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Earlier this week on Monday evening around 750 people gathered at Regents Park Christian College to share about the positive impact Christian schools like Green Point Christian College have in the lives of generations of students. This event has been part of an advocacy effort to inform the Federal Government as to the strength, character and impact of Christian schools and encourage them to ensure that the right to preference staff that align to the values and belief’s of our Christian schools remains.
GPCC was well represented on the evening as a number travelled to participate and we also had two speakers share during the evening. Jill McKay our Head of English and Millie M a current Year 9 student. They represented Christian schools, and Green Point amazingly well and I thank them for their willingness to share their stories.
Jill has kindly shared her speech and the transcript follows;
"I’ve been in Christian education for 40 years. My parents – Jenni and Steve Spies – started Berowra Christian Community School. I’ve spotted two of my ex-students in the front row, now working in Christian schools and with their own children attending. I’ve been teaching in and working with Christian schools for 20 years. And my three daughters all attend a Christian school. This is the heart of the story of Christian education.
The purpose of adolescence is not to achieve academic success. The purpose of adolescence is to discover who you are and to determine what future that will lead you to pursue. This is a demanding and often rocky reality I’ve walked with many students - at times daily - through pastoral conversations, hospital visits, ambulance trips, check ins, catch ups in corridors and on playground duty. With students who are angry and frightened and anxious and grieving and sick and desperate. The freedom to pray with and for students who request that, to offer comfort and reassurance through scripture and testimony, to provide spiritual hope and encouragement in times of trial and tragedy is of far more value to me than academic achievement.
Most adults with positive education experiences can quickly name a key teacher, librarian, office lady or groundsman who made a difference. Who saw them. Cared for them. Encouraged and even inspired them. Teachers are inevitably role models - for better or for worse. I suspect that the teacher you remember from school is not memorable because of their knowledge of Shakespeare or their mastery of calculus. But because of their mentoring, their modelling of life, their alignment with your goals and hopes and dreams in a way that resonated as you were becoming.
The best employees in any organisation are those that believe in the company’s purpose and vision. A school is not a Christian school because it has a church building or a chapel service. A school is a Christian school because its staff - all of them - have a common vision for an education experience that will impact students well beyond their HSC results and into eternity. That shared goal is one that requires unity of faith and purpose.
The faith-based schooling sector is the fastest growing in education in Australia. And has been over a number of years. Australian parents are choosing this option for their children in full knowledge of what is being offered. It is not a claim of superiority nor a demand for dominance. It is a plea for freedom to employ staff that can genuinely align their teaching, their mentoring and their worldview with those openly stated in their school mottos and visions and purpose statements. This is the only way that Christian schools can and will, in fact, remain Christian schools."
Joel van Bentum
Principal
Mrs Amanda Rutlidge | Head of Primary
The UR Strong website has a fantastic resource hub for parents to access so that you can continue talking with your children at home about friendship. There is a video series that you can watch with your child to help spark conversations at home.
By partnering with you in this program, we aim to equip our students with a solid foundation for dealing with the ups and downs and relationships. I encourage you to take some time to look through the website and spend some time at home discussing your child’s friendships using the UR Strong tips as well as praying with them.
Mother's Day Breakfast
On Friday, the Primary school students celebrated with their mums, grandmas and mother figures at our Mothers’ Day Breakfast. It was a wonderful time of fellowship and community as we honoured all of these amazing people. We are so thankful to God for our families here at our College and for the way we can partner with them to raise a generation of young people who loves Jesus.
Mother's Day Stall
A special thanks to all the volunteers who helped organise and run our Mothers’ Day Stall. We appreciate you very much!
From Term 2 our Primary Choir rehearsals has moved to Tuesday Lunchtime.
Students are to meet staff and will be escorted down to CAPA 5 with their food straight away at the beginning of lunch for choir rehearsals.
They will be dismissed at 1:35pm to head back to class.
Students of the Week
Congratulations to the following students:
Ruby S; KDL, Julia ; KK,Éilí K; KS, Macie A; 1C,Daisy R; 1G, Zoe D; 1PS,Caden T; 2J, Zahli F; 2G,Jackson H; 3B, Chloe B; 3D,James S; 3M, James N; 4H,Elle M; 4M, Abby H; 5B,Sophie S; 5L, Amelie C; 5P,Luisa M; 6B, Conor M; 6SH,Zara L; 6S.
