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Welcome to Term 2. Last term I took you through our new Core Purpose Statement, our Mission Goals and our Graduate Profile. I hope you can see what we are trying to achieve by having a clear focus on why we exist and what we aim to help you do for your children. This is a partnership exercise, so we need to work together to make a real impact on their lives.
One of the things I noted when I started at GPCC last year, was the message that this is a school that cares for its students but don’t expect too much in the way of academics. This is the Coast after all! I did note a trend for families to look to Gosford High School for example, or other Independent schools as their children prepared to enter Year 7. Yet my experience of the students and the teachers has told me that we can expect more.
Even today, I called into the Mathematics staffroom where a teacher was very excited at the quality of the work his senior students were doing. He was blown away by the creativity and talent of students who were applying mathematical formulas in a real world setting and achieving amazing results. I plan to post some of this on our FB page so you too can see what is being done.
I like to wander around and talk to senior students who are on study periods to see what they are doing. I am confident that the work they are producing is up there with the best and we have some very intelligent and hard-working students. Having come from an IB school full of Asian students who aspired to enter the best universities in the world, I have a good comparison to make and although we are not quite there yet, we have the potential to be as good.
So, what is missing? Well, we have to change the culture. Too many of you (and it does start at home) have not worked to inspire your child to dream about big things. That is why we promoted the NASA Space School – we want our students to dream of such achievements and then learn what they need to do to get there. What expectations do you really have of your child? Are they big enough? Are you training them to have the work ethic and discipline needed to at least have a good go at getting to their dream?
If we have this attitude then we can generate a school culture of high expectations, of discipline, of focused learning that will inspire many more to go further and higher than even we may think possible. Don’t be afraid of this. It is a good thing. We are created with immense potential and none of us really know what we can achieve until we seriously set out on the journey to find out.
Now some may be thinking of their child who suffers from severe learning needs or anxiety or other issues that get in the way of their learning. Even these children can achieve great things. We all know too many stories of the so-called "school failure" who goes on to make a significant difference in the world. We should still have high hopes for their future too.
Facing challenge and overcoming it is the greatest experience any child can have in their formative years. School presents the possibility of this for all – let’s make GPCC such a place that it leads our graduates to be people who live differently and make a difference in the world.
Phillip Nash
Principal
Mrs Nicole Smith | Head of Primary
Welcome Back
It has certainly been a different start to the term. On Wednesday last week we had 130 students return to Primary. It was so lovely to hear our playground fill with the laughter and squeals of students as they met up with friends and reconnected with teachers. Whilst we do not yet have a full complement of students, we will continue to run online - remote learning both at school and at home. This enables us to continue to provide opportunity for teachers to connect and instruct students in both settings.
We recognise that this new phase of recovery is just as challenging if not more so for staff and students, and new normal will take some time. We have confidence in our online learning platform and its ability to deliver effective learning to students both at school and at home, and we remain ready to increase or decrease reliance on this platform as needed.
Many of our teachers have returned, however they will continue to deliver online learning and supervise students at school over this platform and we will let parents know when this is planned to change.
We have increased our health and hygiene protocols to include movement guidelines in high traffic areas and increased use of hand washing and use of hand sanitisers. Hand sanitiser has been deployed to all classrooms. We are not holding Chapel, assemblies or large gatherings.
Students who attend school will be divided into grades and in some cases class groups when numbers are high enough. They will be supervised by a teacher from their grade or their specialist teachers. The timetable for the day remains the same as it would if students were at school. Students on site will have PE and Sport and specialist lessons on the days they did last term and should wear their sports uniform on those days.
Resource Packs
Thank you to all the families who arrived to collect their student's resource pack. If your child returns to school, they must bring back their device, charger and contents of their pack as these will be needed for learning.
Families who have still to collect their resource pack and are intending on learning at home, need to call the office before arriving on site and arrange for the pack to be brought down from the classroom.
Attendance
Students are required to be online each morning and attendance will be taken by teachers. If your child is not online we will be marking them as absent and you will be required to provide a reason for their absence. Students who are sick need to remain at home and either participate in online learning at home or contact the absentee line and register as unwell.
Student Drop off and Pick up
To assist us in observing social distancing rules for adults, we ask that parents do not walk their students up the hill and into the College. Carpark "kiss and drop" and pick up bays and buses are in operation and we ask that you ensure the safety of your child by not allowing them to walk through the main carpark without your assistance. Students should not be entering the College through the carparks next to the Administration building.
Student Window
We have created a “one way” traffic flow around the back office and student window to allow for physical distancing.
