“Do you know what I REALLY miss?” a Year 11 student asked me the other day. “I miss precedented times!” I laughed, but can certainly understand her feelings. Entering a snap lockdown with very little warning or planning time has not been easy. This year of COVID, with its ever-changing rules and regulations, has felt at times like the wind blowing up an unpredictable storm and changing direction without warning.
As a Christian, the one thing that has remained constant throughout these “unprecedented” times (do you dislike that word as much as I do?) is the fact that I know my God has not changed. He is the same today as He was yesterday and will be tomorrow. The Bible tells us of His love for us.
‘The mountains may shift, and the hills may be shaken, but my faithful love won’t shift from you, and my covenant of peace won’t be shaken,’ says the Lord, the one who pities you.’ — Isaiah 54:10
The good news from this text is that no matter how the world changes around us, He is always there, guiding us through it all. This gives me great confidence. We also know that God has promised to return to the earth to save His people. Perhaps the most well known Bible text, John 3:16 states,
‘For God so loved the world, that he gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.’
I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait for Jesus to come back to this earth to save His people so we can have eternal life. Now that is an unprecedented event that I can get on board with.
All the best for the journey ahead, as together we shape the future.
– Ms Meggan James, Nunawading Christian College Principal
Over the last few weeks, I have noticed furniture and other household items piling up on the footpath in the suburb in which I live. In chatting to the locals, I have found out that this is hard rubbish pick up time. So it began… I endeavoured to clean up around my house. All was going well until…I looked into my study and realised my job had just quadrupled. Paperwork, books, other resources, external hard drives, suitcases and that exercise bike that I forgot I had…you know the one I’m talking about.
Even though I’m cleaning in summer, it makes me think of spring cleaning. For some reason when September comes we all get the urge to clean. We open windows to air the house out, clean gutters, sweep off alfresco areas and throw out that thing that has been sitting in the back corner of the fridge that kind of looks like it has a pulse. The spring clean is a time to bring renewal and freshness back into our homes after winter.
If we are honest with ourselves, our homes aren’t the only things that could use a spring clean. Throughout the year we find ourselves with more responsibilities at work, even more commitments at church, the unfinished projects at home that you started two years ago… All these different things added together weigh down our hearts like that cupboard you just shoved everything into as a kid.
There are many different reasons why we don’t say NO to these things that weigh us down. Things like pride and what other people may think of you if you do say no. Whether you have taken on so many commitments that your diary is overflowing or you can’t decide what commitments you can get rid of, the problem stays the same. All this mess, all this ‘stuff’ that is jumbled up and mixed together in our lives, it gets between us and Jesus.
2 Corinthians 4:6 writes that God wants to shine His light through us to everyone else. But when we try to add God’s goodness without letting go of other ‘stuff’ God’s light doesn’t get through all the business. It gets lost in all the clutter that is in our lives.
Here are some steps to help you give your life a bit of a spruce up.
1. Make a list of the areas in your life that you would like to clean up a bit.
Everyone will have a different looking list. Your list might include things like:
2. Make a list of things that you might need to get rid of.
We seem to be beings who hoard old habits because we are afraid of letting go of our past selves as then we won’t be fully in control of our future. Some things we may need to let go of:
3. Clean and Restock
Once you’ve pulled your life apart it is time to start cleaning and replacing the things that need to stay. This process can be a little overwhelming. But, God has given us some things to help us make the tough decisions on where to place things.
Each of our lives looks different, our lists won’t be the same and your list may take quite a while to get through, but the key to sticking with finishing your spring cleaning is to keep in communication with Jesus.
An Australian Open Special by Mr Larnelle Marsh
With the sight of a vibrant blue court juxtaposed with the deafening sound of silence, as racquet meets ball, we welcome in the 2021 Australian Open. Around this time of year, sports journalists begin asking the perpetual question of who might be in the running to win this year’s prized title. Another piece of silverware for the likes of Serena? Novak? Rafa? Before 2021, few avid tennis fanatics would have heard the name Aslan Karatsev. Who would have? Karatsev is a 27-year-old Russian tennis player who, before 2021, had never qualified for the first round of a grand slam event. Since 2013, Karatsev has been on the ATP men’s tour aiming to try to break into the world’s top tier events with limited success. For years, whether he played the game on grass or clay, Karatsev was unable to get over the line. This year’s Australian Open would mark the 10th major where the Russian has tried to qualify for the first round of a major. Faced with the prospect of failure and disappointment, Karatsev once again set his sights on his dream of qualifying for Round 1.
