School Newsletter

Hello everyone, welcome back to Term 3. I hope you were able to enjoy the holiday break as a family and are excited about all that God has in store for us this term. Our staff have been working hard to be organised and prepared for the return of the students. In our Professional Development Week last week, WCCS hosted almost six hundred employees from seven different Christian Schools as part of the CSA State Conference. It was a productive day learning more about formation and the impacts the world is having on our young people. It was also a great chance to network and connect with colleagues from other schools.

At the end of the gospel of Matthew, Jesus encourages His disciples to go and make disciples of all nations. For the last week and a half of last term I had the great privilege to join fifteen other Principals of Christian Schools on a study tour of New Zealand. We visited six different Christian Schools and attended the New Zealand Association of Christian Schools Leadership Conference. It was wonderful to be reminded that we all worship the same God, and that He is doing great work in growing His Kingdom through Christian Schooling in other countries as well as Australia. I got to meet many passionate educators committed to the work of authentic Christian Education. For those who have been associated with our Secondary School for a number of years, I even ran into a former PDHPE Teacher from our school, Mr Buttsworth, at Bethlehem College.

Much like visiting different churches, I saw things that I really liked that challenged me to implement here at Wyong, alongside other ideas that I didn’t feel would be a good fit for WCCS. The structure of their funding and political climate is also rather different to here in Australia. Despite all of this, the overwhelming experience from the trip was the unity we all have in Christ, regardless of what country we are in.

There were a couple of disappointments about being on the trip. One was that I missed Mr Higgins' final day at WCCS. The other was that I was not able to attend any of the Robin Hood: A Bard’s Tale performances. I hope you were able to get along to see the talented students performing this play. By all reports, there were some memorable performances. There were many staff who contributed to this fantastic event. I would particularly like to acknowledge Mrs Schwenke and Mrs Kelly for all of the hours that they contributed to ensuring the students had the opportunity to showcase their talents.

At the end of last term, I wrote about Miss Fedder and Mrs McKeown joining our staff. This term we will also be welcoming Miss Bree Reynolds to our Secondary PDHPE department. She will fulfil Mrs Cox’s teaching load whilst she is on Maternity Leave. Please say hello and make Miss Reynolds feel welcome if you see her around the school.

God bless,

• Junior School Celebration Assembly – Friday 27th September at 9am (Week 9)
• Secondary School Celebration Assembly – Friday 27th September at 2pm (Week 9)
• Last Day of Term 3 - Friday 27th September (Week 9)

CANTEEN - NOW OPERATING 5 DAYS A WEEK

We are pleased to inform our school community that from Term 3, our Canteen will operate five days a week (Monday to Friday).

We have also updated our Canteen Menu, which can be accessed here. Please be reminded that orders must be placed by 9am each day.

K-12 NAIDOC BAKE SALE

As part of our school's celebration of NAIDOC Week, our Year 7 students are hosting a Bake Sale on Tuesday 30th July (Week 1) at lunchtime, commencing at 1pm.

Baked goods will be available to purchase for $2 each. Cash or EFTPOS will be accepted. Gluten-free options will be available.

All proceeds from the Bake Sale will go towards the Indigenous Literacy Foundation.

SECONDARY SCHOOL NAIDOC WEEK ASSEMBLY

On Tuesday 30th July (Week 1, Term 3), our Secondary School students will attend a NAIDOC Week Assembly from 12:15-1pm in our Multi-Purpose Centre.

Families are welcome to join us for this celebration.

K-12 PARENT-TEACHER INTERVIEWS

Parent-Teacher Interviews for Semester Two will be held in Week 2 of Term 3 on the following dates:

• Junior School - Monday 5th August from 3:30-8:30pm
• Secondary School - Monday 5th August from 3:30-8:30pm and Tuesday 6th August from 3:30-5:30pm

Bookings are required and details on how to make a booking were emailed to families late last term. Bookings will close on Friday 2nd August at 2pm.

WCCS OPEN DAY

WCCS is holding an Open Day on Wednesday 14th August.

Our Open Days are designed to show prospective families the many educational opportunities at WCCS, and our vibrant, growing Christian community. If someone you know is considering WCCS for their children, this is the perfect opportunity for them to find out more.

Tour registrations can be made via our website by clicking here.

IMPORTANT REMINDER - ALLERGIES

Please be reminded that we are a “High Risk Foods – Minimised” school. This means that parents, students and staff are requested to refrain from bringing fava beans, peanuts, tree nuts, and peanut butter or Nutella (chocolate/hazelnut) spreads to the school. Please adhere closely to this policy, as we have numerous students throughout the school who have an anaphylactic allergy to nuts and fava beans.