Entry to this area is down the side of the Administration building and the exit is up the stairs. Please observe this new foot traffic flow when you access the back of the Administration building or student window.
Winter Uniform
The first day for winter uniform is Monday 11 May (the first Monday after Mother’s Day). Please refer to the Student/Parent Handbook for correct elements of the College uniform.
Mr Peter McLellan | Head of Secondary
Welcome back to Term 2. Yes, it is a very different environment than we are used to at the start of a term. It was great to have a good number of our Secondary students back at school and to have the noise and life brought back in the College. We look forward to that number continuing to grow over the next few weeks. It is really important for students, especially for our senior students, to be in class to interact in person with their teacher.
I would also like to thank all our Secondary parents for your support and encouragement at this difficult time. It has been great to see how well our students have bought into what has had to happen due to the pandemic.
Parent/Teacher Interview Days – Years 7 to 10
This arrangement will be for these interviews only. I know that it may be difficult, but please keep your Years 7, 8, 9 and 10 students home on Thursday 7 May and Thursday 14 May. If you are unable to keep your child at home (ie essential workers, high risk families etc) you may send them to school and they will be supervised during the day in a central location (ie Library) where they will undertake their assigned work.
a) Teachers will be setting work to do from home on the two interview days for Years 7 to 10 students who are not attending school. This will be in the form of research, projects, revision work, comprehension questions etc.
b) If you are unable to have an interview with your child’s teacher on the interview days, please contact your teacher via email or through the College and your teacher will be in contact with feedback.
c) Bookings for Years 7 and 8 interviews opened on Thursday 30 April from 10:30am through the Parent Lounge portal of TASSWeb.
Please note that we are unable to accept any interview bookings for Years 7 and 8 after 4.00pm on Tuesday 5 May 2020.
d) Bookings for Years 9 and 10 interviews will open on Wednesday 6 May 2020 from 9:00am. (Bookings close on Tuesday 12 May at 4:00pm) through the Parent Lounge portal of TASSWeb.
Please note that we are unable to accept any interview bookings for Years 9 and 10 after 4:00pm on 12 May 2020.
Year 12: With regard to Year 12 students, I am happy to give them more flexibility with their attendance. If they have no more lessons in the day, they can sign out earlier than lunchtime. Once they have left for the day they will not be expected to return unless receiving special permission from myself. They will not be allowed to go to the 7Eleven service station during the day.
Earbuds/Headphones: It is compulsory for all students who are coming to school to bring headphones or earbuds until we return to face to face delivery.
Attendance: Students learning at home or at school are required to be online at the start of Period 1 and the roll will be marked by teachers. If your child is not online teachers will be marking them as absent and you will be required to provide a reason for their absence.
Students who are sick need to remain at home and either participate in online learning at home or contact the absentee line and advise a reason for the absence.
Please note that roll marking occurs daily at the start of each Period including Devotions
Canteen: The Munchery (canteen) have advised that from Week 3 and commencing on Wednesday 13 May, the Canteen will recommence their operation and open on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
Resource Packs Years 7 - 9
Thank you for your support and patience during the collection of resource packs last Thursday. There were 175 packs handed out accross the Year groups. Well done to all involved.
For those interested in a computer career such as cyber security, please see the Term 2, Week 2 Careers Newsletter. The newsletter also contains information about early entry pathways for University study in 2021. For more details and other items of interest please see the Careers Newsletter visit the “Student Careers” section under the News menu on the College website.
Mr David David Russell
Curriculum Co-ordinator (7-12) | Student Advisor (7-12)
Nathan Lambert | K-12 Sport Co-ordinator
Rich Froning may be a name that some of have heard over the years. He is arguably known as the Fittest Man in History, winning the Crossfit Games four years in a row as an individual competitor and then backed that up with victories at the Games with his team “Mayhem Freedom” 4 out of the last 5 years.
He has an amazing work ethic, training 4-5 times a day at various level of intensity, preparing his body for the gruelling workouts that would occur when he entered a competition.
To say the least, Rich has had an amazing life and achieved a lot. He’s had many successes in his career but also, with these highs, there has been many lows. One such time was competing in his first Games in 2010, where he was leading coming into the last event on the final day. The event entailed 5 over-the-wall burpees, then 3 rope climbs of 20 feet. This was to be repeated 3 times. During this event, Rich was not just physically and mentally exhausted but also could not master the correct technique with his rope climbs. He kept using just his arms to get up the rope instead of also using his feet.
In the end, he unfortunately placed at the back of the field in 12th. He finished in 2nd place overall by just 3 points. He felt deflated after losing that lead but knew that he had areas that he needed to work on.
