College Christmas Closure

With the school holidays just around the corner, please note College Reception will be closed from Monday 17 December, 2023 and will reopen on Wednesday 24 January, 2024. The 2024 Annual Planner is attached for your information. Back-to-school dates for Term One are as follows:

Tuesday 30 January - ELC3 Start
Tuesday 30 January - Years 3-12 Start
Wednesday 31 January - ELC4 Start
Thursday 1 February - Prep -2 Start

We wish you all a safe and happy Christmas!

Principal's Piece

With the Senior Secondary students having finished school for the year and the junior secondary students working their way through their final days of the year with much enthusiasm and excitement. The last week of Term 4 is a time where the focus falls upon the Primary school.

For our Primary section, the big events are still happening. This week saw our Year 6 families gather together to celebrate the Year 6 Graduation. This event is a wonderful time that begins with a dinner for the students and concludes with a very special and unique presentation evening. I love to watch our year 6 students arrive for dinner. They come dressed up in all manner of suits and gowns and formals style attire that interestingly often reflects the uniqueness of each student.

The excitement is palpable and fun begins quite naturally as they settle into the afternoon. The presentation night itself quite extraordinary. The students have been working long and hard learning several dances for their families. There is a confidence as they dance that is combined with a joy that is quite difficult to describe. This dance is a rite of passage for our year sixers and they meet the challenge.

This week we also saw the Primary community come together for the Primary Celebration Assembly. This event was a special time as our primary students gathered to celebrate their learning journey this year. There is something quite unique about seeing the progress and growth that our primary students make in just 12 short months.

My hope and prayer for each of our students is that they will be able to recognise and celebrate all of their achievements this year. I also pray that they have taken another step toward understanding where and how they fit into this world. I recognise that this may be a big ask of such young people, but I am confident that this journey cannot start too early.

At the Year 6 Graduation, I encouraged the Year 6 Students to embrace Jeremiah 29:11 which says “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” This promise holds as true today as it did when the Lord declared it to Jemimah so long ago. This is also my encouragement to all our primary students and believe that the can thrive as they strengthen their relationship with Him.

Finally, I do not want to leave out our amazing ELC students. I know that they too had their end of year Christmas celebrations and that these went well. While they cannot read this just yet, they will soon. I would like to acknowledge and bless them too as they finish up their year. Well done to all our ELC students.

Blessings,

Mr Andrew Manning

Principal

2024 Student Leadership

Congratulations

Congratulations to the Year 12 Class of 2023. We are very proud of the hard work and efforts you have put in to receive your final results this week. We pray that whatever results you have earned will enable you to achieve the goals that you have set and to direct you in the paths and plans that God has for you.

Reports

End of Semester Reports have been uploaded to the Sentral Parent Portal on Wednesday 13 December. If you have any difficulty accessing the portal, please contact the ICT support team at Sentral and Canvas Parent Communications

Finance Reminder

2024 Tuition Fee Statements were emailed to parents and carers on 23 November via finance@baysidecc.vic.edu.au. Please reach out to the Finance Manager Helen Spink using this email if you have not received your statement or you have any finance-related queries.

First payments are due this Friday 15 December for all payment options. Please make sure you pay on time, especially if you are claiming early-payment discounts.

The Finance Office will be open for email enquiries only from Friday 15 December until 3pm Tuesday 19 December. It will then be closed from 20 December to 12 January 2024.

Please note: all secondary students will need to bring their own pencil case with supplies (pens, HB pencils, texta's, ruler, etc) for their first day next year - 30 January 2024. These items may need to be replenished during the year. All stationery is supplied by the college.

2024 Bus Service

Thank you to all who responded to the Expression of Interest for the bus service in 2024. Communication has been sent to all who replied to advise that Ventura is still working through the routes and ask that you please review the timetable late January - prior to the first day of school to ensure your child is at a designated stop at the appropriate time.

Please refer to the College website for live tracking and expected times. Be sure to select the appropriate schedule AM or PM and route.

Ventura bus drivers have been advised to pick up all students in Bayside Christian College uniform on the first day of school, if at a designated stop. Bus passes will be issued early in Term 1 and family accounts invoiced for the bus service as requested on the expression of interest.

New Parents Induction

Consisting of two evening sessions in Semester One, the New Parents Induction program provides an opportunity for parents to meet together, ask questions and gain a deeper insight into the working of the College. Parents will learn how we go about educating your children and the fundamental values around who we are and what we do.

Session One: Tuesday 20 February, 2024

7:00 PM - 8:30 PM Library on South Campus

The first of two sessions, session one picks up from some of the conversations you may have had with staff across your enrolment journey into the College. This session provides a deeper introduction to the College exploring who we are as a learning community. We discuss what Christian Education involves, how it works and the stories we are telling. Our hope is that you will leave this session better equipped to partner with staff on your child’s education journey.

An invitation will be emailed out to the College community in the new year. In the meantime, if you are a new parent to the College in 2023/24 please save the date 20 February, 2024

2024 Volunteer Induction

As part of our commitment to child safety, all volunteers are required to have current working with children checks and to undergo a volunteer induction course annually. If you currently volunteer or intend to join the team in 2024 we request that you complete the Volunteer Induction Course in preparation for the upcoming year. Please allow 20-30 minutes for the induction.

