School Newsletter

Last Monday evening a busload of parents, students and staff from our school joined 58 other Christian Schools across NSW at the My Christian School Town Hall event held at Regents Park Christian School. In many ways, it was a truly wonderful evening. I did write to you all previously about this event, but as a short refresher; these events are being held in capital cities across Australia in response to the Australian Law Reform Commission's (ALRC) report that recommended Christian Schools lose the right to exclusively employ Christian staff.

We heard from Christian School representatives who are advocating for us and meeting with Federal Politicians (including the Prime Minister). We also heard stories from teachers working in Christian Schools, parents who have their children in our schools, students attending Christian Schools, and even a Groundsman who testified of the importance of his faith to his work. The overall executive summary from these speeches was that it was the Christian community that was the foundation of all that was being achieved, and the cause of all the wonderful stories that were being shared. A community that would not remain the same if we no longer had the legislative protections to employ exclusively Christian staff.

As wonderful and encouraging as these stories from members of Christian School communities were, there was also a discussion on the evening that was rather sobering. Senators Michaela Cash and Sarah Henderson both spoke as well. Members of the government were invited to attend; however, none chose to. It was Senator Cash who explained that whilst the proposed legislation has not been released publicly, she has received a copy from the Attorney General’s Office and read it through. Her perspective was that it would follow through on the ALRC’s recommendations. It would appear that it is a very significant time for Christian Education in this country.

I would like to encourage you to join us in prayer regarding this matter. As 1 Timothy 2:1-2 explains, “I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.”

It is not my intention for us to be political as a school. I like the idea of living quiet, peaceful lives. At the same time, if we choose not to engage in this conversation, then our perspective will not be heard as significant decisions are made. In the coming week, I will be writing to you again about a simple way for you to communicate your thoughts and feelings about this matter to those who are making decisions about this issue. It would be wonderful if you could partner with us in helping our elected representatives understand how important this is.

God bless,

• Secondary School Play 'Robin Hood: A Bard's Tale' Matinee Performance at 11am - Tuesday 2nd July (Week 10)
  
• Secondary School Play 'Robin Hood: A Bard's Tale' Evening Performance at 6:30pm - Tuesday 2nd July (Week 10)
• Secondary School Play 'Robin Hood: A Bard's Tale' Evening Performance at 6:30pm - Wednesday 3rd July (Week 10)
• Junior School Celebration Assembly at 9am - Friday 5th July (Week 10)
  
• Secondary School Celebration Assembly at 11:45am - Friday 5th July (Week 10)

MORNING SUPERVISION OF STUDENTS FROM 8:15AM

Please be reminded that staff supervision of students commences from 8:15am. So we can best care for our students, they should not arrive at school before 8:15am.

Junior School students who need to be supervised prior to 8:15am can access the WOOSH program (Wyong Baptist Church Out of School Hours Care).

Thank you for your understanding.

SCHOOL PHOTOS

School Photos have been scheduled for Thursday 13th June (Week 7), organised by The School Photographer. Further information on ordering photos will be emailed to families soon.

Due to our school image permissions not being covered by an external photography company 'The School Photographer', if you do not wish for your child to be photographed with their class, or have their full name appear underneath their class/individual photo,
you will need to notify the office in writing via email to marketing@wyongccs.nsw.edu.au.

WINTER UNIFORM CHANGEOVER

Our winter uniform changeover date is Monday 27th May (Week 5). All students must be wearing their full winter uniform from this date.

For details on our uniform policy, please refer to the 2024 School Information Handbook found here. Uniform requirements can be found from page 34 onwards.

The Alinta Uniform Shop's opening hours during school terms are as follows:

• Mondays: 8-10am
• Wednesdays: 2-4pm
• Thursdays: 8-10am

Please email or phone the Uniform Shop for any questions (wyongchristian@alinta.com.au or 0413 353 787).

PARENTS PRAYER GROUP

Our Parents' Prayer Group is an opportunity for WCCS parents and carers to gather each week and pray for our school community.

When: 8:45am on Wednesdays during term time.
Where: Wyong Baptist Church Green Room - accessible via the Good Day Kiosk.

