Surf Coast Week 1 Term 2 2022

Welcome back to Term 2! It was wonderful to see how happy our children were when they greeted each other on the first day back this term. We have had a wonderful first week of term already. Our ANZAC Service was a blessing and BLP Clubs were so much fun. Our Year 3 and 4 students had a great time swimming and three of our Year 4 boys ran incredibly well in the district cross country.
It is always a blessing to welcome new students to our Surf Coast family and this term we have been so blessed to welcome four new students in Prep, Year 2 and Year 4. Watching new friendships and relationships develop is very heart warming.
This term is going to be full of wonderful learning opportunities, celebrations and loads of fun activities. Our Year 2 children will be heading off to camp in Week 3, we celebrate our beautiful mums next Friday at our Mothers’ Pamper Morning and we will be opening our doors for any new families that would like to see our Surf Coast Campus on Open Day.
There are many other events throughout the term that have been listed on the College Calendar and here in The Vine. Please check these regularly in case of any changes.
Thank you for your ongoing support, We look forward to a term without COVID interruptions and an opportunity for our community to come together at different events throughout this term.

Each of the Christian College campuses will open their doors during May for prospective parents and others to visit, tour and ask questions – with no booking needed. We encourage all members of our College community to help spread the word about our open days, and our invitation to book a tour anytime to any friends, neighbours, colleagues – anyone you know who may be looking at Early Learning and/or schooling options for their children.

This year, each of our campuses will open its doors on the following dates at the times indicated.

Junior School-Belmont: May 3 – 9:30am to 11am

Middle School-Highton: May 3 – 11am – 12pm

Surf Coast Campus: May 5 – 9:30am – 11:30am

Bellarine Campus: May 10 – 9:30am – 12:00pm

Senior School-Waurn Ponds: May 3, 5, 10 12:00pm – 1:00pm

We also invite anyone who is interested in visiting any of our campuses, but can’t make the above days/times to book a tour online at a time that suits, meet with campus leaders and have their questions answered. Every day is Open Day!

Congratulations to Year 4 students Guy Sossin, Lachlan Walters and Tom Burnell on their Cross-Country running efforts yesterday.
We are proud of these students being the first Surf Coast Campus representatives at an interschool sporting event.
Guy, Tom and Lachlan competed alongside students representing Montpellier PS, Grovedale West PS, Kardinia International College, Christian College – Highton Campus and The Geelong College.
The event was conducted at Eastern Gardens, Geelong and involved completing a challenging 2000 metre course.
Our students gained valuable experience and enjoyed the atmosphere while competing with enthusiasm and pride, representing our Surf Coast Campus.
A big ‘WELL DONE’ to Tom, Lachlan and Guy.

The Year 2 students finished Term 1 by presenting their Dream Cars to an audience. They designed, created and reported on their Dream Cars. The Year 2 students learned about cue cards and how to prepare their oral presentation. The Year 2 cohort were an amazing audience, listening intently to the presentations and asking many questions about each student’s ideas and giving excellent feedback to the presenters.
The Year 2 students enjoyed showing off their thoughtful and amazing creations with each other and it was wonderful to see their desire to address environmental and social issues with such enthusiasm and genuine concern.
Well done, Year 2s – what a fabulous term’s work! We look forward many exciting learning opportunities in Term 2.

Congratulations on a fantastic Term 1 and thank you for your ongoing support. We finished off the term with the Easter bonnet parade and the kids made some fabulous artwork about Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection.
This year Term 2 is relatively short with only 8 weeks, however if we take out the public holidays it is more like 7. This means that there is a lot to squeeze in, making this a very busy term!
On Wednesday we had a beautiful ANZAC ceremony in which some of our class participated in the school choir. For Year 3 and 4 Sport each Friday, we will be heading into our Middle School campus in Highton for the children to participate in the swimming program. NAPLAN is in week 3 and 4. There is the Mothers’ Day pamper, BLP clubs, Healthy Heroes and hopefully a surprise excursion!
I hope that everyone had an enjoyable Easter and well-deserved break and is ready for a very exciting and busy term 2!

