Kindergarten celebrates 100 days!

On Thursday 4 August 2022, Kindergarten celebrated 100 days of school.

The day started off with a bang when each student walked across the red carpet while their teacher explained what the 100 items were about.

There were bugs for bugging Mrs Longfield for 100 days. There were gems for a sparkling 100 first days of school and there were dinosaur footprints and many, many more. A big thank you to all our Kindergarten parents for helping your child create such a wonderful shirt.

After the fashion parade, our Kindergarten students decorated their own crowns with 100 dots, built towers of 100 paper cups, decorated cupcakes and they completed 100 exercises. It was a busy and enjoyable day which ended with a movie and popcorn.

We are so proud of our smallest students for all they have learned and for the great effort they have put in for the past 100 days of school.

(Sixty) Five go to Canberra

Enid Blyton couldn't have written it better! The Famous Sixty-five (NCS Stage 3 students) visited our nation's capital for three days and two nights at the end of Term 2.

Much enjoyment was had by all. We travelled aboard, our driver, Fred's excellent coach via Braidwood. Our first stop, after comfort breaks, was to visit the War Memorial for a guided tour. Even though many galleries were being refurbished, we were still able to see many artefacts, visit the tomb of the unknown soldier and the walls of remembrance.

Wearing our full school uniforms, we visited Government House, where the Governor General has their official residence. This was a real treat, as it's rarely open to the general public (one day a year) and really only accessible in a school group.

Our final destination on day one was The Mint. Not the one where lollies are made! This was the 'cash factory'. We learned about the history behind Australia's currency and watched robots and people working in tandem to 'get the job done' to keep our Aussie coins circulating.

Dinner, showers and bed followed an exciting first day.

Day two was all about The National (Art) Gallery, Old Parliament House and Questacon! We saw priceless artworks and had our very own tour guide, Mrs Alison Stewart, to escort our groups around the various exhibits.

OPH was a great place for students to learn about the importance of our democracy and the voting system we use. We voted for favourite fruit (apples won in case you wondered - but it was very close!). QUESTACON finished off a terrific second day with a bang (literally as the lightning machine struck with a crash, bang, wallop!

Day three saw us running across hillsides in the rain, looking for clues (not clueless!). Orienteering at the Arboretum was an amazing experience. We also visited the National Museum and saw such rare items as the world's heaviest sheep's fleece (didn't know that was there, did you?) and Pharlap's heart (bit weird but nice to see it all the same).

No visit to Canberra is complete without treading the (marble) boards of (new) Parliament House. We saw the tapestry in the ball room that was inspired by famous Shoalhaven resident, Arthur Boyd's art. We sat in the two chambers of the upper and lower houses. We stood beneath the 250 tonnes of stainless steel (sourced from Wollongong) that is the iconic flag pole and gazed at the enormous Aussie flag, that is the size of a double-decker bus. We even managed to pass some bills whilst we were there. We took part in two debates as Year 5 and Year 6, in mock-ups of the House of Representatives. Our ministers took their places and argued the merits and flaws of proposed bills. 'I think the 'Ayes' have it'!

Exhausted, but extremely thankful to God, we boarded our coach and let Fred drive us the three hours back to our families in Nowra. Thanks especially to our amazing parent helpers: Samantha N, Scott M, Aaron A, Kerri-Anne S, Jenni B, Lateasha B and Caleb G. Also massive 'shout outs' to Alison Stewart and Adrienne Varga (doubling up as NCS staff and parents). On behalf of Mrs. Kathy Flippence and yours truly, as Stage 3 teachers, we are so grateful for our parent helpers' contributions. They made our excursion excellent and truly memorable for all the right reasons.

Pastor Toby visits CRU Group

This Friday, our lunchtime CRU group was visited by Toby Campbell, the Senior Pastor at Bomaderry Anglican Church. Toby continued our series on Moses from the book of Exodus. He spoke to us about how God used the plagues to make himself known. God wanted the people to know how powerful he was and how much he loves his people. We learnt that, through Jesus, God has made himself known to us. It is our job to share, with the people around us how much God loves them. Toby is also a talented musician and brought his electric guitar along to lead us in a song. Thanks for visiting Toby.

If you would like to hear more from Toby, everyone is welcome to church on Sunday.

CSSA South Coast Zone Athletics recap

Our Secondary students had a terrific day at the CSSA South Coast Zone Athletics Carnival at Beaton Park on Tuesday 2 August.

