“If anyone wants to be a follower of mine let them take up their cross and follow me. For anyone who wants to save their life will lose it; but anyone who loses their life my sake will find it” Matthew 16: 24-25
From The Principal
The 20th Anniversary Dinner is shaping up to be an incredible evening and I strongly encourage anyone considering purchasing a ticket to do so very soon as we are rapidly approaching a sell out! A huge thank you to platinum sponsor, Morgan’s Financial Planning, for their generous support of the event. Please see the information later in the newsletter regarding all our wonderful sponsors and details about how to purchase tickets.
During the last month, I have had the delightful experience of interviewing many of the prospective enrolments for Kindergarten for 2019. Among the many reasons families say they would like their children to attend EAC there are two constant themes. The first is that the College has a great reputation as a very caring community where every child is known by name. The second is that the College is focused on providing quality teaching and learning opportunities for all the students in its care. It is a very humbling experience to hear such wonderful and supportive feedback and I certainly pass on my thanks to all our students, parents and staff who make EAC such a great place to learn and grow.
Last Friday, students planning to join Kindergarten in 2019 attended the first of three Kindergarten Experience Days as part of the transition program. It was a much anticipated day with the excitment building for our future Kindy students for several weeks. The day was a great success as the students had an opportunity to meet the Kindy teachers, make some new friends, engage in some fun activities and familiarise themselves with the Kindy classroom and its surrounds. Thank you very much to Mrs Roxanne Kent and Ms Jody Baker who coordinated the day. Special thanks to the ELC staff who supported the students and play a significant role in helping make the transition as smooth as possible for all involved.
Good luck to our Stage 5 Debating Team who head to Newcastle later this week to compete in the regional final series of the HICES NSW competition. We also wish all our of elite Cross Country runners well as they head to Sydney to represent NCIS at the CIS Championships.
Congratulation to Kalani Franklin who was a member of the Primary Boys CIS hockey Squad that competed in the NSW Championships last week. Kalani’s contribution to his squad was outstanding and he was named the Player of the Tournament. His wonderful form also earned him selection in the NSW Primary School Boys Team to compete in the Australian Championships later in the year.
Once again, I invite families to consider joining our Home Stay network and hosting an overseas student(s) for one to two weeks in late July and early August. We have visitors coming from both Japan and China. All home stay families are paid approximately $40 a night for hosting. EAC has quickly developed a great reputation as a very welcoming and friendly place to visit. One of the most pleasing aspects of the Home Stay program has been the genuine friendships that has developed between families and the students they host. We are now seeing students and families from EAC travelling to Japan to visit their friends who they have met through the program. For more information please contact Mrs Kate Jenkins at the College Office.
Mr Robert Tobias
Principal
Off the deputy's desk
The long weekend no doubt gave many of our students and families a chance to rest and hopefully have some needed down time. We are now well and truly in the second half of the term and many of our students are no doubt feeling somewhat tired from the busyness of school life. It is important for our students to finish the term strongly and make the most of every opportunity that they are offered. However, students also need to be discerning about not overcommitting and realising that it is better to be involved in a manageable amount of activities and commit to them properly rather than be attempting to bite off more than you can chew. It’s a fine line between wholehearted involvement in the life of a school and being a student who doesn’t contribute. The learning for our students is in finding the right amount of involvement so that other elements of their lives don’t suffer. In other words, it is wonderful to see our students involved and succeeding in so many aspects of their education but keep that balance in order to maintain overall wellbeing.
This semester I have been introducing our community to the Habits of Mind. Now that we are nearing the end of first semester I am coming to the end of my discussions regarding the habits.
The 16th and final Habit of Mind that I would like to introduce you to is that of remaining open to continuous learning. This means that we have to admit that we have so much more to learn! We have to have humility and pride when admitting we don’t know something; and need to resist complacency.
In a world that moves at warp speed, there is more to know today than ever before, and the challenge of knowing more and more in every succeeding day, week, month, and year ahead will only continue to expand exponentially. The quest for meaningful knowledge is critical and never ending.
Intelligent people are in a continuous learning mode. They are invigorated by the quest of lifelong learning. Their confidence, in combination with their inquisitiveness, allows them to constantly search for new and better ways. People with this Habit of Mind are always striving for improvement, growing, learning, and modifying and improving themselves. They seize problems, situations, tensions, conflicts, and circumstances as valuable opportunities to learn (Bateson, 2004).