The day finally arrived when we were able to have our very first BLP Clubs for 2022. The excitement filled the air as the children joined their club buddies and made their way to the fun and learning opportunities their club leader had ready for them. Each club has a mixture of students from every year level across the campus. Being part of a club is different from being in their own classroom. It is a time to make new friends and develop respectful relationships, all while working collaboratively with children from all year levels. It is an opportunity for our children to develop higher order thinking skills and express their creativity. It also engages our children consciously with the ideas and processes of their own learning. As teachers we see the confidence, capabilities and passion of our children further develop through the Building Learning Power Club process.
Tinker Time Club – the children used their imaginations to plan a prototype of the creation they will work on throughout this term. We look forward to seeing what the children’s creations are.
Arts and Crafts Club – in this club the children are going to decorate the first letter of their name with lots of embellishments. These will look awesome in their bedrooms when they are finished.
Gardening Club – the veggie garden had an overhaul during gardening club. The wicking beds were cleared in preparation for planting our winter crop. Bulbs and seeds were planted ready for a spring showing.
Coding Club – Learning how to create pathways using coding programs is something this club really enjoyed. As the term continues, they will use their coding skills to program BeeBots and robots to follow the directions given by the children.
Dance Club – Moving and grooving was just what the members of the dance club wanted, and they certainly had plenty of it during Dance Club. Learning new moves and entertaining each other was such a highlight. We will look forward to watching them perform their dance later in the term.
Games Club – The members of the games club enjoyed the morning playing board games with each other and even doing jigsaw puzzles. As the term continues, they will learn how to play many new board games.
Gravitrax and Lego Club – this is always a popular club and today the new members of this club were not disappointed. They thoroughly enjoyed creating marble runs and making wonderful Lego creations.

Surf Coast Choir rehearsals resume next week.
The choir rehearses on Wednesday mornings, 8.15 – 8.45am in the Multipurpose Room.
New members are always welcome (from Prep to Year 4).
If your child would like to join, or is interested in attending a trial session first, please e-mail: k.notini@ccg.vic.edu.au

The choir provides a friendly, cross-year level experience for students to share their enthusiasm for singing. Students participate in vocal exercises to develop technique, and learn about the art of performing with a variety of folk, sacred and popular songs throughout the year. There are no costs involved.

Our first week was full of remembering and celebrating the brave and courageous. The week began with Year 4 students Sophie Virtue and James O’Shanassy representing our Surf Coast Campus at the annual Torquay ANZAC Service in the memorial gardens. On Wednesday families, friends, staff, and students attended the Surf Coast ANZAC Service commemorating the 107th anniversary of Australian’s involvement during World War 1. Retired Commander Daryl Topps from the Torquay RSL joined us for the service and Year 12 student Charlie Barnett played the Last Post and Reveille on the trumpet. Our Surf Coast Campus choir also entertained our guests singing the National Anthem and a song called Still. During the week the children took part in different ANZAC activities such as baking ANZAC biscuits, making poppies and reading ANZAC stories.

On Wednesday, the Preps had a very exciting visit from one of our wonderful Surf Coast parents. Her name was Rachel, and she is a Paramedic.
The Preppies firstly took part in a discussion about what to do in an emergency when an adult is badly hurt, and they need to call an ambulance. Together, they confidently recited the phone number 000.
The Preps learnt that a person who drives an ambulance is called a Paramedic and were lucky enough to see inside, and experience what it is like to be in an ambulance. They were also able to try on some Paramedic uniform items as well as helmets and use a stethoscope to listen to each other’s breathing and heartbeat.
After the visit, many of the Preppies have since been inspired to become a paramedic when they grow up, to help protect and take care of people.
A very big thank you to Rachel for such an inspiring and educational experience!

