Optional School Fee Payment Plans with Edstart

Edstart

Belmont Christian College offers several payment options for fees, details are available on our website here. We are pleased to now also offer ‘Edstart’ as another payment option to provide flexible payment plans that can fit around your budget and pay day.

Edstart is a specialist education payments provider with a platform specifically designed to make it easy for you to manage all education related expenses in one place. A dedicated customer service team will assist in structuring a plan that works best for your lifestyle.

The platform allows you to package school tuition fees, including any overdue balances.

You can choose weekly, fortnightly or monthly repayments on any date in line with your income.

● Spread your school fee repayments over 12 months or up to 5 years after your children finish school
● Choose your preferred day for when payments are made
● Option to pay via direct debit, debit/credit card or BPay
● Adjust your payments at any time

If you are interested in utilising this payment option families are able to set up an account at edstart.com.au/bcc. If you have any queries, please contact Edstart on 1300 139 445 or chat with their team at contact@edstart.com.au or visit our College website.

Families who are currently using Sentralpay, but wish to change to Edstart, will need to cancel their payment plan with Sentralpay by emailing our Assistant Business Manager, Michelle Mazzantini, at michelle.mazzantini@bcc.nsw.edu.au. Michelle is also able to assist you with any further enquiries.

From our Director of Mission & Community, Mr David Gray

Please say it isn’t so. Is it that time of year already? Here we are once more, November. If you are anything like me, some of the things you thought you might have ticked off the list are still sitting there, staring right back at you, with maybe a sly smile, goading you to stop procrastinating and get on with it. This ‘pre’ festive time of year can often be a bit like that, and we can feel a little overwhelmed at what’s ahead in the ‘dash’ to Christmas before we get to slow down and rest. Maybe there’s a better way of looking at this season.

How refreshing is it to know that the Lord Jesus, the one in whom our College finds its purpose and meaning, is the very ‘rest’ that we all crave and need. He even said:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” – Matthew 11:28-30

In this scripture we find a promise of physical and emotional rest, but moreso, a different type of rest, a rest for our souls, a rest where we have ‘peace’ with God, reconciled and made new by the sacrificial work achieved on a Roman cross all those years ago.

With these biblical truths in mind, we invite you and your family to a time of ‘rest and reflection’ at our inaugural BCC Annual Festival – a celebration of learning and community. Come along and sit on a picnic rug with your family and friends and take an opportunity in the middle of the ‘crazy season’ to simply rest alongside others as we celebrate our students, your children, and their learning. There will be student awards, food stalls, music performances, sporting events, science experiments, a museum, film festival and much more. Personally, I know that when I think of what that will look like for me and my family, the joy of ticking tasks on a to-do list grows strangely dim.

More details about the BCC Annual Festival, including date and time, can be found below in this week’s Newsletter. We really do hope to see you there.

Prayer and Praise

BCC Prayer Warriors

Prayer and a daily reliance on the goodness of God is at the heart of our College. To this end, our Prayer Warriors team gathers on the last Monday of each month from 8:45am – 9:30am to share, pray and connect with other parents. Please join us on the Pleasance as we commit the College and our community to God in prayer.

Our Term 4 dates are:
Monday, 28th November

Please sign-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. We look forward to growing our Prayer Warriors group throughout the year.

Volunteers to Pray for Year 12

We are wanting to cover the Year 12 students in prayer as they prepare for the HSC and their final months at BCC. We know that our God is faithful and He has a plan for each of them. We are praying for their studies, but also that they grow in revelation of God’s faithfulness and understanding that when we are weak, He is strong.

If you would like to volunteer to commit to covering two Year 12 students in prayer from now until the end of HSC exams (mid Nov), please email wendy@wendyrobinson.com.au.

Here are some suggestions for what ‘covering the two Year 12 students in prayer’ looks like:
(a) When praying for your own children, include a prayer for these two young people.
(b) Every time you drive into the College grounds, ask for God’s blessing and favour on them (can be prayed in your mind, doesn’t have to be prayed aloud).
(c) Every time you wash your hands, ask for God to give them a sound mind, the mind of Christ, and strength to do each day well.
(d) Ask God to give you a specific scripture to pray for them.
(e) Ask God what He wants you to pray for them.

