Newsletter

Current COVID-19 Regulations

As you know, COVID-19 continues to have an impact on our society, and so, maintaining the health and well-being of our students, staff and College community is a priority for us all.

Our website will be kept up-to-date with the current COVID-19 regulations. Parents and caregivers will receive all official communication via Skoolbag and email as well.

A Time to Remember and a Time to Tell

Happy 40th everyone! This year, Belmont Christian College turns 40.

Remember the drought we had just a couple of years ago? It was during 2019, it was nationwide and it was the worst that I can ever recall. For so many of us, for so many Australians, it was a story of heartache. I was at my parents’ farm in Gloucester for Christmas and I don’t remember ever seeing the farm in such poor condition. We would even catch our shower water in a bucket and use it to water the garden.

The land was noticeably dried and cracked, the riverbed was dirt and we could walk across the river, from bank to bank without even getting our feet wet.

There are a couple of stories in the Bible where people walked from one side of the river to the other on dry ground. Unlike our drought, however, with great celebration and with great purpose.

One such story is Joshua chapter 4 and it is one of the most climactic events in all of biblical history. The Israelites had wandered in the wilderness for forty years waiting to enter the Promised Land, but now the time had come. It was a poignant moment as they strode across the riverbed of the Jordan, as God miraculously rolled back the waters.

After Joshua lead the entire nation through what had moments before been a swollen river flooding its banks, the Lord spoke to him and gave him some very specific instructions. “Choose 12 men, one from each tribe and tell them to take 12 stones from the very place where the priests are standing in the middle of the Jordan. Carry them out and pile them up at the place where you camp tonight.” Joshua did exactly what the Lord had instructed and together with the 12 chosen men, carried the stones about 12.8 km’s which is like walking from the College to Speers Point.  

The stones would serve as a memorial, an unmistakable marker among the people of Israel forever and this story of God’s miraculous provision would be remembered from one generation after another. They were to remember and they were to tell.

What is it for you? What serves as your daily, or weekly or annual reminder that God is your victory and your salvation? What can it be for us as a College? What will be our unmistakable marker and reminder of what God has done? Is it our buildings, the name of our buildings, is it the stories of our humble beginnings and the faithfulness of our foundation members?

This year, we will be giving thanks to God for 40 years of Belmont Christian College. Together with our Board, Staff, Parents and Students, I am thankful to God for our College founders. In the late 1970’s, they prayerfully cast a vision for our College, “that we might be a community that nurtures and trains young people to grow up into Christ.”

My deep hope is that as we turn 40, may this year be our marker, our memorial, where we stop and remember God’s faithfulness so that the next generation of students after hearing our stories, will be able to claim their spiritual inheritance in Christ.

Everything God did, He did so that you and I would have a story to tell of how once we were dead, without future or hope but now we can overflow with rivers of life. I pray that God fills your life with blessings this year, that He’ll remind you of His goodness and that He is mighty to save.

As a College, may we continue to believe the Word of Faith and get our feet wet! We could sit on the edge of the shoreline at Redhead, but come with me, it’s time to venture with God into His future for us.

Praise Points

~ A successful Secondary Swimming Carnival
~ Healing of staff and students who were struggling with sickness

Prayer Points

~ Our students, for acceptance and encouragement, their desire to learn and develop their God given gifts
~ New students and families that they feel accepted and settled in their new environment here at BCC
~ College 40th celebrations and preparations
~ Staff who are working and juggling unwell or sick parents 
~ Protection from COVID
~ New staff to the College that they quickly feel part of the BCC community
~ New school year and the new student leadership
~ The College leadership team
~ Staff Induction service this Friday

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

Prayer Warriors

Parents are invited to join our prayer group on Mondays at 8:15am and Fridays at 2:15pm. We meet at the College flag pole after signing in at the College office. However, due to COVID-19 restrictions our meetings can also be held via Zoom. For more information please contact Wendy Robinson wendy@wendyrobinson.com.au or phone 0409987939. Everyone is welcome to join in.

