Newsletter

This past weekend I had a special trip to a local hospital to visit close friends that have just had their first baby – just in time for mother’s day. Holding the newborn in my arm was such a sweet moment for me in contrast to how my past two months have been. My beautiful young adult daughter was hit with a life threatening illness just shy of two months ago. Nobody saw it coming. While holding the newborn I reflected on how quickly a baby grows up, then as they grow and ‘life’ hits them. They are still your child and you have the same intense love for them that you had from the beginning.

What I have realised is, life is precious.

We are blessed to be active, to exercise, and to compete with each other. Our athletics carnivals have been showcasing our students last week and this week.

We are blessed that we have brains to learn, to think, and to comprehend. Our NAPLAN testing has started this week, and our Year 11 and 12 reports are going out. We can evaluate our growth and celebrate our increased knowledge.

What I have also realised, is sometimes things don’t go as we expect. Twists and turns appear out of nowhere. Results are not what we planned, wanted or deserved.

I believe as a Christian that we are abundantly blessed with hope. Our hope is divine and it is a gift. It gives us reason to look beyond the results from today and the unexpected turns, and know that something greater is promised to us. That promise always remains and can’t be taken away.

I pray that this week you seek the hope, and connect with the Hope-Giver.

Group College Tour 1st June

Do you have friends and family who are considering joining the College? There may be people in your life who are considering a relocation to the Hunter region. Why not encourage them to join our College Principal, Heads of School, Leadership Team and Registrar on our next group tour coming up on Tuesday, 1st June at 9am. For more details and to book a tour, click here

Year 11 & 12 Academic Reports

The College is pleased to have undertaken a new initiative, the Sentral Parent Portal, to provide parents/caregivers with information about your child’s school experience. The Portal is now available to parents/caregivers of Year 7, 11 and 12 students with other years soon to follow. Parents in Year 7, 11 and 12 have been emailed an invitation with link and individual access key.

The Parent Portal allows parents/caregivers to view academic reports, submit absence explanations, view incidents, manage payments and update your contact information. As we progress this initiative, the Parent Portal will become more and more significant in your day-to-day management of your child’s enrolment at the College.

Year 11 & 12 parents/caregivers please endeavour to log on and register for access to our Parent Portal so that you are able to access this Semester’s Academic Report that will be available today.

Should you have not received the invitation email and/or experience difficulties please do not hesitate to contact our IT Department on sentral@bcc.nsw.edu.au for assistance.

2021 Young Entrepreneurs Expo and Dinner

Our College is committed to growing and supporting the next generation of business leaders and entrepreneurs. In support of this, we run an annual young entrepreneurs Business Expo via our Stage 6 Business Studies program for students in Year 11. From scratch, students are challenged to develop a business plan for a hypothetical business idea, with the prospect of making it into a commercially viable product or service at a later time. The students then present these ideas and concepts to a panel of local Hunter region business owners, known as ‘Sharks’, in recognition of the famous TV program ‘Shark Tank’.  

We welcome any of our parents operating their own businesses to partner with us in supporting our students – your sponsorship will go towards a formal celebration dinner where prizes, awards and certificates are presented to students. To register your interest in sponsoring this small business initiative, click on this link.

Mr Ross Urane
Year 11 and 12 Business Studies Teacher                 

HSC Information Night – Save the Date

On Tuesday, 8th June at 7pm the College will be holding our HSC Information and Subject Selection Evening for our current Year 10 students who will be moving into Stage 6 for 2022/23. Further information will be provided shortly but in the meantime please save the date.

Upcoming Parenting Webinars

eSafety’s guide to parental controls

Tuesday, 8th June 2021  
12:30pm – 1:30pm

Wednesday, 16th June 2021  
7:30pm – 8:30pm  
To register, REGISTER NOW

This webinar will look at how Parents and Carers can set up devices and apps to help kids and young people stay safe online. It is designed for Parents and Carers of children aged 4-13.

It will cover:

~ the benefits and limitations of parental controls
~ how to set up iOS and Android devices for safety
~ how to set up popular games and apps like YouTube and Roblox for safety
~ using family tech agreements and other parenting strategies to manage online risks
~ how eSafety can help when things go wrong.

Newcastle University

Tuesday, 25th May 2021  
6:00pm – 7:00pm  
To register, CLICK HERE  

We encourage both parents and students to register for this digital event. 

Presented by a panel of current Student Ambassadors who will share their stories and experiences, the session covers the subject selection process (including 3 simple steps on how to select your HSC subjects), as well as case studies and examples, and some general University information. 