In the last year, we have all faced our fair share of defeat, distress and disappointment. As an NCC community, we have had our dreams and plans dashed as the effects of COVID continued to plague our vibrant college last year. Many times in the past 12 months our teaching staff, students and parent body have practised, again and again, one of our school’s PB4L values – Resilience. We recognise the difficulty of clinging to hope and remaining optimistic about the future despite the troubling situation we find ourselves in. However, we must remain defiant and utilise hope as a catalyst to combat the negative emotions that arise when defeat seems inevitable. It is with an attitude of fortitude that we establish a culture of success in the face of adversity. With the odds stacked against us, we continue to show up even if that be on a small square in a Google Meets class. When the odds are against us and we feel like we are at life’s breakpoint, remember to soldier on. There is hope and victory when we persevere.
Aslan Karatsev made his Grand Slam debut at the 2021 Australian Open after coming through qualifying. As it currently stands:
“I always believe if you’re stuck in a hole and maybe things aren’t going well, you will come out stronger. Everything in life is this way.” – Roger Federer
-Mr Larnelle Marsh, Secondary Teacher and Year 11 Mentor
Acknowledging that God is the source of all wisdom, we will abide in Him daily, seek His guidance in all our decisions and allow Him to work through us to establish a Kingdom Culture at NCC. – Staff Pledge Excerpt
As we face each new challenge, we know that through God’s strength, we will succeed. We will pray for a Kingdom Culture to be established in our school. We place ourselves in God’s hands for this year, knowing that He can do awesome things through us. -Student Pledge Excerpt
On Friday we again dedicated ourselves and our school to God for 2021. Our Primary Choir led us in singing the National Anthem. Primary students shared a special item to the worship song, ‘Way Maker’, declaring that our God is a miracle worker, promise keeper and light in the darkness. Pr Simon spoke on our 2021 theme of “Kingdom Culture”, defining this culture as doing the will of God in our lives, doing as Jesus did.
Staff and student leaders led our community in pledges and prayer, followed by a staff choir leading the worship song “Build Your Kingdom Here”.
After attending the program, the ELC children’s responses were, “I loved it!”, “I loved the singing!”, “Me too!”
While families were unable to join us this year due to COVID, we invite you to take the time to read the Parent Pledge, reflect and again dedicate yourself to God for 2021.
As parents, we understand that our children are a gift from God, and that He loves them even more than we do. We accept the privilege and responsibility of nurturing them and providing a stable and encouraging home environment to enable them to flourish.
We place our children in the care of the staff at Nunawading Christian College, knowing they are committed to sharing our responsibility. We offer the teachers our support and encouragement and will pray for them this year.
We humbly pray for the power of God, as we instil in our children the core values of Respect, Responsibility, Resilience and Integrity. We we want to work in harmony with the school’s purpose in nurturing young disciples for Jesus Christ. – Parent Pledge
The Student Leadership Team of Captains, Vice-Captains and Spiritual Captains gathered together over pizza, salad and ice cream last week to discuss their roles this year. Through games and conversations, the team learnt more about each other and the different roles there are across the Primary and Secondary campuses.
Before the fun and food, the Primary student leaders discussed qualities of a good leader and identified two personal strengths and an area they would like to improve in. Through this discussion and the various activities, it was evident that these student leaders have a variety of skills and qualities that complement each other, helping to make a strong, spiritual team.
Ms James set this challenge for our students this week. It’s not too late to get involved and to brighten someone’s day!
Our recent exploration of space has generated some valuable and insightful questions and knowledge from our Explorers. Using the “Floorbook” approach, the children were able to share what they knew about space and then use this knowledge to design their own space station inside the room.
“There are 8 planets.” – Yenuli
“The sun is hot and fiery.”– Theo
“Space is dark.”– Marquez
“The moon and the planets are in the sky. At night time we can’t see the sun.”– Audrey
“I can see the sun in the morning.” – Jordan
The children were able to brainstorm together to decide what we needed in our room to create a space station. Then we worked together to make this happen, giving the children ownership of their own learning and a sense of belonging in their ELC environment.
This year we have taken on a different approach to our planning which involves the children more.. It’s called the ‘floorbook’ approach. The name comes from the idea that we plan with the children on the floor in our group meetings. It encourages higher order thinking skills and helps children influence their own learning. In response, our room has come alive with an Ice Palace complete with pretend ice blocks, icy poles and ice creams. ‘Things that move’ have also been a huge interest. Balls, marbles and cars! (If anyone in the community has hot wheels tracks they could donate we would love to get hold of some more!)