Primary Swimming Carnival

Our Primary Swimming Carnival was certainly blessed with good weather, with the forecast rain avoiding us throughout the day. There was a great atmosphere with students competing in the 50m pool, while others were earning points and having fun in the 25m pool events.

Even though students were sitting in their Year groups, the House rivalry was very much alive with the Carnival coming down to the wire, with just 37 points separating the top 3 Houses with a handful of races left in the day. Liddell showed why they are the defending champions by finishing strongly and also taking 3 of the 4 relays to hold on to their lead and claim victory for 2022.

Congratulations to Appin Paterson who broke a 12 year old record in the 12yr 50m Backstroke by 0.71 seconds. The Zone carnival is just next week and we will take a team of about 32 students to Newcastle University to compete against schools in the Hunter zone.

House Points

Age Champions

Aerobics

Our Primary Aerobics teams have begun assembling this week with auditions throughout the week. Students who have shown interest have had a chance to trial in practice sessions and notes sent home for those that would like to continue training for various competitions throughout the year.

Also, a big congratulations to Year 7 student Abigail Kidd who won Bronze in the National Aerobics Championships just after school finished in 2021. Abigail’s pre-recorded routine won her 3rd place in the Individual Primary division. Brilliant!

‘Club Connect’ Tennis

Once again, Belmont Christian College has secured a grant to be able to run free after-school tennis lessons at My Hutton Tennis Centre. This is currently for students in Years 3 – 6. The program will run for 5 weeks and includes a free tennis racket for all new players! More information will come out shortly.

Secondary Swimming Carnival

While the weather looked ominous in the morning the skies did break eventually for the annual Secondary School Swimming Carnival at Charlestown Pool. Competition soon heated up in the arena and many age groups were hotly contested with some impressive races. Fun was also had with our students who attended and ‘raced’ to earn their house valuable participation points. 

Booth House went out to an early lead however, Cuthbert rallied to close the gap throughout the day. Going into the relays there were less than 35 points between the two houses. Congratulations to Booth house for becoming victors at the end of the day!

House Points

Congratulations to the following Age Champions and Record Breakers.

Age Champions

Record Breakers

Orders through Munch Monitor

Our Canteen is available 5 days per week.

Secondary students will be able to purchase items over the counter during recess and lunch from Friday, 11th February and Primary students from Monday, 14th February.

Purchases can be made via pre-loaded student Munch Monitor accounts, EFTpos or cash.

Lunch orders can be placed through Munch Monitor. Please note that the Munch Monitor platform can experience issues due to the sheer volume of orders being placed, particularly towards the end of the week. Please place orders on Munch Monitor the night before instead of the morning of, to be sure that the order will submit successfully.

How to Register with our Online Ordering System

Register with MunchMonitor

If you require further assistance call Munch Monitor on 1300 796 190 or email at help@munchmonitor.com. Our canteen staff are also happy to help and can be contacted on 4922 8300 Ext #220.

Canteen Menu

Uniform Shop Information

College uniforms are provided by our uniform partner, Alinta Apparel.

To make an on-site fitting appointment, review prices or place an order online, create an account with Alinta Apparel here.

For enquiries phone: 0403 587 385 during opening hours or email: belmontchristian@alinta.com.au.

For further information regarding the College Uniform, please visit our uniform summary page and FAQs on our website at www.bcc.nsw.edu.au/uniform/

Opening Hours

Our on-site Uniform Shop opens during term time on:

Tuesday 1pm – 3:30pm
Wednesday 1pm – 3:30pm
Thursday 8am – 11am

Cyberbullying Film Premiere

At the College, we appreciate the wonderful opportunities technology has provided us to connect to each other, our community and the world. Rather than cocooning our students from technology, we want to equip them with the skills needed to enter the digital world in a way that is reflective of our core beliefs and values that we find in Jesus. We want our students to be loving, respectful and humble as they engage online with all people. However, we are also aware of the risks of being online and our human propensity to mess things up. Consequently, it is important for our students to know what to do when they encounter or witness cyberbullying. These strategies are explored in Health and Connect classes; however, we’d also like to take the opportunity to recommend a recent film which raises awareness of Cyberbullying.  

