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Technology and Social Media
One of the ubiquitous and continually exploding elements of our current society is social media. These digital spaces have reshaped the way our society functions and how we all interact with one another, and it is having a huge impact on, well, everyone. From children to teens to adults to our parents, social media has intruded into our lives and as a culture we are only just beginning to understand the leading edge of the impact of that.
All social media is carefully designed and shaped by its creators. It is designed to meet the goal of the company creators which is ultimately to maximise their profit. They do this by seeking to maximise a person’s engagement and they do this by hacking our brain chemistry. We are learning more and more that our young people are quite susceptible to this brain hacking and there are multiple issues that are being driven by this dopamine hijack.
The makers and masters of this technology are very aware of this issue. The evidence of this is in the way they are seeking to raise and manage their own children. Most Tech mogul families seek to be technology free. A 2018 New York Times article outlined the extreme technology free contracts they were required to sign. The makers of this technology do not want their children on the technology.
So how can we manage this. In most family homes, including my own, technology has at different times been a battle zone. The well-worn statement of “all the other parents let…” flows from the mouths of our children. It can make us as parents feel very alone and like we have no support in the technology battle.
What I have learnt over time and as a Principal speaking to so many parents is, ”all the other parents don’t let…”. Most parents are having the same conversations, putting in very similar boundaries and working as hard as you to put good and reasonable limits around technology use. They are seeking to minimise the brain hacking elements and seeking to maximise the good elements of technology. My encouragement here is to speak directly to other parents. Get the lowdown from them and not from your children. You might be surprised as to the similarities.
Issues around social media now represent one of the fastest growing areas of issues that we as a College need to deal with, so let me share some of the tips I have learnt over the years, often the hard way.
- Nothing is private on the internet – Make this a refrain.
- Be the parent – Be proactive and considered about the family rules and talk about them regularly.
- You might need to change first – Sometimes we need to look at our own habits and behaviours, be honest about your own struggles with your kids.
- No Technology in bedrooms, ever. This battle is worth the fight, new technology naturally draws users into private and secret spaces.
- Have limits on use – The E safety commissioner has some helpful guidelines on technology use limits. https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents/issues-and-advice/screen-time
- Do not let your children have a social media account till they are allowed to. Each company has created a minimum age for use. Doing this also saves you an argument. The current limits for all major social media platforms is13-years and there is currently a push to raise these limits. So, I encourage you to be free to set your own family limit and to stick to it. Snapchat had a 16-year limit in our house and now that my children are young adults they have thanked us for holding that line.
The technology battle is real and ongoing. However, you are not alone and as a community we can work together to support our young people to be able to use technology and social media safely and well.
Joel van Bentum
Principal
Mrs Amanda Rutlidge | Head of Primary
Parents, Has Your Protective Instinct Kicked in?
This is a helpful article, (Parents, Has Your Protective Instinct Kicked in?) from our UR Strong program with some tips on what to do when your child comes home sad after experiencing conflict at school with another student. There are many great resources available to you as parents to help reinforce the teaching of friendship and social skills that your children are receiving at school.
Students arriving before 8:15am
If you need to drop your child off to school before 8:15am, you will need to make use of our out of school hours provider, Camp Australia. Playground supervision does not begin until 8:15am.
eSafety Commissioner Website
If you aren’t already aware the eSafety Commissioner website has a wealth of information, tips and strategies to help parents navigate parenting in the digital age. More and more we are seeing the negative effects of children being exposed to things online which are not age appropriate. This includes an increase in mental health disorders and cyber-bullying. Please take the time to explore the website and find out more about how you can your child be cyber-safe.
Congratulations to Mr McGregor
Mr McGregor completed a 50km marathon through the Blue Mountains last Saturday. He’s been training for a long time for it. Well done Mr McGregor.
Lost Property Box
The Primary lost property box is full. There are many hats, jackets and lunchboxes in there. This will be emptied at the end of the term so please come and collect any items that you are missing. Remember to please label everything.
Students of the Week
Congratulations to the following students:
Michelle S; KDL, Ava B; KK,Eden K; KS, Olivia G; 1C,Lucas B; 1G, Max R; 1PS,Rita D; 2J, Libby B; 2G,Violette P; 3B, Joel Y; 3D,Charlie S; 3M, Piper J; 4H,Kyle M; 4M, Ryan Y; 5B,Poppy A; 5L, Alice M; 5P,Toby M; 6B, Oliver S; 6SH,Khloe O; 6S.
