‘’Happy the peacemakers; they shall be called the sons and daughters of God’ Matthew 5:9
From The Principal
There is only one week left to buy tickets and have your chance to win a brand new Toyota Corolla! The raffle will be drawn at a special assembly on Friday 28 September. All sold or unsold tickets and all monies collected must be returned to the College by 4.00pm on Wednesday 26 September (next Wednesday). Please get involved and support the construction of our Multi Purpose Centre!
We had planned to sell tickets at the Ballina Cup Day but as it was cancelled we have a number of books still to be sold. There is a great Booksellers Prize so please consider taking an extra book and have shot at securing that prize.
The 2018 National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) results have been released to schools and I am delighted to write that EAC’s results are nothing short of excellent. As part of the NAPLAN program, students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 undertake tests in Reading, Writing, Spelling, Grammar and Numeracy. In all five domains across each of the four year groups, our students were above national average. The entire Emmanuel Anglican College community can be extremely proud of this outstanding outcome.
Within the detail, there are many wonderful individual and group achievements. The College was one of the schools chosen to undertake NAPLAN Online this year and pilot the national rollout of the online testing. Despite the additional challenges of a new format, our students performed incredibly well, a sign of their capacity to embrace new ways of learning and manage the demands of communicating electronically.
Across the four year groups, the students also demonstrated significant growth in their numeracy skills in the two years since their last attempt at NAPLAN. The students in Year 9 will also be very pleased of their results demonstrating significant growth across all five test domains.
The College will now set about reviewing the performance of all students and identifying ways to respond to the key messages contained within its detail for teaching and learning. While the data is significant, detailed and allows comparison to state and national trends, it is worth remembering that this is one of many assessment tasks that students will undertake this year and that it is providing a snapshot of student learning at a specific point in time.
Recently, we have received results from NAPLAN, the Australian Mathematics Competition, ICAS English and Mathematics as well as the numerous internal assessment tasks that students undertake. In isolation each of these results tell a small part of the story of each student. Their greatest worth, however, is found in gathering all this information together to help create a profile of each learner that can shape what teachers do in providing meaningful experiences for students in their class. Given the high quality of all our results in external testing, I wish to congratulate to all our students for their ongoing commitment to their own learning as well as the great efforts of our teaching staff.
I am very sad to announce the Mrs Eva Brown has informed me of her intention to leave EAC early next term. Eva is going to take a break from teaching and explore other avenues for her to put her many talents to use. She will travel for the remainder of the year and then undertake full time university study in 2019. Eva is an outstanding educator who has made many significant contributions to student learning, particularly in the fields of Drama and English. Her HSC results in Drama over many years, highlight her amazing capacity to engage students and draw the very best out of them. We have been greatly blessed by her presence in the College community and certainly wish her every success and she steps out in a new direction in 2019.
A reminder to all families that our end of term Whole College Chapel Service will take place next week on Thursday 27 September commencing at 9.00am. Please join us at St Mary’s Anglican to celebrate the Graduation of the Class of 2018. I also ask that you keep Year 11 in your thoughts and prayers this week as they participate in their Year 11 Leadership Retreat and prepare to select the Students Leadership Team to lead the student body over the next 12 months.
Mr Robert Tobias
Principal
Off the Deputy's Desk
The service of others is a wonderful thing. For many of our students, finding the means to serve can be a challenge due to a lack of availability, geographical factors or transport concerns. There is much growth,however, for those who do undertake community service inside the school and in the wider community. Last week our Secondary student collection of non-perishable item donations for farmers concluded. Our boxes were packed and collected by another volunteer who was taking them to another volunteer group who were going to sort and pack. Then another volunteer was carrying them out west for us. As you can see, all these volunteers working together to assist others.
Last Thursday night, our SRC members volunteered their time to run the Secondary Social which also raised funds for drought relief. The left over sausages and drinks will be sold this Thursday lunchtime with all funds going to drought relief. These students who have volunteered their time are appreciated by me and the rest of the students. Giving time is the best form of volunteerism. I encourage each of our students to find the time to help others or give time to serve in their community.
On the subject of service, I would like to congratulate Emily Wiltshire in Year 12 on her achievement of a Gold Award for Service through the College’s Lighthouse service learning program. Emily serves within and without the College community and has given over 215 hours of her time across sporting, service, cultural and hospitality fields. This is great to see and her efforts are to be commended.