Lake Macquarie City Council and LivingWorks Australia have funded a locally produced film called ‘We R gonna GET U!!’ which was filmed partly here at the College by Keith Olbery. It features some young volunteer actors, actors from Newcastle Theatre Company networks and also crew from the local area.

The film is designed to educate and empower young people about cyberbullying and follows the story of a teenage girl who is bullied online. The consequences are devastating for her and also for the bully.

Keith is a father of 2, a primary school teacher and librarian, and has seen bullying in the classroom and experienced it himself as a young boy. This is why he wrote the film.

The premiere will be held on Thursday, 24th February 2022 at 6pm at Lake Cinema in Boolaroo. The film will start at 6.30pm and there will be an open discussion afterwards. Refreshments will be served at 5.30pm for a gold donation.

Although the 20 minute film is targeted at teenagers, younger children are welcome with adult supervision.

For more info visit: https://www.facebook.com/goodnetiquette

College Office Hours

The College Office hours are 8am – 4pm.

College Office Contacts

Our Administration Team can be contacted by phoning the College on 4922 8300 and following the prompts or by using the email format firstname.lastname@bcc.nsw.edu.au.

• Primary Administration Assistant: Mrs Debbie Paardekooper – Primary enquiries, absences, medical information etc.
• Secondary Administration Assistant: Mrs Kathy Evans – Secondary enquiries, absences, medical information etc.
• Registrar: Ms Teena Knott – enrolment enquiries
• Receptionist: Mrs Laura Ioannides – payments, general enquiries
• Assistant Business Manager: Mrs Michelle Mazzantini – school fee enquiries

Bus Transport

A range of buses service the College. Information on the catchment area, routes and timetables can be found by visiting our Transport page on our website.

Bus pass applications and updated information need to be completed online. The application will be endorsed by the College and then the Opal Card is mailed directly to the address provided on the application.

Medical Action Plans

If your child has a medical action plan, please contact the Administration Assistant for your Primary or Secondary school student at the College Office so that the management plan can be implemented or updated for your child.

Manage Your School Fees

Belmont Christian College uses our Student Management System, Sentral, to manage our school fees. School fees statements and further information has been emailed this week allowing you to register and set up your payment plan via the Sentral Parent Portal. The Portal gives you payment options and flexibility to break up your payments over the course of the year. Please contact our Assistant Business Manager, Mrs Michelle Mazzantini, for further information.  

Parent Volunteers

Parents/Caregivers have many opportunities to assist the College in a variety of ways. Opportunities for parent/caregiver help include sports coaching, community garden, working bees and excursions. Notices requesting help regularly appear in the College Newsletter.

Please note that all volunteers who assist at the College must undertake and provide to the College Office a current ‘Working with Children Check’ and complete a Volunteer Booklet which is available at the Office and on the Skoolbag App.

When volunteering parents need to sign in and out at the College office.

Due to current COVID restrictions we are only able to accept fully vaccinated volunteers at present.

BCC Parent Communication

Communication between your family and the College forms a crucial part of the education journey.

The Parents’ Directory on our website 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.

We encourage you to visit our Parents’ Directory and register with our communication channels to make sure you don’t miss any information. 

Contacting Staff

Staff can be contacted by phoning the College on 4922 8300 and following the extension number prompts or via email by using the email format firstname.lastname@bcc.nsw.edu.au, for example john.smith@bcc.nsw.edu.au. However, due to teaching loads teachers are best to be contacted via email.

Appointments to speak to a teacher can be made by contacting the teacher directly via email.