Unfortunately, due to the ongoing wet weather, we were unable to hold our school carnival and did not have the usual lead-up to Zone this year. The infield at Beaton Park was closed, that meant the Discus, Javelin and Shot Put events weren't able to be run on the day and instead a paper carnival was run for these events.

Our students did incredibly well throughout the Carnival. Congratulations to all students for their high level of participation, spirit, teamwork and athletic prowess.

Well done to Layla M (12 year old Girls), Emily McL (14 year old Girls) and Hamish McL (15 year old Boys) who were awarded overall Age Champions for their performances at the Carnival.

Congratulations also to the following students who broke records on the day:

12 Year Girls Discus - Layla 18.20m
15 Year Girls 1500m - Millie W 6:29.3517
17 Year Boys High Jump - Ollie E 1.86m (smashed the previous record by an impressive 11cm!)

Thank you to our wonderful parents and carers who came to support our students and a special mention to Mrs McLaren who assisted with the High Jump events on the day.

26 of our students qualified for the CSSA Secondary State Athletics Carnival this coming week.

Congratulations and we wish you all the best!

A load of rubbish!

Primary students have been talking rubbish!

Last year, Year 3 began composting their food scraps in their solar cone worm farm and growing plants with the compost this created. We have now taken the rubbish talk to a new level! Earlier this term, 5-6K and 3M carried out a rubbish audit to help identify what the primary sources of rubbish are. The information we gathered will help the school make decisions on how to dispose of this rubbish in the best way possible.

Meanwhile, 6F has launched a recycling program for plastic bottles. Year 6 set up bins around the primary school and explained to our assembly how to use these bins. In their first week, 50 bottles were collected at $5 cash back. This money will be used to support our Compassion children. Well done to all students and staff involved in planning and implementing these projects!

Year 9 Overnight Hike recap

By Joseph Petts

The birds were chirping and our moods matched them. As we set off on the hike, we were shown how to read maps, how to use a compass and how to handrail, a technique used to help us find the way around cliffs by using them as a guide. The hike was really fun and it was a great day to go hiking.

The walk was very enjoyable and the bush was as majestic as ever. Once we got to our home base at Waterslea, we unpacked our tents and began to eat dinner. We had delicious burgers that were made by the wonderful Duke of Ed. participants and afterwards we had s'mores for dessert. After a relaxing sleep in our tents, we got up the next morning to an overcast sky. The day was still pleasant and our Youthworks leaders, Cohen, Nathan and Steve, shared from the Bible. They were exceptional speakers and very helpful and kind to us. It began to rain and we made our way to the buses, just in time to escape the worst.

Some of our highlights were playing spotlight and almost falling down wombat holes, almost getting lost, defending ourselves against spiders that made their way into tents and accidentally waking Mr Clarke up at 5am.

It was a great camp and the food was awesome. We really appreciated how much effort the staff put into helping us have a good time.

'The food was great - plentiful and delicious! My group was also excellent and Danica was a star (supported by Jalesa), pushing through an ankle injury to do the whole walk while carrying a pack! I loved that everyone in our team did the navigating challenge and we succeeded in finding all the markers. The low ropes course was a good challenge too.' Madame Wilkinson'It was awesome, I enjoyed all of it'. Aiden'I enjoyed cooking the food.' Jono'Camp was fun. I didn’t like the hike. Not much sleep. Lots of great memories.' Tom'Really enjoyed sharing a tent. Sleeping mat was not great. More orange cake.' Jalesa'I hated the hiking part. The camp was good, except for it raining and not using my sleeping bag properly. Day 2 was crazy, especially with the rain. Steve was awesome. S'mores were good.' Danica'Camp was awesome! One of the best I’ve ever been on. Even though it rained on Day 2, it didn't dampen our spirits. It was great to see the students’ resilience and adaptability.' Miss Bignell

Thank you K-2 AFL Gala Day helpers

Selected students from Years 5 and 6 received their awards for service from NSW AFL during Primary Assembly on Tuesday 2 August. They helped run a K-2 skills gala day at NCS in Term 2. Without their help, the day could not have happened. Mr. John Dyball from NSW AFL was quick to praise their excellent efforts and wanted to reward our student helpers by giving each of them a certificate of thanks to acknowledge their efforts. Well done, Stage 3!