Because of a curriculum employing fragmentation, competition, and reactiveness, students from an early age are trained to believe that deep learning means figuring out the truth rather than developing capabilities for effective and thoughtful action. They have been taught to value certainty rather than doubt, to give answers rather than to inquire, to know which choice is correct rather than to explore alternatives. Unfortunately, some adults are content with what they already believe and know. Their childlike curiosity has died. They exhibit little humility because they believe they are all knowing. They do not seek out or discover the wisdom of others. They do not know how or when to leverage a love of and lust for learning. As a result, they follow a path of little value and minimal opportunity.
Our wish is for creative students and people who are eager to learn. This Habit of Mind includes the humility of knowing that we don't know, which is the highest form of thinking we will ever learn. Paradoxically, unless we start off with humility, we will never get anywhere. As the first step, we must already have what eventually will be the crowning glory of all learning: to know—and to admit—that we don't know and to not be afraid to find out. (Costa, 2006)
Mr Darren Parks
Deputy Principal
Upcoming Events
Week 8
Monday 18 June
Athletics Training-Sprints and Throws
Whole College Photo
Tuesday 19 June
Secondary Assembly
Primary Chapel
Netball Trials-Primary
NSW CIS Touch Football
Athletics Training-Cross Country/Middle Distance
Wednesday 20 June
Netball Trials-Secondary
Thursday 21 June
Netball Trials-Secondary
Northern Rivers Engineering Challenge @ SCU
Friday 22 June
Athletics Training-Sprints and Jumps
SCU Robotics Workshop
Athletics Field Events
Week 9
Monday 25 June
Athletics Training-Sprints and Throws
Tuesday 26 June
Secondary Chapel
Primary Assembly
Athletics Training-Cross Country/Middle Distance
Netball Trials-Primary
Wednesday 27 June
Year 11 Reports Distributed
Netball Trials-Secondary
Thursday 28 June
Primary Athletics Championships
Friday 29 June
Secondary Athletics Championships
A reminder to all of our families that the Primary and Secondary Athletics Championships are normal school days. All students are expected to attend, support their houses and engage in friendly competition. Participation and effort are just as important as winning. Please support the College in our holistic education of your children by ensuring that they attend the relevant athletics carnival. These carnivals are not a day off or a chance for a sleep in rather a valuable part of the total fabric of College life.
Sports Update
Congratulations NSW Hockey Champion Kalani Franklin (Year 5)
NCIS AFL 9's Program
The College will soon be commencing our NCIS AFL 9’s Program. AFL 9’s is a new sport for NCIS this year. It is a fast-paced non-contact version of AFL with 9 players on the field at a time. The program will be open to boys from Year 5 to 12. There will be three divisions in the competition: (1) Primary year 5 & 6, (2) Secondary 15 & Under, (3) Secondary Open. Please find an outline of the program below. Students need to attend come and try / trials to be considered for selection.
NCIS AFL 9’s
Introductory Come and Try Sessions and Trials 2018 for Year 5 to 12 Boys
Thursday 21 June, Thursday 28 June and Thursday 5 July 7.15 am to 8.30 am
Team Training for selected students
Primary Thursday 26 July to Thursday 30 August 7.15 am to 8.30 am
Secondary Wednesday 25 July to 26 August 7.15 am to 8.30 am
NCIS AFL 9’s Championship
Thursday 5 September
Commitment
Training is compulsory for all team members. There will be one training sessions per week for all teams. Please consider carefully before committing to the program as students who do not attend training will be withdrawn from the team (except in the event of illness).
In the event of wet weather sessions may be postponed.
Please give permission to attend the AFL 9’s program on the parent lounge.
Coaching
We are fortunate this year to have AFL Coaches Mr Martin Rogers and Mr Tony Bazana coming on board to coach our teams. These coaches will be working with Mr Parks and Mr Pryor to deliver the program. We will also have Development Officers from AFL at our come and try/trials sessions to assist.
Mr Graham Walker
Sports and Coaching Administrator
kindy news
Kindergarten had a wonderful time visiting The Farm in Byron Bay for our Inquiry unit ‘Paddock to Plate’. Farmer Travis took us on a tour to show us some of the animals and plants they have. It was a great day.
“I quite liked the chickens especially when we got to try and break the egg!” Monique
“The best thing about The Farm was the sunflowers. I got four.” Jensen
"My favourite part of ‘The Farm’ was seeing the pigs. They were very cute. " Charlotte
"I liked picking the carrots. Then we got to eat them and they were yummy." Ben Moye
Primary News
Police Dog Visit
Kindergarten and Year 1 students enjoyed a visit from the Police Department who introduced us to their Police dogs. The students learnt about safety around animals and roles in our community. The dogs were Yogi the 4 month old German Shepherd, training to be a general purpose Police dog, Rufus the Labrador who is a drug detection dog and Ken the German Shepherd who is a general purpose dog. The students asked lots of questions about the dogs and how they keep us safe in the Community.