This term we are hoping to develop our students’ netball/basketball skills and game knowledge in preparation for competition play.
In the 2nd Semester, we are planning to enter school teams to compete in our local after-school competitions and see these introduction sessions as a ‘lead in’ to these sports.
Students who are already playing comp. netball and basketball are also encouraged to be a part of these sessions and future school teams.
Mrs Richardson and Mr Hogan will be conducting training sessions every Tuesday at lunchtime.
Interested students are asked to meet on the netball/basketball court at 1:40pm after they have eaten their lunch.
Students are also asked to bring their runners/sport shoes to change into for training sessions.

Friday May 6th will be a very special day for our Mums. Our annual Mother’s Pampering morning will take place at 9.30-11.30am. The morning will be an opportunity for our mums to take part in arts and crafts, and a time of pampering. They will be entertained and have some morning tea together. Please see invitation.
Following the Pamper morning our children will be able to attend the Mother’s Day stall and purchase something for their mum. We look forward to celebrating our special mums.

WEEK 2
Tuesday 3rd May Bush Prep
Thursday 5th May Open Day 9.30am-11.30am
Friday 6th May Mother’s Day Pamper 9.30am
Friday 6th May Mother’s Day Stall 11.30am
Friday 6th May Year 3 & Year 4 Swimming

WEEK 3
Mon 9th Tues 10th May Year 2 Camp to Angahook
Monday 9th May Healthy Heroes Geelong Cats Visit Year 3 and Year 4
Tuesday 10th May NAPLAN Test Year 3 – Writing
Thursday 12th May NAPLAN Test Year 3 – Reading
Friday 13th May Assembly Period 1
Friday 13th May Year 3 & Year 4 Swimming
WEEK 4
Monday 16th May NAPLAN Test Year 3 – Language Conventions
Tuesday 17th May Bush Prep
Wednesday 18th May NAPLAN Test Year 3 – Maths
Friday 20th May East Timor Independence Day Casual Dress
Friday 20th May BLP Clubs
Friday 20th May Year 3 & Year 4 Swimming

As a community, we are extremely proud of the manner in which the vast majority of people associated with Christian College Geelong have responded to one another throughout the COVID-19 journey of the past three years. Time and time again, we have witnessed genuine demonstrations of love, kindness, understanding, patience, and selflessness. Thank you to all those who have continued to encourage and support each other, offering everyone around them – students, staff and families – the necessary grace and time to walk through this extraordinarily difficult season.

Occasionally however, we do need to honestly confront the small number of individuals who elect to behave poorly. This is one of those occasions.

Please, could all College parents and families utilising our Uniform Shop pay careful attention to this reminder?

It is not appropriate to dispute the regulations with the staff who are kindly assisting you with your wardrobe purchases.

Disrespectful and rude behaviour should not be tolerated anywhere in our society, and it is therefore unacceptable when directed toward any member of our College staff, including the staff at our Uniform Shop.

All members of our College community are expected to support our College policies, which includes uniform requirements and behavioural expectations.

How can we help the young people in our care to learn and grow with maturity if we as adults cannot model acceptable and appropriate behaviour?

We politely request your cooperation with this, and with all expectations connected to the opportunity we have to share in this wonderful community.

VPNs are apps and services used to hide online activity, anonymise a user’s identity on a safe network, and bypass filtering.

It has become common for tech-savvy young people and teenagers to use VPNs on their digital devices. As outlined in an article for parents on our Online Safety Hub by tech expert Jessica Hill, young people typically use VPNs for three main reasons, none of which is to be encouraged. Parents will find the above article helpful, as it covers: what a VPN is, how it works and how parents can identify and prevent VPN use by their children at home.

Free VPNs sometimes pose a further privacy risk as they may be covertly collecting the user’s personal and usage data for the VPN provider’s own use. As young people are more likely to use a free VPN than a paid service, they are more at risk of this danger.

We care about our students’ digital wellbeing and safety and wish to provide a safe and appropriate digital learning environment at school. For this reason, student use of a VPN app or website at school is treated as both a cyber safety risk and a behavioural concern. This has been outlined in our Digital Learning and Device Policy Agreement, as well as the Student Agreement that Year 4-12 students with laptops completed in Term 1.