Year 3
In Science this past week 3B have been looking at the properties of materials and their suitability for specific purposes. The students explored substances’ responses to 30 drops of water and catagorised them as able to absorb, repel or leak.
Our Year 3 students have been performing monologues. They have worked hard to memorise their scripts and use elements of drama to evoke an emotional response from their audience. It was wonderful to see such a diverse range of emotions and characters being represented.
Year 1 Bee Incursion
Year 1 students had a visit from Barbara the bee lady to learn all about bees.
Da Vinci Decathlon
On Thursday 16 May, 16 students from Years 5 and 6 represented our school at the NSW State Final of the da Vinci Decathlon at Knox Grammar School.
The students joined approximately 1300 students from Sydney and beyond to test their skills and time management on 10 tasks: Maths, English, Art and Poetry, Cartography, Codebreaking, Science, Engineering, Ideation, Creative Producers and Legacy.
The Year 5 team strategy was to collaborate on all tasks, whereas the Year 6 team chose to divide and delegate, breaking into pairs and triplets to focus on specific tasks.
We patiently await the release of the top 16 placings, when all scores are finalised.
Our students are to be congratulated on their effort and enthusiasm in recent training sessions, and for the way they proudly represented our school on the competition day. Well done students.
Student Health
As we approach the change in season, its often a time when we notice more illness like coughs and colds and there are cases of Whooping Cough, Covid and Gastroenteritis on the Central Coast which is not unusual however we would like to take this opportunity to remind parents to keep sick children resting at home until they no longer have symptoms.
You can find out helpful information on the NSW Health website or use these links:
Identify, Protect, Prevent - Whooping cough (nsw.gov.au)
Viral gastroenteritis fact sheet - Fact sheets (nsw.gov.au)
Earlier this month I attended the 'Faith in Our Future' event at Regents Park Christian School. This is part of a series of similar events across Australia where people are gathering to hear about the positive impact of Christian education in response to the recent challenges posed from the Australian Law Reform Commission. In their report, they recommend “clauses currently in force to allow religious schools and colleges to operate in accordance with their faith, are to be abolished.”
I would encourage you to support us to be able to maintain our Christian focus through our ability to hire Christian teachers. The best was to do this is to follow this link and subscribe:https://mychristianschool.au/subscribe/
At the event, two members of our community spoke. They were Mrs Jillian McKay (Head of English) and her daughter Milly (Year 9) and they explained the importance of Christian Education to them and to us. Milly has been invited to deliver her speech, which she wrote as a poem, at the Christian Schools National Policy Forum in Canberra next week. This week, our staff were blessed to hear Milly present her speech at our Staff Devotions.
Sydney Writer's Festival
On Thursday 23 May students from Years 9 and 10 Extension English classes attended the Sydney Writer's Festival at Riverside Theatre. Students attended workshops hearing from a range of current writers and published authors.
Youth in Performing Arts (YIPA)
The annual Youth in Performing Arts showcase is fast approaching. After a tough schedule of auditions, we are excited to have the following students selected to perform at Laycock Street Theatre.
GPCC students will perform on the following nights:
Saturday 25th May
Year 11 Music - Linger
Sam F - Guitar Medley
Friday 24th May
Year 12 Music Jazz Ensemble - Armandos Rhumba
Bailey P. - Your Song
Aiden D. - La Fiesta
Tickets will sell out quickly - You can purchase tickets with the following link:
Advancedlife Photography Orders
Primary photo orders have been delivered 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 two weeks time. Advancedlife and GPCC apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
Morning Drop Off
Student Health
As we approach the change in season, its often a time when we notice more illness like coughs and colds and there are cases of Whooping Cough, Covid and Gastroenteritis on the Central Coast which is not unusual however we would like to take this opportunity to remind parents to keep sick children resting at home until they no longer have symptoms.
You can find out helpful information on the NSW Health website or use these links:
Identify, Protect, Prevent - Whooping cough (nsw.gov.au)
Viral gastroenteritis fact sheet - Fact sheets (nsw.gov.au)
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
GPCC Primary Athletics Carnival
On Tuesday 21 May we held our re-scheduled Primary Athletics Carnival at Mingara Athletics Centre. We were blessed with clear…ish skies and were able to get through most of the required track and field events with the plan to run House relays here at school in the next few weeks.