Are you more of a Maths person or an English person?
For a long time in education, we have put people into categories like this. Maybe a student is thought of as being more (or less) academic, sporty or artistic. As we learn more about neuroscience, the more we are seeing that although our students all have unique abilities, they are all capable of being great at something if they put time and practice into it. Effort is more important than ability.
We have been speaking about this at assembly each week this term, under the theme of 'Improvement'. If we think of how to get better at running longer distances, playing a musical instrument or shooting a basketball the answer is clear – practice will lead to improvement. The same can be said for student learning. If someone puts time and effort into solving maths problems or writing essays, they will get better at it.
Improvements often happen slowly. It is difficult for a student to go from 50% to 85% in a test. However, it is not difficult to practice and move from 50% to 55%. Further practice will get them from 55% to 65%. With slow gradual steps, students will improve their results – it just takes time, effort and practice.
We call this having a growth mindset, which is understanding and believing that even 'Maths People' can get better at writing essays – and they can. It is the opposite to a fixed mindset, where people incorrectly say they can’t do something and so they do not try. I encourage all of our students and parents to have a growth mindset about learning and to put in the time, effort and practice that will lead to improvement.
Sydney Prayer Breakfast
Some of our Year 12 student leaders attended the Sydney Prayer Breakfast this morning with Mr Van Bentum and Mrs McKay. They joined with 1400 people from across Sydney to pray for all parts of society and to hear Dr Browning speak of how his faith and prayer have significantly shaped his life. It was so encouraging to be reminded that there are opportunities for Christians to be witnesses and role models in all workplaces and walks of life.
Years 8 and 11 French, Hospitality and Food Technology International Cooking Incursion
On Friday 3 May, all of Year 8 French, Year 11 French, Year 11 Food Technology and Year 11 Hospitality students participated in a day of International Cooking. Luca Roncari, an international Chef, enthusiastically demonstrated how to cook 'Crêpes' from scratch. The majority of the instructions were given in the target language of French: Ajoutez de la farine (add some flour), Mélangez la pâte (mix the batter) and Tournez (Flip). All the students learnt form the chef’s experience and thoroughly enjoyed cooking and eating the 640 crêpes with des citrons ( some lemons), du sucre (some sugar) and de la crème (cream)!
Mr Paul Chambers
Excursions, Incursions and Camps Parent Permissions – Year 7-12
How to give Parent Permission for your child to attend an excursion, camps and other events, please accept events in Parent Lounge. You may decline if you do not wish for your child to participate.
We have many opportunities for students to attend some wonderful incursions and excursions where their classroom learning can be enhanced, and there are other activities that help develop skills and grow good life skills and characteristics like sportsmanship/sportswomanship. A lot of planning goes into these events and the Parent Lounge Permission System is one process that can keep things running smoothly. When this doesn’t happen, it causes planning issues and may even lead to an event not going ahead due to low numbers.
Year 7: School Vaccination Program - 4 June 2024
If your child is in Year 7 this year, you can now provide online consent for their routine school vaccinations.
In Year 7, students are offered free vaccines for diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (dTpa) and human papillomavirus (HPV).
In Year 10, students are offered the meningococcal ACWY vaccine.
This year our Year 7 Vaccination Clinic date at GPCC is:
Year 7 - HPV and dTpa - Tuesday 4 June 2024
Year 10 – Meningococcal ACWY were conducted in February. Students who missed their vaccination may do a catch-up on 4 June if parent consent has been given.
Vaccination will only be provided at school if consent has been received.
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:
- Enter your child’s personal details
- Provide the Medicare card details for you and your child
- Read the linked Parent Information Sheet and privacy statement
- 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
Mr Stuart McSwan | K - 6 Sport Co-ordinator
Primary Athletics Carnival
Unfortunately, due to poor weather we have had to postpone our GPCC Primary Athletics Carnival. The new date is Tuesday 21 May.
Please let me know if you can help at our rescheduled carnival. I still require approximately 8 parent helpers to assist.