The group will be hosted by our School Chaplain, Rev. Matt Shorten, and Dr Gavin Williams from Wyong Baptist Church. All are welcome to come and pray together.

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

We have a number of employment opportunities within our school community.

• Secondary HSIE Teacher
• Secondary TAS Teacher
• Secondary PDHPE Teacher - Maternity Leave Position

If you, or someone you know, would be interested in partnering with us to equip young people to be responsible and responsive disciples, we would love to hear from you.

For more information about these positions, please click on the links above or visit our website.

OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE

We have opportunities for those who can serve our school within the Canteen on Thursdays and Fridays.

If you can support our community in this way, please contact our Canteen directly via email to canteen@wyongccs.nsw.edu.au.

Thank you for your consideration.

JUNIOR SCHOOL GRANDPARENTS' MORNING

Our Junior School Grandparents' Morning will be held this Friday 17th May (Week 3, Term 2).

The morning will commence with Chapel at 9:30am in the Multi-Purpose Centre. Please note that Chapel has been moved to a later time of 9:30am on this day, to limit congestion in the car park around school drop-off and allow for Grandparents to find a parking space with greater ease.

EVERY TRIBE & TONGUE - LUNCHTIME EVENT

On Thursday 23rd May (Week 4, Term 2), from 1:15-2pm we will be celebrating our diversity and uniqueness by gathering as a whole community. We are all part of God’s Big Family! The vision for this day, as part of our Wellbeing Week, is to provide an opportunity for students to interact with many people, from many cultures, and to learn more about their uniqueness and value.

We are calling on you! Are you interested in setting up a ‘Country Stall’, presenting cultural themes from your country of origin? This could include artwork, music, costumes, food samples etc. You may even be keen to set up a game or share a performance on the day.

If you are interested in setting up a ‘Country Stall’, putting on a cultural performance, running a game or have another brilliant culturally aware idea, then please email Rev Matt Shorten (Chaplain) before Thursday 16th May. Please include your family name, country, food and/or the activity you would like to share with the students on the day; and any other needs such as power points and tables for your stall.

Thank you so much for bringing your story so that we all might grow from sharing together in our beautiful school community.

ROBIN HOOD: A BARD'S TALE (SECONDARY SCHOOL PLAY) - TICKETS NOW ON SALE

We are delighted to invite you to our Secondary School play, Robin Hood: A Bard's Tale.

Many of our talented Secondary School students have been diligently preparing for this play, and are excited to showcase their hard work during the performances in Week 10 of Term 2.

The performance dates are as follows:

• Tuesday 2nd July - Matinee Performance
• Tuesday 2nd July - Evening Performance
• Wednesday 3rd July - Evening Performance

Please click here for further details and ticket purchases.

• Praise God for His protection over students, families, staff and the school grounds during heavy rain last week.
• Pray that the mothers in our community felt valued and appreciated as they were celebrated over the weekend.

• Pray for our upcoming Grandparents' Morning this Friday. Pray that our students and teachers will be witnesses of God’s love to any non-believing visitors.

• Pray for our upcoming Athletics Carnivals that were rescheduled. Pray for good weather and for God’s protection over our students.

Greetings friends of Junior School.

We hope all our Mums had a wonderful Mother’s Day on the weekend. I know our students were very keen shoppers at our stall on Friday. They were so excited about their purchases. It was lovely seeing so many Mums at our breakfast on Friday too. I hope you enjoyed your breakfast wraps and hot beverages.

Last week also saw our school close on Tuesday due to high flood levels. The students were very interested in the water levels and were excited when the flood marker was slowly being covered. We thank you for your support and understanding during times such as these.

At the end of this term, you will receive your child’s End of Semester 1 Academic Report. This year sees the implementation of new syllabus for Years 3-6. Our reports will reflect the changes from the new syllabus with new terminology used for focus areas. These are the new terms used in English:

ATHLETICS CARNIVAL

You would have received a permission slip for the new date for our Athletics Carnival, which had been postponed last week.

