WCCS Newsletter - Wyong Christian Community School

Principal's Message - Week 9, Term 2

As we draw towards the end of another term, I’d like to update you on a couple of staffing changes. Mr Caleb Sandford, who has been faithfully teaching HSIE at our school for the past 3.5 years and coordinating our Duke of Edinburgh program, will be moving on from our school. He will be taking up a post teaching in an International School in Hong Kong – an exciting move for him and his wife who is originally from there. We are very thankful for his contribution to our school and wish him God’s blessing for this new adventure. We are delighted to welcome Mrs Andrea McKeown to our school as Mr Sandford’s replacement. As has been announced previously, we will also be welcoming Miss Jessica Fedder at the commencement of next term as our new Head of Secondary Teaching and Learning.

In addition, at the conclusion of this term we will also be farewelling our much-loved groundsman, Mr Neil Higgins. Mr Higgins has been associated with our school basically since its inception, being involved in the church when the school started, and enrolling his daughters in the school in 1994. He commenced working part-time in the school in the year 2000 and came on staff full-time in 2002. For the past 24 years, he has graciously and faithfully served the ministry in a whole range of different ways. The beautiful grounds, ovals and buildings we enjoy each day are as much a testament to him as anyone else who has been involved in our school. It was lovely to have him share with the staff one more time before he retires. He spoke about the origins of the school and the way the community all pitched in and served in whatever way was required to make the school functional. I commenced at the school as the Secondary Coordinator of PDHPE and Sport in 2006 and from the outset it was evident the heart Mr Higgins had for the ministry of the school. He was a great support to me in the various initiatives I was keen to implement.

It is not just in the grounds area that Mr Higgins has served the school. He was instrumental in our pioneering years of the Red Centre Road Trip, coming on the first two years as a cook. He has been involved in many hikes that the school has run and other sporting endeavours. He has also taught numerous students about vehicle maintenance and mentored up a maintenance team that now carry the baton moving forward.

Mr Higgins will be deeply missed by our whole community. We are excited for him and the next season God has in store for him. I am confident it will involve plenty of camping trips, expeditions and service opportunities with others. In the time that he has been employed at the school, I have seen numerous occasions where he has given up his holidays to serve others through organisations such as Blaze Aid and Mobile Mission Maintenance. He leaves a tremendous legacy that our school has been blessed with. The words of Matthew 25:23 seem most appropriate “Well done, good and faithful servant!”

God bless,

Community News - Week 9, Term 2

TERM 2 CELEBRATION ASSEMBLIES

Our Term 2 Celebration Assemblies will be held on Friday 5th July (Week 10) in our Multi-Purpose Centre at the following times:

Junior School - 9am
Secondary School - 11:45am

Parents of award recipients will be notified via email by Wednesday 26th June.

CONGRATULATIONS TO MR KENNEDY & FAMILY

Congratulations to Mr Chris Kennedy and his wife, Kate, on the birth of their third son, Bobby, on Thursday 13th June. Please pray for the family as they welcome their newest member.

SCHOOL COMMUNICATION SURVEY

In 2022, we asked families to submit feedback through our School Communication Survey. Your responses have helped us understand and improve our communication strategies to better serve our school community.

Since then, we have implemented several changes based on your suggestions and would like to hear your thoughts on these improvements. We also seek further feedback on how we can continue to enhance our communication with you.

We kindly ask one parent/carer from each household to complete the survey. It should take under 5 minutes to complete. Your feedback will greatly assist us in ensuring our communication remains effective and relevant to your needs as our school continues to grow.

Please click here to complete the survey.

NATIONALLY CONSISTENT COLLECTION OF DATA ON SCHOOL STUDENTS WITH DISABILITY (NCCD)

Please click here for a letter from Mrs Amanda Holland, Director of Learning Enrichment, regarding the collection of data.

BUILDING FUND DONATIONS

As we approach the end of the financial year, families may wish to consider contributing to our school's Building Fund. As we seek to expand our ministry for the benefit of the students we would sincerely value your partnership. All donations over $2 are tax-deductible. Donations can be made via our website, here. Thank you for your consideration.

BUSWAYS SCHOOL BUS TRAVEL CHANGES - COMMENCING IN TERM 3

From Term 3, there will be several changes to school and route services operated by Busways which will impact students attending WCCS who catch the morning route Bus 2111. Further details can be found here, in a letter from Busways.

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

This is the final week to book your tickets to our Secondary School play, Robin Hood: A Bard's Tale, which will take place during Week 10.

The performance dates are as follows:

Tuesday 2nd July - Matinee Performance at 11am
Tuesday 2nd July - Evening Performance at 6:30pm
Wednesday 3rd July - Evening Performance at 6:30pm

Please click here for further details and ticket purchases.

ROBIN HOOD & WYONG MILK FACTORY - 10% OFF SPECIAL

Wyong Milk Factory has generously offered a 10% discount to those who dine with them before our Robin Hood performances next week. Please show your Robin Hood tickets at the Milk Factory to claim this special offer.

WOOSH VACATION CARE PROGRAM

WOOSH will be running a Vacation Care program during the July school holidays, for students in Kindergarten to Year 6. For further information, please click here to view the outline of activities, or contact Amber from WOOSH to make an enquiry or booking.

