Principal

On Monday we celebrated our Year 12 formal. They celebrated the completion of their HSC examination and 13 years of formal schooling.

Over the past few weeks as they have been sitting their examinations I have been reflecting on what they achieved, and more broadly what is it that may make them, and other students successful.

Over my time as an educator I have wondered about what makes a student really successful and ready for the world. Is it intelligence, a particular gift, ability in English, Mathematics or another subject?

Every time the answer is clear. While these listed things might be helpful at different stages, they are in no way the consistent indicator for success. As time has gone on, I am more and more convinced that the number one indicator of long-term success is perseverance.

I often tell an anecdote of a study that measured how many attempts people would undertake a new skill or task before giving up. The research indicated that most people would give up after 3 attempts, the committed would push out to 7 attempts. The study then goes on to tell a story of true perseverance, the story of a mathematics professor that was no natural star or innate genius, but rather someone who never, ever gave up on a problem. Someone who would attempt a task 23 or 50 times before she got the right answer, this perseverance meant that over time she improved to the point that she became a tenured Mathematics professor.  It is an inspiring story and one that runs somewhat contrary to the instant success and gratification world we live in.

The bible also has much to say about perseverance, in Romans 5 it says;

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

What amazes me about this passage is that perseverance with suffering, and Paul the writer glories in his suffering. He praises God in his suffering because as he writes, suffering produces perseverance, perseverance character and character, hope; and hope, particularly hope in Jesus Christ is the true source of all our successes. In the upside-down world of Jesus we are able to not just celebrate the successes we innately understand to be success – but recognise that even our trials and sufferings, our mistakes and failures can be turned into success as we persevere. It is in fact the success that comes through perseverance that often contributes most strongly to our character.

At Green Point we seek to build perseverance, character and hope in Jesus in all our students through their gifting and natural successes, and through the challenges and trials. In this way we can be confident that in the long term when they find their trust and hope in Jesus they will be truly successful.

I had the pleasure of speaking to a security guard at the Crowne Plaza in Terrigal this week at the end of our Year 12 Formal. He told me about some of his upbringing – living in a low socioeconomic area, attending a public school where he “learned the wrong things and was with the wrong people”, leaving in Year 10 and then having his first child at a young age. However, he told me he now has two trades, works nights as a security guard for extra money and has moved to a nicer area than where he grew up, for the sake of his two daughters. In all of this, he was most proud that he was still with the mother of his daughters, and “not a lot of people like me can say that.”

He wanted me to know that he had been observing our students and they “were the best kids I’ve ever seen here – and I’ve been to a lot of Formals”. In addition to the lack of disruptive or anti-social behaviour, he was impressed by the way they treated each other and interacted with their teachers and peers.

His daughters are 7 and 9 and he told me that after what he saw, he wants to start saving up so he can send them to GPCC in high school. “Whatever you are doing there, it is working.”

This is a wonderful example of the way in which our students, just in their actions, model their character in a way that shows who they are and who we are as a school. Ultimately, our Year 12 students were showing the lifelong benefits of a Christian education and the influence of Jesus in their lives.

Surf Safety Days 2024

This week, students in Years 3-6 attended Surf Safety Days at Umina Beach (Year 3) and Terrigal Beach. We were blessed with favourable weather for most of the week and the students had a wonderful experience learning about surf safety, playing beach games and paddling in the water. I’d like to thank the teachers for supervising and for the students for excellent behaviour and respect shown throughout the day.

CSSA Year 5/6 Basketball Gala Day

Both our Senior Basketball teams competed at the CSSA (State) Gala Day in Penrith on Monday and did very well. The girls and boys both won 3 out of 4 Pool matches with only the top team qualifying for the semi-finals. I’d like to thank Mrs Kosmeier and Mr Sneyd for coaching the teams on the day and parents that were able to help with scoring.

Well done girls and boys on a successful showing at both gala days this year.

CONGRATULATIONS to the Senior girls’ basketball team who travelled to Penrith on Monday to participate in the CSSA state Gala Day. They won 3/4 games, narrowly missing a shot at the finals. Their sportsmanship and courtside manner throughout the day was commendable. 

Mrs Kosmeier

The Year 5/6 Boys Basketball team recently showcased their skills and teamwork at the CSSA Stage 3 Basketball Gala Day. The boys displayed excellent passing, sharp shooting, and strong defence throughout the day. Although they started with a loss in the first game, they bounced back with impressive victories in the rest of their pool matches, tying for first place. Unfortunately, they narrowly missed the finals due to point differences in the for-and-against tally.

A special mention goes to Lenny, who was our player of the day for his outstanding performance, including multiple blocks, numerous rebounds, and relentless effort to score points. We are incredibly proud of the team’s effort and the way they represented our school.

Mr Sneyd

CSSA State Basketball

Return of Uniforms

If you happen to have any of the following clothing items in your possession at home, could you please return them to Mr McSwan ASAP:

• GPCC Athletics/Cross Country singlet
• GPCC Soccer/Futsal/Oztag t-shirt
• GPCC Netball dress
• GPCC Basketball singlet
• GPCC Swimming cap

CSSA (Christian Schools Sports Association) Child Protection training

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#/

Dates for your Calendar

PRIMARY TERM 4

Important events

Wednesday 11 December - Year 3-6 Last Day at Umina Beach

Wednesday 11 December - K-2 Fun Day on School Oval

Mr Chris Harris | Years 7 - 12 Sport Co-ordinator 

Mrs Nicole van Wyk and Mrs Judi Hurst | Teacher Librarians

Library Survey 2024

Parents, students, teachers, and community members are invited to complete the library survey for 2024. Our last survey was five years ago. It is important to see how we are travelling and to gather ideas on how we can serve our community more effectively. 

Survey closes 3pm on Friday 29 November.

Library Survey 2024

Thursday: 8:00am - 10:30am

Friday: 8:00am - 10:30am 

Uniform Fitting Information for 2025

The Munchery Canteen Operations and Menu

Please note: All bakery goods will now be supplied by Bakers Delight. 

All students are strongly encouraged to order online. However, over the counter sales are 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 into 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.  

Rocketeers Holiday Program 

Bookings are now open for the Rocketeers Summer Holidays Program. Download for more information: 

Child Wellbeing Webinars

We are excited to share two important upcoming webinars with your school community. These events focus on supporting children's wellbeing and making key transitions easier for familes.  

Belle Netball is a new to market netball program based on the Peninsula of the Central Coast. We focus on lifelong love physical activity by sticking to our six key pillars of Skills, Match Play, Coaching, Community, Family and Fun! You can see more of what we do here, https://www.bellenetball.com/

Our next program is being run at Lemon Grove Netball Courts in early 2025 and is designed for primary school aged boys and girls to enjoy six weeks of learning new things, meeting new people and creating lifelong memories.

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