Prayer Points

~ Continued focus for the Year 12 students as they do their HSC exams
~ Good health and wellbeing for the BCC community. Particularly for those in our community who are unwell and struggling with health issues
~ Staff recruitment for 2023
~ Term 4 and finishing the year well, with students studying for exams and preparations for Christmas
~ Our students to know a real sense of belonging, are led to believing in Jesus as the Life-Giver and are becoming all He has purposed for them
~ Continued prayer for Executive and Board members as they lead the College with their Strategic Plan for Kingdom Education here at BCC

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

Upcoming Important Dates

Primary

Secondary

Whole College

Our College Calendar is available on our website where you can be kept up-to-date with events throughout the year. Closer to the event parents and carers will receive communication via the Sentral Parent App, Skoolbag App and/or email.

BCC Annual Charity Golf Day – Saturday, 3rd December

The BCC Annual Charity Golf Day is back, and you are invited to attend. All the details, how to register, how to sponsor, and some information about our new charity partner, Belmont Community Care, can be found here.

Some people with local businesses are even using this day as a way to bless their staff as a Christmas Party event. We look forward to teeing off with you soon.

Click here to find out more

The BCC Annual Festival – 7th December

A Celebration of Learning & Community

On Wednesday, 7th December we will be holding our inaugural BCC Festival – A Celebration of Learning & Community. This is an onsite event. Our Annual Student Awards will be happening as part of this event.

The BCC Annual Festival - 7th December, 2022 COL Event Save the Date 2 1 2

School Bus Travel

2023 School Travel Applications

Applications for student travel in 2023 are now open.

Students who need an School Opal card or travel pass for 2023 can apply now. A new application will need to be submitted if students are applying for a school travel pass for the first time, or if requesting an additional travel entitlement as a result of a new shared parental responsibility situation (e.g. joint custody).

Students who change address, school, campus location, or who have repeated a year or received an expiry notification from Transport for NSW for school travel entitlement should renew or update details before the end of Term 4. This will ensure that the College can endorse applications and current entitlements are updated and remain valid for the start of 2023. School Opal card holders will have the changes applied to their existing card.

If a student’s distance eligibility has changed based on their grade the system will automatically update their entitlement if they meet the new criteria. If they do not meet the new eligibility criteria, they will receive an expiry notification via email.

Students who have an entitlement approved under a medical condition that is due to expire will receive a notification advising them to re-apply.

Term Bus Pass holders will receive a notification to re-apply.

Students in the Opal network applying for an Opal card (including a Term Bus Pass) for the first time will receive their Student Opal card at their nominated postal address. Cards will be mailed out from January 2023.

Opal Cards Tap On and Off

Please be reminded: we would like students and families to understand the importance of tapping on and off – i.e using their Opal card every time they travel to and from school. When students receive their Opal card, it is a condition of use that students must tap on at the beginning of a trip and tap off at the end of a trip at an Opal card reader. Although school travel is free, the use of the student Opal card provides NSW Transport with very important information that allows them to better plan bus services for us by helping them know how many services need to be provided for our College. We have some services where buses are quite full and we do not want any current services cancelled because of falling Opal card use.

Over the holidays we would greatly appreciate it if parents/carers could ensure their children have an Opal card and take the time to apply or replace it, and then encourage its daily use so that our bus services remain, and if necessary, be expanded to accommodate growing numbers of bus travellers (eg 847).

Please click here to apply or replace an Opal card.

Bus Numbers on Opal Cards

To assist us and to ensure that your child catches the correct bus home, could we please request you write your child’s bus number in texta on the front of your child’s Opal Card. A separate see-through wallet type attachment could be used for parent/carer contact details if preferred. It is most important for your child to be aware and refer to this information when catching the bus. This information will provide your child, teacher or bus buddy the correct information should your child need assistance quickly, particularly for our Infants students who may sometimes forget their bus number.

Thankyou for your ongoing support and assistance.

Download the Sentral Parent App

You may be aware that the College uses the Sentral Parent Portal as a means of communication with parents/carers. Our future plan is for BCC families to use the Sentral Parent App for all communication between College and home, ensuring everything you need to know about your child’s education journey is all in one place. (Note: The SeeSaw App will continue to be used for lower Primary learning updates).

