school...page 3 junior school news greetings friends of junior school. we had two wonderful...

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School NEWSLETTER WEEK 9, TERM 4 7th December 2020 PRINCIPALS MESSAGE Welcome to the final newsletter of 2020. Normally at this time I would be encouraging you to attend our many end of year celebrations, but like so many other things this year, these too have been modified and adapted to comply with the restrictions in place. While our Christmas celebrations may have been changed, we can be sure that the reason for the celebration will always remain the same. In Gods great love He gave us the gift of Jesus. This alone gives us cause to celebrate and Praise God irrespective of the circumstances we may have faced this year or are still currently facing. I hope each of you enjoy a safe and peace filled Christmas as you reflect on this wonderful gift from our loving Heavenly Father. It is also the time of year we say goodbye to staff who are leaving for various reasons. In the Junior School we say farewell to Mrs Cutugno and Mrs Peck, while in the Secondary School we say goodbye to Miss Dempster, Mrs Rappell, Mrs Wells and Mrs Crocker. Additionally, after many years of faithful service across a number of Christian Schools Mr and Mrs Harrison, and Mrs Mason have decided to retire (although we still hope to see Mrs Mason from time to time on a casual basis). These three staff have touched many lives for Christ over their years of teaching and their contribution to Christian Schooling cannot be overstated. We wish each of them God s richest blessing as they move on to this next stage of their lives. As you are well aware, there are more than teachers who contribute to this ministry, and this year we say farewell to two of our non-teaching staff. Mr Matthews has been keeping our computers running for 12 years in the IT department and has made many significant changes to our network during his time here, while Mrs Damanik has been supporting students across the school as an SLSO for the past 3 years. We wish them both well as they step into a new season. At the end of what has been a year like no other, I want to take this opportunity to again say thank you for the way you have partnered with the school and walked these 12 months together, incorporating and embracing all the ups and downs that have been along the path. I wish you all a very Happy Christmas and look forward to seeing you again in 2021. To provide a Christian education community founded on Biblically based beliefs, values and behaviour. We do this to equip young people to be responsible and responsive disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Mission For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. ”. Isaiah 9:6 Shining Light A Ministry of Wyong Baptist Church Find our free School App on the App Store or Google Play. Find us on social media @wyongccs God bless, Mr Ian Liney | Principal

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  • Page 1

    School NEWSLETTER

    WE

    EK

    9, T

    ER

    M 4

    7th D

    ecem

    ber 20

    20

    PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE Welcome to the final newsletter of 2020. Normally at this time I would be encouraging

    you to attend our many end of year celebrations, but like so many other things this

    year, these too have been modified and adapted to comply with the restrictions in

    place. While our Christmas celebrations may have been changed, we can be sure that

    the reason for the celebration will always remain the same.

    In God’s great love He gave us the gift of Jesus. This alone gives us cause to celebrate

    and Praise God irrespective of the circumstances we may have faced this year or are

    still currently facing. I hope each of you enjoy a safe and peace filled Christmas as you

    reflect on this wonderful gift from our loving Heavenly Father.

    It is also the time of year we say goodbye to staff who are leaving for various reasons.

    In the Junior School we say farewell to Mrs Cutugno and Mrs Peck, while in the

    Secondary School we say goodbye to Miss Dempster, Mrs Rappell, Mrs Wells and Mrs

    Crocker. Additionally, after many years of faithful service across a number of Christian

    Schools Mr and Mrs Harrison, and Mrs Mason have decided to retire (although we still

    hope to see Mrs Mason from time to time on a casual basis). These three staff have

    touched many lives for Christ over their years of teaching and their contribution to

    Christian Schooling cannot be overstated. We wish each of them God’s richest blessing

    as they move on to this next stage of their lives.

    As you are well aware, there are more than teachers who contribute to this ministry,

    and this year we say farewell to two of our non-teaching staff. Mr Matthews has been

    keeping our computers running for 12 years in the IT department and has made many

    significant changes to our network during his time here, while Mrs Damanik has been

    supporting students across the school as an SLSO for the past 3 years. We wish them

    both well as they step into a new season.

    At the end of what has been a year like no other, I want to take this opportunity to

    again say thank you for the way you have partnered with the school and walked these

    12 months together, incorporating and embracing all the ups and downs that have

    been along the path. I wish you all a very Happy Christmas and look forward to seeing

    you again in 2021.

    To provide a Christian education community founded on Biblically

    based beliefs, values and behaviour.

    We do this to equip young people to be responsible

    and responsive disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.

