Newsletter

Did a robot write this?

At the start of the year, the education world was in turmoil at the news that AI was able to write full essays, stories, and articles without plagiarising. This, depending on who you listened to, was the end of education as we know it, or a remarkable and exciting opportunity. I was, and still am, torn. I’m consistently amazed at the capabilities of AI, but also wary of where this all could go. 

Perhaps the issue is not so much the technology itself, but how it’s used.

Probably every technological advance humanity has made has brought new opportunities and challenges – and we make of it what we will. As an educator, I need to be very aware of the benefits and drawbacks of any new technology I decide to bring into my classroom, and ask; what problems will this solve? And, perhaps more importantly, what problems will it create?

I need to be extremely conscious of this as a parent as well. Every new technology I allow to be introduced into my own children’s lives is an opportunity for great joy, learning and advancement  – or a conduit for destructive influences, addiction, and worse. So, I need to consider: am I prepared to manage and set boundaries on this technology? Do I have content filtering and protections put in place appropriate to the age of my child? What are my family’s norms and expectations around tech time?

Each family’s expectations and culture will be different (a fact of which I have to remind my children fairly frequently!), but for the sake of irony I asked ChatGPT to write me a list of considerations when introducing technology into our children’s lives:

1. Age appropriateness – Ensure the technology is suitable for their age.
2. Educational value – Assess if it promotes learning and critical thinking.
3. Content filtering and parental controls – Manage access to age-appropriate content.
4. Screen time management – Set limits on device usage.
5. Internet safety – Teach online safety and responsible digital behaviour.
6. Privacy and data security – Protect personal information and data.
7. Balance with offline activities – Encourage a healthy balance between tech and other activities.
8. Age-appropriate content – Monitor and control the content they consume.
9. Technology as a tool, not a babysitter – Emphasise its purpose and limitations.
10. Setting a positive example – Demonstrate responsible technology use yourself.
11. Regular communication with children – Discuss their technology experiences and address concerns.

It’s not perfect, but it’s a starting point. And I promise, that list was the only part of this written by a robot.

BCC Prayer Warriors

This year we are privileged to be able to run a monthly prayer morning. It’s a treat to pray for new families, students and staff, share some coffee and cake and enjoy great conversation. Everyone is welcome to join us on the first Monday of each month from 8:45am – 9:30am to pray alongside parents and local churches. Come for a bit, or come for the whole time. 

Please sign-in at the College Office. We meet near the Weathershed in the newly created College Garden. Simply follow the signs. 

For more information or to ask for personal prayer, please email prayerwarriors@bcc.nsw.edu.au.

Check out the prayer focus areas and upcoming dates in the image below. 

Praise points:

1. Thanks for successful Athletics Carnivals

2. Mothers’ Day stall, Kindergarten breakfast and time with family

3. College tour and potential new families to the College

Prayer points:

1. Students and staff that are unwell

2. HSC students 

3. Safety around health in the coming months as we come into winter that our community remains healthy

4. New students that they settle in well.

Prayer for HSC Students

It’s that time of year again when we ask people to volunteer to pray for the 2023 HSC students. Our goal is for each HSC student to have at least one person from the school community committing to pray for them each day from the beginning of Term 3 until when the HSC exams finish on 3rd November. We are asking people to commit to praying for two specific HSC students, the names of whom we will provide to you.

Why start specific prayer in Term 3? Well, in Term 3 the HSC gets more real for the students as they have their HSC trials in August, major works (Art and D&T) are due towards the end of August, and Drama and Music performances, along with language oral exams in September. The HSC exams start on 11 October.

As part of our wider community focus, we also ask that you please pray for the HSC students at Belmont High School. It can be a challenging time for so many young people.

If you are interested in committing to praying for two of our HSC students, please contact us via prayerwarriors@bcc.nsw.edu.au

Upcoming Important Dates

Primary

25.05.23 | Yr 2 Hunter Valley Zoo Excursion
31.05.23 | Primary Girls Zone Soccer Gala Day
01.06.23 | Rise Up!
06.06.23 | Primary Soccer and Netball Gala Day
09.06.23 | Kindergarten Oakvale Farm Excursion

Secondary

24.05.23 | Yr 11 & 12 Parent Teacher Interview
24.05.23 | Yr 7 & 8 Build ME a Future Day
02.06.23 | Secondary Zone Football Gala Day
05.06.23 | Secondary CSSA Netball Gala Day
19.06.23-24.06.23 | Secondary Musical Production Week
29.06.23 | Industrial Technology Factory Tour

Whole College

26.05.23 | CSSA State Cross-Country
30.05.23 | Photo Day
31.05.23 | College Tour
08.06.23 | CIS Cross-Country Championships
30.06.23 | Coins for Compassion Day

Save the date

05.12.23 | BCC End of Year Festival – A celebration of learning and community

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 and/or email.

Please note that we will only send major communications to you via the Sentral Parent App. i.e. we will no longer double-up with the same message being sent to your nominated email.

What is changing?