Please see below an important announcement from the Mingara Athletics Centre regarding use of debit cards at the canteen:
We have an important update around the use of Junior debit cards. Unfortunately, as we are linked to a licensed facility banks are declining these cards. We are working with Spriggy at the moment to see if we can get an exception however until then, these types of cards will decline.
Once we have an update, we will communicate the outcome and apologies for the inconvenience. This is currently out of our control, and we are working hard to try and rectify this issue.
Thank you for your understanding on this matter.
Cross Country Awards
Cross Country awards will be presented during a Chapel time in the next couple of weeks. Parents of recipients will be emailed details shortly.
Jason van Blerk Football Academy at GPCC
The Jason Van Blerk Football Academy is returning in Term 2 starting on Friday 10 May after school from 3.15-4.45pm.
All Years 3 - 7 boys and girls are all welcome at $25 per session, $200 for the term.
For more info please contact Jason at Jasonvanblerkfootballacademy@gmail.com
Dates for your Calendar
School Carnivals
TERM 2
(NEW DATE)
Tuesday 21 May - GPCC Primary Yrs 2-6 Athletics Carnival (Mingara)
TERM 3
Wednesday 21 August - GPCC K-2 Athletics Carnival (GPCC grounds)
TERM 4
Friday 25 October - GPCC K-2 Swimming Carnival (Peninsula Leisure Centre)
Representative Carnivals
TERM 2
Friday 31 May - CSSA Primary and Secondary State Cross Country Carnival (Sydney Equestrian Centre)
Thursday 6 June - CIS Primary and Secondary Cross Country
TERM 3
Tuesday 6 August - THACCCSA Zone Primary Athletics Carnival (Glendale)
Friday 23 August - CSSA Primary State Athletics Carnival (Blacktown)
Friday 6 September - CIS Primary Athletics Carnival
GPCC Sport Teams
We are looking forward to sending our teams to a number of Gala Days and competitions in Primary this year.
Students will have a chance to trial for certain school teams over the coming terms and will need to keep a close eye on the notices and listen out for Assembly announcements for when trials will be held.
The protocol for team selection is as follows:
- Teams have at least 2-3 trials before final selection.
- Unfortunately, it is simply not possible for all children who trial to be included in final teams. It is not uncommon for up to 60 students to trial for a team that only has 10 spots available. Due to these limited spots, it is highly likely that students will miss out on making the team. We acknowledge that we have a number of skilled athletes who trial for these representative teams and we strive to give opportunity during trials for students to demonstrate their skills.
- Once teams have been chosen, they will aim to have at least one training session each week before a competition.
Individual Sport Trials for Primary CSSA and CIS Teams (NOT GPCC teams)
These trials are not for GPCC school teams that we trial for here at school to play at certain gala days throughout the year (as mentioned above). The CSSA or CIS trials are usually held in Sydney and students will be trialling against students from either other Christian Schools (CSSA) or other Independent Schools (CIS) and are usually recommended for those students that compete at a representative level.
Please email Mr McSwan before these Nomination dates if your child (YEARS 5 AND 6 ONLY) would like to be considered. They need to be currently playing in the sport and have several years’ experience (preferably at a Representative level): Parents are required to transport students to and from these trials.
CSSA and CIS Sport trial dates: Please note these are not for GPCC school teams.
TERM 2
Friday 24 May - CIS Primary Girls Rugby 7s trials (select students)- Nominations close Friday 17 May
Tuesday 11 June - CSSA Primary State Gymnastics Levels 3+ Only (select students) All competitors are required to have an accredited gymnastics coach from their club attend on the day- Nominations close Tuesday 28 May
Wednesday 19 June - CIS Primary Rugby Union Trials #1 (select students) - Nominations close Wednesday 12 June
CSSA (Christian Schools Sports Association) Child Protection training and Risk Warning
CSSA have recommended that all adults (teachers, volunteers, parents) complete the following module on Child Protection before attending any CSSA event (trials, gala days or carnivals). Thank you
https://www.cssa.net.au/child_protection/index.html#/
Below is a link for the Risk Warning that accompanies all CSSA run events
https://cssa.net.au/risk-warning.html
Excellent Results
We have heard of more excellent results at the Aussies – the Australian Surf Life Saving Championships at Maroochydore Queensland.