Access to VPN apps and services has always been blocked on the College network. With the introduction of our new Cyber Safe Schools Program this year, there is now greater visibility to the College over students’ attempted VPN use. Students attempting to use a VPN app or service at school are likely to trigger a ‘red flag’ alert.

This may act as a prompt for coordinators, pastoral, or wellbeing staff to have a supportive and constructive discussion with the student about VPN use, its dangers and our policy and expectations that VPNs are not permitted at school.

It will be important that students develop a practice of ensuring they are not running VPN software on their College laptop before bringing it to school each day, to avoid triggering a VPN red flag. We will be communicating and reinforcing this guidance with students as we share more about our Cyber Safe Schools Program with them and you as the term progresses.

Christian College was well represented at the Equestrian Victoria Interschool State Championships during the holidays. With 10 riders from three campuses competing across four different disciplines it was a busy four days. Team captain Jorja Kirsopp-Cole led the show jumping with teammates, Georgie Pascoe, Sienna Edwards, Leonora Turner, and Lola Edwards. The show riders included Erin Bowers, Jack Borthwick and Maddison Borthwick. Olivia Hanneysee competed in dressage while Zoe Sambucco and Liberty Armitage represented the team in combined training (dressage and show jumping). There were some great results for the team with Leonora Turner (Y11) placing 4^th in the 100cm show jumping, Liberty Armitage (Y11) placing 7th in the 105cm combined training and Sienna Edwards (Y9) gaining 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th placings in the secondary show jumping 75cm to claim 1st place overall.

Two of our CCG students qualified for the State team to compete at the National Championships in Sydney later this year. Erin Bowers, Year 7, gained a 1^st, 1^st and a 6^th to claim 3^rd place overall in the secondary open show horse. Team captain Jorja Kirsopp-Cole brought it home with a 7^th and a 1^st to claim 2^nd place overall.  All students worked so hard to qualify and compete at this event and should be extremely proud of all their efforts!

Shrek – The Musical, which hits the stage in the R.W. Gibson Centre for Music Performance on May 12,13 & 14 is just about a sellout. There is much excitement about this major production and staging it in our brand new music centre at Senior School.

A very limited number of tickets are still available for Thursday and Friday matinee sessions, but all evening sessions are now sold out. Any available tickets can be purchased through the Music Administration office – phone 5241 1577.

Bus Drivers Needed

Casual positions at Christian College are available for qualified and experienced school bus drivers. These positions will cover bus routes servicing both the Highton and Drysdale school campuses.

Successful first time applicants will possess a good rapport with all age groups, demonstrate Christian values, and be able to work with a dedicated team of Christian College staff.

Drivers must hold a current Medium Rigid Vehicle Licence, a Driver’s Certificate from the Taxi Directorate and an excellent driving record. Casual wage rates apply.

Applications to Fleet Manager, Mr Peter Hayes. See our website here for contact details. (Homepage > Join > Employment)

The start of Term 2 saw the teaching and support staff gathering to learn more about the story of the First Nations peoples of Australia.

Simon McCormick from Australians Together led a workshop with videos and activities to help create empathy on our journey of Reconciliation. Australians Together is an organisation that has developed professional learning opportunities and resources to inform all Australians of the stories of the past so that we can walk collectively to create a brighter future for all.

The learning time offered a lot of opportunities for the staff to discuss what they were learning and there was a real buzz in the room. Many staff commented on their new discoveries and how the workshop was so impactful. It was felt that the presentation was a ‘Goldilocks’ moment and was just right.

Already this week, new learning and resources from the presentation have been embedded into lessons across the school. This is an exciting time and it is encouraging to see the staff being so proactive about sharing such an important message with for our young people. We look forward to hearing more about developing the First Nations perspective in our curriculums later in the year.

No matter how knowledgeable you think you are, it is always wise to be open to learn from others.

The roads of humility, empathy and compassion are always worth travelling.

Besides, it may give someone else a chance to shine 👍😊

Discover more about MYTERN here