Issue 3 Term 1 2023
‘Ask and it will be given, search and you will find, knock, and the door will be opened to you’
Matthew 7:7
From the Principal
CELEBRATIONS ALL ROUND
We wish Year 12 student Eliza Grosser all the very best as she participates in the Lions Youth of the Year Regional Final this weekend. Eliza was the winner of the Ballina Lions Club final and will now compete against other winners from across the Northern Rivers Region.
The quest has been running since 1964 and in 2023 is a truly national competition designed to celebrate the talents, efforts and hopes of young people. It is open to students who are 16 years and older. The Quest to identify the Lions Youth of the Year involves three parts. Firstly, Participants in the Quest are required to prepare a portfolio outlining their hopes and goals, their personal achievements and their community involvement. Secondly, they must meet with an interview panel of 3 to answer questions about what they have presented in their portfolio. Finally they must attend a speech evening and present a prepared 5 minute speech on a topic about which they are passionate and they must also speak for two minutes about 2 impromptu topics. We certainly wish Eliza well for this weekend’s competition.
On Tuesday 7 March, the College community will celebrate Foundation Day for 2023. This year is a particularly special year as we celebrate 25 years. Students from Kindergarten to Year 12 will join in a Whole College Assembly, during which we will induct the 2023 Student Representative Council, College Band Captains and College Band Leaders. During the afternoon all students will participate in a number of fun and inclusive activities to celebrate the day.
We also welcome Mr John Noble who joins the College Wellbeing Team this week in the role of Guidance Counsellor. Mr Noble is a former school Principal and a highly experienced and skilled child psychologist. He will bring a wealth of knowledge and skill to our support network for students. Welcome John!
Mr Robert Tobias
Principal
Student Representative Council and Band Leaders
It gives me great pleasure to announce to you the 2023 Primary Student Representative Council Leadership Team.
Year 2
2A – Luke Campbell
2B – Lola Cross
Year 3
3A – Georgia Rushby
3B – Nash Ryan
Year 4
4A – Alexander Cook
4B – Hopper Hill
Year 5
5A – Harrison Tall
5B – Xanthe Marshall
5C – Freya Hansen
Year 6
6A – Emily Evans
6B – Lydia Roberts
6C – Luca Durston
Brockington House
Olivia Mills
Brianna Hart
Jarrah Harradence
Amber Ivers
Harper Ainsbury
Purcival House
Stella Payne
Roilehsar Chong
Kelly Campbell
Frankie Payne
Spencer Hickey
Smith House
Jack Whitaker
Jacob Neto
Lola Wagner
Thandi Malaba
Sindi Malaba
Walker House
Ava Walheim
Eliška Gidding
Luca Muzzolini
Joshua Williams
Priya Singh-Pangly
Concert Band Program Captains
Eliza Grosser
Tobias Beck
The Emmanuel Concert Band
Flute Leader – Zoe Latimer
Clarinet Leader – Emerson Leyden
Saxophone Leader – Tobias Beck
Upper Brass Leader – Eliza Grosser
Lower Brass Leader – Angus Cook
Bass Leader – Finn Allen
Percussion Leader – Jack Whitaker
Mezzo Concert Band
Flute Leader – Charlotte Robertson
Clarinet Leader – Noah Morris
Saxophone Leader – Sunny Gao
Upper Brass Leader – Finley Safranek
Lower Brass Leader – Harvey Plummer
Bass Leader – Mark Scopesi
Percussion Leader – Sophie Raguse
Junior Concert Band
Flute Leader – Isla Garnham
Clarinet Leader – Freya Hansen
Saxophone Leader – Oliver Darnell
Upper Brass Leader – Zia Folscher
Lower Brass Leader – Jack Higgins
Bass Leader – Hugo Atkinson
Percussion Leader – Charlotte Ashdown
We look forward to working with this fine group of young men and women for the betterment of the College in coming year.
What's On
CALENDAR
For your personalised Calendar of Events, simply log in to Parent Lounge HERE.
Stay up to date with EAC announcements and news by following us on Facebook HERE.
SchoolStream APP
Canteen orders, absentee notices, important notifications and more can all be found on EAC's app, SchoolStream which you can find out more about HERE.
WEBSITE
The EAC website is a treasure trove of valuable information including forms, publications and in depth information, all of which are available HERE
WHAT WEEK IS IT?
To help clarify our College weeks, we've created a printable quick reference guide available HERE.