Rebecca H (Year 10) made the semi finals in the female U17 individual ski. Alexandra H (Year 8) making the final in the U13 Surf Race, Ironperson and Cameron Team where she finished 5th, 8th and 5th respectively. Also Ciara W (Year 9) is an Australian Champion (gold medallist) in the U14-U15 Board Rescue event. Well done girls!
We also saw some excellent performances at the recent NSW CIS Swimming Championships at SOPAC on Monday and Tuesday of this week. Many of our swimmers and relay teams improved on their entry times. Alexandra H (Year 8) improved by 8 seconds in the 200 Butterfly event and finished in 3rd place. This is a mixed age event 12-14yrs which makes her result even more outstanding. This therefore qualifies her for NSW All Schools which is scheduled to take part later this month.
Jason van Blerk Football Academy at GPCC
The Jason Van Blerk Football Academy is returning in Term 2 starting on Friday 10 May after school from 3.15-4.45pm.
All Years 3 - 7 boys and girls are all welcome at $25 per session, $200 for the term.
For more info please contact Jason at Jasonvanblerkfootballacademy@gmail.com
CSSA Calendar
Download CSSA CALENDAR 2024
Mrs Nicole van Wyk and Mrs Judi Hurst | Teacher Librarian
National Simultaneous Storytime
Next Week, Kindergarten- Year 2 and YVCS will participate in National Simultaneous Storytime on Wednesday 22 May at 10.15am.
We are reading ‘Bowerbird Blues’ in our CAPA Theatre and completing some fun activities. Over two million students in schools and communities across Australia and New Zealand will be participating in this event.
Kindergarten- Year 2 and YVCS students are invited to wear an item of blue with their school uniform on the day. A blue hairband, ribbon, badge, socks, wig. Can we please ask for no hair spray or face paint to be used. We are looking forward to a great morning together.
Storytime 2024
Preschool story time themes for Term 2 are below. Please register your interest with Nicole van Wyk: nvanwyk@gpcc.nsw.edu. See the flier for more information.
Scholastic - Issue 3
Issue 3 Scholastic book club magazines will go out this week. Parents can order online at LOGIN (scholastic.com.au). Issue 3 orders close on Friday 17 May.
HSIE Teaching Position (Part time) https://www.gpcc.nsw.edu.au/employment/hsie-teacher
Casual Teachers Primary
https://www.gpcc.nsw.edu.au/employment/casual-teacher_secondary
This week our staff member of the week was awarded to Mr Steve Wegener.Every year Steve does a fantastic job at managing the end of lease returns and purchase of new devices. This is just one part of his job that deserves recognition. The Lease return is a complicated procedure that I'm sure most people would not be aware of just how much work, planning and time goes into this process. Staff every few years are just told it's time to replace their device and they return the old one and get a new one back.
Steve manages this process and the team that work very hard to complete this task. The team go through the process of collecting the device, then wiping the device, cleaning the device and checking for any defects, updating the asset register, packing the device back into it's original packaging, storing these and then returning them all to the lease company.
On top of this he makes sure that he has bought enough new devices and equipment to cover every scenario that may occur through the year.
Steve has worked diligently and faithfully for the school for over 20 years and as he steps into a new roll, I would like to nominate him for staff member of the week and acknowledge him for his service. Congratulations Steve.
University of Newcastle Vaping Prevention Study
Univerisity of Newcastle are currently recruiting parents and their adolescent (aged 12-15 years) to participate in a University of Newcastle study to prevent youth from vaping.
About the study:
The study is testing whether text-messages, sent to adolescents and their parent, are effective in preventing youth vaping. Participating parents and adolescents will receive a series of text messages (one per week for 12 weeks) that have been specifically developed to educate parents and youth on the harms of vaping, empower youth to say no to vaping through social support and teaching refusal skills, and facilitate healthy conversation amongst families. The text messages have been developed in collaboration with parents, adolescents, researchers and parenting experts.
Our study website containing more information about the study and a link to register can be found here: https://www.vapingpreventionstudy.com/. We will continue to recruit parents and adolescents to the study for the next six months.
AECG Meeting Invite
Advancedlife Photography Orders
Primary photo orders will be arriving at the College soon and will be distributed in Week 4 to our students.