Xīn nián kuài lè (Happy Lunar New Year!) In Mandarin classes last week, students practised their Chinese calligraphy and participated in cultural activities to celebrate the festive season.
‘Cat’ was the special spelling word of the week in Ms Austen’s Prep class, with ‘C’ being their focus phonics sound. They enjoyed a book about cats, then cut and coloured cat pictures to look like a wild cat of their choice.
Over the summer holidays, our OSHC program ran a Holiday Club, filled with exciting and fun activities.
There were art and craft activities, so that children could let their creative juices flow. There was a day of building paper rockets and learning about how rockets work. The final Friday of Holiday Club involved water activities, and since it was a very hot day, the cool water was very welcome. Other days saw the students playing basketball, being outdoors in nature, spending time on the playground and a movie afternoon to wrap up the last day of Holiday Club.
OSHC hosted two incursions, where students had the opportunity to learn some new skills. The first incursion saw students learning and practising new soccer skills. Most of the children who attended the program had never played soccer before and this was a great opportunity for them to learn a new sport.
The other incursion was a Hip Hop Dancing session. An instructor from Cube Sport came in for half of the morning and taught the children to dance. The children were taught rhythm and had a lot of fun trying out new dance moves.
At Holiday Club, we aim to provide children with an enjoyable experience. This gives parents the opportunity to continue with their busy schedules and still know that their children are looked after and are having fun.
We have officially launched our NCC Sports Excellence Program for 2021 and are thrilled to announce some new sporting initiatives that will be implemented this year in the Secondary school.
Strong Room
A new strong room has officially opened at NCC for students aged 15 and above. This will be run by Mr Selent on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings from 7:30-8:30am. In addition to being a trained PE teacher, Mr Selent is also a qualified personal trainer/fitness instructor having completed his Certificate III & IV in Fitness and worked in the fitness industry. Details of the Strong Room are listed below:
Staff: Mr Selent
Student Leaders: Lian & Joel
Days: Monday, Wednesday, Friday mornings.
Times: 7:30-8:30AM
Open to: Any NCC student over the age of 15.
Requirements to join: A strict induction program must be completed. Parental consent is needed. Age restrictions apply.
Cost: None
Volleyball Training
The NCC Senior Volleyball team has a number of tournaments scheduled throughout the year including ASV, Western Regional Tournament and the State Cup. Team training occurs on Wednesday afternoons. Senior Boys are coached by Mr Selent and Senior Girls are coached by Eunice Liu. Team members are strongly encouraged to attend all senior training sessions.
Days: Wednesday afternoons
Times: 3:30-4:50PM
Open to: Senior Volleyball team members.
Requirements to join: Open to Year 10-12 students. Students attend tryouts until final team lists are confirmed.
Cost: None
Open Gym
Open Gym is a time when any Secondary student can come and train in the morning on individual Volleyball, Basketball or Table Tennis skills. Following Open Gym from 8:30-8:45AM a simple breakfast will be provided to students who attended.
Days: Monday, Wednesday, Friday mornings.
Times: 7:30-8:30AM
Open to: All Secondary school students.
Requirements to join: None. Students may train in casual clothes but must have their correct uniform to change into prior to morning homeroom.
Cost: None
Basketball Academy
We are excited to launch our new co-curricular Nunawading Christian College Basketball Academy (NCCBA) in 2021. This is an optional after-school training program for interested NCC students who must try out and be selected into the Academy. Fees apply and extra opportunities in State and National Tournaments will be available for Academy members later in the year.
This will be run by Mr Kutschker and Mr Hutchinson. Mr Kutschker excels at working with players of all ages and abilities, adding his 25+ year physical educator background to his own VJBL U10-U16 experience. Mr Hutchinson currently competes on the NBL 3X3 Pro circuit and brings over 12 years of elite level basketball experience to our NCCBA program.
Staff: Mr Kutschker, Mr Hutchinson
Days: Thursday afternoons
Times: 3:45-4:45PM
Open to: Any Secondary student may try out.
Requirements to join: Tryout and selection process; previous basketball playing experience helpful.
Cost: $490 (includes all tuition, uniform and tournament fees).
Boxing Circuits
Get fit by learning some boxing exercises with Mr Njock. Our French teacher, Mr Njock is also a former Commonwealth Games boxer who has a keen interest in keeping fit and healthy. Mr Njock has kindly volunteered some mornings during Open Gym to run Boxing circuits where students are able to utilise NCC’s boxing mitts, pads and learn some boxing and fitness fundamentals.