• As a reminder, all major communication pieces will only be sent via the Sentral Parent App
• We will no longer email you major communication pieces to your nominated address
• Examples of major communication pieces include messages from our Principal, Heads of School, Learning Leaders and upcoming events

What is not changing?

• Any emails/messages that are specific to your child. e.g. your child’s teacher will still email you on occasion
• Seesaw in Beginners and Primary School
• Social Media feeds
• The fortnightly newsletter

I am not yet on the Sentral Parent App. How do I get access?

If you have not already, please download the Sentral Parent App by searching ‘Sentral for Parents’ in the App Store on your smartphone 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 and our friendly IT department will support you through the process.

Tuesday, 30th May 2023

School photographs will be taken on Tuesday, 30th May 2023 for ALL students. A second day for Beginners #2 students and their sibling family photo is scheduled for Friday, 2nd June. We will be taking class group photos as well as individual and pre ordered sibling photos.

ALL students are asked to wear their full FORMAL WINTER uniform to school on the day. Any students that normally do PE on this day will do a lower intensity lesson in their formal uniform. 

Please note a reminder of our formal Winter uniform requirements:
~ Kindergarten – Year 12 boys may wear long or short sleeved shirts
~ Kindergarten – Year 12 girls are requested to wear navy opaque stockings, not socks
~ Kindergarten – Year 12 boys must wear their ties
~ Kindergarten – Year 6 girls must wear their bows
~ Year 11 and 12 must wear their blazers
~ Hair needs to be off the face, tied back or up
~ Plain surgical studs or sleepers and one watch only
~ The girls optional pants are permitted

Orders can be placed securely online at www.advancedlife.com.au using the College’s unique 9 digit Advanced Order Code: P5L NEY LXP. Photo orders are due on Photo Day. 

Should you wish to purchase a sibling photograph, the order must be placed no later than 28th May. Sibling photographs will only be taken if an order has been placed. Pre-ordered sibling photos will be taken at lunch time, please ask your eldest child to collect their siblings and line up at the Hall.  

It is our preference that ordering be completed online to reduce administration and potential security issues related to the return of cash and envelopes. If ordering online is not possible, order envelopes and cash can be returned to the photographer on Photo Day. Envelopes are available at the College Office.

Should you have any queries concerning this year’s photographs or online ordering, please email to enquiries@advancedlife.com.au.

ORDER NOW, go to: www.advancedlife.com.au and enter the code: P5L NEY LXP  

Paul Kelly Cup AFL

Our Primary Boys and Girls teams headed to Warners Bay recently to start their Paul Kelly Cup journey for 2023. The Girls were defending their Zone title and were handed a bonus with a school from their pool pulling out in the morning, meaning they just had to win 2 games, which they went on to do.

The team played well defeating Belmont PS in a tight affair 13-7, and followed up with a convincing 34-0 win over St James Kotara. They will go on to what will be a tough Regional Finals next month, once again looking to hold on to their 2022 title.

The Boys team went through the day undefeated in their pool until the final round, where their one loss saw them exit the competition. They started the day with a few scrappy wins, before putting their game together for a good performance in Round 3. An 11-1 win over St Therese New Lambton was followed by a 13-0 win over St Phillips Waratah.

A local and friendly rivalry has existed between Belmont CC and Dudley PS since the inception of the competition, with our side never once losing to the Dudley team in 17 years of competition in the Boys or Girls competitions. The Boys were not prepared to let that record slip and played well for a 37-14 win.

With everything on the line, our side gave their all, but in the end they were outplayed by Eleebana PS in their final game, going down 0-33.

Well done to our teams for performing so well and all the best to the Girls who will play Regional Finals in June.

Girls CSSA Open Volleyball Gala Day

Last Thursday the Girls Open Volleyball team travelled to Sydney to compete against other schools in the CSSA gala day. They had an amazing day and played exceptionally well together. Unfortunately they lost their first game but learnt from this and won all other games throughout the day. It was awesome to watch the girls come together as a team as they supported and encouraged one another. 

NSW CIS  Hockey Representative

Congratulations to Willow Barry who was named in the NSW CIS Hockey team to play in Tamworth in a few weeks time. Willow and her sister Bonnie travelled to Pennant Hills to trial for the side. Both girls performed well, but it was older sister Willow who was named in the representative side. Congratulations!

This week Willow was in Batemans Bay as a member of the Mid North Coast and inland side, competing for a place in the NSW side which will play in the National competition (SSA) in August.

Primary Athletics Carnival

What a stunning day we were blessed with for our Carnival last week! Parking issues and a failing sound system couldn’t deter the excitement of students as they ran, threw, and jumped all day long.

Students were looking to do their best as they challenged themselves with a potential Personal Best award on offer for beating 4 or more of their results from last years Carnival. Of course there were also Age Champion and House points on offer, not to mention the 6 records broken on the day.

Kindergarten and Year 1 were treated to some fun in the middle, with many activities and tabloid events, before they got the chance to show their speed on the track. They finished off their day with a Gymnastics session inside which was so much fun!

Our Carnival was capped off with our relay events, with the students taking on the staff in our Boys and Girls relays. 