SCHOOL APP - IMPORTANT COMMUNICATION BETWEEN SCHOOL & HOME

Please be reminded that WCCS utilises our School App to communicate important information with parents (along with our fortnightly Newsletter and EdSmart). The App is available for free download from the App Store and Google Play by searching ‘Wyong Christian Community School’. The App contains lots of great information on school notices, events, staff email addresses and our Newsletter. You can also submit student absences via the App.

Please also be reminded to occasionally check if our School App requires an update on your device. You can do this via your App Store or Google Play.

WCCS 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 is hosted by our School Chaplain, Rev. Matt Shorten. All are welcome to come and pray together.

MORNING SUPERVISION OF STUDENTS

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.

CHESS COACHING WITH THE SYDNEY ACADEMY OF CHESS

Learn to be a chess champion! Chess coaching for students at WCCS is held for Years K-12 on Tuesdays from 3:15pm to 4:15pm, starting on Tuesday 30th July 2024.

Learning and playing chess helps children develop their logical thinking and problem-solving skills, improves their concentration and focus, while also being a great source of enjoyment. Activities include group lessons on a demonstration chess board or interactive whiteboard, puzzle solving and fun practice games.

Students earn merit awards by making checkmates, or by displaying skills and positive qualities, which all good chess players strive to develop.

Each student in the Chess program will also receive access to Chess Squad which is an online teaching/playing platform.

If your child is interested in taking part in the class, please email office.sydneyacademy@gmail.com for an enrolment form.

For all enquiries, please contact Sydney Academy of Chess on (02) 9745 1170.

ALPHA COURSE AT WYONG BAPTIST CHURCH

If you recently completed the Understanding Faith Course, or are looking to explore your faith a bit more, you may like to attend the upcoming Alpha Course at Wyong Baptist Church. Please email alpha@wyongbaptist.org for further information.

During Terms 1 and 2, a team of staff from across the school have been wrestling with the challenge of how to embed our School Values into our community, so they become the disposition of our corporate character, formed by the living out of these values by each individual. It is easy for value statements to become aspirational words that we speak about and refer to, but don’t become the foundations of how we live and behave as a community. We have commenced this project initially considering our students, but it is our intention to also consider this for staff and the parents/carers in our community. We want our values to become our convictions, embodied by each individual so they become part of the WCCS DNA, benefiting everyone who calls WCCS their community.

The student phase of this project has three stages.

1. Clarity – Creating a tool/language that becomes a lens to help our students understand each value.
2. Embedding – Considering ways we can assist students to embody our values.
3. Celebration – Looking for opportunities to celebrate our values in action.

We have been working on clarifying our values, considering how we can help our students grasp what our values mean in daily life.

After many hours of work, the team consulted with our staff and developed four statements that embody each value, in language that we hope will resonate with our students. It is now our intention to present these to our students and gather their insights and feedback. This week, I will be inviting interested students to a meeting to present these statements and allow discussion and provide feedback. After this, we will be able to present these statements to the whole community.

It is intended that the statements will be used in Years 3-12. Our K-2 staff will consider how we can rework these statements into language that can be utilised by our young students.

We look forward to sharing this work with you so we can partner together in embedding values and behaviours that reflect who we are at WCCS.

Mr Stephen Moody | Assistant Principal

• Give thanks for the school holidays and the opportunity for our students, families and staff to take a break.
  
• Give thanks for the new students who have started at our school this term. Pray that they will develop friendships quickly and praise God that we have these new families in our school community.
• Pray for our Year 9 students who will soon embark on the Red Centre Road Trip. Pray for God's protection over our students, parent helpers and staff as they travel. Pray that our students will draw closer to God as they spend time together reading His Word, surrounded by His beautiful creation.
  
• Pray for our Year 12 students who will be commencing their Trial HSC Examinations next week. Pray for clarity and that they will give it their best.
• Pray for continued protection over the health and well-being of our school community.

Thanks for allowing us to engage in Professional Development.

We recognise that the extra time does have an impact on many families, evidenced by the numerous greetings and holiday anecdotes we received every morning from the WOOSH kids clambering over the fences.

We had some excellent sessions during the week and have come away with knowledge and skills that will significantly benefit your children. One of the most practical sessions was hosted by Mrs Holland; I thought it would be appropriate to share this with you all as you parent your amazing children.