Year 9 see Romeo and Juliet

The recent Year 9 trip to Sydney was a very exciting, roller-coaster ride of an excursion! It involved lots of laughter, train swaps and noise as we navigated our way to the Seymour Centre in Redfern where we viewed the performance of Romeo and Juliet and attended a workshop with the actors. – Millie

The excursion was a very enjoyable day for all of us, making memories with all our friends and seeing a wonderful performance made us all feel so blessed to be able to go to Sydney as a year group. - Thomas

It was an amazing trip, filled with memories we will never forget. - Annie

My favourite part of the excursion was the train ride up because it was my first time catching a train. - Riley

I enjoyed the day so much. We caught the train up and saw the most scenic train ride. We got to see the sunset on the shores of Kiama as we zoomed by on the train. It was the most astonishing thing you could ever see. - Joseph

The play was entertaining and very interesting. Shakespeare meant for his plays to be seen, not read, so I think many students related to the performance more than the monotone rendition we did throughout the term. - Hayley

The actors did really well and the little blood capsules added that extra depth and realism. -Shae

The play showcased the use of both filmography and live acting which allowed us to view the play from a more personal perspective. - Katie

Primary Zone Athletics recap

Thirty-five students from Years 3-6 competed in the CSSA Zone Athletics at the Kerryn McCann Athletics track in Wollongong on Monday 1 August.

We enjoyed a great day with fantastic sportsmanship from all NCS students, a day of sunshine, and many students progressing to state level. Unfortunately, with the waterlogged state of the grassed areas, the shot put and discus events had to be cancelled. Another 11 students weren’t able to attend Zone due to their only event(s) being called off. Stage 2 students have recounted a little about their day in the ‘gong:

Lucas T

'I had a really good time at Zone. It was a long but enjoyable ride to Wollongong. The 800m was the first race of the day. I was exhausted after that. I tried really hard and came 9th. When the relays were about to start, I thought I would have a chance to go to State. Our team came second - I was so happy!

Toby G

'Yesterday I went to the zone carnival for 100m, 200m, 800m, 1500m, 4x100m relay and high jump. I got to State carnival in 100m, 200m and the relay. I hope to get in zone next year because it was really fun. Most of my friends went as well.'

Bethany D

'I thought the Athletics Carnival was fun. I only had one race and had to stay because my family couldn’t come to take me home. The canteen was nice and Mr Parker made the sausage sizzle and bacon and egg sandwiches. I even tied with someone in my race!!'

Caitlin A

'I can’t believe that I made state!'

Swapan L

'On Monday, me and some of my friends were at the Athletics Zone. The events were 100m, 200m, 800m, 1500m, High Jump ,Long Jump and Really I only competed in the 100m, 200m and Long Jump. When we got to the track, we did some practice runs and did some laps around the track. The first race was coming up, it was the 800 metre run and both of my friends, Lucas and Toby, were there. My other friends were cheering them on. Sadly they didn't make it through. Then the Long Jump was on and I was doing it with my friend. The next event happened for me and it was the 100m run. I took off but came in 4th place. Then it was my 200m run but came 4th again. And that is my day in the zone.'

Leo P

'It took an hour to get there and I was in the 100m, 200m, and relay. My first race was at 10:45am. My next race was 11:45am. After that I had a sausage sizzle and then it was time for the relay. We did not fall or drop the baton and we came 2nd!'

Addi G

'It took 1 hour to get to Wollongong. The first race was the 800m at 9:15am. I had 3 races to do plus a relay. I face-planted in the relay. The relay was my favourite race out of all the races.'

Tianna K

'Monday 1st of August 2022 was the athletics carnival. I was scared. I went in the 1500m and the 800m and I won both of them. I was really surprised and happy that I won. The other runners were really good.'

Amity P

'At zone athletics carnival I ran in 2 races, 100 and 200 metres. At the start of it, I kept on saying ‘I believe in myself’ because I really did. I tried my best because I wanted to see what state would feel like and it looks like my dream came true. It's my first time going to State for anything. I came 1st in 100m and 3rd in 200m.'

Emilie H

'Monday the 1st of August was zone for some people which was held in Wollongong. It took an hour to get there. I had to run 200m. After that I felt really tired. It was a really good day.'

Will P

''Monday was a very enjoyable day because it was Zone Athletics. It was fun because I made it to state in long jump.'

We had many students run or jump their personal best on the day. Elsie P. broke the record for her 800m event, along with a girl from another school who came first, in what was an extremely fast heat! Very well done, Elsie! Both Amity P. and Caitlin A. finished the day as age champions for their respective age categories, so special mention and congratulations to both girls. We had two relay teams and ten individuals qualify for the state event, which is to be held at Homebush, NSW on Friday 2 September. We wish these students every success as they prepare for this next level of competition.

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