Middle School

Stories of Impact

At St Andrews, our staff are passionate about educating to impact young lives for Christ. I love hearing stories about how God is actively at work here at the College and I’d like to share with you a story of two of our Year 5 students:

I must admit that until now, I didn't know how great God was. But ever since we started singing worship songs in class, I've started to get closer to Him. Back when I was seven I would only learn Bible verses because I had to. I didn't use to pay attention to them. As I look back at the things I missed out on, I feel guilty and foolish. Nowadays though, I make sure I pay close attention to my Bible verses, and I try extra hard to concentrate on Jesus when I'm singing.

- Caleb

I felt like I had a strong relationship with God. But after a while I felt like I started to part from God. It felt to me that there was something more important to me than God. It was like I didn't know Jesus so I couldn't get to God and be with Him. Then I got help and came back to God. Then it came to me again and I got separated from God. After that for many months, sorrow, and I still hadn't known the true love and power of God. I didn't even know how great He was. That made me really sad because it was years after not knowing God when I realised how great He is. Then I realised what and how much I was missing out on.

- Justin

What an incredible story of God’s grace! Let’s give God all the glory for the incredible work that He is doing in the lives of the young people at St Andrews Christian College!

Ben Sheahan

Middle School Teacher

Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge

The VICTORIAN PREMIERS' READING CHALLENGE is a compulsory reading program for all Year 7 and 8 students and forms part of the English Curriculum at St Andrews Christian College. Although the program has only been officially launched in April (please see Premier’s speech below), our Year 7 and 8 students have been working on the program since March and are progressing well.

The program aims to:

• develop a love for reading and improve their literacy skills, with the support of teachers, classmates and parents
• promote a reading habit and culture in school and at home
• Students are required to read a total of 15 books spanning a variety of genres and authors, and complete activities based on those books.
• Students are strongly encouraged to read books from the SCHOOL LIBRARY BOOKLIST (VPRC sch lib booklist 2017-1.docx) as these books have been selected by the Library Department for suitable content and language, as far as possible. If students wish to read a book from the State List, they may do so, with parental consent.

CONGRATULATIONS to the following STAR  READERS for completing the required number of books and activities up to this point in the program:

KAYLE DARMADHASA (7C)

ROSELYN KOH (7C)

BRENDAN LAM (8K)

NOAH THOMSON (8K)

MESSAGE FROM THE PREMIER

​Welcome to the 2017 Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge

Together with former Premiers John Cain, Jeff Kennett, Steve Bracks, John Brumby, Ted Baillieu and Denis Napthine, I would like to declare the 13th annual Premiers’ Reading Challenge open, and wish this year’s participants the best of luck in their reading adventures.

Underpinned by a strong literacy focus, the Government’s Education State agenda ensures that all Victorian children and young people have the chance to succeed in learning and in life, regardless of background or circumstance. 

We know that reading plays a critical role in literacy development and future educational success, which is why we have set ambitious targets to have more students reaching the highest levels of achievement in reading. The Challenge will help us reach this goal.

For 12 years, the Challenge has engaged and inspired children and families to discover the joys of reading a book together. Four years ago, the Challenge expanded to include young children from birth to five, in recognition of the strong evidence that shows reading to young children promotes brain development and language learning. The success of the Challenge continues, with more than 230,000 children and students joining the Challenge last year.

A child’s love of books is born through exposure to reading and literature. Whether riding a broomstick with Harry Potter, hiding deep in the Australian bush with Hush, or roaring a terrible roar at the Wild Things rumpus, reading can transport children to different lands, expand their knowledge, build their vocabulary and broaden their horizons. 

I wish all children and students undertaking the Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge in 2017 a fun, enjoyable and fulfilling experience, and look forward to hearing of the discoveries and achievements of those who accept this year’s Challenge.

The Hon Daniel Andrews MP 

Premier of Victoria

Humanities Day

On Thursday 30th March, the students at St Andrews experienced a taste of Medieval life, presented by the Humanities Department, to complement the History unit “Medieval Europe”.

The day began with the Year 8 students involved in an interactive incursion with a presenter from Medieval Education.  They had great fun experiencing armour, weaponry and methods of punishment.

At lunchtime, the whole school was involved in a number of activities. Students wore period outfits, as they had a taste of gruel and played medieval games like bob apple. There was also a demonstration of fencing and a display of medieval village models and posters made by the Year 8 students.

A highlight was the best-dressed competition. Thank you to everyone who enthusiastically participated in the event and congratulations to the winners of the dress-up competition.

Sharon Seed

Humanities Coordinator

Middle School Duolingo Championship

During Year 6, 7 and 8, students have the opportunity to be part of the Middle School Duolingo Championship. Quite a few of our students have already achieved the sought-after Golden Owl as reward for their focussed efforts on Duolingo.

The current owners of Golden Owls are:

Samantha Ooi (8K)

Roselyn Koh (7C)

Kayle Dharmadasa (7C)

Chavella Tanubrata (7C)

Congratulations to these students! May we soon see many more Golden Owls!

À bientôt!

Madame Cloete

French teacher, Year 6 - 8