Our guest writer this week is Mrs Kate Pincheira. As our dedicated Primary Art Teacher, she is sharing a life lesson she has drawn from her space on our campus.

All the best for the journey ahead, as together we shape the future.

– Ms Meggan James, Nunawading Christian College Principal

Not one person has the same fingerprint. Each one is different. Those tiny detailed loops are different on each of us… even identical twins. This is just a small part of our uniqueness. Our genetics and our environment add to our unique skills and life story. While they are all different, our skills don’t vary in value from person to person. Our own uniqueness has the potential to complement and support the uniqueness of others.

Likewise, God’s purpose for each of us is especially unique and valuable.

In the Art room, students are given ideas and shown how to use materials, but the outcomes are all likewise ‘unique.’

For example, recently the Year 1 artists drew flowers with black textas, then coloured them with water colours. They were encouraged to borrow ideas from examples shown to them or make up their own flowers. Each final piece was different; various sizes, patterns, ideas and colours. As their teacher, I love each one of their designs. I am not looking to see who can create the ‘best’ artwork, I am looking to see if they are able to follow the steps in a process and then show their own ideas visually.  

This gives me a little glimpse into how God feels about us. I believe that God is always giving us opportunities to follow His steps in the processes of life and show our ideas of what this looks like. God is not looking to see who is doing the ‘best’ version, He loves each version and each attempt to follow His steps.

On behalf of the school community, we would like to officially thank Tiana Song for her work as Home & School President last year. Tiana did a wonderful job to navigate through the demands of the role during COVID and we are thankful for all that she has done for our school. We wish her well in her work and studies this year. 

We would also like to welcome Suzi Nottas as our new Home & School President for 2021. Suzi has been an active member of our NCC community and is looking forward to leading out this year. She is keen to see as many parents involved as possible in the partnership between Home & School.

We look forward to her leadership and know that she has some exciting projects planned. The first Home & School Meeting will be held on Thursday March 18 in the evening. We are hoping that this first meeting can be held on the school grounds, but will need to wait until closer to the date to see what COVID restrictions are in place then. More details will be sent out soon.

This year, four school records were broken at the carnival. House chants were stronger than ever. We cheered on the Year 5 and 6 students as they competed for the first time at the carnival. In addition, a new staff member debuted in the staff relay. While we await the official announcement on the winning house, here’s a fun fact for you! This year’s winning house is also the most improved house based on last year’s points. 

We would like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to our Carnival Coordinator, Mrs Allen, for her dedication in organising these community building events.

Some of our Year 7 students shared their highlights from the day.

Seeing everyone swim and try their best and swim in a friendly and competitive way. – Mahin

I liked how the houses competed for the loudest chant. – Anom

Swimming with my friends and receiving a third place ribbon! – Seth

Seeing everyone compete. – Gai

Enjoying time with friends and getting my nails painted in house colours. – Zo Tuang

“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”  – Hebrews 12:1

Loooonnnggg school camp road trips on a coach with a TV screen used to be one of the highlights of school camps. We got to stay up late and watch movies until the early hours of the morning. One particular trip saw us somewhere between Jindabyne and Canberra when the movie started to play. It was the animated classic, Finding Nemo. So here we were in the middle of Alpine country watching a movie about fish. 

There is a moment where the all-important scuba mask slips down, down, down, into the dark gorge. Marlin, Nemo’s father, panics and goes after it, only to swim frantically back up out of the darkness. Dory, the crazy blue fish with a short term memory problem, frolics her way into that same blackness. A moment later, Dory comes back to encourage Marlin. “Hey, Mr Grumpy Gills,” she says, “When life gets you down, you know whatcha gotta do?” “No, I don’t want to know whatcha gotta do,” Marlin responds. “Just keep swimming! Just keep swimming! Just keep swimming!”

Not that I’m taking life lessons from a digitised blue fish, but Dory’s attitude reminded me what perseverance should look like. It’s not that taking a break is bad, but it is my attitude whilst I take that break. I had held onto an attitude of slogging away in my own strength and had quickly run out of energy. The key word in the sentence is my own. We need to look to the Lord for some supernatural help. There are times in life where I know what I need to do to keep pursuing what God has called me to do, but I respond with “I don’t want to know whatcha gotta do.” Wallowing in my exhaustion seems so much easier.

I was listening to a podcast and it reminded me that, “when life gets you down” and you’re exhausted, God’s faithfulness has the opportunity to shine through. When we reach the tipping point, it is the beginning of grace made evident in my life, providing the strength to “keep swimming” even though I’m exhausted. And God gets the praise because I know that strength is no longer something in me. His mercies are “new every morning” (Lamentations 3:23) and enough to keep me moving in the direction that He encourages me to go. My responsibilities are just one more way to bring me to my knees and let the Lord refresh me with His grace. After that, I can keep going in His mercy, and even sing while I’m at it. His faithfulness never ends.

The Bible is full of reminders of God’s faithfulness to believers, and the stories all end with God being glorified for their reliance on Him. In the end, it’s when we are weak that He makes us strong (2 Corinthians 12:10). Just keep swimming!

In this newsletter, we introduce you to one of our Explorers Room Educators – Mrs Nadine. 

Thank you, Nadine, for everything that you do to make the ELC a great place to be for students, parents and your fellow Educators. 

What is your role in the ELC?

2IC (Second In Charge) Educator in the Explorers Room.

How long have you been working here?

I started in March 2019.

What do you love most about your job?

Naturally, the children. I also love the team that I work with and being able to share experiences with them.

