"How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity." Psalm 133:1

When I read the verse, I was reminded that the word 'community' has the word 'unity' in it. A community works best where there is a shared vision and purpose. It was wonderful this week to have an in-person opportunity for all parents to meet with their child's teachers and talk about how we can all be working together in partnership, with a shared vision of helping each student achieve their potential. After some years of not being able to meet in person, it is a good reminder we are a community and to feel a real sense of community.

Year 12 are currently doing their Trial HSC Examinations and I would like to ask you to join with us in praying for them at this time. When they return from exams they will only have 6 weeks left of school, so we also want to be praying about them as they finish up their time at school and start making decisions about what lies ahead.

Secondary Student Progressive Reporting

We continue to use progressive reporting at GPCC. When students do tasks, the teachers provide feedback to the students and then make a comment on the parent portal. This means that the students receive regular, meaningful, feedback on their learning; and parents do not need to wait until the end of the semester to receive information on how their child is performing.
 
If you are unsure how to access the reports, you can find the instructions for “Print Progressive Reports” under the “How-To Guides” menu in Parent Lounge

Recount by Bella T (Year 9)

Recently I participated in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Bronze practice hike. This was a great experience and I built friendships and improved my physical endurance through it. The first day we had to be up bright and early to get to school by 7:00am. Personally I had to wake up at 5:30am because I live half-an-hour away from school, resulting in a very early start to the day. We took the school minibus to Hornsby, where we met our instructor Sophie who helped us check and repack our bags for the hike. On this hike there were four Year 9 students; myself, Morgan D, Johnny L and Sidney B, our instructor Sophie, and Mr Samild who came on the hike to supervise as Mr W couldn’t come. Our group was fairly small, so we took less breaks during the walk to our campsite in Crosslands. 

We left from Hornsby Station at around 8:30am and hiked 15km to Crosslands – with a lunch break in between, arriving at 2:45pm. The hike was across lots of different terrain including massive hills and flat grounds. The scenery was very beautiful, and we even saw some kangaroos and bush turkeys along the way. When we arrived at our campsite and set up our tents, a lady came up to us and asked us to move because she had a group of about 60 girls coming in and she had booked the area where we had set up camp! This wasn’t great news, but we did obligingly move our tents to a different area and re-set everything up for them. We then realised that the campfire we planned to use – which had lots of wood next to it – was now theirs, so we had to go look for firewood! 

It got dark really quickly, and we ate dinner next to the campfire. We hung out together until later that evening and then we headed to bed. We didn’t have the best sleep because of the huge group of girls next door but we slept nevertheless. The next morning we woke up, had breakfast, packed up our stuff and then left to hike to Berowra station. There was a giant mountain on the way and it was hard to trek up, especially with our packs on, but we got to the top eventually, had a break and headed to a nearby lookout to learn about bearings. By then we were on the final stretch and while we were happy to go home and rest after two days of seemingly never-ending exercise, we were all still a bit sad that our hike had come to an end.  

We hiked a total of around 21km altogether and I think we all enjoyed the experience and will remember it happily for a long time to come. To anyone considering the Duke of Ed, I would recommend the experience highly. Speak to Mr Witanowski about it if you are interested. A special thanks to Sophie, our hiking instructor, Mr Witanowski for organising the event, Mr Samild for supervising and Morgan, Johnny and Sidney for being great people to talk to and hang out with on the hike. The time spent with everyone was wonderful and I’m sure we all learnt a lot from it and enjoyed the experience. 

Max Potential - Excursion to Tarrigal House

As part of my Max Potential Community Service Pitch, I gathered a group of eight Year 11 boys to visit Tarrigal House and spent half the day getting to know the residents and listening to their incredible life stories. The idea was to bridge the generation gap and learn from the wisdom and experiences of the elderly in our community.

Upon arriving at Tarrigal House, we were warmly welcomed by the staff, who were excited about our visit. As we sat down with the residents, they began to open up and share their journeys through life with us.

Their stories were truly eye-opening, and we couldn't help but be moved by the wealth of wisdom they possessed. We heard tales of resilience, love, and courage, as well as stories that made us laugh and reflect on our own lives. It was amazing to see how much knowledge and insight could be gained from spending time with those who have experienced so much more than us.

We left Tarrigal House with a profound sense of gratitude and admiration for the residents. It was truly rewarding to witness the positive impact it had on both the residents and our group. 

Daniel d L (Year 11)

NSW School Vaccination Program