Last week I wrote about ways to future proof your teenagers. This week I will share 3 tips to future proof your children’s mental health. These are as follows:
- Engage don’t scroll-Social media offers huge positives as well as potential dangers. Don’t demonise everything. Research shows that what matters is how young people use social media. If they engage they will be more grounded in reality. Active or passive is the key marker of healthy social media use.
- Eat meals together-Preserve a space where family members are together as a norm so-if they choose-teens can open up about difficulties and mental health problems or bullying. Mealtimes, without phones, is a great space for that.
- Be wary of addiction-Social media addiction is a term frequently bandied about, but be careful. Addiction is not ‘I like it a lot’, it is a persistent dependency on something that is harmful. The tools to control social media are in your grasp. Seize them with apps such as Forest or, for Facebook News Feed Eradicator.
Our College’s NAPLAN results will be released shortly and by all accounts our students have acquitted themselves well. It is important to remembrt that the results are part of the total package of education and a very narrow means by which schools should be judged. We will, in due course, be engaging in some analysis of the data to assist us in planning our teaching and learning programs across the College.
Mr Darren Parks
Deputy Principal
Monday 24 September
Year 12 Retreat-Evans Head
Tuesday 25 September
Year 12 Retreat-Evans Head
NSW CIS Secondary Athletics
Year 8 Community Outreach
Basketball Trials
Wednesday 26 September
Basketball Trials
Primary Sport Dance Display
Year 12 Farewell Breakfast for staff
Thursday 27 September
Basketball Trials
Year 12 Graduation Service-St Mary’s Anglican Church, Ballina-9.00 am
Year 12 conclude
Friday 28 September
Term 3 concludes
Term 4 Week 1
Monday 15 October
Term 4 Commences
Primary Intensive Swimming Program-All week-Years K, 1, 5, 6 at Alstonville Pool
Sports update
NSW CIS Primary Athletics
Congratulations to the following students who attended the NSW CIS Primary Athletics Championships in Sydney last Thursday. Kelly Campbell, Zoe Campbell, Sam Carrigg, Wilson Carroll-Burgess, Ava Delaney, Henry Drew, Ethan Grier, Takiyah James, Hayden Kelvin, Cooper Lamb, Coco Paola, Ava Scotcher, William Shepherd, Katie Smith, Mahli Smith, Sarah Vanem, Zali Wallace & Jack Whitaker.This year was EAC's strongest performance as a team at NSW CIS with the following top 10 finishes.
Jack Whitaker High Jump (1st), Long Jump (6th)
Katie Smith 100 m (10th) , 200 m (5th), 800 m (9th), High Jump (8th), Long Jump (9th)
Ava Scotcher 200 m (6th)
Coco Paola High Jump (5th), Discus (8th)
Henry Drew 100 m (10th)
Cooper Lamb 100 m (10th), 200 m (10th)
Kelly Campbell High Jump (6th)
Hayden Kelvin Long Jump (7th)
Senior Boys Relay: Kelly Cambpell, Mahli Smith, Jack Whitaker, Cooper Lamb (8th)
Special mention to Katie Smith who competed in 7 events in one day and performed well in each one with some great improvements in her personal best times. Sarah Vanem was just outside the top 10 finishing 11th but less than 1 second behind first. Well done to everyone who represented EAC and NCIS. To have this number of students finishing so highly in this event from a small regional school is very impressive.
I would like to thank our Athletics Coach Mr Greg Potts for his work with our students again this year. His expert coaching is one of the major reasons our team has improved so much over the past three years. Thank you also to our teachers who have assisted with athletics coaching this year Mr McCotter, Miss Guest, Mrs Kelvin, Mr Kelly, Mrs Sculley and Mr Malaba.
Duke of Edinburgh's Award Adventurous Journey
Last weekend saw our Duke of Ed students undertake their Qualifying Adventurous Journey.. We had two separate groups operating, the Bronze group of Year 9 students and the Silver group with year 10, 11 and 12 students.
The Bronze group of 23 students completed a two day hike along the coast from Minne Waters to Red Rock with an overnight stay at Wooli.. This walk was the second half of the Yuraygir Coastal Walk The group departed from College early on Friday morning for the journey to Minnie Waters. From Minne they hiked along beaches, headlands forests to reach their first night camp site at Wooli.
The second day started with one of three river crossings for the day at the Wooli River. Once all safely across the river the group met the most difficult and isolated section of the walk with a morning of rock platforms and steep rocky headlands to cross. The students did a great job in their teams getting through safely.