The moment he arrived home from these Games, he searched on Google “Rope Climbs” and then started practising this weakness.
In these unprecedented times, where staying at home for long periods of time is the only option, we are able to reflect on many things in our lives. It’s been a time to spend with family and appreciate this time to be together. It has been a time to slow life down and reflect on the great things that we have.
Like Rich Froning’s struggles and weakness that he worked on, one question that I will simply ask is, "What is your weakness that you can work on now?"
This simply relates to something that can help us to feel happier, more fulfilled and a better person overall.
Is it something as simple as spending more quaity time with family and friends? Maybe it could be to relax more and to slow down. Or it might be to spend more time with God.
These are great examples on where we can improve parts of our lives that can help us in general. As we know that exercise on a regular basis is a great way to boost your energy systems and reduce stress, working on keeping fit and on areas of weakness is something that you could aspire to and set a goal for during these times.
Personally, I am a terrible swimmer, and would love to be able to swim laps of the pool. Watching the students at our swimming carnivals, both Primary and Secondary, they are all amazing and inspirational to me. It has made me realise that this is one area that I can work on to help improve my overall fitness. Perhaps with a lot of practise, and I mean a lot of practise, I could try and compete in a Triathlon down the track ... that is one of my goals in the future.
I would encourage everyone to maybe think about their fitness and how they might be able to work on improving their own health.
Perhaps you want to improve your general fitness, then you could try these videos (for both kids and adults):
- The Body Coach-all ages:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAxW1XT0iEJo0TYlRfn6rYQ
- Coach Josh Kids Fitness-infants:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTU8A3yuFEw9fecpExufLcg
- Go Noodle
- Les Mills on Demand
Crossfit workouts are always challenging and usually done at a high intensity. If you wanted to push yourself more, then you could try these (kids examples):
- Crossfit workouts for Kids
https://crossfitagoge.com/category/wod-kids/
- Kids’ HIIT Workout:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lc1Ag9m7XQo
Here some Crossfit sites that are more challenging (one is Crossfit Mayhem’s webpage, Rich Froning’s gym):
- Crossfit Mayhem
https://www.crossfitmayhem.com/daily-workout-posts
- Crossfit
These can be done both inside or outside. A lot of the workouts recently can be done easily from home. Getting out into the fresh air, amongst nature, is another great way to reduce stress and to keep active. Bushwalks with the family, jogs along the beach, are wonderful fitness escapes for everyone.
To finish off, Rich Froning quoted in his book “First: What It Takes To Win”,
“It’s just like fitness. I’m constantly testing myself in training to see what areas I need to work on. In life, tests come my way, and they show the areas where I’m weak and need to be strengthened, by God’s grace and with His help.”
We are in difficult times at the moment and with God’s grace, He can help us. Spend time with Him, with your family and keep yourselves active.
Green Point Christian College Yearbook Cover Design Competition
We invite students from Kindergarten to Year 12 to enter in our Yearbook Art Competition.
The winning entries will be featured on the front and back cover of our 2020 Yearbook.
Guidelines:
- Your entry may be an artwork, drawing or digital design.
- In your design, emphasise either our school Motto “Equipped for Life” or any of the sections from our GPCC Graduate Profile: Godly in character, Collaborative, Life-Long Learner, Creative and Critical Thinker or Socially Engaged.
- Size A4 – Orientation Portrait
- Please label your entry with your name and class or Year group.
Please submit a high resolution design with original images, or post to the College office by Friday 15 May 2020 to Mrs Collins at community@gpcc.nsw.edu.au
Good luck, have fun, be creative and we look forward to receiving your entry.
GREEN POINT CHRISTIAN COLLEGE
A ministry of Green Point Baptist Church
Our motto is “Equipped for Life”
RECEPTIONIST
Permanent Part Time - 3 days per week
(during school terms only)
We are currently seeking a vibrant Receptionist to join our Administration team. Representing Green Point Christian College as the first point of call for all parents, students and clients, this challenging and fast paced position will see you facilitating the creation of a highly professional customer service orientated culture at our front desk.
The successful applicant should possess the following:
- High levels of grooming and presentation
- Excellent organisational and time management skills
- Excellent written and oral communication skills
- Proven reception and/or customer service experience
- Excellent computer and typing skills
- A positive proactive attitude
- Current First Aid certificate (desirable)
- Experience working within an education setting would be highly desirable
If you are a compassionate, people oriented individual who thrives within a fast paced dynamic environment, then this is the role for you.
