Nunawading Christian College Newsletter, March 18 2020

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Welcome back to Term 4! After such a long time of online learning, our campus is now full of joyful laughter and the sounds of engaged learning. For some of our students, online learning has been in place for 90 days (18 weeks) and of course our Year 8-10 students are still learning remotely.

It has been wonderful to see many members of our NCC community come back together again. This sense of belonging and community is an important one. During lockdown, I have observed how people are taking the time to connect with people they haven’t known before. Local community social media sites have grown in volume as people seek online interactions with others. A daily walk around the park reveals joggers and dog walkers stopping to say ‘hello’. Neighbours are suddenly talking over the fence. Teddy bears have appeared on door stops, so children can go on treasure hunts. Spoonville and cutlery-ville communities have sprung up all over parks. Signs have popped up in windows with encouraging messages. It appears that as the world has struggled with increased isolation, people have sought to belong somewhere. People seek community.

We are so fortunate to have a school community and I want to publicly thank you all for making this school the place that it is. I want to thank parents for their support, encouragement and patience. Your thoughtful emails, cards, prayers and gifts mean more than you will ever know. I want to thank students for their resilience, flexibility and endurance during what has been a tough time. I want to thank our teachers for their excellent teaching and for adapting to a whole new way of education in very little time. I want to thank our support staff for their untiring dedication, positivity and support. I want to thank our wonderful bus drivers who have delivered care packages and learning packs to our families. Above all, I want to thank God for He has led us through three terms of school and He will continue to lead as we go forward.

“Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.” – Hebrews 10:24-25

– Ms Meggan James, Nunawading Christian College Principal

I grew up in a family of ‘Revheads’ so naturally, I became a Revhead myself. I am a Ford fan, always have been and always will be. In October every year, there is a major event in the motor racing industry and that is arguably the best race in the world, the Supercheap Bathurst 1000. This is the event, the pinnacle of Australian Motor Racing. Over the years this particular event has had it all from kangaroos on the track, rocks appearing on the track and causing accidents, heated arguments between drivers and many different weather changes on any day. Over the years the racing has just gotten closer. In 2016 the winning margin was just 0:00.1434s – ridiculously close. Last year the margin was a massive 0.68 seconds. After racing 1000km, it’s amazing to have the race come down to that margin.

The teams that participate have many different people all doing their job to perfection. From the driver to the team owner, mechanics, medical personal, marketing staff and strategists. The guy that probably gets left out the most is the racing engineer. This is the guy that sits there and watches all the readouts about the car and how it is performing in the different track conditions. He coaches the driver in the best way to drive the car. He has to keep track of how many laps the car has done and he has to watch where the other teams have an advantage. This is a critical role to a team’s success.

If you think about our lives as a race that Jesus wants us to win (1 Corinthians 9:24-26), we are at our peak performance when we listen to Jesus and what He says. However, we don’t race alone. Just like the supercar drivers have their engineers keeping an eye on what’s happening around them and coaching them to make the best decisions to win the race, we have guidance from the Holy Spirit who keeps us connected to Jesus and keeps us heading towards our goal (Psalms 143:10).

The Holy Spirit is like a driver’s engineer in 3 ways:

Engineers provide a better perspective.

From their view, that isn’t distracted by the crowds, they are able to read the telemetry screens and are able to see the bigger picture. They offer a perspective that the drivers don’t see for themselves, because the engineers aren’t in the heat of battle.

Engineers warn and help drivers through the trouble.

Engineers help drivers race safely around the track and stay focused on the end result. They keep drivers aware of the changing track conditions and if there are upcoming accidents, delays or a change in the weather. Just as an engineer watches the driver’s blind spots and says when it’s safe to manoeuvre or pass, God instructs us through each difficulty we encounter. 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 says that the Holy Spirit helps us see that beyond our challenges now, there is something greater to look forward to.

Engineers may seem invisible to the driver, but they’re invaluable.

Drivers don’t see their engineers during the race, but they hear their voices guiding them on the track. Sometimes it’s hard to see God in the midst of our overwhelming situations, but He’s still with us. Like a driver trusts the engineer, we can trust the Holy Spirit leading us through each segment of our lives. We will make mistakes in our race, but God doesn’t give up on us. God cares more about our progress than perfection. That’s the reason He helps us – because we can’t win on our own!

It is safe to assume that most people have had some experience with disappointment this year. Things certainly have not turned out the way anyone expected, and with the sacrifices that have been made to keep everyone safe, come the feelings of loss, anger, fear, and a LOT of disappointment. With the staggered start to Term 4 and the realisation that not everything will be as was hoped, your child may be facing yet more disappointment – friends have changed, school is not the same and events have been cancelled.

A very insightful seven year old at NCC described disappointment as a little bit of sad, a little bit of hurt and a little bit of anger mixed together. This perfect description helps us understand why it is hard to see a child face disappointment, and why a parent would want to help their child get through the experience.

So how can you best help your child when they experience disappointment? There are a number of things you can do.