When you were in Kinder, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A professional dancer. My first job when I left school was for the National Australia Bank. I did everything from lost cards to ATM support.

Who do you live with?

My husband, Jon, and my children, Abbey, Luke and Tom.

What is your favourite thing to do when you are not at work?

Sleep. 

If you could travel anywhere in the world where would it be?

Back to New York.

What is your favourite children’s book?

Oohhhh, tough decision. ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’, ‘Going on a Bear Hunt’, ‘The Gruffalo’….too many to mention!

If you could eat anything for dinner what would it be?

Thai food.

Why is your faith so important to you?

My faith gives me comfort in knowing that God will always have my back, that He is there during good times and bad. My faith gives me strength.

What do you want the children to know about God during their year as Explorers?

That they can trust in God and that He will always be there for them.

‘Mystery Bags’ have been a highlight this past fortnight.  We have found when it’s the child’s turn to share, they have walked into the centre with excitement and anticipation for their special time. One of the tricky concepts for the children is trying to keep their item a secret from everyone! 

The idea of having a ‘’Mystery Bag’ is to promote each child’s communication skills and confidence in speaking in front of their peers. The audience participates by asking questions, learning to analyse the answers and listening to clues to try to guess what might be inside the bag. So far we have had many different vehicles, a stethoscope, an abacus, dolls, soft toys and a calculator. What fun!

On Monday our Year 3 and 4 students and teachers were excited to visit the animals at the Melbourne Zoo. In Integrated Studies, students have been learning about sustainability for humans, animals and the environment. They had a wonderful day visiting the wildlife at the Zoo and learning about breeding programs which aim to save many of our threatened and critically endangered species. In Genesis 1, God gave us dominion over the animals and every living thing, so in Year 3/4 we are exploring how we can do our part in caring for them.

Our Year 3/4 students enjoyed a financial literacy incursion with Start Smart, as a part of their Maths learning. Our students learnt about saving and spending their money. They used the ‘Tin-ternet’ to send money electronically and worked out which purchase of a scooter was the ‘best buy’, after they had learnt about EFTPOS and EFT banking. 

Soccer Clinics for our Prep to Year 2 students have run over the last two weeks during PE lessons. The Football Star Academy introduced our students to multiple skills needed to succeed in soccer, which were then put to the test in creative activities. It was great to see smiles on faces as our junior students tried new things and learnt valuable skills. Thank you to the team at Football Star Academy for the time you spent with our students, building them up to succeed and have fun. The opportunity to have an ‘expert in the field’ leading our students in their learning was very valuable.

In Chapel last week our Primary House Captains were introduced to the student body.

Jackson – Naomi and Aviraj

Landy – Marco and Mitchell

Fraser – Frank and Bella

We are looking forward to seeing these captains lead their houses in the Primary School in this first year of having our Primary and Secondary Houses combined.

Students in Year 5/6 have been busy putting the new iPads in the Music room to use. This term they are exploring musical form and composition. Students are working in pairs to create an instrumental piece in AABA form, using loops and instruments in GarageBand. Wonderful songs have already started to emerge and some students are even expanding their pieces with lyrics and vocal additions. They will showcase their work to their classmates at the end of the unit.

In other Music news, Primary choir is in full swing and would like the help of those students who are confident on the cello or violin. If you are interested in collaborating with us, please email Ms K at: monika.kapusi@ncc2.vic.edu.au. You will be emailed the sheet music to rehearse at home.

The Nunawading Christian College Basketball Academy (NCCBA) had their inaugural training session in Week 4. Prior to this session, students attended try-outs for their place in the Academy. A great mixture of girls and boys from Year 7 to 11, excited and passionate about the year ahead in the Academy, began the year challenging themselves in their shooting techniques. 

Their excitement may have been topped only by that of the Director of the Academy, Mr Martin Kutschker! Thank you to Mr Kutschker and Mr Hutchinson for their vision and passion for the NCCBA, which have already been driving forces to the Academy’s success. 

NCCBA is running every Thursday from 3:45PM to 4:45PM and will have much more to report on in the coming weeks, so stay tuned.

Are you a fan of Queen, fluoro colours or just food in general?

Our Year 11 students are putting on an 80s themed night to help raise money for Light of Hope, Cambodia!

COVID rules permitting, this event will be held on Saturday, 13 March from 8-10pm. All Secondary students are invited to attend.

There are prizes in a variety of dress-up categories, including best-dressed and most iconic musician, so start hunting for your best 80s fashion pieces. 

TIME: 8:00-10:00pm

COST: $4 entry

FOOD: There will be food and drinks for sale.

We hope to see you there!

‘Overcoming Obstacles’ was our theme for this week’s Challenge Day to Melbourne CBD. There was a morning session of Parkour at Southbank Promenade by the Yarra, followed by indoor rock climbing in the afternoon, three storeys above the CBD. These activities provided ideal kinaesthetic experiences in which to embed our rich discussions on life, with all its ups and downs.

This week our Year 7 students and Year 11 Mentors creatively drew design ideas for the new 7/11 badges. The designs will be voted on by the Year 7 and 11 students and the winning design will be turned into badges for our 7/11 students in 2021 and beyond!

The Parents Website Webinar Series returns for 2021 in this free talk with Dr Zali Yager on how to promote positive body image for tweens and teens.

When: Wednesday 10 March 2021

Time: 8PM – 9PM

Access: Please register your interest here and a Zoom link will be sent to you closer to the webinar date.

This webinar will be recorded and made available here on The Parents’ Website soon after.

Click here for more information.