If ever there was one spiritual song that sums up this year, it is ‘The Blessing’ by Cody Carnes and Kari Jobe. This song is based on Numbers 6:24-26 which states:

 “The Lord bless you

and keep you;

the Lord make his face shine on you

and be gracious to you;

the Lord turn his face toward you

and give you peace.” 

Throughout this year, we have seen how God has blessed our school. Our numbers have increased despite the economic downturn in the economy. Our students have continued to learn despite the challenges of online learning. Our teachers and staff have found great strength in trusting God to see us through the year. 

As an NCC community, our ELC, Primary and Secondary staff and students have come together to sing this blessing for our community. This collaboration during COVID has been a challenge, but reminds us of what we can achieve when we come together as a community.

We invite you to watch the video shared here and on our social media and website channels.

May the words of this song wash over you as you join us in reflecting on how God has blessed us.

– Ms Meggan James, Nunawading Christian College Principal

Sound the trumpets, it’s time for the Melbourne Cup. They call it the race that stops the nation. The horses line up, jockeys are ready to go, the crowd goes silent… in a split second, a rush of sound swoops around the racecourse. The horses and riders race around the track. As they reach the final corner, everyone watches with excitement as the horses turn and bolt down the final straight. The record time for the race is three minutes and sixteen seconds. For three minutes and sixteen seconds, the nation stopped and watched horses running around the track. 

Our lives are much like the horses running the race. We feel that we are sprinting along with a collection of people by our side, but the bulk of the population are just sitting on the sideline, watching as we run our race. Or maybe we feel as though God is sitting on the side of the race track, watching us running our own race and we don’t feel like we can connect with Him at all. So round and round we go, chasing our tails. 

Our lives will be changed when we realise God cares much less about how busy we get running circles, and He cares much more about who we are becoming. The most abundant life is simple, it is more of Jesus.

How do we get more of Jesus?

1. Be Still – Instead of running around in circles, be “still and know” (Psalms 46:10).
2. Prayer – Communicate with Him (Matt 6:9-13).
3. Listen – It is not one-way communication with Him, make sure you listen for an answer.
4. Read the Bible (2 Timothy 3:16).
5. Love others – Simple = Love God and love others (Luke 10:27).
6. Praise Jesus – In everything that is going on, take the time to praise Jesus (Psalm 22:3).
7. Give Back – God doesn’t need anything from us, but He does tell us to give generously. Giving changes the giver as much, if not more, than the receiver. (Luke 6:38).

When we fill our daily schedules like a horse running round and round a track, we find ourselves feeling worn out and hopeless. We don’t need to strive for abundance because Jesus has already given it to us. He is exactly what we need. 

While orientation days for our new Prep and Year 7 students don’t look the same at the moment, we are still so excited to have these students join our Primary and Secondary schools in 2021. 

Each of our 2021 Prep students recently received an NCC beanie and a handmade ‘Paint Your Own’ cookie pack. Our 2021 Year 7 students also received NCC cookies with our emblem and ‘Class of 2026’ imprinted in the icing, NCC caps and NCC tote bags made at our sister school, Light of Hope in Cambodia. You can see some of the photos our new students sent in, including a glimpse of the final painted cookies below. These photos were taken in the narrow window of time between painting and eating!

As part of our PB4L program one value is chosen each term and lessons are taught to instil this value. The value that we are focusing on for Term 4 is Integrity. The symbol that the PB4L team have chosen for Integrity is the star from our NCC shield. Stars shine constantly, always doing their job even when people can’t see them. During the day the stars are shining, we just can’t see them due to the brightness of our own star, the sun. At night the stars shine continually. Even when it is cloudy and we can’t see them, they are still shining. So we should always do the right thing, even when others can’t see us.

The PB4L team have chosen a Bible verse from Proverbs 21:3 to match this value. “The Lord is pleased when we do what is right and just.” This verse encourages us to continue to do what is right at all times. 

Values are actively taught during school worship times. The students from Mrs Williams’ Year 2 class were asked to write what Integrity means. You can read some of their answers below.

• Doing the right thing when others aren’t even looking.
• Treat others the way you want to be treated.
• Be honest to anyone that you have lied to.
• Tell the truth or be honest.

Some of Mrs McNamara’s Preps and Year 1’s answers are below.

