Bayside Christian College

Principal's Piece

Scholarship Program

Bayside Christian College provides a wide range of learning opportunities to enable students to discover their God-given purpose in life.  

As part of this commitment, we are pleased to announce the launch of our scholarship program to support students in their education and faith. 

 

Applications are now open for the following scholarships:

  • Academic Excellence Scholarships
  • Faith Scholarships
  • Association Scholarships

The College will award scholarships based on the strength of the candidate’s scholarship application, previous school reports, the scholarship test and interview. In addition, all scholarship recipients must demonstrate a strong commitment to the College values.

 

All Academic Scholarship Tests are conducted in partnership with Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER). 

 

ACER Scholarship Tests

 

Important Dates

  • Applications Open: 9:00 AM Thursday 14 November, 2024
  • Applications Close: 11:59 PM Wednesday 5 February, 2025
  • Scholarship Academic Test: 9:00 AM Saturday 15 February, 2025

For more information, please visit our Scholarships page at:  

 

Scholarship Application Process

 

Raising Tech-Healthy Humans

"No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." - Hebrews 12:11

 

While I would need to be convinced that parenting is getting harder from generation to generation, I am confident that we all can agree that parenting is a hard, complicated process that unfortunately does not come with a manual. 

 

While parenting has always had its challenges, parenting children today has a particular set of themes or challenges that are broadly proving difficult for parents to navigate. 

 

One of these elements is technology. While it is fair to say that technologies have always had a generational impact on raising children, the ongoing impact of digital technologies as they become increasingly embedded into the lives of children, is influencing the growth and development of our children and thus our parenting of children.  

 

Unfortunately, there is no single right answer or solution to effectively raising children in the modern world. What I see, in the absence of a 'right' or 'single' answer, are parents who are struggling in this digital space. The reason for this struggle is complicated and my sense is that parents are looking for guidance on this front.   

 

To this end, I would like to recommend and share some reflections from a book called “Raising Tech-health Humans” by Daniel Sih.

What I found refreshing about this book is that is written by a Dad, not an expert. Daniel says that this book is “written for imperfect parents... that is real people with real battles and real blunders. I do not have a perfect family and don’t profess to have a perfect set of parenting techniques.” 

 

Daniel's encouragement to other parents is in simple terms, to strive to correctly place digital technologies in our children's lives. To intentionally build tech habits and routines that enable children to balance technologies and other life enriching activities in their lives. 

 

What I particularly liked was the underlying message that parents are raising adults and not children. Daniel does not devalue childhood but has a clear understanding that parenting is actually about preparing children to be adults. 

 

Childhood he says is where parents lay the foundation for adulthood, and thus it is essential that parents lay the correct foundations in their children's lives. Daniel defines the role of the parent is to “love, mentor, and equip their children with the physical, emotional, and psychological experiences that they need to become adults, without trying to be their best friend”(p.7).

 

Daniel does provide some practical advice to parents in the book and although it is focused on parents with primary-aged kids, as a parent of late teens I still found the book an interesting and helpful read. If nothing else, the reminder to focus on raising adults and not children was valuable and will stick with me as I continue on my parenting journey.

Digital Safety at Home

This is a reminder if you have not yet done so, to sign up for the Qustodio parent app.

 

By creating your parent account and linking it to your child, you will join us in fostering positive student online behaviours. These tools offer insights and visibility, empowering you to better understand your child's interactions with their school device and other personal devices you wish to protect as part of this offering.

With the Qustodio parent app, you'll have the ability to:

  • Pause the internet on your child's device straight from your app
  • Receive comprehensive reports summarising your child’s online activities, even beyond school hours
  • Access detailed Timeline reports detailing your child’s online engagements, including word and video searches
  • Gain direct access to expert advice via our Online Safety Hub through the app

An email was sent to all families in September. If you cannot find it, please contact our IT support team via support@baysidecc.vic.edu.au for more information on how to sign up for this important initiative to protect your children online.