Exchange Students in 2024

Bayside is excited once again to host a group of four students who are 16-years-old from Kinjo High School who will be attending in Term One next year. These students bring much excitement, joy, and culture to the Bayside community. We are looking for four or more families who would like to host an exchange student from Japan.

Families can host a student for all or part of the term.
No need to cook special food.
The student can share a bedroom (same gender)
Host families are paid a small stipend of $50 per night to help with costs
Hosting start date Monday 30 January
Hosting end date Tuesday 26 March (Group Co-ordinator will organise airport transfers)

This is a wonderful opportunity for families to enjoy learning about another culture, make new friends and share God's love with these young people. Hosting is open to families from all Year levels.

For queries or further information please contact Zina Ferrarin (Group Co-ordinator)

via email zinaferrarin@hotmail.com

or SMS on 0402 216728

My Christian School

… behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born thisday in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2:10)

The birth of Jesus Christ is good news for all people.To a world living in darkness and despair, Jesus brings forgiveness, peace and hope. It is this goodnews that Christian teachers and staff humbly share and embody at Bayside Christian College. They have heard the good news of Jesus and this continues to transform their lives. Their lived faithis making a wonderful difference in the lives of our students. Our political leaders don’t hear enough good news. You can be the bearer of good news and bringsome joy to their inbox this Christmas.

We’re asking you to take 5 minutes and send a quick Christmas message to your MP. We’d love youto share why Christmas is good news for you and why Christian teachers and staff at Bayside Christian College are good news for our children. As activists continue to minimise the life-changing impact of Christian teachers and staff, we wantour political leaders to hear the good news and keep the good news coming in 2024. We’ve made it quick and easy for you. Visit the My Christian School website to get started - mychristianschool.au/christmas

Learning Support team updates for 2024

At the end of this year, we farewell Sue Higgs as she moves into retirement. Sue has been a teacher at Bayside for over 30 years, with the last 10 as Primary Learning Support Coordinator. She has a passion for teaching students to read, and has had a massive impact on the students that have completed the MiniLit reading intervention program with her. We wish Sue all many blessings and an enjoyable retirement.

At the end of this year, we also farewell Katie Newton. Katie is a Territiorian at heart, and is moving back to the Northern Territory to be with her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Katie has had a massive impact in the Bayside community since starting as the Secondary Learning Support Coordinator in 2016. She will be deeply missed. We pray that Katie loves spending time with the many brand new babies that have been born into her family this year, and that God blesses her as she returns to her love of teaching Indigenous students.

We also farewell Tim Wells. Tim has worked as a learning assistant for the last 4 years. Tim is moving into a new role as a chaplain at another school. We are so grateful for Tim’s humble and faithful service to Bayside.

We are excited to welcome Louise Van Niekerk as the new Primary Learning Support Coordinator, and Jo Piening as the new Secondary Learning Support Coordinator. Louise is new to Bayside and is looking forward to joining our community for the first time. Jo has been part of the Bayside community for many years. We welcome both of them to their new roles.

We are also excited to introduce a number of new learning assistants to the Learning Assistant team in 2024. We have some fantastic new people joining our team that have a passion for supporting vulnerable students.

Josephine Hopkins

Head of Learning Support

Peta Murphy MP Service

For those wishing to pay their respects and to celebrate the life of Peta Murphy Federal Member for Dunkley, wife, daughter, and sister, there are to be two opportunities for you to do so. A livestream of the official funeral service will be shown on Friday 15 December from 1:30pm arrival for 2pm start. Cube 37, Frankston Arts Centre 25/37 Davey St, Frankston.

Seats are limited so please book your tickets in advance. Register for the in-person event here:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/livestream-of-peta-murphy-mp-funeral-service-tickets-775240223377?aff=oddtdtcreator

If you are unable to attend in person you can view the livestream here: https://tobinbrothers.com.au/tribute/details/30543/Peta-Murphy-MP/obituary.html#tribute-start

Celebration of Life - Sunday 17 December

9:30am arrival for 10am start. Jubilee Park Stadium, 83R-85R Hillcrest Road, Frankston

Dobsons Uniform Shop

The Dobsons Uniform shop will be open for extended trading hours in December and January. Please see the attached document for further details. For all Uniform Shop enquiries please email Doris Achterberg via bcc@dobsons.com.au

Families wishing to purchase, sell or swap items of second hand uniforms over the holidays are welcome to use the official College Second Hand Uniform Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/baysideccuniforms/

B2Me: Community Business Directory

Have you discovered the Bayside Christian College B2Me profile? Its purpose is to assist in connecting trusted service providers with the College community in a way that builds valuable relationships. Consider it our very own Yellow Pages or Google!

It takes minutes to create a profile to view and support the many local services offered by members of our community. If you have a business you would like to list, please feel free to add your business profile to our group.

https://b2me.com.au/members/bayside-christian-college