As parents and teachers, we obviously need to keep our kids from harm, but it is important that we do not keep our kids away from ‘struggle and challenge', because in this space is where some of the really excellent learning and metacognition skills are mined and processed. It sounds counterintuitive but ‘failure’ with support is an important element of learning and innovation. Simply put, if we are not making mistakes, we are not learning! We were also challenged to praise our students more for their attempts and struggles not just the completions. May I recommend the same at home? This will certainly assist in resilience and persistence development.

We also had some amazing spiritual impartations from various presenters. Our staff were reminded that Jesus was not resuscitated, He was resurrected. He wasn’t just brought back to life to live the same way He did before His unfortunate passing. He was resurrected to be the Savior and Lord of the world. We get to experience the fullness of our new life in Him now and our heavenly life after this life, in a supportive community of reconciled believers. The wonderful privilege is that we also get to invite others to join the story and our new way of life. In this way, what we do now has eternal significance. If this resonates with you, or challenges you, please come and chat with any staff member. It would be our pleasure to unpack this with you.

We have some exciting academic news. One of our amazing students, Rebekah G, has been featured in an ICAS news article. Please feel free to check out the article here and celebrate with us the achievements of our amazing Rebekah.

As part of our NAIDOC Week celebration, Secondary School are hosting a Bake Sale from 1pm on Tuesday 30th July (Week 1). Junior School students are invited to purchase some tasty snacks at lunchtime. All funds go to the Indigenous Literacy Foundation. Cupcakes and baked goods will be available for $2 each. There will be GF options available.

We do have some Junior School teachers enjoying Long Service Leave this term. Naturally, these teachers have informed their class members of the changes for the term, but we thought you might be interested in keeping up to date with the movements around our school.

In Kindergarten, Mrs Harris is taking the first four weeks of term to enjoy a well-earned break and Miss Moody will be covering Kindergarten.

In Year 3 our wonderful Mrs Jones is being replaced by Mrs Hoken for the term.

In Year 2 the amazing Mrs Austin, our longest-serving Junior School teacher, is taking the back end of the term to enjoy some travel adventures and will be covered by the lovely Mrs Wolstenholme.

Mrs Smithers also won’t be around for a couple of weeks at the start of the term, as she gets to be reunited with some of our former Junior School students on the Year 9 Red Centre Road Trip.

We are praying for God’s travelling mercies for our staff and students who will be enjoying those adventures this term, in addition to our prayers for safety and healthy challenges for our staff and students remaining at school this term.

God bless,

Hello to all our wonderful Secondary School families and friends.

Welcome back.

We do hope you have enjoyed a restful break with your family members and are ready to get back into school life.

You may or may not be aware, that I am about to jump on the Year 9 Red Centre Road Trip bus and travel alongside our Year 9 girls. It is a joy and a privilege to experience God’s creation and spend quality time forming closer relationships with our students, parents and colleagues.

For wellbeing queries, please reach out to the relevant Home Room Teacher in the first instance.

WELLBEING VIDEOS

As a team, we are committed to partnering with our parents and carers, as we all look to encourage positive wellbeing for our students, your children.

This term, we will be sending out a series of short video clips; around 90 seconds long, with some research-based strategies and findings we have identified regarding a range of challenges our students may be facing.

Hopefully, this can promote rich conversation in your household and be an encouragement for those who feel they are travelling through the wilderness alone!

Please be encouraged to reach out to a member of our staff team if you would like to receive further information or support for your family.

As Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 12:26, “If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honoured, all rejoice together with it”.

Let us walk forward with one another as members of a Christian Community to display the outworking of the faith we have in the goodness of our loving God.

God bless,

INTRODUCING MISS JESSICA FEDDER: HEAD OF SECONDARY - TEACHING & LEARNING

It is my great pleasure to be joining the community here at WCCS. I have spent the last week getting to know the wonderful staff here at the school and being part of great Professional Development opportunities, including the THACCCSA State Conference last Wednesday. As staff, we were encouraged to reflect on our identity and the Biblical story, and how it informs and builds our view on life. It is wonderful to be part of a community that values lifelong learning, and we wish to encourage our students to adopt the same perspective on their learning.

As I join the school as Head of Secondary - Teaching and Learning, I look forward to all the opportunities I will have to meet with students and parents. I have worked within Christian schools for the last 16 years, including St Philips Christian College (Newcastle and Port Stephens) and Charlton Christian College. I am passionate about seeing young people face their future with hope and purpose. I know that education is a powerful tool to assist students in doing so. If you see me around the school, please make sure you say hi and introduce yourself!