Please note: There is a delay on the Secondary photo orders due to a supply issue of the plastic inserts that the photos are slotted into. We hope to receive the photos in a few weeks time. Advancedlife and GPCC apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
Uniform Shop
2024 Uniform Shop Trading hours
Monday: 8:00am - 10:30am
Wednesday: 1:30pm - 4:00pm
Thursday: 8:00am - 10:30am
Friday: 8:00am - 10:30am
For the price list and further information on ordering through Alinta, please visit our website – https://www.gpcc.nsw.edu.au/enrolment/uniform
The Munchery Canteen Operations and Menu
Click on link to access: THE MUNCHERY MENU
All students are strongly encouraged to order online. However, over the counter sales will also available.
Please visit the GPCC website for the link to The Munchery portal: https://www.gpcc.nsw.edu.au/community/the-munchery-canteen
Munch Monitor Account Settings
To assist the staff at the Munchery Canteen in serving your children, if you have a Munch Monitor account you may indicate your preferences for snack money, a daily or weekly limit, and if your child has any allergies.
Please note that The Munchery Staff are under strict instruction to follow these preferences. Please log in to your account and update these settings if required.
Please download document below for more information.
GPCC OSHC Provider - Camp Australia
Out of School Care is available at the College, offered by Camp Australia.
Parent Lounge Details
The College has a legal requirement to keep our records up to date.
Please review your details on Parent Lounge to ensure that all your information is correct. This includes medical information on your child/ren (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.
Green Point Community Notices
Words on the Waves Writers Festival
Looking for something FUN and FREE to do with your kids? The Words on the Waves Writers Festival is thrilled to be holding a free Family Fun Day on Sunday 2 June. Watch illustrator demonstrations and hear authors talk about how they come up with ideas and so much more, plus there will be free face painting, craft activities and storytelling running throughout the day. Plus you can browse our range of market stalls and grab a snack from one of the food trucks on site.
Kincumber Mobile Blood Donor Centre
Frost Reserve carpark, 134 Avoca Drive, Kincumber 2251
Thursday 16 May – 12.30 pm to 6.45 pm
Friday 17 May – 8.00 am to 2.15 pm
Firewood for Sale
Contact Brian Shaw at the College on 0404 478 341.
If you would like to place an community advertisement in the Green Point Community Notices, please email details to our Messenger Editor, Justine Collins at newsletter@gpcc.nsw.edu.au
Green Point Baptist Church
Services: 9:30am Worship Service, 6:00pm Service
Services continue to be available online each week.
Coming Up this Week
Monday 13 May
Year 7 - 12 Worship Team Training Day
Wednesday 15 May
CIS Secondary 15&U Boys Rugby League Trials
Years 11 & 12 Visual Arts and Photography Biennale overnight excursion
Thursday 16 May
Years 11 & 12 Visual Arts and Photography Biennale overnight excursion
CIS Secondary Netball Trails
Years 9 & 10 Girls Oztag Trials
Year 8 Josie Mitchell Debating Competition
Primary Da Vinci Decathlon at Knox Grammar School - Selected Students from Years 5 & 6
Friday 17 May
Secondary Cross Country Carnival at GPCC
Year 9 Child Studies Preschool visits
Dates for your Calendar
Tuesday 21 May
NSW Junior Chess League Excursion
Primary Athletics Carnival (Mingara)
Wednesday 22 May
CIS Secondary 15&U Boys Rugby League Trials
Primary National Simultaneous Storytime
Thursday 23 May
Years 9 & 10 Sydney Writers Festival Excursion
Years 7-12 Biggest Morning Tea Fundraiser
AFL Paul Kelly Cup - Woy Woy
Friday 24 May
THACCCSA Soccer Gala Day Tamworth
TERM 1 DATES 2024
Friday 12 April - Last Day of Term 1
TERM 2 DATES
Monday 29 April - Students commence Term 2
Monday 10 June - King's Birthday Public Holiday
Frday 5 July - Last day of Term 2
TERM 3 DATES
Monday 29 July - Students commence Term 3
Friday 27 September - Last day of Term 3
TERM 4 DATES
Monday 14 October - Students commence Term 4
Wednesday 11 December - Last day of Term 4