Newsletter

‘Why does it tick and why does it tock?’
‘Why don’t we call it a granddaughter clock?’
‘Why are there pointy things stuck to a rose?’
‘Why are there hairs up inside of your nose?’
She started with Why? and then What? How? And When?
By bedtime she came back to Why? once again.
She drifted to sleep as her dazed parents smiled at the curious thoughts of their curious child, who wanted to know what the world was about.
They kissed her and whispered, ‘You’ll figure it out.’

–Ada Twist, Scientist by Andrea Beaty

I love a good story. I particularly love a good children’s story. Children’s stories are wonderfully clever at taking complex, adult problems and breaking them down into simple bites that children can understand and respond to (adults too!). You may have never encountered ‘Ada Twist, Scientist’ by Andrea Beaty but the quote above gives a pretty good representation of my first 4 weeks at BCC. I am asking a lot of curious questions that sometimes start with ‘Why?’, and they often then progress ‘What? and ‘How?’, and eventually wind their way back to ‘Why?’. My role as the College Deputy carries with it a level of responsibility of course, but I think that there is always a hope that an incoming leader can look at things with fresh eyes and find ways to add value or strengthen practices and processes. To do this well, I am working hard to understand as deeply as possible, how BCC does things. As I understand what and how we do something, the most important question to ask is ‘Why?’.

Like Ada Twist, figuring things out will definitely take time (for example getting my head around the traffic flow and buses around BCC at 2:50), but eventually I’ll figure it out. Then the real fun begins!

I’m sure you are all aware of this, but you are all a part of a wonderful school community. The welcome I have received from students, staff and parents alike has been very warm. The culture here is excellent and the staff camaraderie is a key feature of the school culture. I’d also like to thank the students of BCC for the sincere way that they have welcomed and accepted me to this new role – they are amazing!

I’m Looking forward to the exciting times and challenges ahead.

P.S. Why not borrow ‘Ada Twist, Scientist’ from the College Library this week. It is a great read!

David Holland
Deputy Principal

BCC Prayer Warriors

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. 

Prayer Points:

• Missing Boy Riley Baker: NSW Police are appealing for help to locate missing 10yo boy Riley Baker. Keep an eye out or pray that missing Riley will be found
• Thanksgiving for New Life: We give thanks to God for the safe arrival of little Willem Prozinski. We celebrate the good health of both Danielle and Willem, and we are grateful that Ben is doing well too. Let us offer our congratulations and ask for God’s abundant blessings upon Danielle, Ben and their new little family. Thank God for the safe arrival of Willem Prozinski.
• Blessing for New Students and Families: Pray for blessings for new students and their families, that they may settle in and feel welcomed in our community.
• Spiritual Nourishment for Students and Staff: Pray for a culture of seeking God among students and staff, prioritising time with Him. Ask for opportunities for engagement with local churches to enrich faith journeys.
• Community and Local State Schools: Pray for the well-being and success of our community and specifically for the state schools in our area. Pray that Scripture and spiritual guidance continue to be present in these schools and that God’s presence be felt among students and staff.
• Protection of Christian Schools: Pray for the protection and prosperity of Christian schools everywhere. Ask for God’s guidance and provision so that these institutions can continue to thrive and provide a nurturing environment for students. Pray also for the ability to continue hiring Christian staff who can positively influence the next generation. Please pray for Christian Principals across the nation as they meet in Canberra next week to defend Christian Schooling

Prayer for HSC Students

It’s that time of year again when we ask people to volunteer to pray for the 2024 HSC students. Our goal is for each HSC student to have at least one person from the College community committing to pray for them each day from the beginning of Term 3 until when the HSC exams finish on 8 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 14 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

Our Parent’s Business Directory is available on the College website via the Community Hub. It is so great to see many BCC parents get on board with this initiative and share their business details with the wider BCC community.

If you are keen to join this Business Directory, which is exclusive to current BCC parents, please enter your business details here. Please contact Mr David Gray on david.gray@bcc.nsw.edu.au should you require any further information.

Upcoming Important Dates

Primary

27.05.24 | Primary Zone Girls Soccer
28.05.24 | Paul Kelly Cup AFL
13.06.24 | Year 2 Excursion Hunter Valley Wildlife Park
14.06.24 | CSSA Primary Girls Football (Soccer) Finals

Secondary

29.05.24 | Year 11 & 12 Parent/Teacher Interviews
06.06.24 | Year 11 Visual Arts Excursion to Maitland Art Gallery

Whole College

31.05.24 | Primary & Secondary CSSA Cross Country
06.06.24 | Primary & Secondary CIS Cross Country
10.06.24 | King’s Birthday Public Holiday
11.06.24 | Photo Day Primary & Beginners #1

SAVE THE DATE

12.09.24 | Primary Show
03.12.24 | End of Year Festival

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.

For all major announcements regarding College Life, student reports & absences, calendar access, newsletters, excursion permissions, fee payments and much more, the College uses the Sentral Parent App. 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.

We are pleased to have many new staff that have recently joined us here at the College. Over the term you will have the opportunity to learn more about them in our Newsletter.

You may also like to read the Our People page on the College website to find out a little more about all of our staff.

Introducing…

Mr James Hutton – Learning Enrichment Aide

Tell us about your photo.
My motorbike helmet represents my interest in dirt biking, especially riding with my dad and housemates.

What church do you attend?
All Saints Anew Anglican Church

What church ministries excite you?
Growth groups. Such a great time to build relationships and delve into God’s word with like-minded Christians.

What makes you look forward to working at BCC?
Working with such a welcoming staff team that have a genuine care for the students.

