Yesterday, we held our first Open Day after a 15-month hiatus due to COVID restrictions. I have always enjoyed Open Days because I love talking about our College and as I prepare the speech that I give to prospective parents I am again reminded about just how special this community is. Our students also had an opportunity to share their experience of the College as they shared in tour groups and on a student interview panel. It was heartwarming to hear the various ways in which the College is positively impacting their lives.
During Open Day, I focus on sharing with prospective parents our desire to grow young people who are outwardly focused. I see evidence of this in the lives of our students on a daily basis but most recently this outwardly focused posture was evident amongst our Social Justice Committee who raised over $1000 for Love Hawkesbury through the Secondary bake sale. Well done to these students! Hebrews 6:10 reminds us that God sees your heart for service. It says “God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.”
With a week to go until the end of term, let's continue to encourage our students to strive for excellence, that is, to work with discipline and perseverance so that in all we do and, how we do it we honour God. There is still a week to go full of opportunities to stretch learning behaviours and develop new skills and understandings.
Felicity Marlow Principal
Reconciliation
The College has taken time to lead students and staff in reflecting on Reconciliation and has given opportunities for students to empathise with Australia’s indigenous people in considering “more than a word – Reconciliation takes action”.
I can’t begin to consider what it means “to be reconciled” without thinking of something that has been significant in my faith development “being reconciled through Christ” which is helpful for framing how to approach reconciliation.
The other contexts of “reconciling” that quickly come to mind are:
reconciling the cash register at the end of the workday to ensure that it is balanced – something that brought a level of apprehension for my wife when she worked at Woolworths in her teenage years
a valued relationship in need of restoring – which requires admitting wrongdoing and forgiving others, expressing love for another person as well as a willingness to humble yourself in order to restore the relationship. Reconciling a relationship requires dealing with pride, blame and hurt and replacing it with faith and courage.
"It has been said that reconciliation is the virtue of the courageous, the response of the forgiven, the mercy of the just. From reconciliation more reconciliation can flow." Barney Zwartz (from publicchristianity.org)
In 2 Corinthians, Paul writes about reconciliation being made available through Christ. This reconciliation is between people and God and is needed because each person has changed the relationship (so that it is no longer balanced) through sinning. It was the sacrifice of Jesus that allowed the balance to be restored and for people to be reconciled to God; it is clear to see humility, confession, forgiveness and faith.
2 Corinthians 5:17-21 "…if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."
Paul also says that as Christ’s ambassadors we are to appeal for people to find healing through Jesus as a Christian should be committed to the message of reconciliation.
Extending this to the context of the people in Australia, I believe the Bible communicates that Christians should be leading the movement for reconciliation between the indigenous peoples and the national identity and our leaders. The principles of grace, as seen in the necessary humility, confession, forgiveness and faith, are needed and possibly better understood after recognising the commitment and sacrifice of Jesus in making the restoration of relationship with God so easy.
Healing is needed in the world for all people and needed in Australia and we should be praying for the attitudes and actions that we can bring that allow reconciliation.
Colin Wood Deputy Principal
Annual Report for 2020
The College’s Annual Report for 2020 is now available on our website, for all those who are interested.
Secondary SPM's (Years 8 - 11) will be held on Tuesday, 22 June. If you haven't booked a meeting please click here.
Uniform Requirements - Hair
To bring clarity on permitted hair styles for students, please click here to view images of what is and is not permitted. Thank you for partnering with the College in meeting uniform expectations on a daily basis.
End of Term BBQ - Term 2, 2021
Our Year 9 students will be hosting an End of Term 2 BBQ. Proceeds from this event will go to Carevan. It will be held on Friday, 25 June for all students ELC to Year 12.
If you would like to order a sausage sandwich, it must be pre-ordered by no later than Monday, 21 June by clicking here. Please also select any dietary requirements with your order.
P&F – Exciting Announcements
After a successful start to Term 2 with our Australian themed discos, the Parents and Friends Association has been working quietly in the background to bring our students exciting new opportunities over Term 3 and Term 4. We have saved our biggest announcement to last, so be sure to read all the way through. Klipsta The Parents and Friends Association is excited to partner with Klipsta to offer you their award-winning hat clip as part of our ongoing fundraiser items. Perfect for not just for keeping hats off the ground and clean, it also keeps your child's hat securely attached so there is less chance of them getting lost or mixed up. With two heavy duty magnets Klipsta hat clips are super strong but can still be used by even our smallest ELC students. In High School, with so many items already to carry, the Klipsta ensures your child's hat is secure allowing them free use of their hands. Not only for students the Klipsta makes a great gift idea for anyone who enjoys the outdoors but wants to keep their hat off the ground and secure while not in use. They also make a wonderful teacher gift.
Available individually or in packs of 3, the P&F will be looking at doing a Klipsta classroom delivery once a fortnight, or you can arrange to collect from one of us direct. By buying direct through us you aren't charged any shipping.
To purchase a Klipsta and support the P&F fundraising initiatives please click here. They will be available again in Term 3. Stuck On You LOVE TO LABEL? Or perhaps you are just fed up with school and sporting items going missing!
The Parents and Friends Association has become an affiliate fundraiser with Stuck on You, who specialise in personalised labels and products - including drink bottles, lunch boxes, stationery, as well as an official Bluey range. There's no specific time frame, and no obligation to buy from this supplier. But every purchase you make using the affiliate link will help us raise funds that go towards purchasing products or setting up projects that will help enrich the lives of the students at our College!
To purchase from Stuck on You using our affiliate link please click here. Big Announcement We are incredibly excited to announce the Inaugural Norwest Christian College Colour Run. This will take place in the last week of Term 3. As we take the holidays to finalise details relating to this event, we wanted to first share the opportunity to put your name on the Sign Up sheet for those who have expressed their interest to volunteer for the event. We need people to help organise the event, as well as people to set up and participate on the day of the event. Once you add your name to the list the P&F will confirm your eligibility to volunteer at the College and then email you to discuss what areas you would like to assist in. As this is our first Colour Run, we would love to see some volunteers with events or previous colour run experience sign up too.
Parents must be approved volunteers in order to help. To become an approved parent volunteer, parents must do the following:
Have completed the Volunteer Induction Seminar within the last 5yrs. You can complete the Induction Seminar by clicking here
Provide the College with their Working with Children Check number and their Date of Birth. Working with Children Check can be applied for here
Stay tuned for further Colour Run information.
Thank you
Parents & Friends Association
Seed Academy - Week 9, Term 2, 2021
Seed Academy - Term 2 Lessons
Seed Academy scheduled lessons will conclude in Week 9 of Term 2 unless a make-up lesson has been arranged by your child's tutor.
Enrol Now for 2022 and 2023
We love our College Community and its exciting when families decide to enrol additional siblings to partner in their education at the College.
Please note places are filling fast in many of our 2022 and 2023 cohorts, some already with waiting lists, so if you are considering enrolling an additional child at the College in 2022 or 2023 in our ELC, Primary or Secondary Years, don’t delay and submit your application as soon as possible to secure your place!
Click here to access the online Application for Enrolment form.
Child Protection Policy
The College Child Protection Policy is available on our website.
Please click here to read the Child Protection Policy.
College Communication Notes
Click here to read the Early Learning Centre Communication Notes.
Click here to read the Primary Communication Notes.
Primary Powerful Learners
Over the last two weeks at our Infants & Primary Assemblies, students were recognised for their learning or their commitment to our community and its values. Congratulations to all our Powerful Learners.