Please download the Sentral Parent App at your earliest convenience by searching ‘Sentral for Parents’ in the App Store on your smart phone and ensure that notifications are enabled within the App. Set up instructions can be found here.

We believe that it will add to the convenience of the already existing features listed below:

Book Parent-Teacher Interviews
Receive Student Academic Reports
View Student Timetables
View Wellbeing Information
Pay Tuition Fees
Submit Student Absences
View the College Newsletter

* Note the Calendar feature is not fully functioning as yet. However, parents/carers can access the Parent Calendar through ‘links’ within the Sentral Parent App.

For your knowledge we are currently testing the Activity Permissions feature in the Sentral Parent App which allows parents/carers to easily give permission for their child to attend school Activities/Excursions. This will be introduced soon so we encourage parents/carers to download the Sentral Parent App by searching ‘Sentral for Parents’ in the App Store on your smart phone and ensure that notifications are enabled within the App. Set up instructions can be found here. If you have any trouble registering please email the College on sentral@bcc.nsw.edu.au.

Sport News

Primary Zone Basketball

Last Thursday our 4 Primary Basketball teams were finally able to get back on to the court after a 2 year break. Whilst our sides didn’t consist of many students who play Basketball outside of school, they certainly played well together and were very competitive on the day, using skills they had learnt in PE lessons, training, and a strong aptitude for the sport.

The Junior Boys and Girls teams both won their respective competitions and played some great b

Basketball.

The Girls had to win both of their pool games to make the final, which they did, before a thrilling Grand Final which saw the game go into overtime after being locked at 4-4. Our girls sank two early baskets and held on to win their final 8-4.

The Boys had a scare early on in the day, losing a game that they led comfortably at halftime, before regathering and winning through to the final, which they took out 15-10.

The Senior Girls were also involved in some exciting games and qualified for the semi-finals. They came from behind to force their match into overtime, but were unable to convert their chances and finished equal third.

Our Senior Boys finished 3rd in their pool, but were unlucky to not make the semi-finals with some very close matches that didn’t go their way on the day.

Our Junior teams will contest the NSW CSSA Basketball competition later this month.

Congratulations to our teams!

Mr Robins

CSSA Biathlon and Triathlon

After a 2 year COVID induced hiatus Week 2 saw the running of the annual CSSA Primary Biathlon and Secondary Triathlon. This event is very dear to the heart of Belmont Christian College as Mr Hall and Mr Melcum run this event for CSSA. A strong team of over 40 students across the College represented both in the individual event and the teams event. Overall BCC saw outstanding results, including:

Triathlon

Senior Boys
Luke Hall – 1st
Logan Melcum – 3rd

Intermediate Boys
Aidan Rae – 3rd

Junior Boys
Hamish Rae – 2nd

Junior Boys Teams – 3rd
Swim – Alek Gillon
Bike – Hamish Rae
Run – Alex Campbell

Senior Boys Teams – 3rd
Swim – Noah Reeves
Bike – Luke Hall
Run – Logan Melcum

Biathlon

Year 6 Boys Individual
Appin Paterson – 4th
Joshua Dalgety – 5th

Yr 3/4 Boys Teams – 4th
Swim – Blair Gillon
Run – Josiah Bell

Yr 5/6 Boys Teams – 4th
Swim – Appin Paterson
Run – Logan Cowling

Yr 5/6 Boys Teams – 5th
Swim – Joshua Dalgety
Run – Aziz Wilkinson

Fundraising with Entertainment Book

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.

~ 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.

Buy Now

Parent/Carer Support

The following activities and services are offered by external providers which may be beneficial to your family. These services focus on strengthening student wellbeing or academic capacity. While these services are not explicitly from a Christian worldview, they do provide insights based on human wisdom and evidence based research. However, personal discretion as to whether these services align with your own beliefs will be required. Such services are NOT fully endorsed by the College, but are made available for families to make their own judgement and decision.

Road safety & Traffic rules Awareness Program

Through trafficquiz.com Primary School students can learn and test their knowledge about traffic & road safety rules in an entertaining way i.e. by playing quizzes. Parents can also use trafficquiz.com regularly to refresh their knowledge about traffic, road safety & child safety rules.