Our Athletics Carnival will be a twilight carnival held this Friday 17th May from 2–6pm.

The Carnival will immediately follow our Secondary School Athletics Carnival at Mingara Regional Athletics Centre. Please refer to the permission slip to opt-in or opt-out of the Carnival.

GRANDPARENTS' MORNING

This Friday 17th May is a big day on our calendar as we also welcome our Grandparents to the first Grandparents' Morning for 2024. All Grandparents are welcome to attend our Chapel service commencing at 9:30am in our MPC. Following the service, you are invited to visit your grandchildren’s classroom and then enjoy some light refreshments on our B Block verandah.

YEARS 5 & 6 DA VINCI DECATHLON

We wish our students in the Years 5 and 6 da Vinci Decathlon team the very best of luck on Thursday. Enjoy your day kids.

UPCOMING EVENTS IN WEEK 4

• Wellbeing Week - Monday 20th to Friday 24th May
• AFL Gala Day – Tuesday 21st May
• K-12 Combined Chapel Service - Thursday 23rd May
• Every Tribe and Every Tongue (Lunchtime Event) - Thursday 23rd May

All parents and friends are welcome to join us for our Term 2 Combined Chapel Service on Thursday 23rd May. This will be held in the MPC commencing at 12:15pm.

God bless,

Greetings Secondary School.

Well done to all our wonderful teachers and students for pivoting straight back into a remote learning style of education last Tuesday, due to the rising waters. The school was very quiet. We certainly missed the hum of students on our playgrounds. Thank you, parents and carers, for your flexibility and graciousness.

ATHLETICS CARNIVAL

Another ‘pivoting moment’. A reminder that we will be holding our Secondary School Athletics Carnival this coming Friday 17th May at Mingara Regional Athletics Centre.

WELLBEING WEEK - WEEK 4

This term we will be celebrating our diversity and uniqueness. We are all part of God’s Big Family!

Our students will engage in conversations regarding our uniqueness in their Home Room classes. On Thursday 23rd May, we will come together to worship and hear God’s Word preached at the K-12 Combined Chapel Service. During lunchtime on Thursday, our Every Tribe and Tongue event will be hosted. The vision for this day is to provide an opportunity for students to interact with many people from many cultures, and to learn more about their uniqueness and value. Parents and carers are welcome to attend both these community events.

FACULTY SPOTLIGHT: TECHNICAL & APPLIED STUDIES (TAS)

Focus on Years 7 and 8 Technology Mandatory

Materials

Year 7 students have really enjoyed manufacturing a passive amplifier for their phones during Term 1 in Materials Technology. The design employs resonance to enhance the phone's speakers. Following a series of demonstrations and safety tests, students use various hand and machine tools to craft their projects. A final detail was to use the Laser Cutter to etch a design onto the face of the speaker box. Term 2 is all about designing and making an Organisation Station for their desk. The project provides scope for students to make choices and tailor their designs to meet specific needs. Students will be learning the basics of Computer Aided Design (CAD) to utilise the Laser Cutter and 3D Printing Technologies where appropriate.

Digital Technology

Year 8 students have studied the world of flight to apply to a range of design tasks. First up, we designed paper planes to glide the greatest distance. The most successful examples flew between F Block and D Block, over 15 metres. We then built air-powered stomp rockets, easily reaching altitudes of 15 metres off the ground by using a “stomped on” drink bottle to propel the rockets. We then enhanced these designs and used a compressor to create more thrust and allow their rockets to reach lofty altitudes of up to 20-30 metres.

Next up was learning about micro drones and using them to simulate real-life missions. The objective is to give instructions via code to allow the drone to complete the missions autonomously. Following this we took things to the next level by using Visual Studio to learn software design and program applications to complete a range of tasks... step aside Bill Gates.

Textiles Technology

Year 7 students have been introduced to the world of textiles and design. Beginning with the basics, students have completed a range of tasks to enhance their hand and machine sewing skills. Take yourself back to when you learnt to drive, this is similar to what students have done to be able to successfully and safely use the sewing machines. Projects have also been focused on enhancing the aesthetics of their work by producing a folio of decorative techniques. Next up is to design and make a recycled denim product to apply what they have learnt.