    Our Mission

    “For to us a child is born, to us

    a son is given, and the

    government will be on his

    shoulders.

    And he will be called

    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty

    God, Everlasting Father,

    Prince of Peace. ”.

    Isaiah 9:6

    Shining Light

    A Ministry of Wyong Baptist Church

    Find our free School App on the App Store or

    Google Play.

    Find us on social media @wyongccs

    God bless, Mr Ian Liney | Principal

  • Page 2

    Community NEWS

    Pray for God’s protection over

    all our school families and staff

    during the Christmas holidays.

    Pray that we will all return to

    school in 2021 feeling refreshed

    and ready for a new year.

    Pray that we will focus on the

    true meaning of Christmas.

    Pray that it will be a time of

    reflection on the birth of our

    Lord and Saviour.

    CHAPEL, ASSEMBLIES & SPORT

    STUDENT ACADEMIC REPORTS

    All student Academic Reports for Semester 2 have been emailed to families.

    LOST PROPERTY

    Lost property will be cleared out during the holidays. If your child is missing

    anything, please remind them to check lost property in our office before the

    end of term. Thank you.

    CANTEEN CLOSURE

    Our Canteen will closed this Thursday 10th December and therefore will not be

    accepting recess or lunch orders.

    A small number of ice-blocks and cookies will be available to purchase at lunch.

    SCHOOL OFFICE - HOLIDAY OPENING HOURS

    Our school office will closed this Friday 11th December, however, will be open on

    the following dates.

    December 2020:

    • Monday 14th to Thursday 17th December from 9am-3pm

    • Friday 18th December from 9am-12pm

    January 2021:

    • Monday 11th January to Friday 15th January from 9am-3pm

    Our office hours from Monday 18th to Monday 25th January will vary around

    staff Professional Development training - these hours will be posted to our

    School App in January.

    UNIFORM SHOP - JANUARY OPENING HOURS

    The Alinta Uniform Shop will be open in January on the following dates:

    • Saturday 16th January 8am – 10am

    • Saturday 23rd January 8am – 10am

    Normal hours resume on Wednesday 27th January (2:30–4pm).

    Did you know that Alinta offers online ordering 24/7?

    We offer a 24/7 online shop which is perfect for working parents. You can pre-

    order items and have them sent home with your child (if during school terms),

    have it delivered to your home or collected from the office. No need to line up.

    TERM 1, 2021

    School will commence for Years 1-12 on Wednesday 27th January. Kindergarten

    will commence on Thursday 28th January.

    Mondays 8-10am Wednesdays 2:30-4pm

    Thursday 8-9:30am

    Head Office: 4321 0433 Onsite Shop: 0413 353 787

    UNIFORM SHOP

    WYONG BAPTIST CHURCH

    8am-4pm P: 4351 2020

    [email protected]

    WCCS OFFICE HOURS

    All Assemblies and Group Gatherings

    have been cancelled until further

    notice.

    Visit www.wyongbaptist.org for more information.

  • Page 3

    Junior School NEWS Greetings friends of Junior School. We had two wonderful graduations last week. Congratulations to our Year 6 and Kindergarten students. It was such a blessing to be able to have our families join us on site to celebrate, albeit in a weird sign-in, designated seating and socially distanced situation. Praise God we have been blessed with a large MPC. Little Seed catered for the Year 6 event and it was wonderful. The students were really well behaved and we had a ton of fun. Thank you so much to Mrs Austin and Mrs Ormsby for all of their hard work in preparation of the decorations. Thanks to Amber and Brad Robson, Jess Crocombe for the MPC set up. It always amazes me that many of the kids look so big and grown up when they arrive in their grad outfits and then the song list proves that they are just innocent little kids. Some of the hits from this year were; The Chicken Nugget song; The Chicken Dance; Never Gonna Give You Up; yes we got Rick-rolled. A couple of theme songs from cartoon movies also had a run. It was so cute and God honouring. Afternoon Car Pick-up Parking You would be aware that we have a row of bollards to keep the kids safe near the back carpark. Please note that this is Nose To Curb parking. When angle parking your vehicle must be facing in the direction of travel. If you reverse into the carparks at school

    then you are actually breaking the law because your vehicle is facing oncoming traffic. The RMS website states; When a

    sign does not give a direction you must park front to kerb. We have a number of Police Officers in our school community and they have graciously allowed us time to notify the community that we must adhere to the Nose To Curb rule for this carpark. This year has certainly been challenging to many families in our community and our God has been true to His Word. He has never left us or forsaken us, so we may boldly say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear…” We have seen some amazing growth in student achievement and resilience this year, despite the fear and anxiety that has been so prevalent. I pray that as you and your families embrace the holiday break that you can live out the principles in Philippians 4:4-9.