Newcastle University

Tuesday, 8th June 2021  
6:00pm – 7:00pm  
To register, CLICK HERE  

Sam Doherty, the senior manager of Admissions, will be running a live University of Newcastle Parent Webinar, covering key topics such as how to apply to university and the various entry schemes that are available for your child. 

A great session for parents with students in Year 11 and 12.  

University of Newcastle HSC Help Webinars

The University of Newcastle has partnered with InspirationED to deliver a free series of HSC subject specific webinars. They will be delivered by teachers and HSC Markers. You will have the opportunity to gain advice on how to prepare for your child’s respective subjects and ask questions. The webinars will focus on particular sections of the curriculum. 
https://www.newcastle.edu.au/study/hsc-subject-support-sessions

The first webinar is on Monday, 7th June, 7:30pm, an introduction session ‘Maximising your HSC’. We invite students and parents to join in to the session.  

Date: Monday, 7th June, 7:30pm
Audience: HSC students and their parents
To register: Click here https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_kf18quWxTyyseCr6WXl-yQ

All sessions will be free to students, and will complement their studies at school and home. The following sessions are specific to HSC courses, and will cover specific module areas. 

~ English Advanced, Paper 1 | Tuesday, 8th June, 7:30pm
~ Mathematics Advanced, Topic 1: Functions | Wednesday, 9th June, 7:30pm
~ Biology, Module 5 | Thursday, 10th June, 7:30pm
~ Chemistry, Module 5 | Monday, 14th June, 7:30pm
~ Physics, Module 5 | Tuesday, 15th June, 7:30pm
~ Economics, Topic 1: The Global Economy | Wednesday, 16th June, 7:30pm

All webinars are open for registration at https://www.newcastle.edu.au/study/hsc-subject-support-sessions

Don’t forget we have our ‘Ask A Student’ platform for High School students to connect with current Uni students. The page has FAQs that our students have answered or they can select a student profile and ask any questions that they may have around transitioning to university study, student life, degree programs and student support. Students can find the page here:  https://www.newcastle.edu.au/study/ask-a-student

Primary Athletics Carnival

Last Wednesday the Primary School had an amazing day at Glendale for the annual College Athletics Carnival. With the threat of significant rain on the forecast, the decision was made for Kindergarten and Year 1 to stay at school, whilst Yr 2-6 would still go ahead.

Our prayers were certainly answered with fantastic weather allowing the carnival to run without any delays. Even though the centre grassed area was quite wet, the outside was perfect for competition. In fact, the day saw some outstanding performances, with an incredible 11 records falling, including one as old as 2005! The Age Championship races were hotly contested with one tie and two ages separated by just 1 point.

With a very high participation rate, many students will be looking forward to achieving their ‘Personal Best Awards’, for beating their results from last year’s carnival.

Congratulations to Booth who ran away with the carnival, setting themselves up for potential back-to-back title wins.

RECORDS

Congratulations to our Age Champions for 2021:

Secondary School Football Gala Day

On Friday, 30th April, our College competed in the Secondary School Zone Soccer Gala Day in Tamworth. Our teams played well and displayed courage and great teamwork. The Senior boys lost in a penalty shootout in the Major Semi Final and our Senior girls suffered injuries and narrowly missed out by one game to play in the Grand Final. However, the Junior Boys progressed and played in the Grand Final. They were valiant but were unfortunately beaten on the day 1-0. Congratulations Junior Boys and well done to all of the teams.

Outstanding Individual Achievements

AFL

Well done to Amalie Ford who has been selected in the NSW CIS U15 AFL team. She will travel to Albury in 2 weeks time to play in the NSW All Schools competition. Amalie will play in the backline and is 1 of only 3 CSSA players selected. A fantastic effort, especially as Amalie is young enough to trial for this team again next year.

Fencing

Colby Robins has won Silver in the NSW Senior Schoolboys Championships in Sydney. He dominated his pool bouts, earning a bye in the Round of 16, before cruising through to the final. The final was very tight, with Colby going down 13-15. Colby has qualified for the Australian Schoolboys titles in August.

Social Media

Insight into the heart and soul of College life across all grades is best engaged with via our Facebook and Instagram social media feeds. We encourage you to join both groups and stay up to date with the latest from BCC.

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

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

2021 Term Dates

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

College Tours

Do you have friends and family who are considering joining the College? There may be people in your life who are considering a relocation to the Hunter region. Why not encourage them to join our College Principal, Heads of School and Leadership Team Registrar on our next group tour coming up on Tuesday, 1st June at 9am. For more details and to book a tour, click here

Parents’ Directory

We understand that communication between your family and the College forms a crucial part of the education journey. Our website hosts a Parents’ Directory. The Parents’ Directory is an up-to-date online directory summarising key communication channels and links. This includes a recently launched live link of key dates on our College Calendar! 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.