Food Technology

Our Year 8 students have been immersed in the culinary world of food preparation and production, and chopped, sliced, diced, baked, brazed and boiled a range of new and interesting food products. It has been an exciting journey so far, starting the year covering kitchen and food safety then commencing practical lessons that were focused on mastering a range of food preparation skills. A highlight was the recipe design and preparation of a Savoury Muffin that will form part of the Great Lunchbox Challenge the students are currently working on.

Mr Trevor Bridgland | TAS Learning Leader

WE ARE A CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY SCHOOL

Over the next few Newsletter editions, we will hear from some of our Secondary School staff as they reflect on what God is teaching them through reading His Word. I pray this is a blessing to many.

BIBLE REFLECTIONS FROM MR K

In my personal Bible reading, I am currently working through Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians. I have been very much encouraged and hope to remind our school community of one of the major themes that is found in this Epistle.

Paul consistently reminds the church at Corinth (and us today), that God uses our weakness, our inadequacy, and our trials to witness the Gospel to the world and to bring about His plans. This Gospel truth frees us from the anxiety of ‘self-reliance’ when we feel ‘weak’ in our Christian walk or in our attempts to share the Good News through our deeds or words. Throughout Scripture, our Lord uses those who are weak, those who are imperfect and those who are counted as less, to achieve His greater plan. All that we are asked to do is to trust in our Saviour by faith and allow Him to work through us.

Secondly, have you ever been in a situation where you had to give an answer to the question, ‘What is this Good News’?

This may seem like a daunting task, but Peter calls us to always be ready to give an answer for the hope we have in Christ (1 Peter 3:15). If summarising the Good News of the Gospel seems too much of a complex task, I encourage you to memorise a single verse from 2 Corinthians. In 2 Corinthians 5:21, Paul concisely shares our Gospel message in a single sentence. This is a verse that has been on my fridge for many years, and I pray it may land on yours as well, as a daily reminder of what Jesus has done for us.

"For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God" - 2 Corinthians 5:21

Mr K | School Counsellor

God bless,

Term 2 will certainly be filled with many fun learning opportunities, from Debating and da Vinci Decathlon to a variety of Maths Competitions and Science Fair!

Our debaters are continuing to train together each week, in preparation for competing against schools across Australia in the Australian National Virtual Debating Competition. We wish our Years 5-8 teams all the best as they head off to Knox Grammar on Tuesday 14th and Thursday 16th May to compete in the State Da Vinci Decathlon competition.

Years 1 and 2 extension writers were very excited at the end of Term 1 to send a letter home to their parents via the traditional post, with many students describing the great excitement when checking their letterboxes to see their letter had arrived! In this past week, we have been learning about similes, as we prepare to write some Mother's Day poems. Our draft poems include some very creative comparisons, including ‘My Mum is as soft as a dog!’

We are never too young to make a difference in the world, and I’d love to encourage our Years 5-12 students to consider using the written word as a way to have their voices heard. In the What Matters Writing Competition, Years 5-12 students may submit fiction, non-fiction, poetry or prose of up to 600 words by Tuesday 14th May. For more details, please visit https://www.whitlam.org/what-matters.

I am looking forward to taking our Year 5 and 6 Extension Writing group to The Ripple Effect Writing Workshop, to be held at the Ourimbah Campus of the University of Newcastle on Thursday 30^th May. Our young writers are looking forward to meeting successful authors, including Pip Harry, Tim Harris, and Beau Wiley, being inspired by great talks and extending their skills through smaller writing workshops.

Over the past couple of weeks, our Maths extension students have enjoyed challenging themselves with Round 1 of the Bebras competition. It is such a delight to hear the room full of ‘maths talk’ and critical thinking, as students work together to solve these computational thinking challenges.

We are looking forward to once more offering our students the opportunity to further develop their higher order thinking and problem-solving skills through ICAS, a highly acclaimed online academic competition. Every student who participates is celebrated and recognised with a printed certificate in each subject area, and a results report to track their development each year. Top performers are eligible for one of the highly coveted ICAS Medals.