Off The Deputy's Desk
LESSONS LEARNED
One of the best parts of my role at the College is getting to go into the classrooms to see the students engaged in learning. Walking into Mr Falvey’s Year 4 class this week, I found myself in the middle of a competitive times tables lesson and being given the role of reading out the answers. It has been many decades since I first learned my times tables but it is fascinating how they still came clearly to the front of my mind, some faster than others!
That is why lessons learned at an early age are so important in forming the bedrock of our character and stay with us as the years unfold. Working and playing together in a supportive environment teaches the importance of punctuality, perseverance, generosity and acceptance to name a few.
Knowing that you are in a safe place to take risks and make mistakes enable students to learn valuable lessons which allow them to grow. Knowing that you are not alone is a lesson promoted constantly across the College as our inclusive community works diligently to always look for ways to embrace diversity and support those in need. It would be arrogant to think that as teachers or learners we can ever get it all right, but we are always actively engaged in ways to improve.
Dia dhaoibh
Mr Francis McGuigan
Deputy Principal
Sports Report
EAC Secondary Swimming Championships
Down pours of rain didn't dampen the spirits of our secondary students at the Secondary Swimming Championships at Alstonville Aquatic Centre on Friday 24 February. War cries filled the stands as students arrived, ready to compete in the first major event in the House Championship. Records were broken and personal bests were set. Despite the weather, it was a fantastic day for our College.
NCIS Secondary Swimming Championships
The North Coast Independent Schools (NCIS) Secondary Swimming Championships will be held on Monday 20 March at the Alstonville Aquatic Centre. Parents of students who qualified will be emailed with details. Good luck to everyone and thank you for representing EAC.
NCIS Primary Swimming Championships
44 of our Primary students represented EAC at the NCIS Primary Swimming Championships on Thursday 23 February at Alstonville Aquatic Centre. A really impressive line up!
Age Champions
EAC finished 1st!
15 students were successful in qualifying for the NSWCIS Primary Swimming Championships at Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre on Wednesday 22 March. We look forward to bringing you a round up of the event and win, lose or draw, we're already so very proud of all of our competitors:
- Charlotte Ashdown
- Hugo Atkinson
- Cleo Beesley
- Remy Clay
- Elsie Drew
- Eve Drew
- Joshua Drew
- Stella Du Plessis
- Emily Evans
- Audrey Pullen
- Violet Rickard
- Matthew Rullin
- Georgia Rushby
- Otis Skelly
- Sylvie Thomson
Mr Mike Ryan
Leader of Sport and Coaching
PRIMARY INTERHOUSE SOCCER
Competition has been fierce this week as our Primary students in Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 competed for the glory of the Interhouse Soccer trophy.
As we go to press, the competition is still in full swing so watch out for updates on Facebook next week!
NSWCIS Primary Tennis Championships
Congratulations to Jack Higgins who recently represented NCIS at the CIS Primary Tennis Championships in Sydney. Jack placed 9th out of 42 competitors. A huge effort that he should be extremely proud of.
CONGRATULATIONS BAILEY
NCIS Primary Football (Soccer) Championships
Four teams (42 students) travelled to Coffs Harbour on Wednesday 1 March for the NCIS Primary Football (Soccer) Championships:
- Boys
- Girls
- Mixed x2
The weather was scorching hot, but that didn't stop our students giving 100%.
Results
Boys - 4 wins and 1 loss. Finished as runners up.
Girls - 1 win, 2 draws and 1 loss.
Mixed 1 - 1 draw and 2 losses.
Mixed 2 - 1 win, 1 draw and 1 loss.
Four of our boys have been selected in the NCIS Primary Boys Football Team to compete at the CIS Primary Boys Football Championships on Friday 31 March in Sydney:
- Thomas Hunt
- Matthew Rullin
- Oscar Skelly
- Aryion Smith
Top of the Arts
WELCOME BACK MEITOKU GIJUKU JUNIOR AND SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
With great excitement the College is once again planning visits with our Japanese sister school Meitoku Gijuku Junior and Senior High School located in Kochi, Japan.
This week, Mr Aki Sakimoto and Mrs Mitsuki Sakimoto, Principal and Deputy Principal of Meitoku Gijuku Junior and Senior High School, visited EAC to discuss the upcoming visits by Japanese students to the College and EAC's 2023 Educational and Cultural Tour of Japan.
For details on both of these programs, contact Ms Jennifer Buddee, International Program Coordinator and Primary Japanese Teacher, by emailing jbuddee@eac.nsw.edu.au.
Library Lowdown
LIBRARY UPDATES FOR THE PRIMARY SCHOOL
If you have been in the Library recently you may have noticed how great the space is looking! That’s because the trainee Library Monitors have been busy keeping it neat and tidy and stacked with books. Ms Jordan is very pleased with the calibre of these Year 5 trainee Library Monitors and is continuing with tryouts for Monitors until the end of term. The Library Monitors that continue to come each week at their allocated time and make up any time they miss, will become permanent for 2023.