The successful applicant for the above position must be a committed Christian and be prepared to work under the ethos of our College. Prospectus and Application Forms are available on the College website at www.gpcc.nsw.edu.au. Applications must be received on the official Application Form.
Applications close on Wednesday 13 May 2020 and should be addressed to the Principal and emailed to employment@gpcc.nsw.edu.au
Library News
Please be advised that Premier’s Reading Challenge is continuing this term. The rules have changed to allow 10 personal choice books instead of the usual five, due to the lack of access to books currently. If you do not know your child’s log in details please email nvanwyk@gpcc.nsw.edu.au
Kindergarten-Year 4 students will receive an activity to help decorate our Library ready for book week. Please see the advertisement for more information.
Maker space is in Week 6 please collect a few big boxes in readiness for this challenge. It will be a fun one.
Parent Lounge Details
The College has a legal requirement to keep our records up to date.
Please review your details on the Parent Lounge to ensure that all your information is correct. This includes medical information on your child/children (only complete the immunisation question if your child is not immunised).
Please note: Should you require both parents/carers to receive SMS notifications, please tick the appropriate boxes.
Thank you.
Prayer
We pray that “… the resting place of his love will become the very source and root of your life.” Ephesians 3:17-19 The Passion Translation (TPT)
Canteen
Canteen will re-open with reduced operating hours commencing Wednesday 13 May 2020
The Munchery (canteen) have advised that from Week 3 and commencing on Wednesday 13 May, the Canteen will recommence their operation and to begin with will be open on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.
Uniform Shop
We expect the Uniform Shop to re-open soon. Date will be advised.
The Uniform Shop continues to serve online customers and can now take appointments for fittings.
Green Point Baptist Church
In light of the current COVID-19 crisis, Green Point Baptist Church has suspended all regular church activities and has encouraged any church member who is not in a high risk category to find ways to serve the vulnerable in their community. If you are in need of assistance, please contact the Church office on 4369 1585 or office@gpbc.net.au
GPBC has moved their services online:
SERVICE TIMES
Sundays
9:30am
6:00pm
Sunday Service
Green Point Baptist Church invite you and your family to join the Sunday service LIVE on Facebook at 9:30am every Sunday
Thrive
Thrive is on hold for now, but kids can join via Zoom from home each week during the school term.
Join the “Thrive Green Point 2020” facebook group for information.
The One + 1 Food Aid Initiative is based on a simple principle … when you’re out shopping buy the one you need + one for someone doing it tough in our local community.
We are suggesting you intentionally buy some extra grocery items week by week, just like you do at Christmas so that when the opportunity comes, you have extra to pass on to someone in need. Most of us are doing this already, ever since buying simple things like toilet paper became so difficult.
Be intentional and focused. Work with what you know … start building a hamper for a single person, an older couple or a family, or someone who is gluten free. If you’re unsure, you may like to include some of the items from the lists below.
Non-perishable food items: Low sugar cereal like Weet-Bix or instant rolled oats, pasta and simmer sauce, muesli bars, soup sachets, tinned tuna, tea bags, instant coffee, long life milk, fruit juice, rice, jams and vegemite, biscuits and cookies, instant noodles, popping corn, chips, small olive oil, cake or brownie mix, soda water and cordial (not sugary soft drink).
Hygienic Items: toilet paper, tissues, toothbrushes, toothpaste, sanitary pads, shampoo, germ killing soaps, wipes and surface sprays.
If you can’t get to the shops or you’re too busy, we would invite you to consider making a donation and we will use that money to purchase grocery items on your behalf.
Remember, when you have completed your hamper, let the Church office know via email office@gpbc.net.au or phone 4369 1585 or contact us for more information.
This is a great opportunity for us to being a blessing to our wider community, to be people of light and hope to those in distress. Please pray for our One + 1 Food Aid Initiative and consider how you might participate. It’s early days, but we are excited for what God might do with this project.
GPBC Team
Coast Shelter Restaurant
Due to COVID-19 Coast Shelter have had to suspend dinners and are not allowing volunteers to enter.
Green Point Trader
For Sale: 2 x Baby Bunting tasmaneco Siena - Mocha (dark brown - not light brown like in photo) cots (bought for $600 each) - still in boxes and unused.
2 x Baby Bunting innerspring deluxe mattresses (bought for $150 each) - still in plastic and unused. WILL SELL ALL FOR $700.
1 x Mocha wooden change table $50.
Contact Gabi: 0426 501 115
If you would like to place an advertisement in the Green Point Trader, please email details to Marie Hay at newsletter@gpcc.nsw.edu.au