The dates of this year’s competitions are as follows:

• ICAS Writing Competition: Monday 5th to Friday 9th August - Years 3-12
• ICAS English Competition: Monday 12th to Friday 16th August - Years 2-12
  
• ICAS Spelling Competition: Monday 19th to Friday 23rd August - Years 2-7
• ICAS Science Competition: Monday 19th to Friday 23rd August - Years 2-12
• ICAS Mathematics Competition: Monday 26th to Friday 30th August - Years 2-12

If you wish for your child to participate in ICAS this year, you can:

• read about ICAS subjects and prices here,
• go to the Parent Portal to sign up for chosen subject areas here,
• enter our school’s access code – YUV807,
• enter your child’s details, select the subject areas your child would like to participate in, and then proceed to payment.

The last day to sign up will be Friday 26th July 2024.

We have generously been gifted with 10 free ICAS licences, to be used by students whose families may be experiencing financial hardship. If this is your situation, and you have made the school aware of this, and you would like your child to sit an ICAS test, please email me (alivettevial@wyongccs.nsw.edu.au) to express your interest in having your child participate in ICAS.

Mrs Anne Livette-Vial | High Potential & Enrichment Teacher

On Thursday 11th April, six WCCS Futsal teams travelled to the Niagara Park Basketball Stadium to compete at the Regional NNSW Futsal Gala Day. This year there were two Junior Boys (Under 10s), two Senior Boys (Under 12s) and two Senior Girls teams.

The Under 10s played in the separate pools. Both teams displayed lots of passion and great sportsmanship. One of the teams made it all the way to the Grand Final. Unfortunately, in a very close game, they lost 3-2.

The Senior Boys (5-6) teams were placed in two separate pools. The “B” team went through their pool without a win but improved throughout the day. Unfortunately, they placed 4th in their pool, so they didn’t qualify for the Semi Finals. The “A” team went through the day undefeated, to be named Champions of the tournament. They won their Grand Final 8-2 to show how dominant they were all day.

With the Senior Girls, this was the first time that a lot of them had participated in a Futsal Gala Day. They were placed in the same pool. One of the teams won most of their matches to place 2nd. They played Green Point Christian College in the Grand Final. The team did great but couldn’t get the win over Green Point, so they were Runners Up for the tournament.

This means that WCCS will have 3 teams participating at the NNSW State Futsal Championships on Thursday 20th June.

I would also like to thank Laurence T, Orlando G and Nadia W for training the teams in the lead up to the tournament and coaching them on the day. As well as Mrs Austin and Mr Herbert for coaching the teams with me.

Congratulations to all of the students for their sportsmanship and fair play throughout the whole competition. Congratulations to Ella A, Elena A, Savannah B, Fletcher C, Noah C, Ethan C, Amariah C, Malachi C, Billy C, Harvey C, George C, Brodie C, Charlie C, Isaac C, Fletcher D, Kai E, Marlo E, Betty G, Dante G, Anna H, Alfred H, Jude H, Isaac H, Isabelle J, Nevaeh J, Asher K, Isaac K, Kaiden K, Ryder K, Joel L, Anna L, Chase M, Benjamin M, Gracie M, Noah M, Kian O’C, Byron P, Nevaeh R, Alexander R, Judah R, Cleo R, Morgan R, Lachlan R, Jesse S, Simeon S, Fletcher T, Andy V and Philippa W for competing on the day.

Mr Dean Knibbs | Junior School Sports Coordinator

During the last two weeks, Year 6 student, Kaiden K, embarked on a Malaysia tour as a member of the Australian U11 Futsal Team. His selection came after his impressive performance at a National Futsal Tournament last September. Throughout the tour, Kaiden participated in various tournaments and friendly matches against futsal clubs. Notably, in two of the tournaments, the Australian team he was a part of came runners up. He also had the privilege of leading the team out and captaining the team on a number of occasions.

We extend our congratulations to Kaiden for this outstanding achievement.

Mr Dean Knibbs | Junior School Sports Coordinator