Junior graphic novels like Dog Man, Wings of Fire and the Babysitters Club are so popular that they now need to be borrowed one at a time. If you borrow a graphic novel just remember to return it when you finish reading it so you can borrow another. This means there will now be enough graphic novels for everyone to borrow.
The new Speed Cubes in the Library have been super popular. Just a reminder when you play with these in the Library you must return them to their holders on the Library Desk. Some students are leaving them in random places in the Library and it is taking a lot of time to find them.
Book Club catalogues will be arriving in classrooms in the next week or so. Book Club orders will close a couple of weeks before the end of term to ensure students receive their orders by the Easter holidays.
LIBRARY UPDATES FOR THE SECONDARY SCHOOL
Secondary Pastoral Care (PC) Library Sessions are in full swing. 'Thank you' to all the PC classes Ms Jordan has visited so far and a reminder to those she hasn’t - make sure you bring your laptop, listen attentively and apply to become a member of the Richmond Tweed Regional Library.
Is anyone interested in running a club such as a Craft, Chess or Rubik’s Cube Club before or after school or in the second break this term? If so, please go to the Library and chat to Ms Jordan so she can support you to do this.
Year 10, 11 and 12 may use the upstairs study area to quietly study or socialise during breaks. Make sure if you do use the area that you eat outside and leave the area tidy.
Thank you and Happy Reading and Researching!
Canteen Cookup
ORDERS IN!
Thank you for getting your orders in by 8.30am on the morning your order is required. Having your orders in by 8.30am ensures orders are processed properly and the children receive their lunches as planned.
If you miss the 8.30am deadline, please phone Reception on 6681 5054 and we will do our best to assist.
Remember, you can place orders up to two weeks in advance via the SchoolStream app and if your child is absent, their order can be held over to another day.
Friends of EAC
WHAT'S APP FRIENDS
Our community of Parents and Carers is wonderfully strong, connected and engaged. Currently there are many different ways in which our Parents and Carers communicate with each other - everything from Facebook to Messenger to What's App to smoke signals! These group chats are used to share reminders, locate lost property and answer the age old question of "Do they wear sports uniform tomorrow?".
To help our community stay in touch and make it easier for new families to connect, Friends of EAC have agreed to offer a standardised framework of communication for each year group.
What's App has been identified as the best fit for most people. What's App is a widely used platform for many sporting and volunteer organisations as well as an already popular choice for existing Year groups. What's App allows users to easily opt in and out of the group chat and adjust privacy settings.
It is important to know the College is unable to directly facilitate these Parent-to-Parent communication forums. The administration of these groups is undertaken by volunteer Parents and Carers who are each doing their best to contribute to our community in positive ways. For this system to continue to work, communications must be polite, respectful and relevant at all times.
To find out more and connect with your Year group, please email friends@eac.nsw.edu.au or contact Jodie Hayter, President of Friends of EAC on 0439874172.
Friends are currently working with each Year group to identify a key contact/Class Parent who will establish a What's App group
Jodie Hayter
President - Friends of EAC
MEET YOUR FRIENDS
The Term 1 meeting of Friends of EAC was a great success! Thank you to everyone who came along on Tuesday 21 February. Looks like holding the meetings off campus was a popular move and we look forward to confirming venue details for our Term 2 Meeting which will be held on Tuesday 2 May.
Our Term 2 Meeting is also our Annual General Meeting. This year our Executive roles will all be made vacant and nominations will soon be called for the next generation of Friends to come forward. Several people have already put their names forward for key roles and the 2023 Friends committee is shaping up to be a vibrant and fun group keen to promote connection and create fun events that everyone can enjoy.
Watch this space for details on how to nominate for an Executive role and how to get involved with your Friends.
How To EAC
TEXT MESSAGES HOME
Occasionally students will bypass College staff and contact their Parents and Carers directly with a request to be picked up early. This places everyone involved in a tricky situation.
If your child does contact you directly, please ask them to instead speak to their teacher or to our Reception staff who will then contact Parent and Carers on the student's behalf. This process better allows the College to account for the whereabouts of each and every student, minimise false alarms and identify patterns of behaviour that may signal a need for support.
Sustainability Central
CLEAN UP AUSTRALIA
Today students from across the College rolled up their sleeves, donned some gloves and helped to Clean Up Australia.
