Newsletter

Begin as You Mean to Go

Charles Spurgeon once famously said, “Begin as you mean to go on, and go on as you began, and let the Lord be all in all to you.”

I love sharing this thought with the students at the beginning of a new year. It can be a bit of a shock to the system for students to come back to the school setting after such a long summer break, but it’s also such a wonderful opportunity to start afresh. New beginnings provide us with the opportunity to continue the good things we had already been doing and also to start some new patterns or habits that might set us up well for the future. I love seeing our students make new commitments to different aspects of their schooling, whether it be to be more organised, to work harder in a particular subject, or get out of their comfort zone and make new connections with their peers. It is such a privilege, as teachers, to come alongside students and support them in achieving their goals and it’s an even greater privilege to help them see how the Lord wants to be a part of what they do. What a blessing that our God, the creator of the universe, wants to be involved in our everyday life! My prayer for this year is that we might be more aware of God’s presence in the day-to-day and that we might help our students to also recognise His presence in their everyday. 

Prayer over 2021 – a year of growth – for our community – in our personal lives, our spiritual walk and in our expression of His love in and through our lives. And for a flourishing for our students in their endeavours…to His glory.

Could I encourage you again to see prayer for the BCC family as integral to your daily family prayer with your children. How wonderful will it be when we can reflect on God’s goodness in answered prayer. How good will it be when we can learn to walk together, in faith, when our answers to prayer are long in coming – together we will learn to trust Him.

Prayer Points

~ Our new students, new families and our new staff on team. The BCC family is growing!

~ Mrs Vicki Quick as she continues to recover and as she prepares to return to school soon.

~ Our students facing personal and medical challenges, that they will know the mercy and blessing of God.

~ Our Musical and Camp preparations. It’s so good to have a sense that these big, very much anticipated events may well go ahead this year.

~ Our Nation and our leaders, and for communities around the world in their response to the COVID19 challenge.

~ Our parents who are going through troubling times – challenges with their health and some with finances. Please pray that our families will know His protection, His provision and His presence in deeply personal ways.

Prayer Requests

In deeply challenging times such as these, we find our rest in the unchanging nature and faithfulness of our Heavenly Father.

As a Christian community we understand the significance and purpose of prayer. It is the heart-beat of our College. Together we boldly pray to our Father, through the work of His Son, in the power of the Spirit.

If you have a prayer request please complete the form here. We would love to pray for you specifically, and for your family, during this time of change.

‘We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express’ Romans 8:26b

Praying Parents

Parents are invited to join our prayer group on Mondays at 8:15am and Fridays at 2:15pm, meeting at the flag pole after signing in at the College office. For more information please contact Wendy Robinson wendy@wendyrobinson.com.au or phone 0409987939. Everyone is welcome to join in.

Primary Swimming Carnival

What a fantastic day we had for our Primary Swimming Carnival. Thank you to students and parents for complying with our COVID-19 regulations and enabling a wonderful day.

Although we couldn’t have the usual cheering and singing, the day still had a great vibe with everyone getting the opportunity to swim in either the 25m or 50m pool.

Thank you to the High School students who helped with timekeeping and Lifeguard duty, and the Yr 11 Sports Coaching class who ran the events in the 25m pool. Your assistance helped the day to run smoothly.

On the competition side of things, we had the closest carnival we’ve had in a long time. With the lead seesawing throughout the day, Liddell ended up finishing on top by just 8 points over the reigning Swimming champions, Robinson.

Current overall champions, Booth, finished in third place and have some catching up to do if they are to go back-to-back in 2021.

We have 38 students who have made our College team to head to Mingara for Zone Swimming in March.

Two records were broken this year, and they were old records held by esteemed swimmers, particularly Kyah who went on to later become Australian Breaststroke National champion.

A number of students have achieved our new ‘Personal Best’ award by beating their times from last year across a minimum of 2 events.

Congratulations to our Age Champions for 2021 for their outstanding results

Blast Cricket

Keep Informed with the BCC Website

The College website continues to grow and evolve as a fantastic resource for parents and students. Make sure you take a look at our Community Hub. Why not share the weblink with friends and family and give them a look inside the BCC Community. 