• You do your own job.
• Don’t blame anyone else. If it’s your fault, tell the truth.
• Ask permission before you take something.
• Doing your own things and not doing someone else’s things and not copying someone else’s things.
• Doing what you’re supposed to do.

Book Week was certainly a celebration of books for the Inventors! We read lots of favourite books the children brought from home, we acted out a classic book called ‘Caps for Sale’ by Esphyr Slobodkina and we even made our own class book based on the very popular, ‘Where is the Green Sheep?’ by Mem Fox. Not to forget, the book character dress up day! This was certainly a highlight! The children delighted in being dressed up and more importantly seeing their class friends and teachers dressed up as well. We had our own special outside parade followed by a picnic.  

Our daily routine is slowly changing with school transition being more of a focus. We are having lots of ‘lining up’ practice when we go to library and music lessons. When the schedule allows, we are also tending to have later meal times in line with the school timetable and more play times in the school playground.

Book Week looked quite different this year but it was still lots of fun for our children and educators. We did our own book parade on the basketball court where we saw plenty of creativity. There were farmers, soldiers, princesses, caterpillars, firefighters, pirates and athletes. During the week we read the children’s stories that they had brought from home, along with some of our kinder favourites. Mrs Sonia even came to share a special story with us in our yard as we ate lunch.

We’ve been exploring nature! We have been learning more about Spiny Leaf Stick Insects, comparing how fast ostriches, cheetahs and magpies travel, ensuring our garden is watered and digging for treasure in the sandpit.

We loved seeing so many excited characters around our campus last week, as we celebrated Book Week with a dress up day! 

Throughout the week our students also participated in activities and crafts linking in with the Children’s Book Council of Australia shortlisted books. 

Our students read “Tilly” by Jane Godwin, which is based on a true story about a little girl who lost her special treasures. Responding to this book, students created a treasure chest to keep their own special items safe. They also took a paper bag outside and created an NCC treasure bag, filled with items from around our NCC natural environment. Through the lens of this story, students were reminded that they are special and unique to God. 

Based on the book, “Hello Lighthouse” by Sophie Blackall, students used various materials to create a lighthouse collage. They included the verse John 8:12 – “When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

26 excited faces Zoom-ed into Prep on Friday, 16th October for their first taste of Prep life in 2021. Ms Austen excitedly introduced them to one of their classrooms. Our new Preps enthusiastically responded as Ms Austen read The Spider’s Web, answering all of her questions as though they were sitting at her feet in the Prep room. Ms Austen shared the song “Everything I Am (A Gift to You)”, which is a favourite in Prep. A big thanks to our ELC teachers and the 12 new families who joined from their homes. We are optimistically hopeful that the next orientation session will be in person, on campus. Stay tuned!

The lower Primary students explored the musical culture of the Torres Strait Islands at the start of Term 4. They learnt a sit-down dance called “Taba Naba” in the Meriam Mir language. In addition to performing the basic actions of the song, they also played along on the xylophones. To celebrate their final performance, students dressed in floral leis and took turns moving and playing to this simple cultural piece.

Throughout the year, our Primary classes have read “The Dot” by Peter H Reynolds. The story is about an art student who believes she is unable to draw. The story teaches that everybody can create something fun and beautiful. Our students were asked to consider the meaning of the story and discuss their ideas. 

Inspired by this story, students from each class were given paper card dots to paint with watercolour paints. They were challenged to paint a scene or pattern using a set colour range. They were told that their “dots” would eventually be a part of a big river of colour that would be displayed on the big curved wall in the art space. This was installed by Mrs Pincheira and Miss Camille, in time to welcome and surprise the children for their Term 4 return. 

The delight in the eyes of teachers, students and even some secondary students who have wandered past and noticed, has been wonderful. This is why we create art, to create “wonder”, to create “delight” and to be able to be drawn in. As you walk through the display, gaze joyfully and smile at the thought that some small dots of colour can be arranged together to create a huge masterpiece.

Diamonds are formed because they have been in an environment of great pressure. Without the pressure, the beauty of the diamond will not be created. This is a lesson for us that out of hard times, come gems. Things we can celebrate and admire.