The official Clean Up Australia Day for 2023 is this Sunday 5 March, however, EAC got into the sustainability spirit early with our Primary students tasked with binning rubbish from around the grounds and our Secondary students spreading around Ballina to help clean various parks and waterways.
COME ON AND COMPOST
We at EAC are always looking for opportunities to improve our sustainability. As part of this ongoing endeavour, the Primary school is to start composting our food scraps.
EAC has purchased some compost bins, compost tumblers and worm farms and will hopefully be able to purchase more with the proceeds of the upcoming Colour Run. Our plan moving forward is to have enough compost tumblers to run on a schedule that will allow us to continually make compost. This compost will then be put into our worm farms and then finally onto our market gardens as high grade natural fertiliser.
Our aim is to show students the 'full circle' of the composting process being:
- Students eat fruit break and put scraps in the compost bin
- Compost bin contents go into tumblers
- Completed compost goes into worm farms to be enriched
- Natural high grade fertiliser goes onto market gardens
- Students grow fruit and vegetables
- Students sample foods when completed
- Those food scraps go into compost bins and so on and so forth.
Thank you all for your continued support on EAC's sustainability program.
BOOMING BAKE SALE
This week the Sustainability Action Group teamed up with the Student Representative Council to hold a bake sale to raise funds for more compost bins, compost tumblers and worm farms. The sale was a hit and featured home made and home grown produce.
HERE TO HELP
STAY SAFE ONLINE
Welcome to our new column from our Guidance Counsellor designed to give Parents and Carers insights, tips and support.
Could your teenager be 1 in 5 across Australia who report being harassed online... after school hours ?
What – that much! What advice should I be aware of? What can I do to protect and assist my teenager to interact safely ?
Yes, online bullying can have a devastating impact upon young people whose online life is a key part of their identity. Our concern is that this intimidation and harassment it is taking many forms including:
- Sending abusive messages
- Sharing hurtful images or videos
- Perpetuating nasty online gossip
- Encouraging peers to exclude or harass other classmates
- Creating fake accounts in someone’s name to trick them and their peers
- Viewing online content such as sexting (sharing of intimate images).
This issue is becoming one of those essential 'so hard-to-have' conversations – how to deal with online content that makes them uncomfortable or puts them at risk.
www.esafety.gov.au/parents has a range of information and resources available to parents and carers looking to keep their children safe online including webinars, fact sheets and scripts to help initiate constructive conversations.
If you need specific support for your child, please contact your child's class teacher in Primary, or Pastoral Care Teacher or Leader of House in Secondary.
We are always glad to assist as we care for your children too.
John Noble
Guidance Counsellor
Early Learning Centre Corner
WE BELONG TOGETHER
The children are all now well settled into the ELC for 2023. Now that the logistics of learning new routines are sorted, new friendships are blossoming and established connections are strengthening. Coming to the fore now is seeing the children develop their sense of belonging as the ELC and our Early Learning Educators become more trusted and familiar.
There has also been lots of imaginary play of late with mechanic shops, hospitals and grocery stores opening left, right and centre!
With regards to bookings, our ELC is now fully enrolled. If you would like to change or add days to your schedule, please let us know with as much notice as possible so we can do our best to accommodate. Please email enrolments@eac.nsw.edu.au with your queries.
Ms Nicole Wilson
Director of the Early Learning Centre
WELCOME TO MISS SARAH
We're thrilled to announce that Sarah Powell has been appointed as our Early Childhood Teacher in the Dolphin Room and will be starting on Monday 6 March 2023. Miss Sarah is an experienced Early Childhood professional and we are looking forward to having her as part of our team.
Here's a 'hello' from Miss Sarah...
Hi, my name is Sarah and I am an Early Childhood Teacher. I'm excited to start work next week in the Dolphins Room. I have worked in the Early Childhood Educator Sector for over 10 years and am passionate about children’s development and learning. I believe in the importance of learning through play and the many skills that can be ascertained through a well set up learning environment and through scaffolding. I am looking forward to being a part of your child’s learning journey.
Primary Pulse
COLOUR RUN COMING UP
This week you will have received information about the Colour Run. This year’s Colour Run will be held on the last day of Term 1, Thursday 6 April. Not only is it an afternoon of great fun and laughter for the students, it is also the major fundraising initiative for our Friends of EAC who work hard to raise funds for projects across the College. This year, all monies raised from the Colour Run will be put toward three exciting initiatives in the Primary School.