Days: TBC. Students will be notified the week prior to sessions occurring.
Times: 7:30-8:30AM
Open to: All Secondary students.
Requirements to join: Parental consent is needed.
Cost: None
Cardio Club
Cardio Club is all about getting aerobically fit in a number of different ways, with the main aim being to give the cardiovascular system a good workout. This offers students the chance to commence and maintain a healthy and active lifestyle. Activities include medium to long distance running and fitness circuits.
Staff: Mr Stiles, Mr Hutchinson
Student Leaders: Sarah & Laura
Days: Fortnightly on Thursdays (Week 2 on the timetable).
Times: 7:30-8:15AM
Open to: All Secondary students.
Requirements to join: Parental consent is needed.
Cost: None
Ongoing participation in all Sports Excellence clubs is conditional on students demonstrating respect, responsibility and integrity in the gym, but also in their classes. This means students need to be punctual, in uniform for academic classes and must maintain their academic standards.
Staff running the program can be contacted on sports.excellence@ncc2.vic.edu.au if there are any questions.
We are excited about these initiatives as we know that there is a strong link between a healthy body and mind.
Last week we officially opened the NCC Strong Room! Thank you to our students who initially dreamt up this idea. Thank you also to our Physical Education department, for their commitment to promoting the physical and mental health of our students through this new space.
The Strong Room is now officially open to all Year 10-12 students, so don’t be surprised when you start seeing some extra muscles around campus.
Led by Mr Selent, the Strong Room will be open on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings from 7:30-8:30am. In addition to being a trained PE teacher, Mr Selent is also a qualified personal trainer/fitness instructor having completed his Certificate III & IV in Fitness and worked in the fitness industry. Details of the Strong Room are listed below:
Staff: Mr Selent
Student Leaders: Lian & Joel
Days: Monday, Wednesday, Friday mornings.
Times: 7:30-8:30AM
Open to: Any NCC student over the age of 15.
Requirements to join: A strict induction program must be completed. Parental consent is needed. Age restrictions apply.
Cost: None.
Last Thursday was a day of global celebration for the achievements of women in Science. Here at NCC, girls in Years 9 and 10 had the wonderful academic extension opportunity to participate in an online presentation and panel of six Australian women scientists from varying fields such as coding, immunology, pharmacology and animal conservation. The scientists shared about their careers and gave advice about how to survive and prosper in a traditionally male-dominated area.
Below is some of the advice that was shared, that is valuable for not just future scientists but girls in general:
INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC LESSONS AT NUNAWADING CHRISTIAN COLLEGE WITH MR RICHARD HUNT FOR 2021
Richard is offering music lessons at school, on the following instruments in 2021.
Guitar (Electric & Acoustic) – Drums – Modern Piano/Keyboard – Bass Guitar
Richard has been teaching at Edinburgh College and Waverley Christian College for a number of years and specialises in Guitar at VCE level and above.
For an application form, which gives costs and more details, please contact the School Office or direct to Richard by email at huntdeb@gmail.com or call 0412 821 684 outside of school hours.
Junior Advent Brass Band Lessons
An exciting new program was launched in 2013 at Nunawading Christian College and Edinburgh College for students in grades 3 onwards. We are delighted to be continuing this wonderful program in 2021!
Advent Brass Band Melbourne decided to sponsor a full-time music teacher at each of these schools. We are offering students the opportunity to have a free 30-minute music lesson each week. In order to receive these lessons for free, students must participate in the Junior Advent Brass Band, which has an hour-long rehearsal run each week of the school term. If you don’t want your child to participate in this band then there will be a $20 lesson fee. Beginner students are not required to play in the band until they reach the approved standard.
The rehearsals will be every Thursday evening during school terms from 6:30–7:30pm at 14A Metropolitan Ave, Nunawading.
The chance to play together in an ensemble is a terrific learning experience both musically and socially. Private music lessons can be quite costly, so this is a fantastic program for your child to be a part of.
Previously, the Junior Advent Brass Band has performed at the Advent Brass Breezes Down Broadway concert, the 90th Anniversary Concert of the senior band and at the Road To Bethlehem. All of which were a huge success!
You don’t need to have any prior music experience and you don’t even need to have an instrument. We have plenty to hire out for a nominal charge.
The instrument hire costs will be set at $80 per term. This is very good value as most instrument hire shops charge a minimum of $50 per month. This will cover the hire of the instrument, valve oil, music book hire and will also cover some damage. *
The instruments we have for your child to choose from are as follows:
If you are interested in your child joining the program this year, please email matthew@adventbrass.com.au
