Head of Secondary

Mr Steve Lobsey | Head of Secondary

Each term at this time, I like to point out we are half-way through the term. In sport, half time is an opportunity to reflect on what is going well and what can be improved upon moving forward.

I encourage students to take a similar approach to their time at school. They can consider things such as:

Have I been organised to get assessment tasks done on time?
Have I taken advantage of opportunities to be involved in extra-curricular activities such as sporting teams, debating or the musical?
Am I prepared for each day with the correct books, stationery and uniform?

As teachers, we are interested in learning. That suggests we are not expecting students to be perfect but we do want to see them grow, develop and improve. An important step in this is reflection to consider which areas need the most improvement?

I encourage parents to speak to their children this week about what is going well at school and what can be improved.

Camp Rock the Musical Rehearsal

A reminder that there will be a half-day rehearsal this Saturday for those cast members who can make it: 12:00pm-4:00pm in the MPC. Parents will have received an email last week regarding costumes. If there are any issues, feel free to email Mrs Rochford.

A forward notice – we have a half day rehearsal on the King’s Birthday Monday 12 June 12:00pm-5:00pm.

Thanks for all your support. Information re tickets will be available shortly.

Brewarrina Cultural Trip

Last week, two of our students, Raj S (Year 10) and Sanjay S (Year 11) went to Brewarrina for a cultural trip. Over the time the boys were away, they visited and stayed at Brewarrina Christian School, visited Brewarrina Central School, experienced the Brewarrina Aboriginal Cultural Museum and spent a day with Aunty Josie and Aunty Vera in Weilmoringle.

After arriving in the late afternoon on Monday 15 May, Raj and Sanjay along with Mr McGillivray got set up in their dorms. They met with Mr and Mrs Turner and their family and shared some time around the campfire later that evening.

The following morning the boys and Mr McGillivray did the bus run around Brewarrina where they collected the students for school. Upon arriving at school, the boys engaged in the classroom with the teachers and students and assisted with some of the teaching and learning. Sanjay was with the Year 3 students doing literacy and Maths while Raj was with Year 6 helping them with their Maths. Later that afternoon, the boys went to Brewarrina Central School where they participated with Matty (local youth leader) and the boys in the Clontarf program. They shared lunch together and participated in sport for the afternoon.

On Wednesday, after doing the bus run in the morning and playing sport with the students at Brewarrina Christian School, the boys headed to the Aboriginal Cultural Museum. The guide, Bradley educated the boys about some of the local Aboriginal History as well as seeing the ancient fish traps. This was a greatly informative and moving time for the students. We again, had a meal around the fire and a time of fellowship with the Turners and Mr Nash.

On our last day in Brewarrina, the boys did the bus run in the morning, followed by breakfast with the Brewarrina Christian School students and some more sport with the students. Following this, the boys headed to a little community called Weilmoringle where they met with two Muruwari elders, Josie and Vera. During the time with Josie and Vera, the boys were educated on the bush foods, berries for eating as well as which trees were used as medicine. They also learned that some trees are used for dying clothes and baskets. The boys had a wonderful time and even increased their vocabulary with some Aboriginal words. After a valuable time with Josie and Vera, the boys headed into town to pick up Mr Turner. While they were waiting for him, the boys played a game of footy with the local kids at the park. They thoroughly enjoyed this as did the local kids. After a very full day, everyone relaxed around the fire and enjoyed a hot meal and some marshmallows over the fire.

We headed back on Friday morning and had lots to talk about on the way home. It is fair to say that the boys were impacted and changed by their time with our friends in Brewarrina. I am pretty sure that they will be back there one day to visit.

Mr Andrew McGillivray

Year 10 NSW School Vaccination Program

Just a reminder if your child is in Year 10 this year, you can now provide online consent for their routine school vaccinations.

In 2023 Year 10 students are offered the meningococcal ACWY vaccine.

Green Point Christian College Vaccination Clinic Dates:

Year 10 - Monday 19 June 2023 (and catch-ups)

Year 7 - Wednesday 23 August 2023

Vaccination will only be provided at school if consent has been received.

Year 7 students are offered free vaccines for diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (dTpa) and human papillomavirus (HPV).

The Year 7 Vaccination Clinic was held on 24 March 2023. Students who were absent may attend for a ‘catch-up’ on 19 June or 23 August 2023, if parent consent has been given.

How to provide consent:

To complete online consent for your child’s school vaccinations, visit: https://nswhealth.service-now.com/school
Follow the steps to log in to your existing ServiceNSW account. This is the same account you may already use to renew your driver’s licence. If you don’t have a ServiceNSW account, refer to ServiceNSW to create one.
Update or confirm your personal details in ServiceNSW as required.
Complete the School Vaccination Consent Form for your child/ren. You will need to:

a) Enter your child’s personal details

b) Provide the Medicare card details for you and your child

c) Read the linked Parent Information Sheet and privacy statement

d) Provide consent

If you or your child do not have a Medicare card, consent can still be provided by requesting a paper-based consent form directly from your child’s school.

The benefits of providing consent online:

easily update your child’s details
receive SMS and/or email notifications when vaccinations are given
faster upload of vaccination records to the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR).

For more information on routine school vaccinations, please visit

www.health.nsw.gov.au/schoolvaccination.

If you require information in your language, please visit:

www.health.nsw.gov.au/immunisation/Pages/school_vaccination_language.aspx