Primary School Contacts

• Primary Administration Assistant: Mrs Debbie Paardekooper Ext #521
• Academic and Wellbeing matters: Classroom Teacher
• Head of Primary School: Mrs Leoni McNeill
• Assistant Principal: Mr Steve Tidey

Secondary School Contacts

• Secondary Administration Assistant: Mrs Kathy Evans Ext #505
• Wellbeing matters: Stage Leader then Head of Wellbeing
• Academic matters: Subject Teachers then Subject Coordinators
• Head of Secondary/Assistant Principal: Mr Steve Tidey 

Learning Enrichment

We have the absolute privilege of working with students who will benefit from extra support – whether through assisting with areas that need further development, or facilitating opportunities for students to explore and strengthen areas of strength, enabling them to flourish. 

Students with particular needs that may affect learning are supported by our Learning Enrichment staff in a variety of ways, which may include small-group withdrawal lessons, in-class support and/or one-to-one support.

Enquiries regarding programs and support offered by the Learning Enrichment Team should be directed to our Learning Enrichment Coordinator, Mrs Nicole Walters – nicole.walters@bcc.nsw.edu.au.

Student Wellbeing

If your child has a wellbeing concern their Primary Classroom Teacher or Secondary Stage Leader/Connect Teacher should be the first contact for assistance. 

Primary Coordinators:
Beginners – Year 2: Mrs Alison McGufficke – alison.mcgufficke@bcc.nsw.edu.au
Year 3 – Year 6: Mr Alan Watts – alan.watts@bcc.nsw.edu.au

Mrs Leoni McNeill, our Head of Primary, works alongside our Primary Teachers, Coordinators and Counsellors.

Secondary Stage Leaders:
Stage Four – Years 7 and 8: Mrs Janine Ferreira – janine.ferreira.nsw.edu.au
Stage Five – Years 9 and 10: Mr Phil Melcum – phil.melcum@bcc.nsw.edu.au
Stage Six – Years 11 and 12: Mr Nate Miller – nate.miller@bcc.nsw.edu.au

Mr Nate Miller is also our Head of Wellbeing Years 7-12 and works alongside our Secondary Stage Leaders and Counsellors.

For more serious concerns our College Counsellors, Mrs Liz Roberts and Mrs Bronwyn Moulds are also available – liz.roberts@bcc.nsw.edu.au, bronwyn.moulds@bcc.nsw.edu.au

Welcome to 2022! We are so pleased with the exciting opportunities available in our co-curricular Music this year.  

Firstly, we are very happy to introduce to you our new Secondary Music Teacher, Mr Joel Procter. Mr Procter is a passionate Music teacher and brings fresh vision and energy to our Creative Arts program. He will be directing both the Senior Concert Band and the Secondary Vocal Ensemble.

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.

Also find our Music Tutor contacts and our Instrument Hire Form.

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/

Upcoming Virtual Information Sessions

Primary School Meet the Teacher Evening

This year ‘Meet the Teacher Night’ will be held via Zoom, which will take place on Tuesday, 15th February 2022. The Zoom link has been emailed to your nominated email address.

On the night, parents will meet their child’s teacher, learn about a typical school day, areas of study and learning, special events and anything else that the teacher feels is important to share. The purpose of these meetings is to provide an overview of the year. 

For any specific questions from parents concerning their own child/ren, they should contact their child’s classroom teacher to arrange a meeting at a time that suits, as required. 

Sessions for BCC Beginners to Year 6 will run for 20 minutes, and the Beginners and Kindergarten sessions will run for 30 minutes.

MEET THE TEACHER NIGHT SCHEDULE:
BCC BEGINNERS 4:25 – 4:55pm
KINDERGARTEN 5:00pm – 5:30pm
YEAR 1 5:35 – 5:55pm
YEAR 2 6:00 – 6:20pm
YEAR 3 6:25 – 6:45pm
YEAR 4 6:50 – 7:10pm
YEAR 5 7:15 – 7.35pm
YEAR 6 7:40 – 8:00pm