BCC also communicates home to parents and caregivers via the Skoolbag App. Skoolbag provides an easy and convenient means of communication of essential information including the College Newsletters, notices and alerts which are communicated directly to parents and caregivers through the Skoolbag Mobile App on your iPhone, iPad or Android device. We encourage parents to download the Skoolbag App and check-in to the App on a regular basis for any announcements to keep you informed.

Tuition Fees Calculator

As previously advised there will be no increase to our fees for 2021.

To assist with budgeting for 2021 we have a fee calculator available on our College website https://bcc.nsw.edu.au/fees/ 

2021 Term Dates

The 2021 term dates are now available on our website https://bcc.nsw.edu.au/term-dates/

College Tours

Do you have friends and family who may like to check out the College on a tour? Maybe you know of folk who are considering a relocation to the Hunter region? Why not encourage them to join our College Registrar, Ms Teena Knott, on a personal or virtual College tour. Or perhaps join our next group tour coming up on Tuesday, 1st June at 9am. For more details and to book a tour, click here

Parents’ Directory

Our website now hosts a Parents’ Directory. The Parents’ Directory is an up-to-date online directory summarising all of our key communication channels and links need-to-know information between the College and families. Communication between your family and the College forms a crucial part of the education journey. Click here to view the page and keep informed https://bcc.nsw.edu.au/parents/

Entertainment Book Available Now

Entertainment Memberships are now 100% digital. Saying goodbye to the iconic Book wasn’t easy but the new Entertainment Memberships start anytime and are valid for 12 months from activation. Packed with thousands of substantial savings to delight and inspire, an Entertainment Membership is your pass to exclusive offers and quality experiences, activities and benefits. The digital membership is easy to download to start using instantly. New offers are added weekly for ongoing value all year round.

Benefits of the App include:

• User-friendly: Instantly search and redeem offers or check out the Near Me tab to find offers, wherever you are.
• Memberships start anytime: Flexible start date, Memberships are valid for 12 months from when you activate (16 months if you take advantage of the Early Bird offer now).
• New offers automatically added: As soon as a new offer is available, you get access to it. No more waiting for the next print run!
• Multiple devices: You can still share your Membership with your family. Encourage your partner and kids to download the App so they can access valuable savings when out.
• Convenient: The App means that as long as you have your phone, you have your Membership too (no more lugging around the book).
• Easy gifting: We’ve made it simpler than ever to gift an Entertainment Membership – simply purchase from your chosen fundraiser and the gift Membership will be delivered instantly to your inbox.

OSHC provided by Camp Australia

Belmont Christian College are pleased to offer a before and after school care program on site through Camp Australia. The service is available from 7.00am to 8.40am and 2.50pm to 6.00pm each school day.

Register, book and manage your before and after school care bookings at www.campaustralia.com.au or call the Customer Service Team on 1300 105 343. Further information is also available on our website https://bcc.nsw.edu.au/oshc/

Peter Pan Musical Rehearsal

On Monday, our Secondary Musical cast of Peter Pan 2021 began rehearsals with 35 students joining the show. It’s going to be an amazing experience and there is still time to enrol and be a part of it all. Any students wanting to join the cast or band can do so before enrolment closes in Week 4. Parents can enrol their child here.

Save The Date

The Peter Pan production will be held on the following dates:
Thursday, 17th June
Friday, 18th June
Saturday, 19th June

Music Tuition

Our wonderful Music Tutor team have begun lessons again this week. Make this year the one that your child begins the enriching journey of learning to play music!

Of particular note is that we have enlisted a new drum and percussion tutor to our team. David Tracey is an exceptional musician, playing both drums in all styles and mallet percussion (marimba, xylophones etc). Can I encourage all those budding drummers to look at in-school lessons with this fantastic teacher.

FOR MUSIC TUTOR CONTACT DETAILS, head to our website here.

Music Ensembles

Music Ensembles resume next week (Week 3) on their designated day. Please ensure your child is enrolled in the chosen ensemble before rehearsals commence.

Primary Music Ensembles Enrolment

Secondary Music Ensembles Enrolment

Our timetable for Music Ensembles are as follows, however, more information and enrolment can be found in the links below.

For information and enrolment for all our Creative Arts and Music Ensembles, please follow the relevant links below.

