Message from the Head of Campus

We end Term 3 with great excitement and achievement; I thank our amazing staff and parents for their hard work and dedication to our College. A great deal has occurred with our new build and court space. We have returned to the joy of lunch time clubs, excursions and camps. The students have worked very hard the past three terms and we have focused on returning to being our best. We have encouraged families that children have their own retreat time after school, that there is time for rest, play and fun. This comes before any learning tasks. Primary aged children can have some time to read and complete a task, and secondary students begin to establish a home study period to support their learning pathways. Time of fun and play, are crucial for establishing good wellbeing habits, which will then support learning demands. 

With the parent partnership we focus on supporting on our students being their best, and recognising what it mean. We reflect upon WCC vision statement:

“Growing in Christ, Striving for Excellence, Influencing the World”

We guide our students to journey with Christ, that with the Christian values and principles are at the centre of all they strive to achieve. Our students endeavour to achieve their greatest and recognise their pathway - and this is different for each student. We want our students to be productive and innovative, who become citizens in a changing world. Their emotional intelligence, wellbeing, safety and happiness is core to their learning drive, how they lead and serve others. 

To achieve this we encourage our students to:

FAMILY TIME

What is family time?  How do you manage family time?  Do you need family time?

We would all respond to these questions differently. There are no right or wrong answers, but there is a consensus. Family time is when you bring your entire immediate family together to share and talk. It can be over dinner, during a bedtime story, while playing in the back yard, outing to the Zoo etc. There are essential pre-requisites; you need to listen to each other, share experiences, don’t rush the conversation, make eye contact and ensure all present have the opportunity to reciprocate.

The language is age appropriate and the behaviour sets an example and models what is expected. With a busy timetable; talking, sharing and planning family activities can be difficult. Family time is an essential time which unites a family; it provides an expectation that the family comes together on a regular basis e.g. Wednesday night could be pizza night and all family members are home for dinner.  Planning this now is crucial, we don’t wait for the time we feel we need to regain contact with the family because the children are now teenagers and busy! 

Regulating our daily routine and demands, is imperative as it isolates what is important and makes it a priority. We may not always be able to sit at the dinner table together, but when we do, there should be no devices on the dinner table. By putting the devices away, we are identifying what is important and spending this time with family. The email and SMS will still be there, however family time is becoming precious.

Finding a balance is extremely difficult and we should not feel guilty if we struggle with balancing the demands of family and work life. It takes time and practice to identify the needs of our family.

This website has some family activities ideas, if you want to plan a special family outing; however, a picnic at your local park is just as special!

https://www.visitvictoria.com/Regions/Melbourne/Things-to-do/Family.aspx