School photographs will be taken for Primary and Beginners #1 on Tuesday, 11 June 2024 and for Secondary and Beginners #2 on Friday, 14 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 wear Sport uniform 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 are to wear shirts tucked in
~ Kindergarten – Year 12 girls are to wear navy opaque stockings, not socks
~ Kindergarten – Year 12 boys are to wear their ties
~ Kindergarten – Year 6 girls are to wear their bows
~ Year 11 and 12 are to wear their blazers
~ Hair needs to be off the face
~ One pair of plain surgical studs or sleepers and one watch only, no other jewellery
~ 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 10 June. 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 enquiries@advancedlife.com.au.

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

Representative Honours

We’ve had a number of sporting representatives in our Primary School over the past few weeks.

Siena Iannazzo – Futsal

Siena was part of an Australian Futsal Association team that travelled to Malaysia to represent Australia U12 Girls in the Unity Cup. A fantastic opportunity for Siena coupled with winning the tournament. Well done Siena! Not only an Australian representative, but also an international tournament champion!

Molly Mawson – AFL

This week Molly ventured out to Albury, representing Mid North Coast and Inland at the NSW PSSA AFL Championships. Even though the players were mostly new, the team were the defending champions and went down in their first game to Metropolitan East. The girls rallied though, winning all of their next 4 games to make the final against Metropolitan East.

In the final the defending premiers went back to back with a comprehensive 30-6 win.

Congratulations Molly – NSW PSSA Champion!

Elysia Terbeeke – Netball

Congratulations to Ely who played Centre for the NSW CSSA Netball team and the CIS Championships, which also acted as a selection trial for those players to play in the CIS team.

This level of netball is incredibly competitive just to get to, and even more impressive was that Ely played in a position she doesn’t normally play in and is only in Year 5. The CSSA team lost just one game on the day.

Primary Aerobics

Our College Aerobics teams had their first competition of the season on the weekend at the Newcastle Super Series event at NEX.

The girls performed very well, with a few sporting their new medal bling at school on Monday.

They now have just a few weeks of training before State Titles and an opportunity to qualify for Nationals in Queensland later in the year.

Well done to our teams!

Backstreet Girlz – 2nd

Super Stars – 3rd

Thunderbolts – 4th

Galaxy Girls – 5th

Primary Athletics Carnival

Well the rain threatened, but didn’t eventuate as forecast, and once again we were blessed with a fantastic day for our Primary Carnival.

There were some brilliant results recorded and plenty of Personal Best times, throws and jumps achieved.

Well done to all of our students who participated and also to our Year 11 Sports Coaches and Secondary helpers who helped to run events and contributed to the success of the day.

Congratulations to Liddell who held on to win the carnival, and keep the House points competition very close after Robinson took Cross Country and Cuthbert won Swimming

The following students broke records on the day:

And finally, congratulations to our 2024 Age Champions:

Our Zone team will be out in the coming weeks, with ribbons and Personal Best Awards also coming soon.

Year 9 Visual Arts Excursion – Sculptures at Scratchley

Our Year 9 Visual Arts students recently visited the inspiring Sculptures at Scratchley exhibition. The showcase featured a diverse range of works made from all types of materials, sparking creativity and admiration among our budding artists. A highlight of the trip was seeing the impressive work of our past student, Samuel Troyer, proudly displayed among the professional pieces. This experience not only broadened the students’ understanding of sculptural techniques but also illustrated the exciting possibilities within their artistic journeys. We look forward to seeing the creative outcomes inspired by this visit!

The following activities and services are offered by external providers and 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. 

Good for kids good for life

Griffith University Tertiary Prepatation Workshop

Monday, 24 June – Friday, 28 June 2024

Get ahead of the audition process for Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University.

Tertiary Preparation Workshop (TPW) participants have the opportunity to learn more about requirements for tertiary entry, skills required for auditions and interviews, tools for enhancing executant skills, and theory and aural fundamentals. There will also be sessions on overcoming stage fright, warm-up methods, practicing effectively and introductions to tertiary courses – My Life as a Musician and Exploring Music.

TPW is open to students in years 9 – 12, and adults, who are considering auditioning for a tertiary music institution.

Parents and caregivers will also be given the opportunity to join Queensland Conservatorium Heads of Area as they discuss the Bachelor of Music degree and the future of the working life of a musician.

TPW 2024 Schedule

TPW 2024 includes practical sessions in the following:

Classical: Winds, Strings, Brass, Percussion, Guitar, Piano, Voice

Jazz: Winds, Strings, Brass, Percussion, Guitar, Piano, Voice

Popular Music: All Instruments and Voice

Composition: All genre

Important Information

Dates: Monday 24 June to Friday 28 June 2024

Venue: Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University, 140 Grey Street, South Brisbane

Fees: $515 incl GST

Schedule: 2024 Program Information

Contact: open-conservatorium@griffith.edu.au for more information.

REGISTER NOW

2024 Apprenticeship/Traineeship & Jobs Expos

Central Coast Apprenticeship/Traineeship & Jobs Expo
Tuesday, 13 August 2024 – 3pm to 7pm
Mingara Recreation Club, 12/14 Mingara Dr, Tumbi Umbi NSW

Newcastle & Hunter Apprenticeship/Traineeship & Jobs Expo
Tuesday 20, August 2024 – 3pm to 7pm
NEX – Newcastle Exhibition & Convention Centre, 309 King St, Newcastle West NSW

Support a cause that’s meaningful to you by purchasing a Membership to The Entertainment App and receive a bonus extension of up to four months!

Purchase a 12 or 24 month Single City Membership and receive a bonus two months.

Purchase a 12 or 24 month Multi City Membership and receive a bonus four months.

20% of each Membership purchase will go directly to your chosen Fundraiser.

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.