It was so encouraging to see the number of children that participated throughout the day with students from Year 2-6 as well as some YVCS students too.
An event like this could not happen without the parent and student helpers, House Captains, teachers and other staff members that all go above and beyond to complete their jobs before and during the carnival. Thank you to everyone that helped in one way or another.
It was wonderful to see the students run and jump during events as well as hearing cheering from the crowd to encourage each competitor. Congratulations to all the students for doing their best and we now look forward to taking a strong team to Zone in early August.
Stay tuned for Age Champions, Zone squad and winning House results which will be published in a few weeks’ time and awards presented during a Chapel service later in the term.
Thank you to the amazing teachers, parents, House Captains and student helpers for your assistance in making the day a great success.
We even had current Olympian and ex GPCC student Nicola Olyslagers arrive for her own training session after our carnival where I was able to show her, her own High Jump record from 2008 which still stands. We look forward to cheering her on in Paris in a few months time.
Loudest, catchiest, most creative chant:
1st Eagles and Breakers
3rd Warriors
4th Hurricanes
Cleanest House area:
1st Hurricanes
2nd Breakers
3rd Warriors
4th Eagles
Cross Country Awards
Congratulations to our Primary School Cross Country Champions who were awarded their Medals in Chapel on Wednesday 22 May. Eua Eagles were our winning House. Well done to all participants.
Australian U10 Football team
James C along with other Years 3/4 children from GPCC competed last year in the school futsal gala day. The GPCC team won the competition and progressed to compete in the NNSW Futsal School Championships and they were again triumphant.
James then attended the National School Trials and was selected to represented NSW in the National Schools Futsal competition held in Queensland last September. From there James was then selected to represent Australia in a tour of the Philippines.
The Australian boys U10 team did amazingly well throughout the whole competition, earning themselves a place in the grand final, which James was named captain for. The boys played their best and gave their all, but in the end went down to Arayat FC Philippines 2-0.
On the last few days of the tour the boys were given the opportunity to participate in the international football for peace movement at a local Baclayan Mangyan School, where the Australian Futsal Team and local Mangyan children came together through their shared passion for football. The days were was filled with friendly matches, and skill-sharing sessions that effortlessly broke down language barriers through the universal language of football.
Congratulations James.
Dates for your Calendar
School Carnivals
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
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
U14's and Opens Boys Rugby League
Congratulations to the U14’s and Opens Boys Rugby League teams that competed in the Broken Bay Cochrane Cup (U14’s) and City Cup (Opens) at Erina Oval on Wednesday. Each of the boys played to the best of their ability and we pushed our opposition in each game. This is the first time in a long time that we have competed in these age groups in Rugby League and many of the boys will be able to play again next year.
CHS Sailing Championships
Congratulations to Jonathon L (Year 10) who competed on behalf of the college in the CHS Sailing Championships in the April School Holidays at Belmont in the 16 ft Skiff Club. He came 3rd in the Laser division. Well done Jonathon.
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
Secondary Sport Calendar
NSWAS Secondary Swimming Championships: Thursday & Friday 30 & 31 May SOPAC
NSW Bill Turner Cup – U15 Boys Soccer State-wide Knock out – May 30 Gosford High
CSSA Secondary Cross Country: Friday 31 May Sydney International Equestrian Centre Staff:
CIS Secondary Cross Country: Thursday 6 June
CSSA Calendar
Download CSSA CALENDAR 2024
National Simultaneous Storytime
Kindergarten- Year 2 and YVCS participated in National Simultaneous Storytime on Wednesday 22 May. Over two million students in schools and communities across Australia and New Zealand will be participating in this event. All reading the same story, ‘Bowerbird Blues’. We also completed some fun activities. Thank you everyone for participating.
Lego Makerspace
Primary students are invited in Week 6 to create an Olympic or French themed Lego build for maker space.
K-2: Tuesday 4 June
3-6: Wednesday 5 June
Students can sign-up in the Library during Week 5. The build will be happening both recess and lunch. Entries will be photographed at the end of lunch with names and an explanation.
Primary students: George S, Matthew L and friends have been busy with book-themed lego creations over the last few weeks. See the image below to see their amazing work.