As we embark on Term 3, it can be a busy time with many exciting events and lots of learning activities and assessments. We will be praying for Year 12 students as they prepare for their Trial HSC Examinations in Week 3 and prepare to complete major works and performances for some of their HSC subjects. I would love it if you would join me in praying for them as they reach many significant milestones – that God will bless them with peace, protection over their health, and energy as they prepare.

Kindest regards,

It is a delight to see how much our budding young mathematicians enjoy challenging themselves in our regular academic competitions. Term 3 will commence with many opportunities for students in our Maths Extension groups to stretch and challenge themselves:

WEEK 1 - NEWCASTLE PERMANENT MATHEMATICS COMPETITION

• Monday – Year 5 Newcastle Permanent Mathematics Competition
• Tuesday – Year 4 Newcastle Permanent Mathematics Competition
• Thursday – Year 6 Newcastle Permanent Mathematics Competition

WEEKS 1-3 - MATHS OLYMPIAD 3

Years 3 to 8 Maths Extension groups will sit the third Maths Olympiad in Weeks 1 to 3.

WEEKS 2-5 - ICAS COMPETITIONS

• ICAS Writing Competition: Monday 5th August - Years 3-12 (Catch up: 9th August)
• ICAS English Competition: Tuesday 13th August - Years 2-12 (Catch up: 15th August)
• ICAS Spelling Competition: Monday 19th August - Years 2-7 (Catch up: 22nd August)
• ICAS Science Competition: Tuesday 20th August - Years 2-12 (Catch up: 22nd August)
• ICAS Mathematics Competition: Monday 26th August - Years 2-12 (Catch up: 29th August)

EVENING OF EMINENCE

Evening of Eminence 2024 is a Term 3 and 4 extension project for students in Years 3 to 10, where each participating student will choose a well-known person, who has made a positive impact on the world, to learn about and present on. Each week they complete a new task, building up both their portfolio of work and knowledge of their chosen person. Among other things, they will write, create artworks, draw maps, create historical timelines and discover how Maths and Science relate to their chosen eminent person. Towards the end of Term 4, all their effort and creativity will come together as they deliver a speech and showcase a display of their wonderful work. Parents and friends will be invited to enjoy a fabulous evening where they get to meet and walk around interviewing these incredible people who have changed our world for the better. Please click here to view a highlight reel from Evening of Eminence 2023, providing a small insight into what you can expect!

Students who decide to participate in this project will meet with me each week to learn about the next step in the project, which they will complete at home and submit via One Note. Students who have completed this project in the past will testify that they worked hard and found the experience incredibly rewarding! I will be holding an information session for Junior School students at lunchtime on Tuesday of Week 1 (Tuesday 30th July), and for Secondary School students on Monday of Week 2 (Monday 5th August).

YEARBOOK COVER COMPETITION

We are excited to announce the 2024 Yearbook Cover Competition, with all K-12 students invited to enter an artwork of their own creation inspired by one or more of our School Values. This will certainly require a bit of deeper thinking, but we can’t wait to see what our artists, photographers and creators of digital art will produce! In preparation, our young artists are encouraged to have discussions with friends and family about what they think each of our values looks like in practice, and what objects or scenes could symbolise one of these values. Each student may submit only one artwork, and this is due on Week 1 of Term 4, leaving plenty of time for students to get creative!

Mrs Anne Livette-Vial | High Potential & Enrichment Teacher

Throughout Semester One, Year 7 students have engaged in the Peer Support Program with our Year 11 leaders. This has provided a valuable time each week to connect with older students who have been able to mentor and guide Year 7 as they have settled into Secondary School life.

The program focused on resilience and integrity, with activities and games linked to this. So many of our Year 11 leaders have stepped up to this leadership role and displayed a humble confidence and care for the students in their groups. We are thankful for their time and hope that these connections can flourish as Year 7 continues to settle in and grow in their resilience and confidence.

Miss Kayla Christensen | Year 7 Year Advisor

After trialling through CSSA and CIS, Laurence T (Year 10) has managed to secure a spot on the 2024 NSW All Schools Football Team! This is an incredible achievement!

Laurence - WCCS is very proud of your work ethic, application and dedication to improving your skillset and abilities as a football player. We are all praying for a safe and enjoyable experience playing football in Perth on Monday 12th August. We can't wait to hear all about it.

Mr Nathan Irvine | Secondary School Sports Coordinator