Bayside Christian College

Leadership News

Letter from the Board

l would like to inform the Association that the following positions were appointed by the Board at our Board meeting on Thursday 6th July 2023:

 

Chair: Troy Gaskell

Deputy Chair: Sam Kidney

Secretary: Trent Jones

Treasurer: John Kruiskamp

Members: Nathan Hooper, Rebekah Shelling and Denis Mahoney

Over the past 10 years, l have had the privilege of serving on the Board in various roles including as Deputy Chair and on sub-committees. Throughout this time, in his role as Board Chair, Nathan Hooper has continually encouraged and supported me. I would like to personally thank Nathan for his service to the College, and for his willingness to undertake the role as Board Chair with enthusiasm, professionalism and integrity. 

 

Fortunately, Nathan is not done with his official time as a Board member, and he will continue serving and offering guidance and direction. Therefore, it is with an immense sense of responsibility and anticipation that I begin my term as Board Chair. 

 

We look forward to continuing to engage the Association at our quarterly forums and our upcoming Special General Meeting to address the recent proposed changes to the constitution (Dates TBC).

 

Best regards,

Mr Troy Gaskell

Board Chair

Principal's Piece

 Grit

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. 

 

For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (Hebrews 12:1-3)

Dr. Angela Lee Duckworth, a professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, is an expert on the concept of Grit. In 2013 she gave a TED Talk that explained her research into the concept of grit. Her TED Talk, Grit: The Power and Passion of Perseverance, has viewed over 30 million views. 

 

Dr Duckworth discovered that regardless of ethnic, socioeconomic, educational and psychological demographics a significant predictor of success for young adults is grit. Dr Duckworth defines grit as “the ability to persevere in pursuing a future goal over a long period of time and not giving up . . . It is having stamina. It’s sticking with your future day in, day out. Not just for the week. Not just for the month, but for years and working really hard to make that future a reality. Grit is living life like it’s a marathon, not a sprint.”

 

While Grit may well be an important part of success in the world, it is equally essential for thriving in our Christian faith. If we want to grow in our faith, we need to cultivate godly grit. Unfortunately, a bible search won’t find the word “grit”. It does however appear in other forms such as steadfastness, perseverance and endurance. Words that are found throughout Scripture. 

 

People face challenging circumstance every day and Christian are no exception to this rule. Christians with godly grit don’t grow weary or lose heart; they keep their eyes on Jesus, looking forward confident in his promises no matter what challenges come our way.

 

Godly grit is built on the hope we have in Jesus Christ. We look to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, so we don’t grow weary or lose heart. Godly grit isn’t about being tough enough or strong enough; it’s about being dependent enough to find our ultimate hope and comfort in Christ.

 

Dr Duckworth's TED Talk

 

Go, and be gritty! 

 

Blessings,

Mr Andrew Manning

Principal

Notices from the Deputy

NAPLAN

Children's results from the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) 2023 have been released this week for students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 who sat the tests in March. They are able to be collected from the front office by next Monday 31 July. Any uncollected reports will be posted to the primary caregiver later next week.

 

NAPLAN tests are a snapshot of how a child performed on that day for that test. As such they are used as one source of information in the complete picture of children’s progress in literacy and numeracy. These results are used together with other teacher assessments to indicate where a child is in his/her learning journey.

 

Please note that due to the significant changes in NAPLAN in 2023, results cannot be correlated with previous years. Therefore students in Years 5, 7 and 9 cannot compare progress with previous NAPLAN tests. 

 

For more information about the NAPLAN tests, please visit the VCAA website at www.vcaa.vic.edu.au or the NAP website at www.nap.edu.au

 

NAPLAN Congratulations

The Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) awards students in Year 9 who achieve "Exceeding the Standard" in NAPLAN results for Numeracy and Reading. Congratulations to the following students who received this commendation: 

 

Numeracy - Hayden Chester.  Reading-  Drew Beer, Holly Baker, Matthew Chave, Justin Keel, Tiana Kersley, Eliza Kumnick, Asha Manning, Benjamin Nennstiel, Nikhitta Paull, Evan Van Delden. Both Reading and Numeracy - Heather Stubbs. Congratulations to these students for their outstanding efforts and results.

Nationally Consistent Collection of Data for Students With Disabilities (NCCD)

The NCCD is an annual data collection requirement from the Australian government, in which the College is required to provide information about the number of students for whom the curriculum and programs of the College are adjusted or modified to enable students to access the curriculum. Students are not identified in any way. 