The next challenge was a wade through the Pebbly Beach creek carrying their packs overhead. Then a beautiful walk along the beach all the way to Red Rock. One last river crossing by boat and they were at the final destination Red Rock. The students who completed the walk should be very proud of themselves , all up hiking close to 80 km over 4 days. Thank you to Mr Jukes, Mr Pryor and Mrs Sculley for taking the students on the trip.
The Silver Group of 24 students completed a three day canoe paddle in the Clarence River. Students took all their camping gear, food etc with them in their canoes and camped out along the river overnight. The trip started at Copmanhurst and ended at Carrs Peninsular Rd Boat Ramp near Grafton. The weather conditions were good for paddling and camping but at times strong winds and tides made conditions challenging. The students canoeing skills had improved significantly from their first trip in May which was fantastic to see..
Thank you to Mrs Payne and Mrs Regan who came with me to lead the students on the trip. Thank you also to Mr Ian Hale and his team from Scouts NSW who facilitated the trip for us, they were fantastic to work with bringing their years of experience and expertise to our trip.
As part of the Duke of Ed program the students have also been completing weekly Community Service, Physical Activity and Skills Development. The Duke of Ed Program will continue in 2019. The current Bronze group will move on to the Silver Award. Silver students will mover to Gold. And a new group will commence their Bronze Award. New participants who are in year 9 and above will also be invited into the program for 2019.
Sports and Coaching Coordinator
Early Learning Centre News
Three, four and five year old children love to do real and meaningful tasks as part of their learning about the world in which they live. Washing dishes, washing clothes, sorting washing, vacuuming the floor, digging in the garden, preparing and cooking meals. This is play as work and work as play. Here, Willow and Georgia have washed our dolls clothes and are now hanging them to dry on the line. Both children focus and concentrate on this task as their small and chubby little hands wash each article of clothing and their fingers manipulate the pegs into place. We encourage families with young children to support this enthusiasm by offering such tasks around the home. Take the time to demonstrate how you would like the task completed and praise the efforts made.
Natasha Livock
Early Learning Centre Coordinator
Nihongo NEWS
Two weeks ago I had two Japanese exchange students stay at my house, Natsumi and Ayaka. While they were at my house we played many games such as Uno or games from their country, all of which I enjoyed. When Natsumi and Ayaka came they gave my family many beautiful gifts. I enjoyed making origami with them and over the week I learnt many things about Japanese culture.
WORD OF THE WEEK
Primary News
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.
This fortnights three deserving winners are: Zia, Darcy and Reeve
Merilyn Mule' Paul Christensen
K-2 Welfare Leader 3-6 Welfare Leader
Performance of "Boy"
K-2 students and teachers enjoyed the adapted performance of Boy – a tale of power and deception, written by Phil Cummings and illustrated by Shane Devries. The performance was a musical production including original songs and puppetry.
Boy is about a war between the King and the dragon, which is tearing the land apart. Boy runs into the middle of a fight. With a simple question, he makes them wonder why they are fighting, and helps them see how they could be much happier.
Merilyn Mule
Welfare Leader K-2
and Learning Support Teacher
Talent Quest
Teal, Felicity, Ellen, Emmie and Maya from Year 5 approached our Student Representative Council for their support in organising a Talent Quest for students to showcase their special talent. We would like to congratulate these girls on their idea and organisation for the event.
Last week students in years 3-6 participated in their Talent Quest, showcasing various talents such as; musical instruments, dancing, singing, drama, magic and roller blade skills. The level of talent demonstrated made it very difficult for our three judges!
We would like to congratulate all students who participated and further congratulate our three finalists being; 1st place Kade on drums, 2nd place Annie who sang a song and 3rd place Alexander on the keyboard.
Kade earned 100 points for Percival, Annie earned 50 points for Brockington and Alexander earned 30 points for Smith.
Next week K-2 students will participate in their Talent Quest and winners will be announced at the first Primary Assembly in Term 4.
Merilyn Mule' Paul Christensen
K-2 Welfare Leader 3-6 Welfare Leader
Bronze Silver and Gold AWARDS
Friends of Emmanuel
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.
Canteen opens at 8.30am and the Menu is available here:
SUSHI: 23 October, 6 & 20 November &
NOODLE BOX DATES: 30 October, 13 & 27 November
SUBWAY DATE: 4 December
Subway – Tuesday 25 September
Subway will be available from the canteen next Tuesday, 25 September. If you would like to order Subway 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, 24 September . Order forms will be sent home but are also available at the canteen, office or online.
***Lunch orders will be collected at chapel, NO late orders will be accepted.
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
Vacation Care
Community News