One such gem has been formed in the Year 4 classroom because of remote learning. Many of the children had run out of reading material and did not have ready access to a supply of books that they could read. The solution was to move the children into various online reading environments. They were given the option of audiobooks from audible.com (which were made free to children during quarantine), or online library memberships. Another option that became very well liked for many of the class was Epic! School. This is an online platform that provides both online books and audiobooks. Since September 1, the Year 4 students have read a collective total of 747 books and have completed 237 hours of reading!

Special commendations go to Riya who has read 85 books over 29 hours and Moana who has read 24 books in 15 hours.

Week of Worship 2020 was condensed into 1.5 hours on Zoom for Year 11 and 12. The message was clear:

• God sees us as HIS. Our identity must be centred on being His child.
• Jesus always wins. That’s the punchline!  If we are on His side, then we will win too. Everything else is ‘white noise’.  
• Knowing this, we then can walk by faith, not by human sight. Keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus as we run this race of life, is a game plan that always wins.

Stacey Panozzo, Pr Fraser Catton and Pr Trent Martin spoke live on Zoom and challenged us to see ourselves, our world and our purpose through the eyes of our Heavenly Father.  Sam (Yr 11) shared a testimony. Kelzey (Yr 11) shared a beautiful special item, “Tonight” by Francesca Battistelli, which states: 

‘Cause through Your strength,

All my fears will fade away

As you lead me in Your ways, I will trust in You’

Students enjoyed pizza for lunch and a small gift pack to emphasise this special opportunity to worship.

In Term 3, our students competed in the Education Perfect Science Championships. NCC did very well, achieving 113th overall globally (out of 1,874 schools). NCC also achieved 2nd in Victoria for the 251-500 students category. 

Congratulations to the below students on achieving the highest scores in their Science class. This week we were able to celebrate their efforts with a prize of their choosing. 

7A Joshua 

7B Johan

8A Charlotte

8B Krishna

9 Ashley

11 Ava

Congratulations to our Year 12 Product Design and Technology students, Evan and Andre, who have produced outstanding work in their final projects.

Evan has designed and constructed a storage unit for an end-user who needed safe and weather-resistant storage for his 4WD vehicle. Evan thoroughly researched requirements and options to satisfy the brief. Constructed mainly from plywood, Evan utilised the experiences and skills he gained in previous wood technology classes. The storage unit is very functional, allowing the user to more fully enjoy the great outdoors with the added benefits of being able to access stored gear easily and efficiently. Evan cleverly included a tabletop design allowing for the preparation of food as part of his design.

Andre designed and constructed a mobile washing-up trolley. Andre included innovative design features that allow the unit to be easily relocated as needed. The unit houses a hot water unit and easily utilised fittings allowing the connection of water supply and drainage. Andre drew on the skills and experiences gained in previous years such as welding and wood technology.

For Year 12’s final Chapel, we took the opportunity to pay tribute to the contribution the Class of 2020 has made to our College. Year 11 students shared live messages during our Zoom Chapel, with the common tribute being that “Year 12’s were an inspiration for their perseverance”. Ms Austen’s Prep class sang “The Blessing.” Our Year 8-10 students left farewell messages, which have been collated into a “Word Cloud” to be shared as a photo memoir with the Year 12 students. Taylor (Year 12) created a slideshow of photos of Year 12 students from Prep to Year 12, which wonderfully displayed the awesome experiences these students have had at NCC. Finally, Jeremy Choo (alumni), shared a message of encouragement. Our prayer is that our Year 12 students realise that the most important decision in life is the decision they make for Jesus.

The last day of school for Year 12 began with some fun in the quadrangle, with students creating an obstacle course for the staff and students arriving on campus.  After a quick clean up, students had their final worship and affirmations from their community, followed by an outdoor individually wrapped lunch that met COVID restrictions! A grateful parent sponsored the lunch as an expression of gratitude for the role NCC played in their family.

With perfect weather after lunch, the students were divided into teams, with each team having a chance at the $300 jackpot. The challenges took them all around the campus and down to the creek, discovering the answers to different cryptic clues. There was a synchronised swimming competition, sudoku puzzles, the famous marshmallow and spaghetti challenge, quizzles, cipher challenges and blind fold drawing.

“It was really good to be able to get out in the sun and participate in the treasure hunt that the teachers prepared for us. It was a really good way to end our last day of school. We’d like to thank all the teachers for everything they have done for us.” – Racquel, Year 12.

Join us in praying for our Year 12 students as they continue to study and then sit their exams throughout the coming weeks.