Primary Ensembles: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CR8GlQuTLUoa0e4tMANf4_74aZGxE432/view?usp=sharing

Secondary Ensembles:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CIbVLND1KolMQNti4jK_viIPJpgEXTQH/view?usp=sharing  

Also find our Music Tutor contacts and our Instrument Hire Form along with some Hot tips.

NSW School Vaccination Program

Each year NSW Health works in partnership with schools to offer the vaccines recommended by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) for adolescents as part of the school vaccination program. NSW Health are scheduled to vaccinate students in Years 7 & 10 during Period 1 on Friday, 5th March.

In 2021 the following vaccines will be offered:

Parent Information Kits that include an Information Sheet, Consent Form and Privacy Statement will be sent home to parents/caregivers this week. If your child is absent please have them collect the Consent Form from Mrs Evans at the College Office.

To consent to the vaccination of your child, parents/caregivers are advised to:
~ read all the information provided
~ complete the Consent Form, including signing their name next to the vaccine/s they would like your child to receive
~ return the completed Consent Form to the College Office
~ ensure that your child eats breakfast on the day of the school vaccination clinic.

To improve vaccination completion, students who return a signed Vaccination Consent Form while in Year 7 and who miss vaccine doses at any clinic, will be opportunistically offered these vaccines at each clinic visit throughout 2021 (Year 7) & 2022 (Year 8). Students who have a dose of HPV at their GP can complete the course in the school program if a signed consent form has been returned to school.

A Record of Vaccination will be provided to each student vaccinated at each clinic as a physical card. Parents/caregivers should ensure that this record is kept for future reference and should not assume that their child has been vaccinated if they do not receive this Record of Vaccination.

For further information please contact our Secondary School Administrator, Kathy Evans on 4922 8300 Ext 505 or kathy.evans@bcc.nsw.edu.au.

Secondary Sports Uniform Days

As we begin the new year we want to ensure that our students are well presented and are setting high standards in the wearing of their uniform.

While most students have returned and are doing just that, some need reminding of our expectations.

We are focusing on:
1. Boys’ shirts – our Uniform Policy and Secondary Parent Information Book states that Summer and Winter uniform shirts are to be “tucked in”.

2. Girls’ skirt length – our Uniform Policy and Secondary Parent Information Book states that “Skirts are to be top of the knee-length”. If your daughter’s skirt does not meet this requirement, please ensure that this is addressed throughout this week.

3. Sport Uniform on approved days – please see the table below for the days your child is permitted to wear their Sport Uniform if they attend the subjects listed.

All other subjects (such as Drama and Photography) should change into Sport Uniform for the lesson and then change back into normal uniform as required unless otherwise specified in subject specific excursion variation information from time to time.

Please refer to our Secondary Parent Information Booklet and our website https://bcc.nsw.edu.au/uniform/ for further uniform information.

Thank you for partnering with us in our desire for our students to wear their correct uniform well.

Christian Writing Competition – Call for Entries!

2021 Australian Christian Teen Writer Award

Explore and share your faith through writing! The Australian Christian Teen Writer Award is run by SparkLit. SparkLit advances God’s kingdom by empowering Christian writers and publishers worldwide.

Awards are given for the best unpublished manuscripts from both Primary and Secondary ‘teens’.

Free entry. First prize $1,000.

Entries close 31 May 2021.

If you are interested in entering please register below. Our English Coordinator, Mr Paul Hendriks, would also love to hear of your interest in entering so please email paul.hendriks@bcc.nsw.edu.au to advise.

Surviving and Thriving in High School this year

Parent and Caregiver Mental Health Education Sessions

NSW Health recently funded headspace to deliver parent and caregiver mental health education sessions.

The purpose of these session is to provide mental health information to parents, carers and community members of young people in the region, to enhance their skills and confidence to engage their young person in a conversation about mental health and wellbeing.

These sessions will also offer parents and caregivers the opportunity to increase their awareness of local, state and national support services available and to hear from services about how to access this support.

Headspace is offering these sessions online from 6.30pm – 7.45pm on the:

10th March 2021, register here
15th March 2021, register here

After you have registered, you will receive an email confirmation from Eventbrite which will include the Zoom meeting link to access the webinar on the evening. For more information please email: headspaceSchools@headspace.org.au