 

The annual census day is Friday 4th August. Parents are not required to do anything; this data is provided as part of the requirement of our Government funding. This funding is used in a variety of ways to support students. For more information, please refer to the  Parent Fact Sheet .

 

My Christian School Website

Bayside Christian College values the genuine faith of its staff. However, the Australian Law Reform Commission has released a consultation paper which would prevent schools like ours from choosing staff for their active lived faith.  My Christian Schools website has been launched in association with the Australian Association of Christian Schools because it's time they heard from some actual parents—like you!

 

If you value the contribution of Christian staff and teachers, this is your opportunity to have your voice heard. Please visit MyChristianSchool.au and send a message to your MP about the difference Christian teachers and staff make in our school.

 

Blessings,

Mrs Toni Steinbergs

DeputyPrincipal

Visit from Paul Mercuiro MP

Last week we were lucky enough to have a visit from Paul Mercurio who is our local Member of Parliament. We started the day off with a tour of Southside where we showed Mr Mercurio various classrooms and interacted with students. After this, we came over to the north side and continued to show Mr Mercurio our amazing facilities. 

Overall it was a great tour and was awesome to be able to talk to Paul and hear his future plans for the Bayside area. 

 

Ruby Lines-Perrier

College Captain

Head of Teaching and Learning

As we have received encouraging NAPLAN results again in 2024, it is important celebrate and acknowledge many other outstanding achievements in the Teaching and Learning space across the last 12 months. In his principal’s report at the latest Annual General Meeting, Andrew touched on many of these points, but it is also important to highlight these and celebrate these with the remainder of the school community who were unable to attend. 

 

Some of the highlights from the 2022/2023 include: 

 

Classroom highlights

  • High growth demonstrated in reading for the first months of the year, demonstrating 8 months growth on average in Year 3 /4.
  • Many students who have previously been lower in literacy have now moved into the average band in literacy. Maths and Literacy data show substantial growth in 2023
  • Substantial growth in NAPLAN results in Year 3 Writing, Numeracy, Grammar & Punctation and in Year 5 Reading and Writing in 2022 (NAPLAN data no longer provides growth data from 2023)
  • Above average growth recorded in NAPLAN in Year 7 Reading, Writing, Numeracy, Grammar Punctation in 2022
  • Year 9, 2022 showed strong growth in Numeracy
  • Several students in Year 7-9 have finished or are about to finish the Maths Pathways program (working at least 12 - 36 months ahead)
  • All STEP students have made 6-24 months progress in all areas over the last 12 months (progress is projected to be much slower with STEP students in many areas - so this is an outstanding result).
  • Numbers in the STEP program have steadily increased from 1 to 5 students
  • 10% of subject VCE study scores over 40 in 2022. This is well above other comparable schools in the area who scores ranged from 1-6%. 
  • Highest numbers in Specialist Mathematics at the college, and significantly higher numbers in Science courses in 2023. 
  • Voted the best practice VCE VM program for 2022 awarded across the entire FMPLLEN (Frankston & Mornington Peninsula Local Learning & Employment Network).
  • Outstanding VCE scores in Health & Human Development, and well above average results recorded in English and Further Mathematics.

Extra Curricular and Sport

  • Lightning premiership champions in 5 categories in 2022, and won the district Cross Country for the second consecutive year in Primary Sport
  • Won 3 Southern Independent Schools pennants in 2022, with participation doublling. This is outstanding considering we are the smallest participating school. Significant improvement in participation in internal and external carnivals in swimming, cross-country and athletics. 
  • Sold 1050 tickets to the college production ‘Aladdin’, including having our first sold out show. Our biggest ever cast was involved this year.   
  • Our instrumental music program has doubled in the last 12 months, with added offerings in woodwind and strings. Development of 2 new ensembles. 
  • Increased participation in cultural SIS events, including winning the Year 8 debating section, and entering teams in the MasterChef, Public Speaking, Chess and Drama events. 

Community Partnerships

  • Established and consolidated memorandum of understandings and sister school partnerships in Indonesia, with visits in the planning stages
  • Continued VCE VM partnerships with Compassion, Moonlit Sanctuary and Peninsula Pantry Plus with regular service opportunities for students provided
  • Establishing a collaborative partnership between our STEP program and the Rossbourne School

There is much to be celebrated across the college and I appreciate the ongoing hard work and extra hours put in by our dedicated teaching staff to achieve many excellent outcomes. 

 

Mr Joel Williamson

Head of Teaching and Learning