LOST PROPERTY

If your child is missing an item of clothing or personal belongings, please encourage them to check lost property in our office before the end of the term. Lost property will be cleaned out during the holidays, and any unclaimed items will be donated. Thank you.

SCHOOL HOLIDAY OFFICE HOURS

Please be advised of our office hours during the upcoming school holidays.

Monday 8th to Friday 12th July - Closed
Monday 15th to Friday 19th July - Open from 8:30am-3:30pm
Monday 22nd July - Open from 8am-4pm
Tuesday 23rd July - Open from 8am-4pm
Wednesday 24th July - Closed for CSA State Conference
Thursday 25th July - Closed for Professional Development
Friday 26th July - Open from 8am-4pm

TERM 3

Term 3 will commence on Monday 29th July (Week B).

Junior School News - Week 9, Term 2

Greetings friends of Junior School.

Congratulations to our sporting teams that competed in the soccer, netball and futsal last week. Mr Knibbs was really impressed with the way our students performed but more importantly, he was proud of the God-honouring manner with which they behaved.

Keeping with the sporting theme, our Central Coast Mariners will be joining us this week for their Trophy Tour. They will be bringing around the A-League trophy that they have won again. Is it just me or does that thing look like a golden toilet seat? Is that too honest? Moving on, they and it will be joining us at 11am this Wednesday 26th June.

Our Years 5 and 6 (B-Team) Debaters will be re-entering the fray on Thursday, around midday. Best of luck to our budding solicitors and politicians. We definitely need more Christians in both of those fields of endeavour.

To finish off the term, in Week 10, we have performances of Robin Hood and our Celebration Assembly. If you have the time and inclination, you are cordially invited to both events. You will not need tickets to Celebration Assembly on Friday morning and you can refer to the Community News section of our Newsletter for tickets to Robin Hood.

As we head into the last couple of weeks of term, our kids are getting tired and a little frayed around the edges. Many of our precious kids have had some significant illnesses to battle and they are showing signs of fatigue. We have seen an unprecedented number of kids suffer from pneumonia this season. COVID and RSV have been running rampant in the wider community and our school community has not been immune.

We will be reminding the kids of the advice we find in Hebrews 12:1.

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before Him He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."

God bless,

Secondary School News - Week 9, Term 2

WHAT'S BEEN HAPPENING?

Chapel

This term in Chapel we have had an overarching theme of “Personal God” to shape our talks, song choices and Chapel activities. This week, we gathered to sing a couple of praise songs before the girls moved off to the Church hall for a special girl-focused presentation. Mrs Kelly Tabrett had prepared more than 200 packages for the girls and was able to share with them about how Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross was not just for everyone, but personally for every single girl in the room. She had prepared some crayon hearts as a powerful illustration for her talk and the girls were able to have a time of artistic reflection as they thought about what it meant to be loved uniquely by Jesus.

The boys remained in the MPC and Jason from CRU shared with them the power of forgiveness. The boys all threw themselves into his challenge, “He’s a 10 but…” and this analogy spoke about God’s endless grace through Jesus. The boys were challenged to live their lives with forgiveness as a central way of being, but also gently reminded that this doesn’t always result in reconciliation. Rev. then had all the boys involved in a game of 'Streets and Lanes' as a bit of an analogy about chasing after these important strengths in life like forgiveness.

A massive shout out to Mrs Tabrett for all of her generous work and sharing; to Jason from CRU who also stayed for Chapel Chats; to our beautiful band who always lead us so well in praise; the terrific Tech Team who make all the bells and whistles work; our staff who support all of our different ideas with enthusiasm; and of course, the students who responded with respect and thoughtfulness. Honourable mention to Jolie S (Chapel Prefect) and Taya W (Captain) who carry the vision for Chapel and make it come alive. God is good!

An Act of Service

We are so proud of Holly N (Year 10), who chose to respond to the words written in Philippians 2:3-5, “Don't be selfish; don't try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don't look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.”

Read below about Holly’s Big Chop.

"I’ve made the decision to take the big chop and change lives! I cut my hair in 2018 and have been growing it since. During that time, my Grandad and my Uncle have been affected by cancer. My family have also lost my Nanny to cancer. I thought this year was the time to donate my hair again, to not only provide a wig for children affected by a medical condition that causes them to lose their hair, but to help raise money for Variety Children's Charity which helps all sick children and their families."

WHAT'S COMING UP?

We have two final busy weeks of Term 2 ahead and there is certainly plenty of activity. Our Drama students are working diligently in final preparation for the Secondary School play Robin Hood – A Bard’s Tale. We are all looking forward to seeing these students on the stage, sharing their God-given gifts and talents with our wider community. Thank you to Mrs Tiernan Schwenke, Mrs Hannah Kelly and the staff team for the time and energy you have invested to support our Drama students.

Celebration Assembly this term will feature our Year 7 Dance group, led by Mrs Hannah Kelly. Parents/carers are warmly invited to attend if available, as we acknowledge the consistent diligence of many of our students and enjoy well-prepared items presented by our CAPA students.

May we wish all our families a restful and blessed school holiday break. We look forward to seeing all Secondary School students in Term 3.

God bless,