no secret why…they love eating all the produce.

Strawberries and snow peas don’t stand a chance in our garden at the moment as they are gobbled up by hungry students. Also in our vegetable garden is a bird aviary with some budgies in it and recently their baby birds have ventured out of the nest boxes into the big wide world. If you are on campus please come past and have a look at these little cuties.

The Year 4 students have been working hard at sharpening their bike riding skills for our Coastal Bike Ride Day on Thursday, November 30. We are looking forward to this day out and about around Torquay riding our bikes.

Remembrance Day was commemorated on campus back on Friday, November 10. All Year 4 students took part in the service which was broadcast live over the school speaker system to all classrooms. You can be very proud of the excellent job they all did in remembering those that gave so much for the safety of our country.

We have spent a couple of weeks now refining our scripts for our puppet plays that are based upon a chosen parable from the Bible that we have studied in class. This week our small groups had the opportunity to perform their puppet plays to several different classes of Prep, Year 1 and Year 2 students. Whilst there were some nerves the performances were an excellent portrayal of a positive Biblical moral message.

Well done Year 4!

Off to Market

Today the Year 4 and 5 students had the opportunity to visit the Middle School Highton Campus to experience “Market Day”.

Each year as part of the Year 6 curriculum, students plan, design and produce a product to sell. This is always a huge amount of work and is one of the highlights of the year, for both the Year 6 cohort and the student body who get to go shopping. A charity is chosen, and all money raised goes to this charity.

It was a fabulous way to spend our morning. Reconnecting with friends from the Highton campus and the Junior School Belmont campus who were also there for the experience.

The stalls included handmade friendship bracelets, scrunchies, lucky dip, side show alley type games, candles, a photo booth, archery and of course lolly bag stalls, just to name a few.

As our students head into Year 6 next year, this morning was invaluable to them to gain an understanding of what Market Day could look like and how we can make ours a wonderful experience for all of our Surf Coast students next year!

Art – Paper and Collage

The lifelong skill of being able to properly use scissors can be very much underestimated! The students at Surf Coast have been working on a unit of Paper and Collage. They have been building on their cutting skills and using these to create different images by creating layers, texture and interest with different patterned and textured paper. We have lots of fun projects in the works including the very hungry caterpillar, butterflies, Australian animals and native plants, stained glass windows and jumping into the crazy world of Surrealism!

CCG Foundation Golf Day Drives a Great Result!

The second CCG Foundation Annual Golf Day held earlier this month was a major success, with more than 60 golfers of varying abilities enjoying a fabulous day out at 13th Beach. Congratulations to the winning team – Veneziano Coffee Roasters, comprising company CEO Craig Dickson, together with Lance Brown, Nicholas Edds and David Perkins. Congratulations also to Judson Belousoff who took out the NTP (Nearest the Pin) award and Glen McColl who finished the day with the longest drive. A huge thanks to all participants for embracing the day. As well as providing an opportunity for people to come together, enjoy a round of golf and each other’s company, we raised $52,546.10 for the Foundation to support disadvantaged Geelong families in giving their children a Christian College education. Again, thank you to all who contributed to making this day a success.

A date for the diary – the 2024 Foundation Golf Tournament is happening on Thursday October 24 next year at 13th Beach Golf Links. That event will be played on the Beach Course – the same one used for the Vic Open.

GenAI Parent and Student Surveys Feedback

Recently, over several weeks, parents were invited to participate in a survey regarding experiences and perspectives on generative artificial intelligence, learning, society, and future. I would like to thank those parents who generously took a few minutes to participate and share their perspective as part of this process.

Concurrently, students in Years 7-12 were also invited to participate in an equivalent student version of the survey. I was pleased with the degree of participation from our students, at all target year levels, as well as the maturity and thoughtfulness of their responses. Our young people have been, and continue to be, engaged with this technology and the complex issues surrounding it.

Given how new this technology is to most people, for many in education this year has been one of discovery, learning and deep consideration of generative AI’s impacts for education, society, and future. A key consideration is how we as a school can best support all members of our community to be empowered to shape and influence those impacts, for the benefit of all. This journey is far from over and will continue into 2024 and beyond.

Get Some Unique Christmas Cards and Support Williams House

This year Williams House is selling packets of Christmas cards designed by our own little artists!

We are selling our Angel/Shepherd cards for $5 for a pkt of 6 and our Nativity cards are $7 for a pkt of 10. Each packet contains either 6 or 10 different designs.

If you would like to support the kinder and share our creations with the community this Christmas, the cards are available at all CCG campus receptions and of course at Williams House. Payment can be made with cash or card.

We also take over-the-phone orders with direct deposit. Phone 5241 3556

All money raised will go towards making some new additions to our outdoor yards!

We hope you love these gorgeous creations and enjoy sharing them with your family and the community this Christmas!

With thanks from all the children and the team at WH!