This first initiative is supplying all classrooms across the primary school with coloured sorting bins to help sort our rubbish and reclaim all that can be upcycled into compost. Mr James Pearson has been busy restocking our worm farms with Year 3 students collecting food scraps from across the school each afternoon to feed the worms. From there, the scraps will be composted and put back into our Primary School garden beds to help our food crops grow. Crops will then be harvested, meals prepared by the students with the scraps composted to ensure the cycle continues. The purchase of the sorting bins will help our Primary School to become more sustainable and ensure that our students make informed choices when dealing with waste.
Our second initiative is the installation of an outdoor learning space, The EAC Mini Village, situated near the Kindergarten and Year 1 classrooms. Our vision is to build an inspiring space where class projects can come to life in an interactive space that sparks ideas and creativity. The Mini Village will provide rich learning experiences for all of our Primary students, especially our younger students as they learn through play.
The third initiative is to purchase choir risers for use across the College for our students to perform at assemblies and concert nights. We look forward to letting everyone shine in the spotlight!
As a result of our incredible fundraising efforts in 2022, this year’s Colour Run 'The Big Show' will feature giant inflatables for the students to run through and we look forward to families joining us for an afternoon of fun. To fundraise, simply follow the links to the school fundraising site and set up your child’s profile.
Mr Wayne Cross
Director of the Primary School
EASTER BONNET, BOOT OR BELT PARADE
This year we are holding an Easter Bonnet, Boot or Belt Parade for our Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2 students. The event will be held on Wednesday 5 April at 9am in The Lindsay Walker Centre. Children can chose if they wish to create an Easter bonnet, decorate a belt or a pair of boots. Get crafting at home and we look forward to a morning of fun and festivities in The Lindsay Walker Centre. Parents and Carers will be warmly welcomed to attend the event.
Secondary Scoop
HOUSE BREAKFASTS A BOOM
This week each House hosted their Secondary House Breakfast. It was a great opportunity for the House Pastoral Team to connect with parents, carers and students. It was also wonderful that Howard Brockington and Lindsay Walker could attend their House Breakfasts as House Patrons.
Thank you to all the students within each House who helped with the cooking, serving and cleaning and to our College Captains Lara Atkinson and Nkosi Malaba who attended each of the Breakfasts. The senior students of the College have demonstrated their leadership skills and the importance of school service.
Ms Amanda Middleton
Director of the Secondary School
STUDENTS SNAP AT CURRUMBIN
Last week Year 9 and 11 Photography students put their new camera skills to the test as they ventured to Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. Some of our models moved quickly, such as the Australian tern who made our jobs very hard. Others remained statue-still for the camera, the red panda sleeping soundly through his entire photo shoot. Our photographers were tested by the changing light and dynamic subject matter, providing the opportunity to put theory into practice. It was a delightful day and we always come back from these experiences feeling inspired and excited about our art!
Thanks to Ms Penny Galletly-Salisbury for organising this opportunity for our emerging photographers and to Ms Louise Charters who was of immense help to students on the day with her skill, knowledge and passion.
Ms Jessica Raguse
SRC LUNCHTIME FUTSAL COMPETITION
This week we started our first lunchtime Futsal Competition. It was great to see the number of students interested in participating and the spirit for each of the teams when playing.
YEAR 6 WELLBEING DOES WONDERS
Our Year 9 Wellbeing students are learning the invaluable life skill that acts of service not only bring comfort and cheer to others, but can also contribute to our own happiness and contentment.
This week students prepared meals for the Five Loaves, Ballina's mobile soup kitchen. Five Loaves provides meals to the needy in our community on Tuesday and Thursday evenings in front of the Ballina ADRA Op Shop. It commenced serving three clients in 2016 and now provides around 30 meals twice weekly, as well as distributing surplus food collected from supermarkets, fresh food markets and other stores.
HANDY INFO AT YOUR FINGERTIPS
www.eac.nsw.edu.au is a fantastic resource for both parents and students.
Check out the Forms and Documents page which is full of handy documents.
As well, we have Primary Curriculum and Secondary Curriculum pages that are home to Year level specific Handbooks and Assessment Calendars, in depth presentations on assessments procedures and great tips on success strategies.
UNIFORM BLITZ
Now that we have settled well into the swing of things for 2023, the College is ensuring our students present themselves in keeping with our EAC Uniform policy. For easy reference to our uniform standards, please visit our website HERE.
The Friends of EAC Second Hand Uniform Shop is open most Tuesdays during term time from 2.30pm to 3.30pm.
For new uniform purchases, School Locker has good stock available and is open Monday to Saturday or 24/7 online HERE.
SWIMMING SKILLS FOR BUDDING MARINE SCIENTISTS
This week our Marine Studies students polished up their swimming skills to get field work ready. These potential marine scientists are having a whale of a time!
Northern Rivers News
