Mr Peter McLellan | Head of Secondary

It was great to be able to meet as a whole Secondary School this week. What a blessing! Around 600 students meeting together to remind ourselves that we are in community with others from all Year groups. We are together in all that we do and that places a responsibility on each of us to be outward looking towards the needs of others.

This coming Monday 8 February is our Thanksgiving and Academic Service for 2020. Many students will be receiving awards and they need to be in their formal uniform on the day. Unfortunately, the shadow of COVID continues to limit the outside visitors who are allowed on site, so we are unable to allow parents to attend the assembly.

Uniform

Please continue to ensure your students are wearing the correct uniform. Girls particularly need to wear their skirts to the appropriate length that meet the requirements of the College Uniform Policy.

Drivers

If your child drives to school, they must complete the appropriate "Permission to Drive to School" form which was handed out at a recent Year Meeting or can be obtained from the Office. This form has details of the car and permission signatures from their parents and the parents of any other student(s) they have permission to carry as passengers. It is important that this procedure is followed by all students who drive to the College.

Swimming Carnival

Our GPCC Secondary Swimming Carnival is coming up on Friday 26 February 2021. A reminder that this is a compulsory school event and more information will be sent soon.

Years 11 and 12 Parent/Teacher Night – will be held Tuesday, 2 March 2021 for Years 11 and 12 (depending on COVID restrictions).

Year 7 Meet the Teacher and Faculty Night – will be held on Tuesday, 9 March 2021 in the MPC (depending on COVID restrictions). 

Year 7 Camp

Next week will be fun-filled for Year 7. Can I please request students be at the school at the latest by 7:30am on Wednesday morning – we will meet in the MPC to mark rolls and head down to the buses, so we can leave by 7:45am and get to camp by morning tea time. We anticipate being back at school by 4:00pm on Friday. We will contact the office if there are any delays. 

The Camp is on Wednesday 10 February to Friday 12 February 2021. 

Digital Discipleship Citizen News

The College is implementing a “Digital Discipleship Citizen” program from Year 3 through to Year 12. The aim of this program is to help our students stay safe whilst using technology, encouraging them to use it wisely and to highlight the impact technology can have on students’ wellbeing and their relationships with friends, family and God. A Digital Discipleship Citizen is a person, who has learnt about the following (and acted upon):

• Digital Conduct (Christian Conduct) – Benefits and negative effects of technology;
• Digital Footprint (Spiritual Footprint) – Positive and negatives effects of posting online;
• Digital Relationships (Godly Relationships) – The effect technology can have on our relationships with one another and ultimately God;
• Digital Health and Wellbeing (Spiritual Health and Godly Wellbeing) – Knowing how to stay safe online and where to get help from;
• Digital Law (Biblical Principles) – Knowing when it is right and wrong to use technology;
• Each Semester each Year Group will receive a presentation (of about 75 minutes), specifically aimed at their age. Students will then need to complete a short online series of questions to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of the content;
• Secondary students will be starting the program during weeks three to six and Primary School students during weeks six to eight.

For your information the content that will be covered for Secondary School Students is as follows:

Year 7: “How to be Internet Awesome”

Concepts of ethical responsible online use. 

Year 8: “What is your brand?”

Understand strategies in which you can build and maintain a positive digital brand. 

Year 9: “How to combat cyberbullying and stop the harm it causes.”

Be an upstander and not a bystander and your digital reputation. 

Year 10: “Explore the impact of nude teen photo scandals”

What drives bad behaviour and why do things happen. Potential Pathways to resolution. 

Year 11: “The Internet and the Law”

Taking, sending and distributing nude pictures and defamation.

Year 12: “Define cyberbullying, sexting, and digital reputation”

Critically evaluate the social and legal implications of a range of negative behaviour.

From Mrs McKay, English Co-ordinator

When students graduate from GPCC, one of my deepest hopes is that they have confidence, humility and discernment as they engage with the ideas, stories and people of their world. To this end, in English this year we will be encouraging students to participate in a range of writing activities and competitions, both within the school context and from around the country. This will provide students with opportunities to develop and refine their own voice in the real world of publication and communication.

Information on these opportunities will be presented to students in class as well as notifications in The Messenger. Writing will include short stories, poetry and feature writing. 

We hope this will provide inspiration and motivation for students to write about what matters and to use their voice to make a difference. 

Stay tuned!

Tiny Science Lab - New Innovation

Our students were very excited to be the first in the world to use Mr Strickling's "Tiny Science Lab".

He has developed a system where smaller schools and home-schoolers who cannot afford normal sized Science Laboratories can perform all of the regular experiments, just on a tiny scale.

Mr Strickling's "Tiny Science Lab" is big on education, big on safety and yet tiny on cost. He was excited to hear some of the Year 7 students who trialled the equipment to exclaim they were going to be Scientists as they exited the lesson.

Photos: Mr Strickling's Tiny Science Lab