Embrace disappointment as a part of life

Before you can help your child, it is important to remember that disappointment is an inevitable part of life and that protecting a child from every uncomfortable feeling is not a parent’s role. The key here is to help your child get through their disappointment so that their resilience is strengthened. Attempting to eliminate disappointment immediately is not only unrealistic, it can result in a child having an inability to cope with any disappointment that comes along in future.

Validate your child’s feeling of disappointment

Let them know that you understand, you agree that it is a disappointing situation, that it is perfectly reasonable to be disappointed, and that being disappointed is a completely normal response.

Let them know that they are not alone

Tell your child that you are disappointed on their behalf. Share your example of a similar disappointment and tell them you get it, it hurts. Let them know of others who would understand how disappointing it must be for your child too.

Allow your child to feel and process their experience

Allow your child time to cry if that is their response. Allow them space if they want to withdraw and be alone for a while. Allow them to express their anger or frustration about the situation, and validate these expressions, “I know! It would have been so amazing! It really is so disappointing!”

Encourage your child to not give up

If your child has missed an opportunity or not done as well as they would have liked at something, after they have had time to sit with their feelings and process their situation, gently encourage your child not to give up. Share an experience where you or someone else had a setback but continued to try. Brainstorm different approaches where your child might have success using their strengths.

Guide your child into moving on

Help your child find enjoyable activities that take their mind off their disappointment. Once they have appeared to move on, it is helpful to reflect on how they had been disappointed, what helped them get through the situation and how time helped to ease their feelings. These conversations will prepare your child for future disappointment, as they will begin to learn that disappointment passes in time.

And finally, some things not to do:

Avoid statements such as, “Don’t be disappointed” or “You need to get over it”. Feelings cannot be easily switched on and off and there is no shame in feeling let down. A child is likely to stop coming to a parent to talk about their problems if they believe that their parent does not understand their feelings or believe that a parent thinks they should not be feeling certain feelings.
Avoid minimising your child’s feelings by telling them that others have things worse than them. Instead say, “I’m sure that others are also feeling disappointed about it” and “You are not alone in this”.
Avoid punishing your child if their disappointment escalates into anger directed at you. It can be tempting to respond in anger, but it is more beneficial to say, “I can see that you are angry, and I understand why you are angry. But let’s find another way to let your anger out”. A good way to let anger out is with physical activity – trampolines are perfect for this, but a walk outside can be just as good.

– Melinda Adams

Student Support – Welfare Coordinator

‘Write a Book in a Day’… and over video call. This year’s challenge had an added level of difficulty, but our two teams collaborated to each create a book within 12 hours using parameters provided to them on the day.

The stories, entitled ‘Mazebourne’ and ‘Train of Strange,’ were complete with vivid illustrations and thrilling storylines.

These books will be shared with children undergoing treatment in hospitals around Australia. Our teams also raised over $1000 for The Kids Cancer Project to support cancer research.

The above Zoom screenshot features some of the members of our Year 7 team.

Year 7 Cover, Book Dedication and First Paragraph

We would like to dedicate this book to the children who we are writing for. We hope this brings you happiness during this difficult, uncertain time. We hope you like our book. We put lots of effort into it for you guys. Our team, The Seven Kingdoms, would like to honour the families and friends who helped to raise money for this project. We would also like to thank the teachers who helped and supported us as we wrote this book. And finally, we are proud to represent our school, who has given us this opportunity to fundraise and write a book in a day. Thank you to all the others who helped us and we would love to see everyone again next year.

Stay safe,

From, everyone on The Seven Kingdoms team.

Time trekking is no simple task. And trust me, I know.

In the scanty time of 12 years, I have witnessed every era there is, and will ever be. I’ve seen the beginning and I’ve seen the end, but I prefer not to ramble on about these matters. Let’s just get to the point; time-trekking is hard. And dangerous. Oh, and it could destroy all of mankind. Literally. What I’m trying to say is no-one should, ever, EVER time-trek again. It will end in a disaster, well, it did for me anyway. I should probably give you some background details first…

Year 10 Back Cover, Blurb and First Paragraphs

No one expected the explosion that shook the prison to its core. Hundreds of prisoners wiped their bleary eyes as the walls of Bunnings Jailhouse shuddered beneath the force of what must have been blocks of explosives. Metal screeched as hinges loosened, and the cell doors groaned open with the sheer weight of the decision that lay heavy on each prisoner’s mind. There was never any question of what would happen next. Everyone, from tax evaders to pickpockets, rushed from their cells in a chaotic mass of shouts and prison-issued pyjamas. Guards attempted to control the crowds but the surge of people was too great and they eventually became swept up with the detainees.

There were, however, two prisoners that were smarter than the rest. Each one made their way to the ground floor of the jailhouse, taking separate paths, completely unaware of the other’s intentions. Tiptoeing through the hallways they made their way to the pipe room. Silently opening the door, one prisoner turned and shut it again, backing into the room and searching for any threats to his mission. Something large and muscular touched his back and he turned sharply, coming face to face with the imposing figure of an inmate he used to do kitchen duty with.