Leadership News
Principal's Piece
Faith In Our Future
Last year I had cause to share with you my concerns regarding a legislative agenda that would dramatically impact the College’s ability to continue to provide families with the type of quality Christian education it has over the past 40+ years.
On 21 March, the Australian Law Reform Commission released a set of
recommendations that are an appalling attack on faith and freedom of belief in
Australia. If the Government accepts these ALRC recommendations, it means Christian
schools like Bayside won’t have the freedom to preference people who share the same Christian values and beliefs when making employment decisions. As Paul Kelly has also noted, "Religious education, its communities and parental discretions would be weakened long term." You can read more here.
The good news is the Federal Government has not yet made its position clear but we
need to send a clear message to the Prime Minister and local Members of Parliament that Christian schools must retain the right to be able to employ people who actively share our faith.
There are several ways that you can do this including writing to your local federal member of Parliament, signing up and sharing your stories on the My Christian School Website and attending the Faith In Our Future town hall event on 22 May 2024.
Faith In Our Future is an event that will bring together supporters of Christian
schools and their representatives in parliament. These events are an opportunity to share about the impact of Christian faith in our school, to share your concerns with our Federal political representatives and ask for their support.
If you want the Government to continue to value the faith of Christian teachers and
staff, you need to be there! Here are the details:
Date: Wednesday, May 22, 2024
Location: Waverley Christian College
Address: 1248 High St Rd, Wantirna South
Time: 6.30 for 7pm (finishing by 9pm)
Registration is free but spaces are limited.
Andrew Manning, Principal
From the Deputy's Desk
Open Day
What an incredible blessing it was to tour prospective families around our beautiful College last Saturday. Thank you to all the students who assisted with tours and exhibits and were outstanding ambassadors for the College. Thank you also to the families who spread the word, invited friends and family and brought students to assist. I am also exceedingly grateful for the staff who gave up their time to plan, prepare classrooms and exhibits and to be a part of the day in so many ways. It is a testament to the vibrant community we have at Bayside.
NAPLAN Early Results
Preliminary results have been released for Reading, Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation, and Numeracy. Results are reported in four bands: Needs additional support, Developing, Strong, and Exceeding. The preliminary results indicate that the majority of Bayside students have achieved in the 'Strong' band, which demonstrates that students have a solid understanding and grasp of the concepts covered in the testing. Parent reports and full results are expected mid to late July.
Whole School Worship Service
As part of our vision to promote authentic discipleship amongst our students, the Whole School Assembly is being reframed to a Worship Service. Our intention is to provide opportunities for students to share their God-given gifts and talents to glorify God and bless the College. You are invited to the next Whole School Worship Service on Tuesday 21 May at 9 am in K-block gymnasium.
Car Park Reminder
We have had a number of incidents in the carpark recently caused by drivers who are not observing the safety requirements. Please ensure you only collect students when your vehicle is fully parked in a carpark or pulled into the kerb in the drop-off zone. Please do not ask, nor allow, your children to get into the car while it is in the traffic flow or not yet at the kerb. Carpark expectations were emailed to all families at the start of the year. Please ensure you follow these guidelines to keep your children safe.
Student supervision
Please be reminded that students are only able to be supervised from 8:35 am to 3:35 pm. The playgrounds are closed outside of these hours. Please endeavour to drop off and pick up students within these times. ELC and Primary students who need to be at the College outside of these times can be enrolled in Camp Australia's Out of School Hours Care program onsite. Please contact reception for further information.
Visitors to the College
Families are reminded that all visitors to the College must sign in at reception in A-block (South campus) or N-block (North campus). Once signed in, a tag will be printed and must be clearly displayed in a lanyard. At the end of your visit, the lanyard and tag must be returned to the reception desk and you must sign out again.
Collecting Students During School Hours
In the morning, playgrounds close at 8:55 am. All families should depart at this time. Sign-in at reception is required from 8:55 am.
During the day, students may only be collected from the office before 3:15 pm. Please go to reception to sign them out. Teachers will be contacted to send children to the office. Please notify the College in advance if you know you need to collect your child/children early.
Parents may enter the College grounds for student collection without sign in from 3pm and wait in the playgrounds/grounds; however, please note that students cannot be collected from classrooms before 3:15 pm unless officially signed out from the office.
Mrs Toni Steinbergs, Deputy Principal
Finance Announcements
Half-yearly Term 3 fee payments are due on of before Friday 17 May. Please ensure payment is received by the due date.
Parent fees form an integral part of managing College budgets and cash flow. If your circumstanfes change or you wish to alter your current payment terms, please contact the Finance Manager at the earliest opportunity.
Email: finance@baysidecc.vic.edu.au
VCE Supervisors Wanted
The College is seeking expressions of interest for anyone interested in being a VCE exam supervisor this year. This would involve assisting the supervision of students in the GAT (18th June), and the end of year examinations for Unit 4 in November. Exam supervisors must meet the following criteria in order to be considered.
- You cannot be employed at Bayside Christian College in any capacity.
- You must have a current Working With Childrens Check (or a current VIT registration).
- You must not be related to any student required to sit the GAT or a VCE Unit 3 and 4 study.
- You cannot be involved in teaching or tutoring any students completing the GAT or a VCE Unit 3 and 4 study.
- You must be available to work on Tuesday June 18th, and during the VCE Unit 4 Exams in November.
Expressions of interest can be sent to chay.williamson@baysidecc.vic.edu.au
Happy Families
Our school is subscribed to the Happy Families School Membership. Owned and run by Dr Justin Coulson, one of Australia’s leading parenting experts, the membership offers a wealth of parenting education and resources.
We will regularly share resources available through our membership with you, including Insight Articles and Webinars.
You can also access your resources at any time using the below URL (unique to our school) and the password is: happybcc
Resilience: Developing strength, calm and kindness in our kids
When: Tuesday 14 May 2024 | 7 pm AEDT
Cost: Free for Bayside families
This 60 minute online session is aimed at parents as well as educators. Schools can register for this session on behalf of their parent and educator community.
In this session, parents and educators will learn the psychological secrets that build children's sense of identity, strengths, and growth mindset in order to perform better, be happier, and build resilience.
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