Guest Author
On 13 June we will be having a guest author to inspire our K- 6 students. Louise Park, a local author, who also writes under the pseudonyms H.I. Larry, Mac Park, and Poppy Rose, is already a firm favourite with our students. They love her Zac Power series as well as her Bella Dancerella and Star Girl series.
Louise will be talking about her books and life as a writer. K-2 will hear more about her D-bot Squad and Zac Power series, Years 3-4 will discover her fantasy time travel novels Grace’s Escape and Grace’s Secret. Years 5-6 will be focusing on her historical account of Gallipoli, Last Man Out.
Students have the opportunity to order her books. These will be signed copies.
You can scan the QR code below to place orders.
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.
Judi is a valuable member of the Library team. She always goes above and beyond to make students and colleagues feel welcomed in the Library.
A particular example of her contribution to the community is she is currently getting her Year 10 Equip class to meet with a Year 1 class once a week to read to the children and assisted them with a Mother's Day craft activity. This is now going to be an ongoing activity for Year 1 and Year 10. Congratulations Judi.
Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD)
Every year, all schools in Australia participate in the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD). The NCCD process requires schools to identify information already available in the school about supports provided to students with disability. These relate to legislative requirements under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and the Disability Standards for Education 2005, in line with the NCCD guidelines (2024).
Information provided about students to the Australian Government for the NCCD includes:
- year of schooling
- category of disability: physical, cognitive, sensory, or social/emotional
- level of adjustment provided: support provided within quality differentiated teaching practice, supplementary, substantial or extensive.
More information on this process is in the following attachment. Please contact Mrs. McLarty (Deputy Principal K-12), jmclarty@gpcc.nsw.edu.au if you require further information.
National Reconciliation Week (27 May-3 June)
“Reconciliation is about strengthening relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous peoples, for the benefit of all Australians.”
It represents an opportunity for all Australians to learn about our country’s shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and other Australians can be strengthened, to build momentum for national reconciliation.
Secondary LIFE: Wednesday 29 May 12pm
Primary Chapel: Wednesday 29 May 2.30pm led by Student Representative Councillors
Theme explanation: National Reconciliation Week - Reconciliation Australia
“There have been many moments in Australia’s reconciliation journey that make us want to turn away. But when things are divisive, the worst thing we can do is disengage or disconnect.
National Reconciliation Week’s theme for 2024, Now More Than Ever, is a reminder to all of us that no matter what, the fight for justice and the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people must continue.”
Music Tutoring
Our string tutors had fun playing 'Viva La Vida' by Coldplay at school. Click on vimeo link below to view this video. https://vimeo.com/946861306/d1eacf5e8e?share=copy
If you are interested in string lessons you can enquire at this link: Music Program Enquiry | Green Point Christian College (gpcc.nsw.edu.au)
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
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 27 May
THACCCCSA Open Girls Soccer Gala Day (Taree)
K - 12 Piano Concert - Music Tutoring Program
Year 12 English HSC Study Day
Reconciliation Week
Wednesday 29 May
Reconciliation Week LIFE (Secondary Chapel) Cultural Awareness and Development
Primary Sorry Day and Reconciliation Assembly
Years 7 - 12 Interschool CRU after school event
Thursday 30 May
Secondary NSWAS Secondary Swimming Championships -
Years 4-6 (selected students) Ripples Writers Excursion to Ourimbah Campus
Yrs 7 - 12 Bill Turner Cup against Gosford High
Senior Students Movie Night
Friday 31 May
Secondary NSWAS Secondary Swimming Championships
CSSA Secondary and Primary Cross Country Carnivals
Year 9 Child Studies Preschool visit
Veta Morphis Retreat 2
Dates for your Calendar
Monday 3 June
Year 12 English Ext2 Poetry Seminar at CCAS
Tuesday 4 June
Year 7 Vaccination Clinc - HPV & dTpa
Thursday 6 June
CIS Secondary & Primary Cross Country
Year 9 Duke of Ed Bronze Practice Hike
Bali Life Bake Sale Fundraiser
Friday 7 June
Biggest Morning Tea Fundraiser - for Cancer Council
Year 9 Duke of Ed Bronze Practice Hike
Year 12 Visual Arts to Groves Studios
TERM 2 DATES
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