Peter Pan Musical

Six shows only!

Belmont Christian College Secondary School is proud to present Peter Pan on the 17th, 18th and 19th June at Warners Bay Theatre.

Close your eyes and imagine, close them tight and pretend, as you take off on a wonder-filled trip to NeverLand, where Peter and the lost boys never want to grow up.

Get in quick to secure your tickets for this must see show. Tickets are selling fast.

Bring the whole family.

For more information on Peter Pan and to book your tickets today visit https://bcc.nsw.edu.au/peter-pan/

[COVID Disclaimer:  In the unfortunate event that Covid restrictions are put in place, only the first 225 or 150 ticket holders (depending on the level of restriction) will be allowed to attend each show.  The remainder of ticket holders will have the cost of their tickets reimbursed with our apologies.]

Supplies Needed

Our Musical props department is in need of a lot artificial plants and vines, these can be damaged, new or used. As well as plastic or melamine camp cups or mugs. Please drop donations into the College office.

Music Tuition

Our wonderful Music tutor team continue to offer lessons this year.

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 have resumed. If your child is interested in joining an ensemble please find further information and enrolment information below.

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.

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.

Praise Points

~ Gods provision and His kindness to us every day. We never want to take for granted the wonder of what God has given us at BCC. The opportunity to teach and nurture students surrounded by beautiful grounds and in the context of a community of people who seek to honour Jesus in the way they do life and work together. 

Prayer Points

Please pray for :

~ Rise Up in Primary School and Connect in our Secondary School.

~ The lead up to the Musical. Please pray for Mr Chris Stewart and Mrs Naomi Stewart and the team of staff and students working with them. 

~ Sharney Truscott and for Bill and his wife Cami and for Sharney’s brother, David. Praise God that Sharney has been moved to John Hunter Hospital – so much easier for family to visit and is answered prayer. Sharney has also been working hard with the physio and has taken some tentative first steps – she is such a courageous young woman.

~ Mr Mark Hall as he and his precious family travel around Australia over the next couple of months.

~ Our families who are facing difficult times – a number who are facing challenging medical issues. We have students and staff who are facing significant challenges. It is our privilege, as the Body of Christ, to stand in the gap for them and pray and practically help, and deeply love them.

Thank you for covering our community in prayer.

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.

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/

If you have any queries about the College uniform, make sure you visit our dedicated Uniform page on the College website. Alternatively, get in touch with our uniform partner, Alinta Apparel.

Sign in at the Uniform Shop

You are now able to sign in at the Uniform Shop. Using your mobile phone you are able to scan a QR code for quick sign in. We appreciate your cooperation in keeping inline with Covid-19 Government regulations.

Uniform Shop Hours

The Uniform Shop is open Tuesday 1 – 3.30pm and Thursday 8 – 11am during the school term. There will not be any extra opening hours during the April school holidays.

Uniform Improvement Committee

Thank you to the many parents and caregivers who volunteered to be a part of our newly established Uniform Improvement Committee. The committee has now been formed and I look forward to working with the team as we evaluate the appropriateness of our current uniform. We will also consider how a uniform could promote and encourage physical activity, evaluate the durability and practicality of our current pieces and make recommendations for change or additions. I don’t perceive that the committee would design a completely new uniform, rather recommend any additional items to our current uniform range. 

I look forward to partnering with our parent representatives in making sure our uniform suits the needs of our students as best we can.

Ms Sharon Sopher
Principal

‘Rug Up’ Mufti Day this Friday, 14th May

Beginners to Year 12 students are invited to wear your winter woollies this Friday, 14th May.

Hot Chocolates will be available for purchase by our Secondary students only.

Please bring a donation that will go towards making our Year 12 Formal special for our students.

Appropriate dress rules apply. 

Parents’ Directory now with College Calendar

We understand that communication between your family and the College forms a crucial part of the education journey. Our website hosts a Parents’ Directory. The Parents’ Directory is an up-to-date online directory summarising key communication channels and links. This includes a recently launched live link of key dates on our College Calendar! Click here to view the page and keep informed https://bcc.nsw.edu.au/parents/

HSC Information Night – Save the Date

On Tuesday, 8th June at 7pm the College will be holding our HSC Information and Subject Selection Evening for our current Year 10 students who will be moving into Stage 6 for 2022/23. Further information will be provided shortly but in the meantime please save the date.