The links are as follows:

1. For Age group (5 to 9 years):

https://trafficquiz.com/road-safety-quiz-junior-level-1/

2. For Age group (10 to 15 years):

https://trafficquiz.com/road-safety-quiz-secondary-level-1/

3. For Parents (Child safety quizzes):

https://trafficquiz.com/child-safety-quiz-for-parents-level-1/

4. For Parents and Teachers (Traffic & road safety rules quizzes):

https://trafficquiz.com/road-safety-quiz-for-adults-level-1/

5. Road Signs quiz

Apple Screen Time

Did you know that Apple has a Screen TIme Platform to help users with spending their device time more deliberately. An important aspect of that is helping parents guide device use for their children. Click on the link below for further information and learn how to set up Screen Time on a child’s iPhone or iPad.

More Info

Scam Alert Warning for Parents – Safe on Social

There is a new scam circulating on mobile devices setting out to trick parents into communicating with a fake number by posing as their child in urgent need of help. This is affecting parents of all ages!

Doing the rounds on mobile devices, this scam is one of many of this nature and one that parents need to be alerted of as soon as possible as the element of fear being instilled may cause them to contact scammers or reveal highly sensitive information to them.

There are a number of things you can do to make sure you and others do not fall victim to scams of this nature:

Call your child immediately to check on their welfare, chances are they will answer and confirm their phone isn’t broken
If you don’t recognise a number, DO NOT reply or click on any links. Delete it immediately
This is a great reminder to change your passwords, create highly secure passwords and keep them safe
Use a call-blocking App or just block the number when these things creep through
Tell YOUR parents and any seniors you know – they fall for these ones all the time thinking it is their kids
Keep an eye on your phone bill and bank statements for any suspicious activity
Remain vigilant. There are a load of scams happening through text so if you are not sure, don’t respond. If it is something important your family will find a way to call you.

If you have any concerns about this message, or you/they think they may have shared their information, please follow the advice from Scamwatch.

Careers News

For further information on any of the events below please contact our Careers Advisor, Mrs Susan Carter on careers@bcc.nsw.edu.au.

InspirationED HSC November Kickstart Seminars

Designed for both parents and students, this day of seminars will provide you with all the best tools and tips to help achieve the best in the HSC year ahead.

Each attendee can join 3 seminars on the day :

Session 1 (Parents & Students): Stress-Free HSC
Session 2 (Students): English Common Module & Essay Writing, OR
Session 2 (Parents): Parent-Student Communication & Emotional Support
Session 3 (Parents & Students): 5 Secrets to HSC Success

Register

MedEntry UCAT Prep

Medical Interview Strategy Day. Learn the strategies needed to succeed in a day long session with Dr Ray, Consultant Gastroenterologist with 20 years’ experience in medical interview training. Held on the 5th, 11th, 20th November and 8th December. Second part is the tailored mock interview which is specific to the university you are applying to, with feedback.

More info

Save the date – Year 7 2023 Orientation

Year 7 2023 Information Night and Orientation Day

The dates for our Year 7 Orientation 2023 schedule are as follows:

Wednesday, 23rd November – 6.00pm – Information Evening and Meet and Greet
Monday, 30th January – Orientation Day morning

Further information and support material will be shared throughout Term 4 in the lead-up to these events.

Save the date - Year 7 2023 Orientation, Year 7 Parent Student Info Night Flyer

2023 Term Dates

2023 Term Dates now available

The 2023 Term Dates are now available on our website for planning your 2023 holidays and events.

Term Dates

‘Grand Day’ Book Parade

Our Primary School had the pleasure of hosting ‘Grand Day’ together with Book Week celebrations. The morning was filled with colour, fun & pageantry! Our special ‘Grand’ parents and friends were entertained by a myriad of book characters in our dynamic Book Parade.

Following the parade, students welcomed their ‘Grand’ parents and friends to their classrooms where together they played a number of fun, interactive games – both modern and from the days of old! This was concluded with a beautiful Morning Tea and Book Fair in our stunning Library space. It was lovely to have our families back on site again.

'Grand Day' Book Parade, bcc grand day 2022 0196

'Grand Day' Book Parade, bcc grand day 2022 0176

OSHC News

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/