The Senior Girls Booth team were always going to be tough to beat, boasting 2 of the girls from last years CIS qualifying team. They destroyed the competition, breaking their own record from 2022 and continuing their dominance over the female Teachers team, beating them by a massive 6 seconds.

The Boys relay had an extra challenge. Whilst they were gifted a 70m head start in 2023, they had to contend with the Staff team being anchored by Australia’s most decorated Paralympian of all time and BCC parent, Evan O’Hanlon OAM. With 5 Paralympic Gold medals from 5 campaigns, multiple World Championship and Commonwealth Games Golds, not to mention World Records, the Teachers felt that 70m was a fair start to offer. However the Boys teams were having none of that and felt they were a chance. O’Hanlon was in 4th place when he received the baton and had some work to do, running down the teams ahead. The Booth team had a very, very healthy head start on the final change, and it proved a bridge too far as they held on to win with the Teachers flying home to claim 2nd place. If the race was just 10m longer, the Teachers would have taken it, but it was the Booth team who held on by just 0.7sec to claim the Student v Teachers for the first time in some years.

Watching Evan O’Hanlon in full flight was certainly inspiring for our students who quickly flocked to him for high fives and questions. Thank you Evan for your time and we wish you the best for your upcoming World Championships.

Congratulations to this years record breakers:

Our Age Champion competition was very tight in most age groups, with results needing to be checked and confirmed to ensure all points were correctly allocated.

Congratulations to our Age Champions for 2023:

And finally, our House points were once again tight at the top! A very exciting way to finish our Carnivals.

Congratulations to Booth for winning Athletics by just 21 points!

In 2023, 3 different Houses have won our 3 Primary Carnivals! Friday Sport is our last chance for points.

External Sporting Success

One of our Students, Reef Sattler has done an amazing job achieving great success in Youth Boxing.

Reef has been selected in the Australian team to compete in the Oceanic Junior and Youth Boxing Championships in Samoa. He will be travelling with the Australian team to Samoa on 21st May and returning home on the 26th. 

Reef has also just been awarded the 2023 Commonwealth Games NSW Athlete Grants. 

Congratulations Reef, what an amazing achievement- We all wish you the best!

Theatre Sports Competition

Last Thursday, four Year 10 Drama students attended heats for the Annual Theatresports Competition run by ImprovAustralia. The girls represented BCC so well and had such a fun time – participating and engaging in the workshop activities, taking on board the feedback, and making the most of the opportunities with their performances.

Secondary School Musical

At BCC, we provide many avenues for students to grow in musical ability and appreciation. We are so excited to share this years’ Musical – Charlie and the Chocolate Factory! Secondary Students have been hard at work behind the scenes preparing and showed their first public preview on Monday, 1st May. This was a great way for friends and families to get a sneak peak at the a real musical rehearsal and for the students to experience a live audience. What an amazing evening and a great way to celebrate the launch of tickets for the Musical – Available now on our website!

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. 

Mental Wellbeing on Social Media

Social media can be a great way to keep in touch with friends and it’s important to make sure
your childs experience is fun and positive. eSafety.gov has published a helpful guide full of tips to look after your childs wellbeing online while playing games, chatting to others or posting stories. Download the free PDF here.

Raising Highly Resilient Kids

CNBC has posted a helpful article by parenting expert and neuropsychologist Taryn Marie Stejskal that describes the number one skill for raising resilient kids. An interesting read and hopefully helpful to our families. You can read the article here.

SCHN School-Link Behaviour Tip Sheets

School-Link at the Sydney Children’s Hospital Network (SCHN) has a focus on supporting professionals working in schools with children and young people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. They have published a series of behaviour tip sheets for carers, staff and parents. You can access the Tip Sheets here.

e-Safety Commissioner Term 2 Webinars for Parents & Carers

 eSafety Commissioner provide free webinars for parents and carers. Click here for further information.

NSW Mining Careers Dinners

NSW Mining hosts free events each year for students in Years 10, 11 and 12, along with a parent, and their Careers Adviser, to learn about the variety of Mining careers available and the educational pathways to those roles.

Attendees will hear directly from people working in our industry, as well as from a range of education and training providers. 

Recent graduates, tradespeople, university students and apprentices all talk about what it’s like to work in the NSW mining industry and answer questions from the attending students, parents and teachers.

Our FREE careers dinners are a great way to get a taste of the NSW Minerals and Resources industry.

2023 NSW Mining Careers Dinner Newcastle Exhibition Centre – May 23  – Registrations open at www.nswminingcareers.com.au

HSC and Careers Expo 2023

Thursday 1st – Saturday 3rd June 2023, 9:00am – 3:00pm

Are you the parent of an HSC student who is uncertain about their future path? Help them make an informed choice by bringing them along to the HSC and Careers Expo 2023, Thursday 1st June, Friday 2nd June and Saturday 3rd June, 9am-3pm at Royal Randwick Racecourse. For more information, please see the Twitter, Facebook or Instagram – or visit the website: https://www.hscandcareers.com.au/

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.