Ms Jody Baker Mrs Roxanne Kent Mrs Ellie Darnell
Kindergarten Teacher Kindergarten Teacher Year 1 Teacher
VALUES BARREL
Christ-Likeness, Integrity, Compassion, Commitment and Excellence
Students receive tokens for demonstrating our College values on the playground and in the classroom. Tokens are placed in our Values Barrel and three names are drawn out, acknowledging and rewarding positive behaviour on the playground.
This fortnights three deserving winners are: Noah, Eden and Kirsty.
Merilyn Mule' Paul Christensen
K-2 Welfare Leader 3-6 Welfare Leader
Rocky Creek Dam - Year 6 Excursion
The Whian Whian ranges were once filled with red cedar trees, breathing life into the rainforest. Today, many years later, the red cedar is long gone and Rocky Creek Dam is used to supply water to the Northern Rivers. It is an idyllic picnic spot and the location of our recent Year 6 excursion.
As we walked around the vast and beautiful dam, sunlight streamed through the lush green treetops above. Our guide, Tamlin, shared valuable pieces of history of this area with us. Before the dam was built, Rocky Creek and surrounding areas were a very spiritual place to the Bundjalung people. They lived and thrived in the rainforests of this area, a rainforest that once teemed with life. Our minds were filled with a myriad of facts. The Aboriginal people would use black bean seeds to make bread and they would poison fish from the bark of a tree. The water was shared by everyone. The Bundjalung people to this day ask that we care for the water and respect this land, just as they do.
We spread out topographical, aerial and cultural maps across picnic tables and Cindy, our geographical tool instructor, taught us essential skills to interpret maps. We used a compass and worked together to locate our position and identify key features of our surrounds.
Down by the rainforest near the dam we tested the water quality and used instruments such as a humidity tester, a soil thermometer and a LUX meter to test conditions inside the rainforest. We worked in small groups to collect and record our information. This was a great new experience.
To end the day we were asked to gather fallen leaves, twigs and stones to create a map of the rainforest and dam. We took photos and a video recording of our ‘nature maps’. This was a good culmination to what was an immensely enjoyable and educational day for all of us.
Rocky Creek Dam is not only a spiritually significant area but it also supplies water to all of us. It is everyone’s responsibility to care for the dam. We must treat it as the Bundjalung people did. When you visit Rocky Creek Dam, take with you only memories. Leave only your footprints.
Written by Asia Windeyer
Edited by Mrs Tina Cahill
BRONZE AWARD WINNERS
There have been lots of diligent students in Stage 2 and Stage 3 who have now achieved their Bronze Awards. Congratulations!
Mr Paul Christensen
Leader of Welfare - 3-6/Year 4 Teacher
PRIMARY ASSEMBLY
K-2 Welfare Leader
20th Anniversary Gala Dinner
Canteen
EAC Canteen operates 4 days a week: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday & Friday, with special lunches on Tuesdays, canteen is open on Tuesdays for general sales at LUNCH only.
Butter Chicken, Chicken Mornay Pie and Quiche - NO LONGER AVAILABLE
Banana Milk - NO LONGER AVAILABLE
Canteen opens at 8.30am and the Menu is available here:
Special Lunch Dates - Term 2
SUSHI: 19 June
NOODLE BOX: 26 June
SUBWAY: 3 July
Sushi – Tuesday 19 June
Sushi from IGA will be available from the canteen next Tuesday 2 May. If you would like to order Sushi for your child’s lunch next Tuesday please complete the order form then attach your order to a paper bag with your payment enclosed. This should then be put in the canteen basket on Monday morning, 18 June.
Order forms will be sent home but are also available at the canteen, office or online.
Help required in Term 2:
June: 18, 20, 25
July: 2
If you have not heard from the canteen coordinator within 24 hours please contact her via text or email chall@eac.nsw.edu.au
PRIMARY LUNCH ORDERS
Please place the money in a paper bag of sufficient size to fit all of the lunch items. If you are ordering a drink with your child’s lunch please provide two (2) bags. Please remind your child to place their lunch/recess bag in the class tub NOT directly to the canteen.
PLEASE DO NOT STAPLE / TAPE BAGS CLOSED, FOLDED IN 4 APPEARS TO WORK WELL
BAG 1: Name, Class, Teacher, Lunch Order (John Smith, 5A, Mr Falvey, 1 Junior Pie)
BAG 2: Name, Class, Drink/Cold Order (John Smith, 5A, Mr Falvey, 1 Orange Juice)
Any change required will be placed in the bag for return with the child’s lunch order.
Christine Hall
Canteen Supervisor
0414 811 668
Can you help in the canteen?