    4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me - put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. (NIV) May God bless you and keep you safe over the break and bring your amazing children back to us next year to continue their discipleship journey at WCCS.

    God bless,

    Mr Paul Marks | Head of Junior School

  • Page 4

    Secondary School NEWS END OF YEAR

    We want to thank all our Secondary School families for their support throughout what turned out to be an unusual year. We truly value the school/home partnership we have at WCCS, as it makes our school the best it can be.

    ACADEMIC REPORTS

    Student Academic Reports have been distributed to families via email. Please contact our office if you require clarification about some aspect of your child’s report.

    TERM 1, 2021

    Please remember that our first day back will be Wednesday 27th January. This will be the day that our Year 7 students will go to camp. Our Years 8-12 students will spend the morning with their Home Room Teachers doing the usual School Start Up Orientation.

    We wish all our families a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and we look forward to seeing you in 2021.

    Mr Stephen Moody | Head of Secondary - Teaching & Learning

    [email protected]

    Mrs Rachael Wilesmith | Head of Secondary - Student Wellbeing

    [email protected]

  • Page 5

    WCCS WHAT’S HAPPENING

    AROUND AUSTRALIAN BUSH TUCKER FOODS EXPERT VISITS YEAR 9 & 10 FOOD TECHNOLOGY

    In week six of this term we had a presentation from a guest speaker, resulting in a most informative and entertaining afternoon with Years 9 and 10 Food Technology classes. Mrs Parsons, Mrs Jones and the students thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

    Below are some quotes from Year 9 students: “He was cool. He sang songs and cut things and we ate bush things. He mainly talked about his past and stories, he also played a digeridoo and talked about the history of Australia through an Aboriginals’ point of view. This was good to know in case we have to live in the bush because something bad happens and/or Australia suddenly falls apart like he said. It was also very helpful to know.” By Achazia H

    “Jake Cassar told very interesting stories about the bush. He sang us a song about Botany Bay. He made sound effects with a digeridoo. He discussed bush survival, how to build a fire, foods to eat and foods to avoid. He gave tips about bush medicine. He would often repeat facts about the First Fleet to help us memorise them. I valued learning new things about the bush. I would highly recommend this incursion each year because it was very interesting.” By Emily B

    “Jake’s techniques are practical and experimental. He gave us the chance to really digest useful bush craft techniques and information. Apart from being a walking encyclopedia of plant and animal knowledge, Jake is a genuine community builder who truly wants to help others do good in the world. His compassion, enthusiasm and huge heart makes him a great leader and teacher.

    The main topics that Jake discussed were all related to the idea of the bush and bush craft. Things that I will definitely take away from the hour I have spent with him would be the way he uses bush plants to eat and sticks to make fire. During our experience with Jake we heard a lot about when the First Fleet arrived and what their roles were. Jake also told us stories about places he has visited and how in Australia women are not allowed to play the didgeridoo legally. Jake Cassar also played the digeridoo and overall, he is a very talented man.

    The most enjoyable part that I took away from this experience would be that Jake has so many skills and talents that have filled up my mind with personal skills. I am very pleased that he has walked me and my class through an incredible experience.

    I would recommend this to ongoing Food Tech students because you learn a lot from this experience. And it is just a whole heap of fun and Jake is a pleasure to be around, he is full of exciting ideas and when you’re looking the other way and turn back something different is happening.

    And a special thank you to Jake Cassar for taking a chunk out of his time to come and lead us through an incredible and knowledgeable time. I wish him good luck in his journey as a bushman.” By Latoya J

    “Jake Cassar has a lot of knowledge about the land and nature and how it works which is very cool. He presented his stuff very well, you could tell he knew what he was talking about. He performed a song for us called Botany Bay, the song was amazing, and he performed it very well. He also played the digeridoo for us. He talked about the Australian history and the story of the First Fleet of convicts from England to arrive and the story of Pemulwuy the aboriginal who fought the British and protected his people from the horrible things the British people did to the Aboriginals. But he was killed, and his head was sent to England. We also heard about the edible plants around our school and the different things these plants are used for and how we can survive in the bush. Overall it was a great experience, we all learned something new that could be important for the future and he did very good job in educating us about the bush and nature.” By Michelle M

    Mrs Donna Jones | Food Technology Teacher | [email protected]

    mailto:[email protected]